You Two-I'm Taking Both of You!

"Wait."

But Will didn't get his wish.

He turned his gaze to Carina, who was preparing to leave on her own, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. His tone left no room for refusal.

"I think you're pretty impressive too. You're a rare talent."

"And I need people like you on my ship."

"So I'm taking both of you!"

"Eh?!" Carina stopped in her tracks, the bright smile on her face freezing in place.

Seeing Will say that, Nami's smile reappeared at once. She hurriedly piled on the praise.

"That's right, that's right. Carina really is amazing."

"You can tell from what happened with Treasure. She clearly knows a lot of things even I don't."

"And information is incredibly important out at sea."

Seeing Nami seize the chance to fan the flames from the sidelines, Carina understood that there was clearly no way she could leave on her own now.

So she walked back over to Nami, reached out and "gently" squeezed her shoulder, then "thanked" her with a beaming smile.

"Thanks so much for the compliment, Little Thief Cat!"

Feeling the faint pressure on her shoulder, Nami's eye twitched. Not to be outdone, she reached over and squeezed Carina's shoulder too, smiling as she said,

"Don't mention it. I should be thanking you too, Female Fox!"

The two women stared wide-eyed at each other, then pressed their heads together and began pushing against one another.

Even Will, standing nearby, was temporarily ignored.

But Will paid no attention to what was happening between the two women.

His gaze suddenly shifted to a pirate lying motionless on the ground not far away. His voice was cool, with a hint of chill.

"All right, get up."

"I've let you remain in this world for a few extra minutes. That was the last kindness I'll show you."

The man lay completely still.

He had even tried to keep his breathing as quiet as possible, but he still couldn't escape Will's perception.

"Eh? Someone's still alive?!"

Carina and Nami pulled their foreheads apart and stared in surprise in the direction Will was looking.

A bald pirate lay on the ground over there, still not moving after Will spoke.

"Looks like you don't want to leave with your dignity intact."

Will spoke expressionlessly as he slowly walked toward him.

"In that case, I'll help you leave with dignity."

At that moment, the bald pirate lying on the ground, who should have been dead already, heard clear footsteps approaching from behind. His heart immediately began to race, and his breathing grew increasingly ragged.

Realizing that playing dead wouldn't work, and seeing the man who seemed like a demon steadily drawing closer, the bald pirate couldn't withstand the immense pressure. He finally rolled over and sat up, then screamed at Will as he approached.

"Y-You! Don't come any closer!"

Seeing that Will paid him no mind, the bald pirate hurriedly braced himself against the ground with both hands and kept scooting backward, shouting in terror,

"You can have all the treasure those two women stole! It's all yours!"

"And all the treasure aboard the ship by the shore! You can have it all! I don't want anything! Just spare my life!"

Hearing this, Will frowned and couldn't help reprimanding him.

"Fool. If I kill you, the treasure will still be mine."

The bald pirate froze. He realized that what Will said seemed right, and, already terrified, he couldn't think of anything to argue back with.

Shave!

Seeing that the man had stopped so obediently, kindhearted Will decided not to keep him in suspense any longer. He flashed straight to the man's side.

Thud!

Then Will swung a punch, sending him to the ground without any pain, where he peacefully passed away in an instant.

After taking care of the last pirate who had played dead, Will slowly turned back to the two women standing not far away.

When Nami and Carina saw Will looking their way, they hurriedly put on what they each thought were their sweetest smiles.

Their bodies tensed instinctively, and their eyes were filled with "loyalty."

Will watched them with interest for a while before speaking.

"All right, hurry up and lead the way."

"Let's have a look at these pirates' ship and the treasure aboard it."

"Treasure!"

At that word, the tension in Carina and Nami's hearts eased considerably, replaced by a little anticipation.

The three of them left the pirates lying on the ground alone.

Nami and Carina took the lead, guiding Will toward the shore.

They soon reached the coast.

A medium-sized pirate ship sat quietly not far from shore.

Several pirates were still aboard keeping watch. They leaned against the side of the ship, leisurely drinking and chatting.

They didn't seem worried in the slightest that any enemies might show up.

Will was just about to make a move.

But Nami and Carina ran over first and quickly climbed aboard using the ladder.

Working together, the two of them easily took care of the pirates.

A look of satisfaction flashed in Will's eyes as he slowly walked over to the ship.

Then he leaped up and landed directly on the pirate ship's deck.

Watching the two women tie up four pirates, Will couldn't help saying,

"Looks like if that guy with the chains hadn't been there, you two wouldn't have been forced to flee to this island."

Nami pulled the rope tight, stood up, and dismantled her staff into three sections, tucking them into the back of her waistband. A proud smile tugged at her lips.

"Of course. I've been out on the sea alone all these years. If I couldn't defend myself at all, I'd have been buried at sea long ago."

"Wahaha." Carina, who was unarmed, smiled too. Folding her arms across her chest, she said with confidence,

"To be honest, even if I hadn't run into you just now, I probably could've found a chance to escape their pursuit."

"After all, I'm no delicate little girl. I have plenty of ways and tricks up my sleeve."

As she spoke, she glanced at Nami and smiled faintly.

"Of course, I can't guarantee this one would've been safe."

"Hmph." Hearing that, Nami put her hands on her hips and replied with a hint of sarcasm,

"Female Fox, what's the point of bragging after the fact? I could just as easily say I could've gotten both of us out of there."

"Wahaha, that's true."

Carina didn't bother arguing further. She smiled helplessly.

"The fact is, he rescued both of us, and we both 'voluntarily' became his crew members."

Will stood by the side of the ship, quietly listening to the two women chat without joining in.

He didn't feel the least bit displeased by what Carina had said.

After all, in the original story, she really had found an opportunity to escape by using a few tricks, and had even saved Nami along the way.

Those were also among the reasons he'd chosen to keep Carina with him.

Her quick wits and talent for gathering information might come in handy for him at some point in the future.