...
Behind the cliff, a pitch-black pirate ship slowly revealed itself, gradually sailing up beside the Krieg Pirates' colossal warship.
Compared to the giant vessel, the *Bezan Black* looked like a docile little kitten.
Sanji stood on the bow deck, looking down as he lit a cigarette. He took a drag, then looked up and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"These guys moved way too fast. I was hoping we'd make our entrance with a round of naval bombardment."
Looking at the Nyaban Brothers, who were standing on the railing of the massive warship and happily waving at him, Sanji couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"Speaking of which, what's the deal with this warship?"
"It's battered to hell and back."
"It's hard to imagine what kind of terrifying attack it must have suffered."
Staring at the ruined giant warship before them, the pirates on board couldn't help but chatter among themselves.
At that moment, a ladder was lowered from the giant warship, extending down to Allen's pirate ship.
The Nyaban Brothers were the first to jump down from the massive vessel.
"You guys sure were fast. You made it so we didn't even get to be of any use," Sanji greeted them.
Buchi and Sham replied with cheeky grins,
"Hehehe, it's mainly because the fight was just too easy."
"The enemy was so starved from a lack of food that they could barely hold their weapons. They had absolutely no combat power."
"So that's how it is. Looks like we have pretty good luck today." Sanji took a drag of his cigarette, a look of realization dawning on his face.
"Right? Right? We even found a massive sack of treasure on board. We're gonna be rich, hahaha!"
Buchi clutched his stomach and threw his head back in uproarious laughter.
Hearing their conversation, Gin—who was tightly shackled hand and foot and tied to the mast in the middle of the deck—felt his lingering hopes finally die.
He never expected that after they were separated, Captain Krieg and the others would end up in such a miserable state that they couldn't even resist when kicked while they were down.
And in such a dire situation, he hadn't been able to stand by everyone's side on the ship.
Gin clenched his jaw, his eyes red and welling with tears, revealing a deep sense of remorse in his gaze.
If anything happened to Captain Krieg, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
However, before he could blame himself any further, another figure plummeted from above.
*Crash!!*
The loud noise startled everyone around, instantly drawing their attention.
Seeing the golden armor on the figure, Gin froze in shock before hurriedly shouting,
"Captain Krieg!!"
"That voice... Gin...?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Krieg, who was tied up securely and sprawled on the ground, struggled to turn his head. Sure enough, he saw the expected figure.
Looking at the shackled Gin, Krieg's face showed no sign of joy. After less than two seconds of thought, it was as if he had finally figured something out.
"Gin, I didn't expect it to be you! You traitor, how dare you leak the location of our stronghold!!"
Veins bulged on Krieg's forehead as his expression instantly twisted into pure rage.
Hearing this, the expression on Gin's face vanished. He opened his mouth but was left speechless, his dazed eyes revealing a hint of disbelief.
"Cap... Captain... what are you talking about...?"
Gin's mouth twitched bitterly. He couldn't quite believe his ears, wondering if he had misunderstood something.
"How could I ever betray you, Captain? I had no idea what happened to everyone, let alone bring people here."
However, Krieg had absolutely no intention of hearing him out. His furious eyes made no effort to hide his disgust as he continued to hurl abuse,
"Stop playing dumb, you bastard! Who else in the entire East Blue would dare to go against me?!"
"If you hadn't leaked my information, how could these guys have coincidentally shown up at our doorstep at this exact time?!"
"I...!"
Gin clenched his fists, his mouth open, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Strictly speaking, Gin *had* revealed that the Krieg Pirates had suffered a devastating blow.
But he hadn't mentioned the extent of the casualties, and he had kept his mouth completely shut about the stronghold.
At the time, he was only thinking about preserving his own life so he could find an opportunity to escape and return to Krieg. He never considered that the other party would be Marines, nor that they would actually possess intelligence regarding their stronghold's location.
In truth, Allen showing up at their doorstep was a plan he had formulated the moment he attacked the warship and laid eyes on Gin.
Regardless of whether Gin revealed any information, or even if they hadn't captured Gin at all, Allen still would have brought his crew straight to their door.
But as things stood, Gin had no way to defend himself.
Scalding tears welled up and spilled from his eyes. Gin closed his eyes in despair, bowing his head to the floor as he let out trembling sobs, his face covered in snot and tears,
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Captain! It's all my fault! It's my fault for being so useless! I've failed you, Captain!"
"You bastard...!"
Krieg's face twisted in fury as he tightly clenched his fists.
Now that he had completely lost any chance of making a comeback, all the emotions he had been forcibly suppressing during this time finally erupted.
From encountering Hawkeye, to the near-fatal escape through the Calm Belt, the torment of starvation and injuries, and finally being brutally beaten and captured alive by Allen.
All the pent-up negative emotions from his miserable experiences were now being mindlessly vented onto Gin.
Buchi and Sham watched the unfolding drama with great interest.
They hadn't expected the terrifying Demon Man, whose name struck fear across the seas, to secretly be this kind of person.
Just then, another figure jumped down from above.
Landing lightly on the deck, Allen glanced at Krieg and Gin. He had heard their entire conversation from up above.
He then turned to the Nyaban Brothers and ordered,
"Where's Karl? Tell him to bring some men up to help escort the prisoners of war and the loot. Also, have the infirmary get ready to treat the wounded."
"Got it, Boss."
The two brothers nodded with cheeky grins.
Looking up, they could see their subordinates already escorting captured pirates down the ladder lowered from the giant warship.
Sanji walked over at this moment and said to Allen,
"Ignoring starving people goes against my professional creed. I'm going to cook. After all, if you want to recruit these pirates, you can't just let them starve to death, right?"
Allen glanced at him, then turned back and walked straight toward Gin's position, waving his hand dismissively behind him,
"You don't need to ask for my permission. We agreed that the kitchen is your domain; you can do whatever you want."
The corners of Sanji's mouth curled up slightly as he chuckled. "Hmph, glad to see you still remember that agreement."
With that, he headed toward the first-floor kitchen.
...
Soon, only Allen, Krieg, and Gin were left on the deck.
Grabbing a wooden barrel, Allen walked over and sat down in front of them, looking down at the two men from his elevated position,
"I won't beat around the bush with you two. I'm going to absorb your pirate crew, and I need someone to help me manage them."
"I hear both of you hold a lot of prestige on your ship. However, I don't want to recruit both of you. So, I'll let you choose for yourselves."
"I'm offering one executive position to whichever of you pledges your loyalty to me. As for the other one..."
Allen narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold glint flashing in his gaze, as if the answer was already self-evident.
...
Want more chapters? 50+ extra chapters are available on my Patreon :
<< patreon.com/Aragai_Sama >>