"Pah, pah! Tell me, did we really have to come straight through the sea? Couldn't we have taken a boat?"
Jeremiah spat out seawater as he complained to the Tattooed Man beside him. After he told the Tattooed Man that he wanted to go to the island, the man had grabbed him and thrown him into the water, then dragged him all the way to shore.
Dragged was the right word. Jeremiah could swim, but once the Tattooed Man entered the sea, he moved like a fish, incredibly fast.
The man shot Jeremiah a warning glance and walked toward the island without saying a word.
Damn it, everyone who came out of the Sea God Temple was insane. There was no talking sense into them.
It had happened several times before when they collected sea taxes. Problems that could have been solved with a few threats and scares always ended up in a fight.
He had no idea why the Governor wanted to cooperate with these people. Though, to be fair, they really could fight. Jeremiah stared darkly at the Tattooed Man, wondering how he would deal with these lunatics once he became a pirate lord, when the man suddenly rushed at him and pinned him to the ground.
"I didn't—mmph..."
Before Jeremiah could finish, the Tattooed Man clamped a hand tightly over his mouth. His body was pressed to the ground, leaving him unable to move. All he could do was widen his eyes and stare at the Tattooed Man in terror.
The Tattooed Man's expression was unusually grave. His gaze remained fixed ahead, and his ears twitched slightly, as though he were listening for something.
Though Jeremiah was filled with anger and confusion, seeing how tense the man was, he did not dare struggle anymore. He could only