Pirates: How Many Divisions Do the Five Elders Have? The Flame-Flame Fruit-Even a () Wouldn't Eat It

Lieutenant Nezumi, who was only half a meter from where Santini had landed, stared in horror, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

The brat he had casually picked out to lead the way and extorted was actually a monster like this?

Damn it!

He had this kind of strength, yet he had still let his superior be tortured by pirates and even have both legs broken!

This guy had to be a treacherous schemer, a destabilizing element on the seas!

Nezumi resolved that once he returned to the branch, he would make a thorough complaint about this unruly civilian who showed no respect for his superior and disregarded the safety of a Marine elite!

Ma Qiao naturally had no idea what Lieutenant Nezumi was thinking.

He didn't have Observation Haki as ridiculously powerful as Enel's.

But even if he did, Ma Qiao had no interest in hearing what a dying fool was thinking.

The only thing worth complaining about was that Santini had been far too gentle.

Ignoring Lieutenant Nezumi, who was doing his best to suppress his hatred and curry favor with him, Ma Qiao slowly walked over to Santini.

By then, the free trio had wiped out the remaining pirates and piled their bodies together.

Blood spilled from Santini's mouth, and his breathing began to grow faint.

In the end, Santini was neither the protagonist of a hot-blooded manga nor the protagonist's destined rival, so he didn't have the skill to do sit-ups.

Ma Qiao's punch had shattered Santini's skull and broken his spine, and Santini's life was about to end.

"Impressive, hunter brat!"

There was none of Santini's usual brutality on his face now. A hint of reminiscence appeared, as though he were looking back on his not particularly long life.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"I've always believed that if you want to live long on the seas, you have to keep a trump card hidden."

"That's why I've never let the outside world know I had a Devil Fruit ability, and I didn't want to attract too high a bounty, either."

"Kid, you hid even deeper than I did, and you had more cards in your hand... You had the last laugh..."

"I suppose."

Ma Qiao neither agreed nor disagreed with that assessment.

You thought a single card was enough to one-shot me?

Even if the Buddha himself came, he couldn't do it.

"And your subordinates are even more outstanding..."

Santini glanced at Garen and the others, his eyes full of envy. "If only they were my subordinates..."

Ma Qiao shook his head. "You couldn't afford to keep them."

Santini froze.

He was a master saver with four million Beli in the bank, one of the few captains in the pirate trade who knew how to budget carefully. How could he possibly be unable to afford three senior officers?

Pirates didn't even have to buy houses...

Of course, aside from places like Mary Geoise, housing prices in the pirate world weren't particularly high anyway.

After all, a house without public safety or supporting infrastructure was just a concrete shell. It wasn't worth much.

Ma Qiao didn't explain any further to the puzzled Santini.

Tell him it costs over a hundred million Beli to level up and equip these money-guzzling beasts?

Forget it. He'd die with his eyes open.

"One last thing..."

Santini's breathing grew fainter. "It's... it's..."

"Do you want to ask where Laqiuba is?" Ma Qiao finished for him.

"Yes!"

Santini nodded slightly. "Big Brother Laqiuba saved my life. It might sound a little ridiculous, but hunter brat, I want to ask you a favor. If you ever meet Big Brother Laqiuba one day, could you tell him for me... Karen Santini will never forget his kindness..."

By the end, Santini was shouting with almost all the strength he had left.

Ma Qiao was silent for a long time before he finally nodded. "I'll remember."

"That's wonderful!" Santini looked relieved.

"Santini."

"Hmm?"

"If—and I mean if—you were given a chance, would you be willing to leave the sea, give up your power, and become an ordinary worker?"

"Ah, a worker?"

The look of reminiscence on Santini's face deepened.

"My father was a remarkable repairman...

"If the town hadn't fallen into disaster because it couldn't pay the Heavenly Tribute...

"Maybe I would've been a decent worker too...

"If you'd asked me that thirty years ago...

"I would've gladly nodded...

"But now...

"How can a shark that's tasted blood still be content in a pond..."

Santini's final burst of vitality faded, leaving a faint bitter smile, a trace of confusion, and a hint of relief on his face...

But as he lay dying, he suddenly felt a slight coolness on his lips.

A drop of bright red liquid landed on his rough lips.

"Is it blood?"

Santini opened his eyes and was surprised to find that the liquid seemed to contain abundant life force.

But one drop was far too little.

"You can't die yet. Free stuff! Ah, no, Penguin secret technique: Sharingan!"

Ma Qiao stared fixedly at Santini, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

Then he sighed.

"Failed again... The success rate is way too low... But I really want that ability..."

"Oh, right. You can die now, Mr. Santini."

Ma Qiao spoke earnestly as he put away the Health Potion in his hand.

"I think... I can still be

...saved..."

Santini's eyes widened, and he died with his eyes open.

Ma Qiao's Health Potion actually could have saved Santini.

But as he had said, how many people accustomed to a life full of slaughter and blood could return to an ordinary life?

But...

If not for the twisted Celestial Dragon system, how could so many people have been forced into a life on the knife's edge?

Rampant piracy was only the surface of this world; the root of its rot lay in the top-level design of its political system...

This fucking Great Pirate Era!

Ma Qiao shook his head, reached out to close Santini's eyes, and silently stepped aside.

Garen walked over and used the summoner skill [Ignite] on Santini's corpse.

As the leader, Ma Qiao naturally wouldn't use either of his two summoner skill slots for an offensive skill like [Ignite].

Unless there were special circumstances, Ma Qiao usually carried the classic carry combination of [Flash] and [Barrier]. Once he learned a movement skill later on, he might switch to something else.

Looking at it now, that caution had been necessary.

That great pirate, who had launched a sudden attack and hidden his strength so deeply, had come very close to breaking [Courage]'s Barrier and forcing Ma Qiao to use both summoner skills.

That was far too dangerous!

Ma Qiao had decided that from now on, he could never underestimate any opponent.

He had to adopt the assumption principle and assume that every opponent had a trump card powerful enough to threaten him!

Unlike Ma Qiao, who carried two life-saving summoner skills, the free trio had made much more aggressive choices.

Aside from Ashe, who carried [Ghost] and [Heal], the other two both carried [Teleport] and [Ignite], making it convenient to destroy the bodies and erase the traces afterward.

In short, the same old saying applied.

The Flame-Flame Fruit—even a () wouldn't eat it...

Ma Qiao shook his head.

Come to think of it, Ace probably hadn't eaten that fruit nobody wanted yet. If Ma Qiao ran into him, should he try to talk him out of it?

Ma Qiao fell into deep thought...