Chapter 12: Marine Admiral, Kaido's Son, Gin!
Gin.
There were many rumors about this man in the sea.
Kaido's son, a Marine Admiral, various disasters at sea... as long as the specifics were unknown, they were basically attributed to him.
Of course, that was in the past.
Sag had a good impression of Gin. He valued loyalty and righteousness, was loyal to people, and could carry out his captain's orders without hesitation.
Such a man was worth recruiting into his pirate crew.
"Pirate?"
Before Gin could speak, Krieg, however, burst into laughter. He laughed for a long while before suddenly lowering his head, the blood vessels in his eyes becoming even thicker.
"Am I, Krieg, now being mocked by a small-time pirate? You want me to join *your* pirate crew?"
"No..."
Sag smiled slightly. "I'm not particularly interested in *you*."
Although he couldn't remember the plot very well, he lived in the East Blue, and he still knew the rumors about the active pirates in the East Blue.
'Don' Krieg was a despicable and cruel person. If Gin was righteous and loyal, then Krieg represented ruthlessness and disloyalty. He had done everything from disguising himself as a merchant to attack merchant ships, to joining the Marines to attack warships.
Even if he was recruiting pirates, he wouldn't take just anyone.
"Then you're really being looked down upon!"
Krieg's face turned menacing. "Kill him!"
*Clang!*
Just as his words rang out, a cold gleam flashed out of the darkness, pressing the bonfire low.
Lily quickly flashed around, and half of the pirates screamed, blood spurting from various parts of their bodies as they fell.
Lily appeared in front of the fallen pirates, flicked her rapier, and once again raised a cold gleam, thrusting towards the remaining pirates.
Her swordsmanship was indeed not weak.
With a flash of cold light, the remaining pirates also spurted blood and fell. The cold gleam turned, heading straight for Krieg's back.
*Clang!*
A crisp sound rang out, and the sharp rapier stabbed into a... shield.
It was a large, round shield that blocked the rapier's attack.
Pearl had donned his equipment at some point. His body was encased in two large, round iron shields, and his hands, elbows, and knees were all equipped with two small shields each. On the shields, and on his head and boots, were things that looked like fluorite.
Pearl said to Lily: "Using a sword to fight, you're really shameless..."
"?"
Lily was stunned for a moment, somewhat confused.
This guy was covered in shields from head to toe, and then he was mocking a swordswoman for using a sword?
"Whatever, I'll still defeat you!" Lily said.
"Defeat me? Impossible!"
Pearl extended a finger. "I've only lost one battle in my past 62 fights, the iron-walled man! By the way, I've only bled once too. This set of shields has only been broken by the Captain. Now I've repaired it, and it's even stronger!"
He casually flicked the crescent-shaped hair on his forehead and grinned, showing his white teeth: "I am a shield man, and also a handsome man. The absolutely defensive Pearl-sama, that's me... How about that, I'm quite experienced, right?"
*A guy with a screw loose...*
Lily raised her rapier slightly, leaned her body to the side, assumed a fencing stance, and quickly thrust, the blade of the rapier turning into a cold gleam that stabbed straight at Pearl's face.
*Clang!*
Pearl's reaction was also quick. He moved one hand upwards, and a shield blocked his face, intercepting the rapier's attack.
"Give up. That little bit of strength isn't enough. Even a warship's cannon can't do anything to this shield of mine!" Pearl chuckled.
*Chih!*
But the next moment, a splash of blood appeared inexplicably on his shoulder.
Lily said expressionlessly, "Absolute defense?"
The shield's defense wasn't full coverage. There were still gaps. His shoulder was exposed.
"It hurts... Blood!"
Pearl turned his head to look at the blood on his shoulder. His face, which still had a silly smile, became extremely terrified. He kept hitting the fluorite on his shields with both hands.
"It hurts! My life is in danger, in danger!"
The fluorite emitted a bright light, and with a *whoosh*, it actually ignited flames. The flames engulfed all the shields, including the fluorite helmet on his head.
"Flame Pearl!"
Pearl spread his four limbs, and there were actually a few fluorite stones clamped between his fingers. "Burn, burn, burn it all!"
"Hmm?"
Sag, who was sitting there, narrowed his eyes and said, "Hey, starting a forest fire will get you in jail."
Lily's eyebrows raised, and she suddenly flashed to Pearl's side. Her rapier, like lightning, thrust towards the weak point in his defense on his side, about to stab his neck.
Starting a fire with that fluorite... this was a forest!
*Pa!*
As the rapier thrust, a foot suddenly kicked the rapier high into the air. At the same time, a dull thud sounded, and Pearl's back shield shattered. The huge impact made his eyes roll back, and he fell to the ground.
"Captain Gin, you again..." he said tremblingly.
Gin retracted his foot, carrying the iron ball-tipped staff on his shoulder, and glanced at Pearl. "Pearl, this is a forest. You can't set fires."
"Rejected my offer, huh?" Sag asked softly.
Gin turned to look at Sag. "I am still the combat captain of the Krieg Pirates. A small-time pirate like you can't deal with the Captain. Leave while you can!"
"Oh... but your captain doesn't seem to want to let me go."
Sag smiled slightly, and his body suddenly disappeared.
*Bang!!*
A huge fist wearing a diamond gauntlet smashed down directly. The heavy force shattered the broken log completely, even smashing a deep pit in the ground. The force of the fist stirred up a strong wind, completely extinguishing the bonfire.
Sag appeared on the other side, surprised: "You've got quite a bit of strength."
Krieg was now wearing his golden-like steel armor. He stood up straight and said menacingly, "Kid, you're pretty fast, but can you be faster than a bullet!"
*Bang bang bang!*
The round, shield-like shoulder pads and the armor covering his waist suddenly opened, revealing several guns inside. They spewed fire at Sag, firing bullets. At the same time, his body also rushed forward, leaping high into the air and raising his fist to smash down again.
Bullets plus his attack, how could he dodge!
"Kami-e."
Sag spoke faintly, standing still, but his body twisted slightly. All the bullets grazed past his twisting body, not even scratching his skin. Then he reached forward.
*Boom!!*
The ground where Sag was standing sank slightly. He looked at the surprised Krieg and said, "Not only am I fast, but my strength is not weaker than yours either."
Krieg's strength was certainly not small. He could easily lift a one-ton weapon with one arm. An ordinary person hit by his fist would be directly killed.
But this kid... actually caught it!
Was there such powerful strength in that body?
Krieg gritted his teeth, and his shoulder pads opened again, revealing firearms.
"At such close range, how can you dodge!"
The muzzles of the guns emitted fire again, shooting bullets.
"Tekkai."
*Clang clang clang!*
The round bullets hit Sag's body and fell powerlessly.
Sag smiled. "It seems I don't need to dodge either."
*Rokushiki, it's really useful.*
Bullets were useless?
He could catch his fist's strength, and his body was not afraid of bullets...
The first thing Krieg thought of was the Straw Hat kid who had defeated him!
Another pirate like that?
No!
He wouldn't fail again!
Krieg suddenly jumped back, jumping far away, and shouted, "Gin, take him down! I forgive you."
"Yes, Captain!"
Gin bent his knees slightly, and with a 'boom', he stomped on the ground, rushing forward like a cannonball.
*Swish!*
But just then, a cold gleam flashed from his side. The rapier gleamed, thrusting straight at Gin's body.
At low altitude, Gin flipped, dodging Lily's stab. The iron ball on his staff deflected the rapier, and his other staff struck out. Lily quickly retreated, dodging the staff's attack. She steadied her rapier and was about to thrust again, but she missed.
Gin stepped on the ground again, completely ignoring Lily, and arrived in front of Sag, swinging his staff into a circle. The inertia carried tremendous force, making a whistling sound as it smashed down.
He was a man who would follow orders. Although he had awakened, this wouldn't change. Since he was to deal with this pirate, he wouldn't attack anyone else.
He would complete the order first.
Sag moved to the side, dodging the falling iron ball. But the iron ball, halfway down, suddenly changed direction. As Gin twisted his hand, the staff drew a semicircle, hitting Sag's waist with great force.
*Bang!*
Sag's body shook slightly, but he didn't counterattack. Instead, he said admiringly, "Very impressive!"
He showed his admiration without reservation. "Your combat experience is very rich, much richer than mine. Join my pirate crew. It will definitely be better than following Krieg."
Sag's combat experience was actually not very rich.
He hadn't even spent much time practicing boxing. His adoptive father didn't allow him to practice boxing, wanting him to be an ordinary person. After his adoptive father died, he spent more time trying to start a business and survive, stumbling along to train this cheat.
As for combat... Although he had fought with people, not everyone was a strong person, especially in a place like the East Blue.
Moreover, he was so unlucky. He would catch pirates and find that they had no bounty. Where would he find someone with combat ability?
Ennio was the first real strong person he had encountered.
And Gin, he could indeed dodge with 'Soru' and 'Kami-e', but in a real fight, he really couldn't dodge this improvised move.
In his eyes, this guy was stronger than Krieg!
"Sorry, Captain Krieg is still my captain!"
Gin said in a deep voice, "I believe he will wake up. At that time, our Krieg Pirates will still be the overlords of the East Blue!"
"I don't know if they'll be the overlords of the East Blue, but he probably won't wake up..."
Sag pointed to the side. "Because he wants to kill you too."
Krieg, who had jumped away from the battle, now wore a gas mask. The shoulder pads on his arms had been removed and combined on his hands, their surfaces opening up into a circular hole, aimed at them...