Annie (1)

"Does the Night Pirates' name have any special meaning?" Annie asked with a frown. She couldn't figure out what it had to do with Teach.

"Zeahaha! I can't tell you, but one day you'll understand. By then, I'll already be famous across the seas." Teach wasn't about to tell her. He laughed, leaving Annie's curiosity unsatisfied.

"Fine. What about your ship's name? There shouldn't be any requirements for that, right?" Annie asked, looking at Teach.

"Yeah. Any ideas? It's still early, but there's no harm in deciding on a name now." Teach smiled, giving Annie room to let her imagination run wild.

Annie thought it over, resting one hand beneath her chin. Her little head tilted to one side as she stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she looked at Teach. "I think it should suit your personality and the name of your pirate crew. The Fallen Angel, Lucifer, would fit your dark side. Or you could name it like the Roger Pirates did, the Twilight Black. Or you could name it after the ship's features and appearance, like the Whitebeard Pirates' Moby Dick. But I don't know what your ship will look like in the future."

Listening to the names she came up with, Teach nodded. "Those are all pretty good. I'll think about them."

"What's with all the questions? Are you thinking of going out to sea too?" Teach asked curiously.

"How would I go out to sea? With you? Hmph! I'm just afraid you wouldn't dare take me!" Annie smiled and stared at Teach, brimming with confidence. It was as if she had something to back her up.

"Zeahaha! My little princess, is there anyone who'd stop you from going to sea? Tell me, and I'll take care of them. Nobody on my ship will be able to touch you!" Teach declared confidently with a hearty laugh. He opened his mouth wide and took a bite out of half a cherry pie. One more bite, and he'd polished off the whole thing.

"Call me Queen!" Annie corrected him, full of confidence. She lifted her chest and held her head high.

"Zeahaha! All right, my Queen." Teach found it amusing and laughed, dipping his head slightly to show his respect.

Seeing him act that way, Annie's lips curled into a small smile. She seemed pleased with herself. After carefully checking that nobody nearby was paying attention, she leaned forward, covered her mouth with one hand, and whispered to Teach, "My dad's a Marine."

"Hm?" Teach froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Zeahaha! So what? He's just a Marine."

"He's a Vice Admiral."

"Pfft! Cough, cough!" Teach jolted. He'd just lifted his teacup of black tea to his lips, but he sprayed it out. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and turned his face, spitting the tea onto the glass beside him.

"What did you say? Did I hear that right?" Teach was startled and found it hard to believe. He pulled a tissue from the table and wiped the glass, now splattered with tea, before turning to look at Annie.

Annie had expected Teach to be shocked and found it quite amusing. She laughed. "What's wrong, Teach? Are you scared?"

There was no way Teach would let her scare him like that. He was just surprised. Still, the thought of making a Vice Admiral's daughter into a pirate was amusing.

"I'm not scared. He's just a Vice Admiral. But if you're the daughter of a high-ranking Marine, why weren't you taken to Marine Headquarters for protection?" Teach asked.

"I don't know." Annie shook her head. She was actually puzzled herself. "Dad's very busy and has to stay on this island. I hardly ever get to see him, and nobody knows we're related."

"Dad also told us not to let anyone know, because it could bring trouble," Annie said.

"How interesting. Your father must be Vice Admiral Anthony, who's stationed on Sess Island. It makes sense that he wouldn't want pirates to know. After sailing the seas all his life, he must have made plenty of enemies. If pirates who hated Anthony found out about you, they'd use you as leverage against him—or kill you just to make him suffer." A dangerous light flashed in Teach's eyes as he smiled.

"But if he doesn't even trust Marine Headquarters, now that's interesting. Seems there are problems inside the Marines after all. I can think of one reason for that."

"What reason?" Annie asked curiously.

"It has to do with former Admiral Zephyr." Teach had no reason to hide it. When it first happened, the whole world had been shocked. A little digging was all it took to learn about it. "After being struck by that incident, Zephyr resigned as an Admiral and became an instructor."

"Zeahaha! An Admiral's wife was killed by pirates right behind the Marine lines. Isn't that hilarious? You can't tell me there's nothing wrong inside the Marines." Teach laughed loudly. The more he thought about it, the more interesting he found the whole affair. "Vice Admiral Anthony must be in the same position. He may have enemies within the Marines. Stationed on the front lines of the New World, how could he leave his wife and daughter in the rear? He trusts his own strength more."

"How could that happen? The Marines..." Annie was incredulous, but she was a clever girl and quickly understood. Though she was a Vice Admiral's daughter, she lived on Sess Island in the New World. She hadn't grown up with the Marines' sense of justice. All she'd seen was that the strong came first.

"Haha, there's a lot to it. Differences in principle, all kinds of ideas about justice within the Marines—too many to count. They're divided into factions, which can broadly be grouped into three: the doves, the hawks, and the neutral faction. You understand what that means, right?" Annie nodded. She'd read plenty of books. "And there are also plenty of leeches in the Marines." Teach smiled. He'd personally seen a Marine Vice Admiral work with a pirate crew to make a fortune. How did he know? That pirate crew had been one of Whitebeard's affiliated crews.

"Even among Vice Admirals, there are two types. Some rise through the ranks on military merits, and there's plenty of room for those merits to be manipulated." Teach chuckled. "Others rise through a combination of strength and military merits. Vice Admiral Anthony must be one of those. You can't survive in the New World, surrounded by so many pirates, without tremendous strength."

Hearing Teach praise her father, Annie smiled. Her father had always treated her well and had quietly taken care of plenty of problems for her and her family. Thanks to Anthony, the area where they lived was very safe.

"Enough about that. If I join the pirate crew you're going to form, aren't you afraid my dad will punish you?" Annie asked with a smile.

"Zeahaha! Annie, if you dare come aboard, I dare take you in. If your dad shows up, I'll beat him up." Teach grinned and leaned closer to Annie's little face. "But if you're too weak, I won't let you join my crew."

"Hmph, I'm not weak. Dad trained me, and he said I have great talent. If you end up weaker than me, you'll have to join my crew instead. I'll decide the crew's name, the pirate flag, and the ship's name. Haha!" Annie looked at Teach with an excited smile.

"It's a deal. I'll become famous across the seas for sure. When I come back here, don't you dare go back on your word." Teach smiled and held out his hand.

Teach could tell that Annie's presence was not weak. Her father, Vice Admiral Anthony, had clearly paid a great deal of attention to her and laid a solid foundation for her training. He must have been afraid something might happen to him, so Annie would be able to protect herself.

"Hmph! It's a deal." Annie held out her little hand and placed it in Teach's. They shook on it.

"Teach, you should be free this afternoon, right?" Annie seemed to have an idea.

"Yeah. What is it?" Teach asked.

"Great! Then come play with me." Annie jumped excitedly out of her seat. "Wait here. I'm going to change."

Annie made up her mind and hurried off in a flurry. Teach had already finished his cherry pie. Annie didn't keep him waiting long. She soon came running back downstairs, having removed her blue bandana and tied her long brown hair back with a hair tie. She wore a black T-shirt with a white skull on it and white pants. The outfit looked cool and comfortable. She was only twelve, but her chest had already begun to develop.

"Mom, I'm going out to play!" Annie called to her mother, who was still working.

"All right. Come back early." Annie's mother came out when she heard her. She bowed to Teach, a gentle smile on her face. "Sorry for the trouble, but please keep Annie company. She can be a bit lively and may cause you a lot of trouble."

"Mom! Why would you say that? I'm very well-behaved!" Annie protested bashfully, her face turning red.

"Haha, I'll take good care of Annie. She's a very sweet girl!" Teach laughed heartily.

"This is the money for what I owe," Teach said, pulling out a handful of berries.

"That's too much, sir." Annie's mother could tell he'd given her far more than he owed.

"It's fine. I had a great time talking with Annie! Haha," Teach replied with a laugh.

"Then I'll leave her in your hands. I haven't seen Annie this happy in a long time." Annie's mother smiled and ruffled her hair. "Remember to come back early. Don't get too carried away playing."

"Okay!" Annie nodded, her eyes warm.

"Teach, let's go," Annie called to him and hurried outside.

"Haha!" Seeing her like that, he couldn't help laughing. He followed behind Annie like a doting father.

Outside the shop, a dozen or so boys stood in a corner, keeping an eye out for anyone suspicious near the dessert shop. At their head was a Snake-Head Tribe boy—or rather, a mixed-blood Snake-Head Tribe boy. His neck wasn't as long as that of a typical member of the tribe, but his features were still unmistakable.

Such a race was extremely rare in the first half of the Grand Line, also known as Paradise, and in the Four Blues. It was a rare race. In the New World, though not common, it wasn't unusual to encounter a few. There was a Snake-Head Tribe kingdom in the New World. Its population was far smaller than that of ordinary humans, but it still numbered in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million. The tribe was also very united, making it a formidable force.

There were plenty of people with mixed human and Snake-Head Tribe ancestry, too, but their position was awkward, and they were often shunned.

"Boss Mobius, Big Sis Annie's coming out!" A boy beside him spotted her and shouted to the boy at the head of the group, Mobius.

"Is that so?" Mobius, the Snake-Head Tribe boy, shouted when he heard. "Annie Guard, get ready! We're welcoming Big Sis Annie!"

"Yes!" "Yes!" they chorused.

Teach had just followed Annie outside when a dozen or so boys came running over. They stopped in front of the two of them, lined up neatly, then bowed.

"Greetings, Big Sis Annie!" they said in unison.

"Haha, this is interesting." Teach laughed. Annie looked exasperated and patted her forehead before explaining to him, "They're all orphans and little hooligans from the island. They used to steal money, so I taught them a lesson. After that, they formed this group. I couldn't get rid of them, so I let them stick around." Annie smiled. "But ever since they came along, fewer people have come looking for trouble, and the shop's business has improved."

As a large island in the New World, it was bound to have pirates. The Marines couldn't devote their attention to petty pirate crews, so there were always some small-time pirates causing trouble. Whenever something happened, the Annie Guard would rush over and beat up the troublemakers. As orphans and hooligans, they were used to fighting and weren't weak. They beat the troublemakers to a pulp every time, and gradually they made a name for themselves around here.

"Big Sis Annie is the best. She never looked down on us because of who we were. She gave us food and taught us how to work and earn money. The Annie Guard exists to protect Big Sis Annie, and we'll dedicate our lives to it." One of the boys started crying as he spoke, tears welling in his eyes. Some of the others were moved to tears as well.

The Snake-Head Tribe boy at the head stepped forward. "I've always tried my best to protect everyone, but I'm too weak. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't beat those hooligans. If Big Sis Annie hadn't saved me and helped us, we might have died a long time ago."

"Boss Mobius!" The other boys turned to him and cried out excitedly, tears streaming down their faces. Mobius had always been their leader. He was responsible, and before they met Annie, he'd borne the burden of keeping everyone alive. He'd fought the other hooligans on the island for resources and food, but because of their age, they lost more often than they won and were constantly bullied.

One day, when a hooligan was beating him up, Annie happened to see it. She knocked the hooligan down with her great strength and saved Mobius. After learning about the boys' circumstances, kindhearted Annie gave them a great deal of help.

Now, under Mobius's leadership, the boys had established themselves and formed the Annie Guard of their own accord.