El Drago, the Sly Thief?

Before long, the swordsman Gollas dragged El Drago back up, though there were no large planks left on the sea surface suitable for support.

El Drago could only sprawl across a piece of driftwood, but with his body from the chest down still submerged in seawater, he was sapped of all strength. He barely had the energy to cling to the wood, let alone curse anyone.

Daddy stood at the stern, which had been blown open by the Impact Barrier. He didn't call out any recruitment offers, simply continuing to watch silently as El Drago and his pirates soaked in the sea.

Zoro watched Daddy's tactics with interest. Holding a bottle of liquor, he sat on the railing on the other side of the pirate ship's wreckage, mirroring Kuro, drinking and observing.

Time ticked by bit by bit.

It was unclear whether El Drago was too weak to speak or if he would rather die than beg for mercy, but he remained sprawled on the wood, silent.

Meanwhile, some of the pirate underlings had been soaking for so long that they were shivering uncontrollably. If this continued, they would sink into the sea on their own, without even needing sea beasts to attack them.

The swordsman Gollas was also conflicted. Getting stuck with such a hot-headed captain was truly a stroke of bad luck!

However, since the captain hadn't begged for mercy, he couldn't bring himself to surrender either. Doing so would invite contempt from both friend and foe; the opposing captain might despise him, and his own captain would certainly loathe him.

Still, when his physical strength reached its limit, being despised was a small price to pay—staying alive was what mattered most!

Daddy hadn't expected this brute to be so stubborn; a Devil Fruit user had managed to hold on in the sea for this long.

However, the blood from the injured pirates, combined with the blood flowing from El Drago's nose and mouth, slowly began to attract predatory sea beasts.

The appearance of a dorsal fin caused the atmosphere on the sea to turn tense.

Suddenly, a pirate underling let out a terrified scream, and with a splash, he was dragged into the ocean, followed by a burst of blood.

This terrified the other pirates, who began begging frantically, scrambling to climb onto the pirate ship just to survive.

At this moment, the Cat Brothers, acting like bullies emboldened by their master, grinned and kicked them back into the water, fully demonstrating what it meant to be cruel pirates.

Even though they were just minor pirates with a bounty of 7 million.

Gollas also grew nervous, drawing his sword and preparing to fight the sea beasts at any moment, but the exhausted El Drago had no ability to protect himself!

"Captain El Drago, say something already!"

Gollas said anxiously. He held a plank with his left hand and his sword in his right, staring intently at the sea surface while glancing into the water, ready to intercept any beasts.

"I... damn it... I don't have... the strength... to speak right now..."

El Drago said weakly. He realized that the longer he soaked, the weaker he became. At the beginning, he had some strength, but he had been filled with rage and had no desire to beg for mercy.

But by the time he couldn't hold on any longer and was ready to surrender, he found he didn't even have the strength to speak loudly.

"Then, Captain, can we surrender now?"

If Gollas hadn't been close to El Drago, he probably wouldn't have heard the weak groan.

"Hurry... up..."

El Drago's fingers, hooked onto the wood, were trembling. He was about to lose his grip and sink into the sea. He had actually started slowly turning his head to signal Gollas earlier, but the guy hadn't noticed.

"Our captain is willing to surrender! My lord on the ship, please save us!"

Hearing El Drago's words, Gollas rolled his eyes. So the guy had been ready to surrender all along, making him think he was going to hold out to the bitter end.

It turned out he just didn't have the strength to talk!

Seeing that El Drago had finally reached his limit, Kuro revealed a smile.

"Captain Daddy, I've heard that some nobles enjoy 'breaking the hawk' to tame wild hunting birds. I didn't expect you to have a method for 'breaking the pirate' as well!"

Kuro felt that this method of wearing down an enemy's wild nature and extinguishing their anger was extremely effective. If Daddy had kept him trapped in that barrier sphere for days and nights, he probably would have developed psychological trauma too.

"Please stop over-interpreting; I don't have such thoughts. I was just curious to see how long he could hold out!"

Daddy gave Kuro a strange look. Could this guy's high intelligence be heading in the direction of Demiurge?

"What does 'over-interpreting' mean?"

Kuro was baffled by Daddy's gaze. Did Daddy not intend to break El Drago's pride and then recruit him?

That made no sense!

In Kuro's eyes, Daddy's intelligence was likely higher than his own, and he felt that everything Daddy did must be for the sake of recruiting El Drago.

"Never mind! Save them!"

Daddy turned and ordered the Cat Brothers. Seeing a shark-like sea beast charging toward Gollas and El Drago, Zoro immediately drew his sword, nimbly leaped onto the driftwood, sliced the beast into three pieces with two strikes, and then gracefully jumped back onto the ship.

This scene filled Gollas with gratitude; it turned out these guys weren't all cold-blooded, heartless pirates.

As El Drago was hauled up, the pirate underlings scrambled onto the ship, and this time, there was no obstruction from the two cat-men.

"Your life belongs to me from now on. What do you think?"

Daddy leaned over and said to El Drago, who was lying on the deck, his tone carrying an unquestionable sense of pressure.

"You defeated me today, so I can give you my life. But if I can defeat you in the future, I will be the captain!"

Having regained a bit of strength, El Drago said, still somewhat unconvinced!

"Fine! You can have one chance to challenge me every month. It will also be the time I test your strength. Remember, if you are too weak, you might die on this path!"

Daddy said indifferently. Challenges from his crew were both a driving force for his own constant growth and a motivation to push his subordinates to become stronger.

"Haha! Good! Then I'll call you captain for a month. Next month, I'll defeat you and become the new captain!"

El Drago stood up and spoke arrogantly; even after getting beaten up, his personality wouldn't change that quickly!

"Bang!!"

A punch imbued with Armament Haki turned El Drago's face beet red, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he curled up like a boiled shrimp and collapsed onto the deck once again.

Even Kuro, standing to the side, felt his mouth twitch and his stomach ache faintly; it seemed he had tasted a punch like that before as well.

Gollas, Jango, and the Cat Brothers all gulped; this strength was simply too terrifying.

"Before you succeed in your challenge, remember to show some respect!"

After Daddy finished speaking, he reached out a hand toward El Drago again, a faint, ambiguous smile hanging on his face.

"Understood, my Captain!!!"

El Drago's face was twisted in pain. Gritting his teeth, he reached out to take Daddy's hand and forced himself to stand up through the agony; this guy's fist was just too damn painful.

"Welcome, my crewmate!"

Daddy finally revealed a normal smile.