Chapter 66: Kill Them
Yumesaki turned to look at Nami, noticing a flicker of insecurity hidden behind her confused expression, as if she were genuinely afraid of being excluded.
He let out a soft sigh, just about to open his mouth to explain everything.
Suddenly—a massive commotion erupted inside the restaurant.
"It's the Krieg Pirates' ship!"
"The hourglasses on both sides of the skull... that's the symbol of a threat to all enemies!"
"Oh no, it really is them!"
Yumesaki's explanation was cut short by the chaos. He shifted his gaze toward the window. Sure enough, a massive galleon with a black panther figurehead was looming nearby. The Jolly Roger featured the dreaded hourglass symbols; it was the Dreadnaught Saber, Krieg's flagship.
Yumesaki was briefly stunned. Has it only been a few days since I left Baratie? The plot has already moved this far?
It wasn't long before the leader of the Krieg Pirates and his subordinate, Gin, boarded the Baratie.
However, it wasn't what anyone expected.
Krieg didn't enter with the booming spirit or dominating cruelty people feared. Instead, he looked pathetic. The moment he stepped inside, his knees hit the floor with a heavy thud. He bowed his head, begging the chefs for even a scrap of food.
Seeing Krieg in such a miserable state, the crowd didn't feel pity. Instead, they cheered.
The reason was simple: during his reign as the "Ruler of the East Blue," Krieg had never done a single good deed. He was originally a prisoner who escaped, murdered his superiors on a Marine ship, and stole the vessel to become a pirate. The Dreadnaught Saber was actually a stolen Marine battleship.
He would often fly a Marine flag to enter ports peacefully, only to transform into a marauding pirate the moment he dropped anchor, burning and looting everything in sight. If he met an opponent he couldn't beat, he'd fly a white flag of surrender, only to launch a treacherous sneak attack once the enemy let their guard down.
In short, the man used every dirty trick in the book. He didn't care about honor, humanity, or even the lives of his own subordinates.
It was through this shameless, despicable nature that he had thrived, becoming the most prominent pirate in the East Blue with a fleet of over five thousand men. Even if most of them were just a mindless mob, he had been a tyrant who destroyed countless families.
Now that he was destitute, the patrons in the restaurant began discussing how to turn him over to the Marines for the bounty. One of the most aggressive was the sous-chef, Patty.
Bang!
With the sound of a dull impact, Patty—who was in the middle of trying to contact the Marines—was sent flying by a powerful kick.
The one who acted was none other than Sanji.
Even as he kicked Patty aside, Sanji kept a steady hand on a bowl of steaming seafood fried rice. He walked over and placed it on the floor in front of Krieg and Gin.
"Here. Eat up."
"Master Sanji..." Gin whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. Not long ago, when he was starving to death, Sanji had saved his life with a bowl of food. Now, even when everyone else turned their backs on them, Sanji was there again. It was a debt he could never repay.
"This won't do. Minato, move out."
Yumesaki's calm voice cut through the air. At his word, Minato flicked a kunai. The blade whistled through the air, striking the bowl and sending the fragrant rice scattering across the floor.
Before Sanji could explode in rage, a golden blur flickered. With a sharp whoosh, Minato appeared instantly between Sanji and Gin.
Minato's right hand shot out, grabbing Sanji's collar. With a swift twist of his wrist and a heavy boom, he slammed Sanji face-first into the floor. Simultaneously, his right leg snapped upward like a striking viper, catching Gin right under the chin.
Crack!
The dull sound of the impact echoed as Gin was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing directly into his leader, Krieg. The two of them tumbled across the floor in a tangled heap.
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?!" Sanji roared, finally scrambling to find his footing.
"Exactly what it looks like. I'm stopping your foolishness," Minato said, his face dead serious. "These two are pirates. The moment their bellies are full, they will turn on this restaurant. They will hurt innocent people."
"I know you have your principles, Sanji. But I'm afraid I have to stop you here."
The other guests finally snapped out of their shock, shouting one after another:
"He's right! You can't trust a pirate's word!"
"Especially Krieg! That man is the definition of scum!"
"Capture them and hand them over to the Navy!"
Sanji screamed back, "They're just trying to survive! What's the crime in that?!"
Yumesaki spoke up, his voice cold and level. "The people they murdered also wanted to survive, yet Krieg killed them anyway. What was their crime?"
"Why should others die so Krieg can live?"
Yumesaki looked Sanji in the eye. "I know your past, Sanji. Because you've known true hunger, you don't want others to feel it. Having compassion is a virtue, but misplaced compassion is a sin. Not everyone deserves your pity."
"Especially a man like Krieg."
Yumesaki's gaze turned sharp. "Kill them both, Minato."
Without a moment's hesitation, Minato responded, "Understood, Lord Yumesaki."
Sensing the shift in the air, Krieg and Gin instinctively tried to scramble away, supporting each other as they bolted for the exit. But how could they possibly outrun Minato?
In the ninja world, he was known as the fastest man alive—the Yellow Flash.
A streak of golden light cut through the room.
Sensing imminent death, Krieg's survival instincts took over. He grabbed Gin and shoved him directly into Minato's path.
Gin's eyes widened in utter disbelief. In his final moments, he realized his leader had used him as a human shield without a second thought. Then, his head left his shoulders, spinning into the air.
In the very next second, a look of grim irony crossed Gin's fading consciousness. Despite being used as a shield, Krieg hadn't escaped. A split second later, Krieg's own head slid from his neck, thumping onto the floor beside Gin's.
Come to hell with me, Captain...
With that final thought, Gin's world went black.
Sanji, having crawled up from the floor, stared at the two severed heads. He fell silent, unable to find any words for a long, heavy moment.
Outside, the pirates aboard the Dreadnaught Saber saw their leaders fall. Panicked, they began to turn the massive ship, desperate to flee.
But before they could get far, a brilliant, colossal arc of blue energy soared across the sea. Like a hot knife through butter, the slash easily bisected the giant battleship, shearing it in two.
Watching the spectacle from the window, Yumesaki knew exactly who had arrived.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The World's Greatest Swordsman.
"Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk had made his entrance.
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