The Eerie Unmanned Ship

"When I first unlocked them, the notes mentioned that the power of these blades hadn't been fully developed yet?"

Noah sat cross-legged at the stern of the boat, suddenly recalling this detail. He opened his system panel, located the newly appeared weapon tab, and clicked on the attribute descriptions for his two swords.

[Wind Sword/Yone's Sword]

[Current Level: Ryo Wazamono (Level description automatically adjusted to match the player's current worldview)]

[Upgradeable (Next Level: Wazamono)]

[Upgrade Requirements: Blood of the Sinful*1000, 50,000 points]

[Description: When they returned from the spirit realm to the mortal world, the demonic aura wandering the earth became the best nourishment for the blades. So-called sinful souls can only find true redemption beneath these swords.]

"So they really can be upgraded."

Noah looked at the information, lost in thought. "Although the cost is a bit high, the fact that they can grow is a good thing. There's no visible cap at the moment; perhaps after reaching Wazamono, there's a chance to upgrade to the Saijo O Wazamono level?"

In the world of pirates, the top-tier swords are ranked from top to bottom: the twelve Saijo O Wazamono, the twenty-one Wazamono, and the fifty Ryo Wazamono.

The Saijo O Wazamono are treasures truly rare to find in this world.

As far as Noah knows, only the "Yoru" belonging to the world's greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, and the massive blade named "Murakumogiri" wielded by Whitebeard fall into this category.

"Saijo O Wazamono..." Noah gazed at the fiery clouds on the horizon, his eyes filled with longing.

To upgrade, he would have to set aside a portion of his points for this in the future. But how exactly is the "blood of the sinful" judged?

Reaching Wazamono requires 1,000 portions of the blood of the sinful. Noah wasn't entirely sure if he needed to kill a thousand people with his own hands, or if simply defeating them and letting the blades touch their blood would suffice.

The former was too bloody and extreme, sounding more like a trait belonging to a cursed blood-sacrifice weapon. Noah looked at the red and white blades in his hand and felt that the latter was far more likely.

"Heh, this makes me look forward to the practical assessment even more."

As long as he could make it in time, he could verify his current strength, improve his stagnant ranking, and accumulate some sinful blood to prepare for future weapon upgrades.

It was like killing three birds with one stone, and these were some very big birds at that.

At dinner time, Noah didn't really want to keep eating canned food. After rummaging through the galley for a long time, he found that the variety of seasonings was actually quite complete.

So, he excitedly caught a few sea fish, thinking that grilling fish on a small boat in the middle of the ocean under a brilliant starry sky would be quite an atmospheric experience.

Unfortunately, reality and fantasy are always two different things.

His cooking skills were abysmal. The final product was a disaster; it no longer looked like fish, and the taste was even harder to describe.

After barely finishing half a fish between himself and T Bone, Noah didn't want to touch it again. He pushed the grill away in disgust and scurried off to the cabin to open a can.

T Bone, being an honest kid, felt bad about the leftover grilled fish and ended up finishing the rest. Less than twenty minutes later, his expression changed drastically, and he bolted for the cabin's head, transforming into a human jet.

When he came out, his legs were weak.

"Don't blame me for this!"

Noah tossed him a can, arguing that it was because he came from a naval family and had been training hard since childhood, leaving him no time to practice cooking.

If he had started in a different beginner zone, like the Baratie, he, Romanov Noah, would surely have been a magnificent chef!

The subsequent voyage remained smooth; they didn't encounter any extreme weather or ocean storms.

Compared to the Grand Line, the Four Blues were relatively calm and safe.

Noah continued his high-intensity hellish training, even testing what it felt like to go without sleep at night. The next day, he was still full of energy, proving that with his current monstrous physique, resting once every three days was perfectly feasible.

In the blink of an eye, it was night again. After T Bone studied the nautical chart and the Log Pose, he happily told Noah that their speed was faster than originally expected.

There was only a short stretch of the journey left to Citrus Island; they would arrive in at most four or five hours.

This was an unexpected joy. Noah finally stopped his training and decided to take a good rest, recharging his batteries to face the pirate officers on the island in peak condition.

--Assuming they hadn't already been wiped out by Shiryu and the others.

However, he had barely dozed off before T Bone shook him awake.

"What is it?" Noah asked, opening his eyes groggily. "Are we there?"

"No, Mr. Noah." T Bone's expression was tense as he pointed into the distance. "At five o'clock, it looks like there's a pirate ship heading our way."

Hm?

Noah was instantly alert. He flipped up, jumped to the railing, and looked in the direction T Bone was pointing.

Through the hazy sea mist, he could indeed vaguely see a medium-sized ship flying a black pirate flag, slowly sailing toward them along the ocean current.

"Head toward them!"

Noah's eyes lit up, and he immediately issued the order, even though his only subordinate was one person:

"What arrogant pirates! Not only do they not run when they see our navy ship, but they actually dare to come right at us. We must show them what we're made of!"

Uh, Mr. Noah, I don't think we're on a navy ship...

It was clearly just a small speedboat that could carry at most five or six people...

T Bone felt a bit of a headache, nearly unable to suppress his urge to retort, but he ultimately nodded and executed the order without a word.

He had a natural, deep trust in Noah, such a "big shot from Headquarters," and after spending the last two days together, just by observing Noah's hellish training, the young man could see that the strength of the person before him was truly terrifying.

--At the very least, there wasn't a single person in the entire 329th Branch stronger than him.

The two ships drew closer and closer, soon reaching a distance where the situation on the deck could be clearly seen with the naked eye.

"Something's not right..."

Noah scrutinized the pirate ship, his brows gradually furrowing.

Even at this distance, the pirate ship showed no intention of opening fire, and the deck was deathly silent; looking from afar, one couldn't spot a single shadow, making it feel rather eerie and sinister.

The speed was also outrageously slow, as if it were merely drifting with the sea breeze, with no sign of anyone at the helm steering the ship.

"Do you recognize that pirate flag?" he asked, pointing to the top of the mast.

The black flag fluttered in the wind, and the skull depicted on it had no distinguishing features other than wearing a black hat.

T Bone stared carefully for a long time before finally shaking his head in shame:

"I don't recognize it, sir. Although I've been enlisted for two years, I've spent most of my time on physical training and rarely bother to memorize the flags of pirate crews..."

"I see."

Though slightly disappointed, Noah understood. After a moment of thought, he commanded: "Let's go, bring the ship alongside. We'll board it together to take a look."

I didn't manage to write last night; I'm getting old and can't handle staying up late anymore. I have a headache, so consider this one chapter owed.

PS: Thanks to Ancestor of the Wolf King for the 10,000-coin tip, and to Mo Yu Ning and Serious Yet Cowardly and Fine Alone for their 5,000-coin tips;

Thanks to Little Nine-Tailed Fox Who Loves Reading, A Bookworm Facing a Book Drought, and Book Friend 20200519185655503 for their 1,500-coin tips;

And thanks to Holding a Blade of Grass, The Sow in Your Backyard, Your Sunshine na, Book Friend 20200222142843323, Book Friend 150827222652299, Messed Up Where Did My Pants Go, and other readers for their tips and support~

The custom is to add a chapter for a 10,000-coin tip. I currently owe four chapters, plus the one from last night makes five. I will definitely release a massive update after the book launches to pay off my debts to you all.