"Hey, you over there!"
A gruff voice suddenly rang out. A few burly men followed it, striding up in front of Rod and the others.
"Looks like you got lucky. Your ship's still in pretty good shape."
The man at the front stood nearly three meters tall. He held a massive cleaver in his hand, and with muscles bulging all over his body, he looked imposing.
"But I've got my eye on your ship! Get all your people off it, or—"
Whoosh—
He swung the cleaver down hard. Its heavy blade struck the ground, making it tremble slightly. A huge crack spread from the point where the blade hit.
"—I'll do it myself and throw every last one of you into the sea!"
A strange look flashed through Nia's eyes.
She'd actually been threatened by another pirate.
"Hm?"
Rod raised an eyebrow slightly and looked over the people in front of him.
He didn't recognize them. They were just ordinary pirates.
But...
Sensing a furtive gaze, Rod looked past the burly man in front of him. A look of surprise flashed across his face.
On the ground not far behind the man, a hand had sprouted in a bizarre fashion. An eye in its palm was staring intently at Rod.
When Rod's gaze fell on it, a look of horror flashed in the eye. Then it suddenly turned into petals and disappeared.
On the pirate ship behind them, the black-haired woman's eyes widened. She felt as if her heart had stopped.
It was this pirate!
She was always good at gathering information, and recognized Rod in an instant.
And he'd spotted her immediately, too. He really was a formidable man!
What's more, from that look he'd given her, he knew who she was!
"What a remarkable coincidence."
Thinking back to