~
"Crackle, crackle!"
Bolts of lightning lit up the night sky. In an instant, it seemed as if the sky had been split open, and fat raindrops poured down, ceaselessly washing over the Black Pearl's deck.
By then, the deck was completely deserted. Even Selena had been persuaded to go below and rest.
In the raging storm, even with the sails lowered and the ship moving slowly, the forty-meter-long Black Pearl was still like a toy tossed about by the great forces of nature. Towering waves hurled it up and down, and at any moment it might capsize or break apart from the violent pitching.
In the Age of Discovery, when sailors aboard wooden sailing ships encountered a storm at sea, it was sure to spell disaster—a struggle between life and death.
After all, a wooden hull was nowhere near as sturdy as steel, and the ship had no power of its own.
Amid the raging storm, Hao Shuai stood atop the mast, rocking with the enormous waves. He even bellowed, "Let the storm come harder!"
His tremendous roar carried far across the sea. Still not satisfied, Hao Shuai let out another especially over-the-top cry: "I'm going to be the man who becomes the Pirate King!!"
The moment he said it, Hao Shuai realized something was wrong. The Pirate King's man? Wouldn't that mean he'd have to go after other men?!
And this world had Nine Pirate Kings, too~~
At the thought, Hao Shuai shuddered and hurriedly shouted again, "I'm going to become the Great Emperor of Pirates!"
After indulging in his grandiose antics, Hao Shuai climbed down from the mast. Having had his fun, he put an arm around Selena and went to the captain's quarters to sleep...
The next day, once the storm had passed, the sky