The Golden Lion Pirates

"Ahhh!!"

Blood splattered across Louis's face. The blade in his hand wasn't very sharp, but with Louis's immense strength behind it, he could still sever his opponent's arm with a single strike.

"Hey! What are you doing, rookie?"

The blade flashed, and the still-screaming man's head flew into the air. "Wouldn't it be easier to aim for the neck?"

"Ha ha ha! Don't worry about it, Baro."

Wearing steel gloves on both hands, with ten sharp, pointed fingertips that could easily pierce a person's body, Rhode could tear someone apart with his immense strength. That was where his title, the Ripper, came from. He roared with laughter. "This is Mario's first time killing someone, after all! Take your time. Being a pirate isn't just about romantic adventures. Bloodshed and slaughter are part of it too! Ha ha ha! If you want to be a pirate, you have to learn that!"

"Ah, understood."

Louis curled his lips into a slightly forced smile. "Of course, of course!!!"

"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!!"

His blade flashed rapidly, and several guards charging at him were killed in an instant. He wasn't particularly skilled with a sword, but Louis had at least been the top student in his combat classes, and his basic swordsmanship was still exceptionally polished. These weak guards were easy prey.

Doing business in the New World was truly difficult. Luck was especially important. Without it, this was the kind of misfortune that could happen.

The guards aboard the merchant ship were soon wiped out. This was the first time Louis had killed so many people. They were supposed to be government subordinates, yet they had followed their superiors' orders and done something so thoroughly against the government.

Louis could do nothing about it.

"Ha ha ha ha!! What a haul!!!"

Of course, the cargo merchants risked their lives to transport wasn't cheap. Most of it consisted of local specialties from various islands. They might not look like much, but they were actually worth a great deal. There was also a small amount of treasure, which added up to a fortune. This time, they'd struck it rich.

"Let's throw a banquet!!!"

Rhode shouted.

For pirates, throwing a banquet was perfectly ordinary. They held banquets when they were sad and when they were happy. That was just the pirate way.

"Hey, Mario, why aren't you drinking?"

Rhode, his face flushed, slung an arm around Louis's shoulders. Seeing Louis stuffing his face instead of drinking, he laughed. "How can you not drink when you're a pirate?"

As a pirate captain, Rhode was undoubtedly qualified. In the battle just now, he'd taken a blade for his men several times—though none of the blows had hurt him.

He was a good leader who cared about his men, and he was just as capable when it came to killing. He never hesitated to kill.

"No, Captain, uh, I..."

Louis licked his lips, hesitating a little. He smiled wryly. "I don't feel like drinking right now."

"Ha ha ha, Captain, don't force him!"

First Mate Baro pulled Rhode away, laughing loudly. "All rookies are like that. He'll get used to it after a few more times!"

"Ha ha ha ha!! Loosen up, Mario!"

Rhode laughed along. "This is only natural for a pirate! Killing, robbing, winning! Then celebrating at a banquet and looking forward to the next fight! That's what being a pirate is all about!!"

That did seem to be what a proper pirate was like.

Of course, Louis wasn't drinking partly because the weight of having killed so many innocent people was weighing on him. But the bigger reason was that he couldn't afford to get drunk.

His face didn't really look like this. Louis's original face was much more handsome and youthful.

He'd used Life Return to master control over the muscles in both arms at the training camp. Rather than moving on to other important parts of his body, Louis had chosen to focus on his facial muscles. The ability to change his appearance at will would surely prove useful in his upcoming missions.

So even without the excellent makeup skills he'd learned from Cipher Pol, Louis had made his disguise as Mario flawless by controlling his muscles and skin. But if he got drunk, he'd lose control of Life Return, and his face would change in an instant. That would expose him.

Even when he slept, Louis wrapped himself tightly in his blanket and stayed intensely alert. If he was exposed, death was the only outcome. He probably couldn't beat Rhode, whose bounty exceeded one hundred million and who had mastered two types of Haki.

The banquet lasted late into the night, but that worked out perfectly for Louis. He didn't need much sleep; around four hours a day was enough.

He rested while the pirates celebrated. By the time the banquet ended, Louis was already exercising on the deck.

Whether as a pirate or as a member of Cipher Pol, having great strength was important. Besides, Louis felt that cultivating an image of himself working hard to grow stronger in front of Rhode would be beneficial.

Just as he expected.

"Wow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! My head hurts!"

Rhode had come out in the middle of the night to relieve himself. Seeing Louis doing push-ups, drenched in sweat, he exclaimed, "Wow! Mario, you little rascal, you're still training at this hour?"

"Now that I've gone to sea, I have to get stronger!"

Louis didn't even raise his head. "I hope that one day I'll be strong enough for you to rely on me, Captain!"

"Ha ha ha, you rascal..."

Rhode's headache vanished in an instant, and he burst out laughing. "Good! Very good! That's excellent, Mario! You really were born to be a pirate!"

"By the way, Captain..."

Louis lifted his head. "How did you do that in the battle today? The move where your arm turned black and blocked the swords—that was amazing. What was it?"

"Oh? You noticed? Ha ha ha, surprised, huh, kid? Even though you're in the New World, this is still the first time you've seen it, right?"

Rhode raised his eyebrows teasingly. "That ability is called Haki! It's a power hidden inside everyone's body! Even ordinary people like us can use it to fight Devil Fruit Users!"

"Haki?"

Louis did his best to make his face look astonished. "I see! Can I learn it too? Captain, could you teach me?"

"Oh? Interested in Haki? Ha ha ha, then let's see what you can do, kid."

Rhode spoke seriously. "Not everyone can learn this ability!! Even Baro only knows a little of the basics of Armament Haki."

See? Wasn't this an unexpected reward?

Time passed. It was now ten days after Louis had joined Rhode's ship, and the pirate ship had reached a certain stretch of sea.

"What... what is that!!"

Louis's expression was exaggerated, but he really was astonished inside. "A-a Sky Island??"

An island lay ahead, out on the sea.

Above the sea—more than a thousand meters up in the air—a huge island floated. It was at least ten kilometers in diameter, far from a small island.

"Ha ha ha ha!! Surprised, Mario?"

Captain Rhode laughed loudly. "We've arrived! The Golden Lion Pirates!!"