Blood Skull Pirates

"Pirates!"

Seeing the pirate flag flying on the ship in the distance, Rocks' eyes widened.

"You don't have to tell me that. I know."

Mongge glanced at Rocks, thinking, You know they're pirates, but don't you know I'm a pirate too? I haven't even taken down the pirate flag on my ship yet.

"Rocks, come with me!"

Since he'd already decided to recruit Rocks, Mongge had no intention of treating him like an outsider.

"Can you steer a ship? Do you know how to read an Eternal Pose? You'll steer the ship in a moment, heading in the direction the Eternal Pose points. It's set to a small island, and we'll deal with those enemies there."

Mongge led Rocks to the helm, then tossed him a sphere containing a compass. On the seas of this world, you needed a compass called a Log Pose to find your bearings.

Some special compasses—like the one Mongge had tossed to Rocks—had needles that pointed permanently toward a particular island.

Rocks asked in confusion, "Why don't we deal with those guys at sea? With your strength, Captain, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"Are you an idiot?" Mongge rolled his eyes. "There are only two of us on board. If I go over there to deal with those guys and someone on their side has the same idea and comes over here, what are you going to do?"

This wasn't the East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, or South Blue—the starting point for pirates. This was the most chaotic sea in the entire pirate world: the New World!

What pirate who could survive here didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve?

If he got held up...

With Rocks' strength as it was now, the future Overlord of the Sea had only just set sail. He'd probably be cut down before he could make a name for himself.

Besides...

Even if Mongge could destroy their ship with Hagoku...

The range wasn't enough!

The farther Hagoku traveled, the more stamina it consumed.

They'd have to come closer on their own.

[Misfortunes never come singly. You just met the Overlord of the Sea, and now you've run into a down-and-out pirate crew that wants to crush a rookie's dreams.]

[The Blood Skull Pirates, an old-era remnant long since abandoned by the new age.]

[Don't worry. The captain of the Blood Skull Pirates is just an old man. With your strength, you have nothing to fear.]

[Defeat them. Overcome them!]

Mongge knew his system was an idiot, but he still almost lost it when he saw the information on the panel.

Blood Skull Farrell, with a bounty of 160 million.

In today's pirate world...

That was enough to make him a Great Pirate!

This wasn't like the future, when bounties of one or two billion were handed out at the drop of a hat.

Beli was still worth a lot in this era.

In terms of purchasing power, one Beli now was worth seven or eight times as much as one in the future, so bounties had to be multiplied accordingly.

If Mongge remembered correctly, the captain of the Blood Skull Pirates wasn't even fifty yet. In the pirate world, that was the prime of life.

And the system called him an old man?

Then what did that make Mongge?

A corpse?

As for why the Blood Skull Pirates were here...

He'd been betrayed.

Mongge wasn't surprised. In the world of pirates, betrayal was an everyday occurrence.

"Too bad you picked the wrong time."

In the distance.

The Blood Skull Pirates.

"Hahaha, White Wolf Moger! I finally found you!"

Dressed in a bright red coat, Blood Skull Farrell looked at the ship barely visible in the distance and burst into laughter.

"Hey, you there! You did a good job. Once I kill your old captain and get the treasure he's hidden away, the treasure's mine, and you can have that old hunk of junk!"

White Wolf Moger. What a grand name!

Farrell had heard of Moger even when he'd first set sail.

He was a big shot even the Marines couldn't handle!

Too bad.

Heroes grew old.

No matter how powerful a pirate was, he couldn't withstand the ravages of time.

And now...

He'd disbanded his pirate crew and set out alone to find a place to die.

There was no way it could be that easy.

He'd roamed the seas for decades, yet when he disbanded his crew, each person had only received ten million Beli. No wonder someone had been dissatisfied enough to find Farrell and leak Moger's whereabouts.

Farrell wouldn't have believed it either!

"Full speed ahead!"

Farrell shouted, "Gunners, get ready! Give me two rounds of cannon fire!"

At his words, the young man beside him panicked.

"Captain Farrell, this isn't what we agreed on!" The young man hurried forward. "Wasn't it agreed that the treasure from Captain Moger would be yours, and the ship would be mine?"

Moger's ship was already old, and he was the only fighter on board. If it took a few rounds of cannon fire, what if it sank?

"Hmm? Do you have a problem with my orders?"

At the young man's words, Farrell's eyes narrowed. An imposing aura, like the one he'd felt from his old captain Moger, bore down on him, turning his face pale.

The young man hurriedly shook his head. "N-no."

"Good!"

Farrell snorted.

"You said that old man can't use Haki anymore, but who knows if that's true? If we go straight over and the old man still has some strength left, he could injure my crew. As captain, I have to ensure my crew's safety!"

Farrell spoke with righteous conviction.

In truth, he didn't care whether his crew lived or died. But a man's reputation carried weight. Back when Moger had roamed the seas, Farrell had still been drinking milk.

Who knew what tricks the old man might still have up his sleeve?

Better to keep our distance and fire a few rounds, wearing down the old man's stamina.

White Wolf Moger was a Devil Fruit user.

A Devil Fruit gave those who ate it special abilities and awakened supernatural powers. The price, however, was that the sea rejected them, leaving them unable to swim.

If Moger didn't fend off the cannon fire and the ship sank, he'd be as good as dead!

Farrell's plan was ticking along perfectly, though he had no idea he was playing right into Mongge's hands.

"Looks like they won't come any closer just yet."

Mongge casually slashed apart the cannonballs flying toward them. Seeing the Blood Skull Pirates keeping their distance—close enough to keep on their tail, but never approaching—he pretended to be panting with exhaustion.

"But we're almost there, too."

An island was barely visible in the distance. Even if the Blood Skull Pirates suddenly picked up speed now, they'd reach the island before the enemy could come alongside.

"Captain, are you all right?"

Seeing Mongge panting, Rocks couldn't help asking.

He didn't want to serve as anyone's crewman, but he didn't dislike Mongge, either. Besides, Mongge had promised to teach him that powerful move that could split the sea.

Only now did Rocks remember that Mongge was just an old man.

No matter how strong an old man was, his stamina couldn't match what it had been when he was young. What the Blood Skull Pirates were doing now was wearing Mongge down.

"Oh? So you do care about people, kid?"

Mongge looked at Rocks and nodded with satisfaction.

"Since you know your captain is tired, how about doing me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Keep my old partner safe for me!"

"Huh?"

As soon as Mongge finished speaking, Rocks saw him leap off the ship.

Geppo!

Mongge stepped on the air, racing toward the island in the distance at several times the speed of the ship and leaving Rocks alone at the helm.

Rocks was stunned.

Another round of cannon fire came down.

With Mongge no longer there to block it, the old ship was riddled with holes.

On board, Rocks ran around wildly, ducking the cannonballs.

From far away, Mongge could still hear Rocks cursing at the top of his lungs.

"You damn old man, I'll—!"