Hunting at Sea

After taking down Cyclops Buck, Doflamingo had reaped a bountiful harvest.

Setting aside the intangible approval of his superiors and the training camp slot he had already been destined to obtain, the rewards he received and his promotion to Lieutenant Commander alone had benefited him greatly.

Even Bounty Hunters could claim bounties after killing pirates, so the legitimate Navy naturally would not fare any worse.

Although the monetary reward was only half of what a Bounty Hunter received, the remainder was converted into merit, which could be exchanged for many rewards exclusive to the Navy.

These included all kinds of fine weapons such as Grade Swords and Great Grade Swords, explanations of numerous cultivation techniques, and even various Devil Fruits. The Navy had a relatively abundant stockpile of them.

Unfortunately, Doflamingo had prepared such things long ago when he had been a Celestial Dragon, so they were of little use to him.

However, the divine weapons in his collection were at least Great Grade Swords. Using them with his current status would be rather conspicuous.

As for the ordinary sword he had been holding, it had now turned into an embroidery needle. Even after he killed Buck, it had not reverted.

Therefore, this time, he chose a Grade Sword with his merit.

After reading through the Navy's internal reward catalog, he immediately picked out a Grade Sword named "Chidori." As for the reason, naturally, it was because he had watched Naruto and had a deep impression of that name.

The weapon arrived quickly, just one day later. Doflamingo suspected that the Navy must have some Devil Fruit ability users capable of transporting goods, or else the speed would have been far too fast.

Besides the weapon, after being promoted to Lieutenant Commander, Doflamingo also gained the authority to sail out directly and could even serve as the captain of certain small warships.

In theory, the Navy branch in Water 7 had an obligation to patrol the surrounding waters and strike at pirates. In reality, however, pirates capable of sailing the Grand Line were almost impossible for a Navy branch to handle alone. One misstep could even result in them being wiped out instead.

Therefore, in the first half of the Grand Line, the ones truly pursuing pirates were the Navy bases. The Navy branches on each island were only responsible for maintaining local security.

But Doflamingo naturally had no desire to waste more time on the island. After discovering how to use his cheat, he now wanted every moment to absorb the souls of powerful people and increase his strength.

Although Buck's soul had been absorbed by his cheat, Buck's attainments in Observation Haki and Armament Haki were actually inferior even to Doflamingo's.

And while Buck had developed his Devil Fruit ability quite well, Doflamingo had no way to learn it. Therefore, his soul had merely made Doflamingo slightly more proficient with Haki and had not brought any major changes to his strength.

Under such circumstances, Doflamingo only trained on the island for another month or two before setting out to sea for his own hunt.

On the sea, a small warship with just over twenty men sailed quietly onward.

On the deck, Doflamingo gripped the Grade Sword Chidori and practiced his swordsmanship.

When Doflamingo had first chosen swordsmanship, it had only been to develop his combat power as quickly as possible. After all, when one was weak, the side with a weapon held an absolute advantage.

Moreover, because swordsmanship was so widespread, its inheritance could be said to be the most complete. That was why he had chosen it as his primary means of combat.

However, after obtaining Ye Gucheng's lingering soul obsession, Doflamingo could feel that his talent for swordsmanship was increasing day by day. Though he was still under thirteen, he could already be called a swordsman master.

After drifting at sea for several months, Doflamingo had also cut down quite a few pirates. Their cultivation experience had further advanced his strength.

"Lieutenant Commander Steve, we've spotted a Pirate ship ahead!"

"What Pirate Crew is it?" Doflamingo casually picked up a towel beside him and wiped himself down, then gulped down a bottle of soda before speaking.

What satisfied Doflamingo most about the Pirate World was its food and drink. The culinary standards here were in no way inferior to those of the modern Earth he had come from, while the ingredients were more than ten times as plentiful.

Just like now—despite being nothing more than the age of sail, they had already invented soda.

"It seems to be the Iron Fist Pirates. Their Captain is the Iron Fist Warrior, Goriki, who has a bounty of eighty-six million!"

"Pfft—! Cough, cough!" Doflamingo sprayed out a mouthful of soda. "What the hell? The Iron Fist Pirates? Aren't they afraid Vice Admiral Garp will punch their heads clean off for daring to use that name?"

The soldier who had been sprayed in the face wore a helpless expression. Why are you asking a mere Navy soldier a question like that? Where would I find the answer?

Doflamingo waved his hand. He was already speechless at how freakish pirates could be.

Although he greatly admired Goriki's courage in daring to use that name, Doflamingo felt that Goriki would not live long enough to receive the iron fist of Navy Hero Garp.

"Bring the ship closer. Since they dared to call themselves that, let me test their strength." After wiping his mouth, Doflamingo immediately gave the order.

"Yes, Lieutenant Commander Steve!" The Navy men obeyed at once and pursued the Pirate ship.

Those who followed Doflamingo out to strike pirates were all among the more aggressive members of the Navy, and their skills were certainly not weak.

In addition, this small warship of just over twenty men was itself far faster than an ordinary large vessel. Very soon, Doflamingo saw the Pirate ship ahead.

At the same time, the Pirate ship spotted the warship as well.

"Boss, boss, it's the Navy! The Navy's here again!" A plump ball of flesh shouted as he ran into the cabin of the Pirate ship.

Inside the cabin, a muscular man was exercising by lifting a barbell with one hand. At those words, delight immediately appeared on his face.

"Ohohohoho! Finally, opponents have come again. Now I can have a good fight!" As he spoke, the muscular man casually tossed the barbell aside. It landed with a thunderous crash, shaking the entire ship several times.

"Men! Full speed ahead! We're charging at them too!"

While shouting, the muscular Goriki could no longer restrain his fighting spirit and rushed straight onto the deck.

Both ships wanted to close in on the other, so their approach was naturally incredibly fast. Moreover, both sides tacitly refrained from firing their cannons.

When less than a hundred meters remained between the two vessels, Goriki, standing on the deck, could no longer hold himself back. With a roar, he leaped forward like a cannonball toward the warship. The bow of the entire Pirate ship was pressed several feet beneath the water by his jump, rocking so violently that the pirate lackeys nearly lost their footing.