Silence.
Everyone fell silent.
Each of them was digesting the shocking news brought by Van Augur.
A ship—one with no one steering it—yet it sailed at astonishing speed, impossible to catch up with.
What kind of situation was this??
Completely incomprehensible.
"Amazing… it's just too mysterious."
Karina was the first to react, surprise etched on her stunningly fair face as she murmured, "There's actually such a strange ship in the world."
"Unheard of… it's just unbelievable," Perona floated in the air, her little head nodding rapidly. Her face full of curiosity, she giggled, "Interesting! This is going to be so much fun!"
"We have to find that ship—there must be some secret inside! Haha!"
Nojiko gently shook her head, sighing, "It really sounds eerie. What kind of ship is this?"
Nami clenched her little fist, eyes sparkling with excitement, her face lit with a big smile, "Treasure! That ship must have a legendary treasure on board!"
Meidi brushed her light golden hair and gave a bitter smile.
"Listening to this story just gives me chills… it's way too spooky."
Sweetheart Queen shrugged helplessly, "You're telling me. It feels filled with a creepy atmosphere."
These women were curious, even a bit frightened by it.
But for the men—it was a different story.
At first, they were surprised and intrigued too. But once they calmed down, they lost interest one by one.
"Hmph, I thought it was something good. It's just a ship—what's the big deal?"
Burgess scoffed, showing no interest at all.
Gin nodded, his tone cold: "Even if it has something unusual, it's still just a ship—not worth discussing."
Law, carrying Kikoku on his back, remained aloof: "The Grand Line is full of bizarre things—nothing to be surprised about."
"Still, you can't say that,"
Lafitte moved his cane to the left and said politely, "If we find it, we should investigate.
If we don't, it's no big loss. After all, treasures mean little to us anymore."
At that moment, Kris folded his arms calmly and said, "Stay in the East Blue a few more days."
They had already spent some time here—Kris didn't want to waste more.
He turned and walked toward the training room.
The girls saw Kris leave and didn't want to linger either. They followed him, chatting and laughing as they went.
"Captain's gone to train—I'd better not slack off either."
Gin looked at Kris's back, a determined look on his tanned face as he walked out to start training.
Burgess patted Van Augur on the shoulder and laughed heartily, "You're kind of arrogant and messed up the ship's direction…
But I've got to admit, your marksmanship is crazy good!"
"I've never seen a better sharpshooter than you in my life! Wahahaha!"
Doc Q lounged in a chair, his eerie smile lingering, "What's so great about that? He's from the East Blue and hasn't even heard of Observation Haki."
Law glanced at Van Augur and said indifferently, "If he had Armament Haki, just one shot would pierce through even a Logia-type."
"You'd be dead, no doubt."
He lost interest after that and went off to train.
Hawkins put away his tarot cards, his tone grim: "Without Haki, no matter how accurate the aim, he's not strong."
He walked off to train too, muttering, "But if he masters Haki and combines it with his gun skills, he'll be extremely formidable."
Haki??
Van Augur was stunned by their words—he had no idea what that meant.
At this moment, only Lafitte was still with him.
With a rare look of curiosity on his normally stern face, Van Augur asked doubtfully: "Haki? What is that?"
"We'll explain it later—we've got a new member, so let's follow protocol first."
Lafitte spun his cane, smiling kindly, "Van Augur, welcome to the Kris Pirates."
"I'm the crew's vice-captain—Lafitte!"
Just as Lafitte was about to go on, Burgess shouted from the side:
"Lafitte! Can you stop bragging about being vice-captain? My ears are gonna fall off!"
Burgess looked at him helplessly, "You say that every time a new member joins—aren't you tired of it?"
Doc Q lay on the chair with his usual creepy grin, "Let him brag. His good days are numbered. I'm getting better and better with my Miasma Fruit.
Hehe… that vice-captain seat will be mine."
Law turned to Hawkins with his cold tone: "I think it's about time we showed what we've got. I'm planning to challenge them."
Hawkins was practicing Observation Haki. With his lifeless tone, he muttered, "Fine… doesn't matter when."
"When's the match?"
Law didn't answer. He turned to Lafitte, gripping his cursed blade Kikoku and said coldly:
"Lafitte, with more and more members joining, I suggest we hold a Division Captain Battle in a month."
"We need to establish proper ranks."
Burgess's eyes lit up with excitement as soon as he heard that.
"Hell yeah! It's about time we threw down!"
"But a whole month? That's too long! Let's just do it tomorrow!"
"My blood's already boiling! Wahahahaha…!"
Doc Q shook his head, coughed, and rejected the idea:
"No… my fruit's not ready yet. I need more time."
Gin continued his fierce punching practice and spoke with power:
"I agree with Trafalgar Law. One month is the perfect timeframe."
"By then, my strength will rise significantly—I'll definitely land a spot as 3rd Division Captain!"
"Give me three months, and the Vice-Captain position will be mine for sure!!"
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T/N:
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