The next day, the weather was clear.
It wasn't until near noon that Allen's pirate ship set sail again, slowly pushing through the waves and leaving the shore.
Allen stepped out of the captain's cabin on the second floor and stood on the balcony.
On the deck, over a hundred and sixty pirates were lined up in six columns.
He planned to divide the crew members into divisions starting today.
The nearly one hundred pirates originally under Krieg had all settled down under Gin's management.
Although they weren't completely docile yet, they had basically accepted the fact that they now belonged to the Demon Lion Pirates.
Allen had also asked Gin to pick out some specialized talents among them, including navigators, ship doctors, helmsmen, cooks, and so on.
After integrating them with the other members on the ship, the remaining combatants of various types were grouped into another squad.
Finally, the six teams currently standing below were formed.
"First is the First Division, consisting of the expanded 18-man chef squad plus 18 combatants, totaling 36 people. Besides fighting, you are also responsible for all daily tasks related to the ship's kitchen and dining room."
Allen spoke to the leftmost column below, then waved his hand behind him.
"Starting today, you will be led by the First Division Commander, Sanji."
Seeing Allen's gesture, Sanji stepped forward from behind, hands in his pockets, a cigarette in his mouth, and said lightly, "The sole principle of the First Division is that absolutely no food will be wasted. I look forward to working with you bastards."
"Yes! Commander Sanji!!" the entire division of pirates bowed and shouted in unison.
Two-thirds of the First Division were original crew members, so their respect for Sanji went without saying.
Next, Allen looked at the second row, which was also the largest group on the deck.
"The Second Division is composed of various combat members such as cannoneers, riflemen, and vanguard shock troops. It is designated as the combat division, totaling 54 people."
"Besides fighting, you are normally responsible for the maintenance of weapons and ammunition, and will also moonlight doing the leftover chores from the other divisions. From now on, you will be led by Gin."
As his voice fell, Gin also stepped out from behind Allen, his expression cold as he addressed the men below. "Thanks to the captain's trust, starting today, I officially take on the role of the Second Division Commander of the Demon Lion Pirates. I look forward to working with you all."
"We will follow Commander Gin's orders!!" The Second Division also bowed and shouted in unison.
This division was entirely made up of former combat members of the Krieg Pirates. Seeing that their commander was Gin, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they had been absorbed by Allen, they were still very happy to be led by their former commander.
Gin was equally grateful and moved. He had originally worried whether his subordinates would be ostracized after the restructuring, considering they had just joined the pirate crew.
He didn't expect Allen to trust him so much, not only directly appointing him to the important role of Second Division Commander but also handing all of his former combatants over to him.
Gin thanked Allen from the bottom of his heart.
"Next is the Third Division, composed of navigators, helmsmen, lookouts, and some combat members. You are responsible for route planning, ship steering, and all sailing-related tasks."
"The Third Division has a total of 30 people. The commander position is vacant, so I will personally command it for now..."
Allen announced loudly, and then proceeded to announce the formation of the other two teams one by one.
Among them, the Fourth Ship Doctor Division had only 5 people and no combat members. Allen treasured these doctors, so they would not participate in any combat-related work for the time being.
The Fifth Shipwright Division consisted of 14 skilled shipwrights and 16 ordinary combatants, responsible for the daily maintenance, repair, and modification of the ship.
Except for the First and Second Divisions led by Sanji and Gin, the commander positions for the remaining Third, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions were all vacant. These three divisions would be temporarily managed by Allen himself.
Finally, only the last 10-man squad in the corner remained.
"I say, Boss, did you forget about us?"
"What about these ten guys? You're not just giving us this handful of subordinates, are you?"
The Nyaban Brothers, who had waited a long time without being called, looked at the remaining 10 people with little interest.
Allen cast a disdainful glance at the two. "Idiots, what's the rush?"
"Do you think I'm only giving you 10 people because I don't value you? On the contrary, these few were carefully selected by me. After all, you are going to take over the most important positions on the ship."
"Really, Boss?!"
Hearing Allen's words, the Nyaban Brothers' eyes instantly lit up with excitement.
Allen nodded, looked at the final squad below, and announced, "Starting today, you are the Zero Division of the ship, and the commanders will be the Nyaban Brothers."
"Zero Division?!"
As soon as these words came out, the crowd below looked at each other in dismay and started discussing among themselves.
The Nyaban Brothers' eyes shone even brighter. Such a special designation sounded incredible. They hurriedly said with excitement, "Thank you for your trust, Boss! We will definitely manage this team well and absolutely won't let you down!"
"Good, it's good to have that confidence. I believe in you."
Allen patted their shoulders with a satisfied look.
Amidst his excitement, Sham couldn't help but ask curiously, "By the way, Boss, what is our Zero Division responsible for? Is it executing secret missions? Decapitation strikes, assassinations, or executions?"
The others also looked over.
Under everyone's curious gazes, Allen grinned, baring his teeth. "You're responsible for serving me."
"So it's a nanny squad!!"
Bang!!
Everyone present faceplanted onto the deck, rolling their eyes in exasperation.
Hearing this, Allen glared at them indignantly and scolded, "What are you saying! What kind of talk is that? Can serving the person with the highest status on the ship be called being a nanny? It's called the Royal Guard Division!!"
"Royal Guard... Division..." Sanji's mouth twitched a few times.
*Yeah, sure, you're a real genius at naming things.*
"Anyway, there are a lot of affairs on the ship. Do you think I have 200 hours in a day? If I don't get a few people to help me handle these chores, how am I supposed to enjoy myself?" Allen said righteously.
The Nyaban Brothers looked crestfallen, their heads drooping in dismay. "But this is way too unglamorous. Doing this is worse than letting us join the combat teams, even just being a squad leader would be fine."
"Yeah, yeah, otherwise going to the chef division would be okay too," Buchi added.
"Are you going there to work?" Allen shot the fat cat a disdainful look, then continued, "If you're not convinced, you can go challenge Sanji and Gin. If you win, you can have their division commander positions."
"This..."
The Nyaban Brothers looked up at them. Seeing Gin, whose face was as cold as a demon's, the brothers shrank their necks and took two steps back with awkward smiles.
They couldn't beat them; whether it was Sanji or Gin, they were completely out of their league.
Since they couldn't win, they might as well forget about going up just to take a beating for nothing.
"Alright, I can't handle the daily work arrangements for three divisions anyway. Your Zero Division will also help me process these administrative tasks, so you can at least be considered acting commanders," Allen waved his hand and said, turning around to head back to the captain's cabin.
Hearing this, Buchi and Sham turned to look below.
The four divisions were quite tactful, bowing and shouting in unison:
"Commanders of the Zero Division!!"
"Greetings, Acting Commanders!!"
"Hehehe, we look forward to working with you all."
Buchi and Sham grinned, playfully scratching the backs of their heads, their moods finally improving.
Watching Allen's departing back, Sanji rolled his eyes at him in annoyance.
He said he was temporarily managing three divisions, but in the end, he was still acting as a hands-off boss.
Soon, the various divisions dispersed and began to carry out their respective duties under the leadership of their commanders and acting commanders.
Inside the cabin.
Allen wasn't truly idle. He sat on the sofa, scribbling and writing, beginning to draft the shift schedules for some positions in the three divisions.
Of course, he didn't establish the Zero Division just to serve him, but to help him handle various ship affairs. The dozen or so pirates he selected had all previously held clerical jobs.
From taking inventory in the supply warehouse to organizing financial dispatch bills, and even investigating and punishing restless crew members who made mistakes—with a hundred and seventy people on the ship, there was a ton of messy business.
If he didn't get a few helpers, he'd be tired as a dog from morning to night. If he kept doing it like this, he'd become a clerical pirate in the future.
...
After lunch.
In the kitchen, the pirates, wearing aprons and gloves, were cleaning the used kitchenware and a cart full of tableware just hauled back from the dining room.
A group of people chatted and laughed while working. Anyone seeing them would find it hard to associate them with vicious pirates.
"Hey, hey, hey, who taught you to wash pots like this? You're using too much force, idiot. You'll scratch the surface coating off in a minute."
Hearing the calm, low scolding from behind, the pirates stopped what they were doing and looked back.
Sanji walked over from behind, squeezed into a pirate's spot, took the wok from his hand, and threw away the steel wool he was using to scrub it.
"Watch closely, all of you. From now on, when washing this kind of pot, remember to use a wooden brush. Grease needs to be patiently dissolved with hot water."
Saying that, Sanji poured some hot water into the pot, swirled it around, picked up a wooden brush with his other hand, dipped it in some detergent, and patiently explained to the pirates beside him while demonstrating.
When he finished, one pirate finally couldn't help but speak up, looking troubled. "But Commander, isn't this way too troublesome? It would be one thing if we just left it all to be washed at once at night like before, but now..."
At this point, the pirate hesitated to finish his sentence.
Sanji glanced at him and said impassively, "Isn't it common sense to maintain your weapons after a battle? You wouldn't fight three battles in a row before maintaining your weapon once, would you? This point is the same for cooks."
"I can understand everyone's hard work, but that can't be an excuse for laziness. Since you've taken this position, you must treat every cooking session as a battle."
"From pre-battle preparation and execution to cleaning up the battlefield, I don't want to see anyone treating any step half-heartedly. This is the basic professionalism of a cook."
Sanji put down the kitchenware and wooden brush, turned to sweep his gaze over the crowd, and chuckled. "How about this? Starting today, we'll establish a reward fund in our division."
"A reward fund?" The pirates looked confused.
"That's right." Sanji nodded and said, "I will inspect your work every day. Those who meet the standard will be rewarded with 4,000 Berries."
"But if you don't meet the standard, not only will you be fined 2,000 Berries, but you'll also have to redo the work. After redoing it, it will be inspected again. If it still fails, you'll be fined again until it passes the inspection."
"And the money deducted from the penalties will be added to this fund to reward those whose work meets the standard."
Sanji patiently explained to them.
Hearing that there was money to be made, the pirates suddenly became somewhat interested. At this time, someone also asked in confusion, "But Commander, what if everyone's work meets the standard? If no one is penalized, won't the fund have no money?"
"Yeah, then you wouldn't be able to hand out rewards, right? You wouldn't intentionally set the standard super high, would you?"
"Don't worry, as long as you work earnestly, you will definitely pass. As for the money... I will make up the shortfall," Sanji said nonchalantly under the incredulous gazes of the few men.
He wanted to raise the standards of all work in the kitchen, but increasing the workload would definitely cause dissatisfaction among his subordinates. This was an unavoidable contradiction.
To solve this, he had to provide appropriate compensation for the extra workload. For this purpose, cash that they could get their hands on immediately was the most suitable reward.
Although the First Division had over 30 people, not everyone needed to be busy in the kitchen. Only about ten people were on shift every day.
Even if the daily maximum of 40,000 Berries was entirely paid by him, it would only be 1.2 million Berries a month.
For him, who had just received a share of over 10 million Berries yesterday, this was no pressure at all. Sanji had already calculated it in his mind.
With Sanji's proposal, the pirates had no more complaints in their hearts.
All positions on the ship had their own work to do, and as cooks, they were supposed to do these tasks anyway.
Although the workload had increased a bit, the compensation Sanji offered was equally high. Calculated out, it was still a very good deal.
To put it bluntly, with Sanji's strength, culinary skills, and status on the ship, even if he forcibly gave the order, they wouldn't have the slightest room to resist.
The fact that he was speaking to them nicely was already giving them face, and to actually pay out of his own pocket to compensate them—in the law of the jungle that governed pirate groups, calling Sanji a saint wouldn't be an exaggeration.
To be able to follow a commander who was powerful and treated them so well was something they couldn't have even dreamed of in the past.
...
Outside the kitchen, Allen, who happened to be passing by the door and heard the discussion inside, curled the corners of his mouth.
With Sanji's intellect and style of doing things, there wouldn't be any mistakes in the management of the First Division. He believed Sanji would soon completely win over this group of subordinates.
Allen turned and paced away, passing through the central deck and climbing the stairs to the bow deck.
Boxes of weapons were placed on the ground—swords, clubs, firearms, and ammunition. Gin was leading the people of the Second Division here to maintain the ship's weapons.
"Cap... Captain."
"Captain Allen."
Noticing him coming up, the pirates spoke up one after another, their faces showing somewhat unaccustomed expressions.
Yesterday they were enemies, and today he suddenly became their captain; it still felt weird in their hearts.
Allen didn't say much, just nodded at them, and then walked straight toward Gin.
"Captain."
Seeing him approach, Gin hurriedly put down the things in his hands and was about to stand up.
But Allen pressed a hand on his shoulder, flipped his black coat cape, and smoothly sat down on a wooden box next to him, smiling. "How is it? The quality of these munitions is pretty good, right?"
"Yes, I rarely saw such good Marine standard equipment in the past," Gin nodded in response.
Allen smiled, casually picked up a rifle, pulled the bolt, and aimed at the bow of the ship a few times.
They were called flintlocks, but they actually weren't. The soldiers at Headquarters all used bolt-action rifles, it was just that many people failed to distinguish between them.
In fact, Allen sometimes couldn't quite understand the firearms of this world either.
Not to mention muzzle-loading flintlocks and Gatling guns coexisting in the same era, the fact that a certain someone could use two pistols to achieve the effect of an automatic rifle with infinite ammo was simply heaven-defying.
After pushing the bolt back, Allen put the rifle back and stood up. "You guys keep busy. Perfect timing, too—once these weapons are maintained, we'll have our next battle to fight very soon."
"Next battle?" Gin paused, asking in confusion, "Do we have a new target already?"
"Hmm?" Allen gave him a strange look and said, "Don't you know the direction we're sailing? We should be arriving at the Konomi Islands very soon."
"The Konomi Islands..."
Hearing this, Gin thought for a moment, couldn't help but frown, and said, "If I remember correctly, that's Arlong's territory. Are we going to make a move on the Arlong Pirates?"
"Yeah, since setting out to sea, it seems I haven't had any presentable battle records. I haven't even made it onto a wanted poster yet," Allen directly answered Gin's guess, grinning widely. "I wonder how high my bounty will go after defeating Arlong."
"This..."
A hint of worry flowed into Gin's eyes. He hesitated for two seconds, but still couldn't help speaking frankly. "The Arlong Pirates are very difficult to deal with. Wouldn't doing this be a bit too risky? If you just want to make a name for yourself, there are other targets we can go after in the East Blue."
"Besides, in another two days, the news of you defeating Don Krieg will probably spread."
"Furthermore, even without adding a new battle record, just the fact that you absorbed the former Black Cat Pirates and our crew, and gathered so many officers, is enough for the Marines to issue a substantial bounty for you."
After finishing his analysis, Gin fixed his gaze on Allen and said seriously, "To be honest, I don't recommend choosing the Arlong Pirates as a target. That guy's strength is far more terrifying than the outside rumors suggest."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Allen couldn't help but become somewhat interested.
The opponent's strength was indeed very formidable. The Marine branches in the East Blue didn't know much about the Arlong Pirates because of Captain Nezumi, but Headquarters had detailed intelligence on them.
After all, Arlong was personally released from Impel Down by Headquarters as a bargaining chip. It was just to maintain the relationship between the World Government and the Warlord Jinbe that Headquarters found it inconvenient to make a move against the Arlong Pirates.
Judging from Gin's words, he seemed to have some understanding of Arlong as well.
"Have you guys come into contact with the Arlong Pirates before?" Allen asked curiously.
Gin nodded silently, pursed his lips, and then said, "Looking at the entire East Blue, the number of pirates with bounties over ten million can be counted on two hands, and the highest among them is Arlong with a bounty of 20 million Berries."
"After gaining the title of the Overlord of the East Blue, Don Krieg also set his sights on Arlong, the only one in the East Blue with a higher bounty than him. However..."
Gin lowered his head, falling into deep thought, and continued, "We failed. Although we had a huge numerical advantage, as long as the Fish-Men dove into the water, we had absolutely no way to pursue them. Instead, they could destroy our ships and cause us severe losses."
"And Arlong's individual strength surpasses even Don Krieg's. Even when we used tactics like poison gas bombs, the opponent could still avoid them by diving into the water."
"After one battle, we suffered casualty numbers far higher than theirs, and in the end, we had to retreat from the Konomi Islands."
Speaking up to here, Gin looked up at Allen and said in a deep voice, "Don Krieg possesses monstrous strength and can swing a Great Battle Spear weighing one ton. But Arlong's strength is even above his..."
He had personally experienced Allen's strength. His unfathomable martial arts techniques were indeed so strong that they made him feel it was unbelievable.
But judging from the feeling of being hit, Allen's physical strength probably wasn't much greater than Krieg's.
Gin didn't think Allen's martial skills were strong enough to make up for the gap in physical strength between him and Arlong.
"So that's how it is. Being able to swing a one-ton Great Battle Spear can indeed be considered monstrous strength for an ordinary person."
Allen stroked his chin, nodded thoughtfully, and then looked left and right. Finally, he locked his gaze on a few naval cannons that had been pulled out for maintenance.
"This is the main artillery from the broadside of a warship. It can fire 18-pound cannonballs. Removing the carriage and wheels, the barrel alone weighs about 1.5 tons."
While introducing it, Allen slowly walked up to a cannon. The barrel was nearly two meters long, about the same as his height.
The eyes of the pirates present all focused on him, filled with confusion.
Allen curled his four fingers and knocked on the muzzle, hooked his thumb from below, and firmly clamped the barrel with his hand.
As if guessing what Allen was preparing to do, Gin's eyes showed astonishment along with a bit of curiosity.
The next second.
The muscles in Allen's arm bulged. Under the incredulous and shocked gazes of everyone, he directly lifted that 1.5-ton heavy cannon with a single arm!
"What!!"
The pirates' jaws dropped to the floor in shock, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"He... he lifted the cannon with one hand!!"
"This is a one-and-a-half-ton main cannon!!"
Allen stood tall and straight, one hand in his pocket, looking completely at ease as he slowly raised the horizontally suspended cannon above his head.
Heh, let alone lifting a cannon.
Even if you added another 45 kilograms to it, he would still lift it just the same.
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