Krieg clenched his teeth. Beneath the resentment in his eyes lay a trace of hesitation as a fierce struggle waged within his heart.
*As long as I can survive, there will definitely be another chance in the future.*
Krieg thought to himself, unable to stop his fists from clenching. *If only one of us can live, it absolutely has to be me!*
But before he could speak, Gin beat him to it, shouting furiously at Allen,
"Just kill me, you bastard! I'm useless for anything but fighting, and I don't know the first thing about management! There's no way in hell I'd ever swear loyalty to you!"
"You don't need to yell so loudly, I can hear you just fine. Also, I think you two might be misunderstanding something."
Allen dug at his ear with his pinky finger, looking down at the two of them with an expression of complete indifference.
"I never planned on taking either of your lives. If I kept a subordinate on my ship who harbored a grudge against me, I wouldn't even be able to sleep peacefully."
"Ruling through fear is out of style these days. It's all about gratitude now. Do you understand gratitude?"
Allen gave them a look of disdain. Under Krieg and Gin's bewildered gazes, he held up two fingers.
"Therefore, both of you will live, on the condition that one of you is willing to pledge loyalty to me. If that happens, I will unconditionally let the other person go."
"W-Wait a minute. Are you saying you won't kill either of us?"
Krieg couldn't help but ask for confirmation.
*As long as one person is willing to submit, the other will be let go unconditionally?*
This couldn't even be considered a threat anymore. Such merciful terms sounded like an absolute dream.
Gin also wore an expression of disbelief.
Having been a pirate for so many years, this was the first time he had ever seen someone treat defeated foes like this.
"The loyalty you showed just now, willing to die to protect your captain, earned my respect and admiration. So..."
The corners of Allen's mouth curled up slightly as he looked at Gin.
"I've decided to leave the choice to you. Go ahead. As long as you say you want to leave, I absolutely won't stop you."
Hearing this, Gin's expression visibly faltered in astonishment.
Meanwhile, Krieg's heart skipped a beat, and a flash of undisguised panic appeared in his eyes.
He hurriedly turned his head to look at Gin, only to find that Gin was also looking at him.
"Hey... Gin... You wouldn't leave me behind, right?"
Krieg's lips trembled as he asked, his voice shaking with uncertainty.
Suddenly recalling how he had just vented all his anger onto Gin, a creeping sense of fear began to mix with his regret.
Gin's face was completely devoid of emotion as he simply stared at Krieg.
After a moment of silence, Gin moved his lips and nodded.
"Of course. Rest assured, Captain, I will stay behind in exchange for your freedom."
Hearing this, Krieg's eyes lit up with excitement, and the corners of his mouth lifted in profound relief.
Who would stay and who would leave—the answer was clearly settled.
For Krieg, trading Gin's servitude for his own life and freedom was a deal that required absolutely no second thought.
And for Gin, as long as Allen let Krieg go, he was willing to offer up his own life.
What a coincidence—that was exactly what Allen had in mind!
From the very beginning, the only person he wanted was Gin. How could he ever allow a treacherous, backstabbing scumbag like Krieg to stay on his ship?
This was an absolute win-win-win situation!
"What an unexpected decision."
Allen watched Gin with keen interest.
"Are you worried that I'll go back on my word and kill the other person after securing one's loyalty, so you made the choice with the highest probability of survival?"
"If that's the case, I promise you in the name of the Jolly Roger that I absolutely won't do that. Now, I'll give you one more chance to choose."
"There's no need."
Facing Allen's inquiry, Gin shook his head. He took a deep breath, a trace of bitter resignation appearing on his face.
"This is fine. I will stay and serve you. I just hope you keep your promise and let Captain Krieg go."
Allen didn't say a word. He simply watched Gin in silence, lost in his own thoughts.
Beside them, Krieg also remained silent. He kept his head down, not even daring to breathe too loudly, terrified that Allen might suddenly change his mind.
"Alright, you have my word."
Allen nodded in agreement.
...
Afterward, he ordered his men to prepare enough food and water for twenty people, along with some medical supplies. He even had them pack up that heavy suit of golden armor.
*Thud!*
Tossing the large sack of supplies onto the deck, Allen had his men remove the ropes and handcuffs from Krieg and Gin.
Upon seeing the food and water, Krieg made no effort to hide the greed and desperation in his eyes. He rushed forward excitedly and grabbed a steak.
Just as the meat reached his lips and he was about to take a bite, Krieg suddenly froze. He then looked at Allen with a wary gaze.
Letting him go was one thing, but going out of the way to prepare food and water? He didn't believe Allen was that kind-hearted.
"It doesn't matter if you suspect it's poisoned. No one is forcing you to eat it."
Allen stated coldly.
At that moment, Gin snatched the steak right out of Krieg's hand, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed it in one bite.
Allen completely ignored his actions.
After observing Gin's reaction for a moment and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Krieg finally relaxed.
He didn't take out any more food. Instead, he hoisted the large sack of supplies, turned around, and walked to the edge of the ship.
Taking one last look back at Gin, Krieg remained expressionless as he jumped down into the small boat Allen had prepared for him and slowly rowed away.
The moonlight spilled quietly over the surface of the sea, reflecting a shimmering, silvery-white glow.
Watching the silhouette of the small boat drift further and further away until it completely disappeared into the darkness of the sea, Gin finally spoke up.
"Did you know for certain that I would stay behind in exchange for Captain Krieg's freedom?"
"Yeah," Allen nodded faintly.
Gin stared at Allen and asked another question. "Why didn't you poison the food?"
"Because I knew you wanted him to live."
Allen replied once more. Gazing out at the sea in the direction Krieg had vanished, he asked,
"What did that final look of his mean? Was it a goodbye?"
"I think... the Captain was probably just checking to see if I was showing any signs of poisoning."
Gin answered with an indifferent expression, acting as though he couldn't care less about any of Krieg's actions.
To say he wasn't disappointed would be a lie.
Deep down, he had always known exactly what kind of person his captain was. Yet despite that, he had followed, served, and idolized Krieg without hesitation.
Call it blind loyalty or sheer stubbornness, but this was his pirate code.
Though now, it was all over...
"If you ever meet him on the sea again one day, and Krieg asks you to come back, would you agree?"
Allen suddenly turned his head to look at Gin.
Gin met his gaze. After a few seconds of silence, he said,
"I promised I would stay, just like you promised to let the Captain go. You didn't go back on your word, and neither will I."
"Your weapons are in the storage room. Go get them yourself. Also..."
The corners of Allen's mouth curled up as he added, "From now on, call me Captain."
"Understood..."
Gin acknowledged the order. For the first time, he bowed his head to Allen and called out,
"Captain."
...
"Hahaha! We're rich now!"
"So much treasure! As expected of the Krieg Pirates!"
"I've never seen this much gold in my entire life!"
On the deck, the pirates formed a circle, their eyes burning with feverish excitement. A massive pile of gold coins and jewelry sat in the center, radiating a dazzling golden gleam.
Allen stood on the second-floor balcony, with the Nyaban Brothers and Gin standing behind him.
These were all the treasures plundered from Krieg's ship.
In addition to that, they had also found two black briefcases filled with neatly stacked wads of Beries.
"Two hundred million Beries in cash, plus all this treasure...!"
"Even though we don't know the exact purity of the gold, the value is definitely over a hundred million. Even if we fence it through black market merchants, we won't get less than a hundred million Beries for it."
Up on the balcony, the Nyaban Brothers' eyes sparkled with golden light.
Looking at the wealth piled up on the deck, Allen couldn't help but smile as well.
For a pirate, there was nothing more thrilling than treasure.
Krieg's fleet had barely escaped the Grand Line by the skin of their teeth. Not only were their ships battered and broken, but their various supplies had also been almost entirely depleted.
However, this massive hoard of treasure and cash had been completely preserved.
If they hadn't spent a large portion of it just to enter the Grand Line, there would likely be far more than this right now.
Looting a Marine warship for high-quality supplies during the day, and then annihilating the Krieg Pirates for a massive haul of treasure at night—Lady Luck was truly smiling upon them today.
Allen sincerely thanked Fullbody. His pirate crew had only just started, yet the man had unexpectedly delivered such an incredible gift right to his doorstep.
"You two, find someone experienced to appraise these treasures. As for the cash..."
Allen instructed the Nyaban Brothers, adding, "Send the crew's public funds and my share to the captain's quarters. Distribute the rest of the Beries to everyone."
"Yes, Boss!"
The Nyaban Brothers' eyes shone with excitement as they eagerly leaped down to the deck.
Allen then shifted his gaze to the other side.
In a corner of the deck, nearly a hundred pirates sat cross-legged on the floor in a line, their hands tied behind their backs and linked together by a long rope.
All of them had gaunt faces and kept their heads bowed with exhausted eyes, forming a stark contrast to the cheering, celebrating pirates dividing the money on the other side.
These men were also his spoils of war. Although the massive fleet of 5,000 had been slaughtered down to just this handful, it was actually perfect. If there were too many of them, his ship wouldn't have been able to hold them anyway.
Furthermore, anyone who managed to secure a spot on the flagship was generally among the best of the Krieg Pirates. They had all sorts of specialized talents and could definitely be considered elite pirates in a place like the East Blue.
A short while later.
The kitchen door downstairs opened, and Sanji walked out. A mouth-watering aroma wafted out behind him, filling the air over the deck.
Catching the scent of food, the eyes of the starving pirates instantly turned red as they stared into the ship's cabin.
Some even lost their minds entirely, jumping up and charging forward madly, only to be tripped by the ropes binding them and falling flat on their faces.
Allen waved a hand behind him and said to Gin, "Take them inside to eat."
"Yes."
Receiving Allen's order, Gin nodded in acknowledgment and immediately jumped down from the balcony.
Soon, Gin led all of his bound former subordinates into the dining hall.
"Commander Gin."
"Is all this... really for us to eat?"
Staring at the food laid out across the long tables, the pirates' eyes bulged, their throats bobbing as they swallowed dryly.
"This was all prepared for you. Also, don't call me Commander anymore."
Gin said expressionlessly as he began untying the pirates one by one.
Hearing this, amidst their excitement at finally being able to eat, a hint of sorrow hid deep within the pirates' eyes.
They had already heard about what happened with Krieg. Knowing that Gin had stayed behind and submitted to Allen just so Krieg could leave, they couldn't help but feel a sense of tragic sorrow for Gin's situation.
At that moment, one of the pirates looked up at Gin. Clenching his fists, he said,
"Commander Gin, just say the word and we'll still follow you! We only lost earlier because we were starving. As long as we have this food...!"
*Bam!*
Before he could even finish his sentence, Gin furiously punched him in the face, sending him flying. He crashed onto the floor and skidded over two meters away.
The surrounding pirates' faces instantly changed, looking over in sheer disbelief.
Gin's face was dark. He swept a gloomy gaze over everyone and said coldly,
"You think you have what it takes to rebel? If anyone dares to say something like that again, your only two options will be dying by the Captain's hands or dying by mine."
Seeing Gin's attitude, the pirates all lowered their heads and shut their mouths.
They all knew how well Gin usually treated his subordinates, so it wasn't hard to guess that he was doing this to protect them.
If the enemy was so strong that even Gin had given up resisting, then as prisoners, they had absolutely no hope of turning the tables.
Even if they were unwilling to accept it, they could only clench their fists and silently swallow the humiliation.
"Just eat your food. Not starving to death is more important than anything else."
Gin stated coldly. After speaking, he turned and left the dining hall, pulling the door shut behind him.
Once he was gone, the pirates could finally no longer endure the torment of their hunger. They rushed forward madly, grabbing the food and shoving it into their mouths in massive bites.
Outside, the Nyaban Brothers quickly finished distributing the cash. Everyone, from the highest officers to the lowest grunts, received their respective shares.
Just like before, the two hundred million Beries were divided into four equal portions: one for the ship's public funds, and one for Allen.
Of the portion belonging to the officers, major officers like Sanji and the Nyaban Brothers took sixty percent, while squad-leader-level officers split the remaining forty percent.
The final portion was divided equally among the remaining sixty or so ordinary crew members, leaving each person with a little over eight hundred thousand Beries.
After this single battle, the entire crew had struck it rich. It was completely comparable to several of their previous operations combined; even their total haul from the last six months might not have amounted to this much.
Everyone was dancing with joy.
With their pockets bulging, they couldn't wait to find a place to splurge and treat their wind-beaten, sun-scorched bodies to some soft comfort.
"Once we make landfall, I'm gonna take on ten of 'em!"
"Hahaha! Do you have a death wish, you idiot?!"
"A casino! Boss, next time we stop to rest, can we find a place with a casino?!"
One of the pirates looked up and shouted the question at him.
Biting down on his cigar, Allen grinned and laughed.
"Of course we can! In a couple of days, we'll find a bustling town and take the boys out to play a few rounds!"
"Whooo!!"
"Long live the Boss!!"
A wave of fanatical cheering erupted across the deck.
Allen smiled in satisfaction.
The pirates outside were reveling, and the pirates inside the dining hall were reveling as well.
It seemed that no matter who it was, as long as they boarded this ship, even if they had to die, Allen would make sure they died smiling.
Dreams, money, fine food, fame—they would have absolutely everything!
Whether material or spiritual, a life of freedom and pleasure was the sole purpose they fought so desperately for.
This was what it meant to have the spirit of a pirate!
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