Krieg Pirates

Three days later

The sun hung high in the sky, pouring its heat down upon the sea.

Beneath the large parasol on the deck, Windfire Wheel gestured animatedly as he bragged to Nami and the others. "Tyrannosaurus stood twenty meters tall and was the strongest War King of the Beast Clan. His ultimate move, Dragon Emperor Dimension, was even more powerful. A single Dragon Emperor Dimension could destroy everything within a hundred miles! Back then, Tyrannosaurus had a Dragon Emperor Dimension in each hand, and every Vehicle Clan warrior present was filled with despair. Then, I—the bravest warrior of the Vehicle Clan, Windfire Wheel—stepped forward and unleashed my mighty ultimate move—"

As Nami and the others listened to Windfire Wheel's boasting with disbelief written all over their faces, they spotted a massive fleet appearing on the sea behind him. One after another, they ran to the railing to look.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't leave! I haven't told you about my mighty ultimate move yet!" Windfire Wheel hurriedly ran over to them.

"My mighty ultimate move, Nine Heavens—"

"Alright, Windfire Wheel. Next time—we'll hear about your ultimate move next time," everyone hurriedly interrupted the boastful Windfire Wheel.

By then, they had clearly seen the fleet that had suddenly appeared ahead. Every vessel was a large seafaring ship, though their designs varied. If not for the black skull flags atop their masts, one might have mistaken them for an ordinary merchant convoy.

On each black skull flag, an hourglass was painted on either side of the skull. Nearly fifty ships flew the same pirate flag.

That pirate flag belonged to the Krieg Pirates, currently the largest pirate crew in the East Blue.

On the fleet's largest vessel, Krieg's flagship, the Dreadnaught Sabre, stood a tall man with light purple hair. He wore a bandana, golden armor, black boots, and a large cape. This man was Krieg, known as the overlord of the East Blue.

Krieg stood at the bow with a cigar in his mouth when Gin, the pirate crew's commander-in-chief known as the Demon Man, walked over. "Chief, the ship ahead is flying the flag of Slayer Rody, who has a bounty of fifty million Beli. Should we attack, or should we avoid a direct clash?"

"Yeah, Chief. That guy has a fifty-million-Beli bounty. We should avoid him and not provoke a conflict," said the pirates aboard the Dreadnaught Sabre, somewhat intimidated by Rody's bounty. Their own chief only had a seventeen-million-Beli bounty, while the other man's was fifty million—nearly three times as much.

"Hmph. He only killed a few Marines and some mere fish-men."

"Who do you think I am? Bring the ship alongside."

"I am Admiral Krieg, the overlord of the East Blue, with nearly five thousand pirates under my command! Ha... hahaha!" Krieg laughed arrogantly.

"That's right, Chief. You won't even need to make a move. I, Iron Wall Pearl, will make that so-called Slayer understand the might of the Krieg Pirates!" Pearl, captain of the Krieg Pirates' second division, said proudly to Krieg.

"Y-Yeah! What Slayer? He only killed some worthless Marines and fish-men. We have nearly five thousand brothers! He's dead for sure! Hahaha!"

"That's right! We have nearly five thousand brothers. We could kill him with one slash each! Hahahaha!"

The pirates aboard the Dreadnaught Sabre seemed infected by Krieg's laughter and joined in.

Inside the training room, Rody was practicing the flow of Armament Haki. After several days of training, he could now basically direct Armament Haki to any part of his body at will, allowing for more precise defense or attacks.

"Captain, this is bad! A huge pirate fleet has appeared ahead!" Windfire Wheel hurried into the training room to find Rody.

Perhaps because he came from a world made entirely of vehicles, Windfire Wheel preferred calling Rody Captain.

Rody looked at the frantic Windfire Wheel and rubbed his temples speechlessly. What exactly did I summon?

Rody activated his Observation Haki and swept it across the sea ahead, sensing a vast cluster of life auras. "Oh, there really are quite a lot of them. Around four thousand, maybe just under five thousand."

Rody followed Windfire Wheel onto the deck and casually accepted the fruit juice Mike handed him. Looking at the nearly fifty large ships ahead, he had to admit that such a massive number of vessels—none of them small—was somewhat impressive.

"Lord Rody, that is the Krieg Pirates' fleet, the largest pirate crew in the East Blue. Their captain is Admiral Krieg, known as the overlord of the East Blue. His bounty is seventeen million Beli," Mike reported.

"What? Only seventeen million? Seeing how many ships he has, I thought his captain's bounty would be at least a hundred million."

"So there's nothing to fear. Our captain has a fifty-million-Beli bounty—nearly three times his."

"But he neither attacks nor avoids us after seeing our ship. What is he trying to do? Could he be planning to lead his fleet and join our captain?" Windfire Wheel asked in surprise.

Over the past three days, Windfire Wheel had learned quite a bit about the pirate world. He knew that while a bounty did not represent all of a person's strength, strength was still an important factor in determining it.

As the Dreadnaught Sabre gradually drew near, Rody wrapped an arm around Nami and leaped onto its deck. Windfire Wheel and Mike hurriedly followed, while Carmen and her apprentice remained aboard their own ship.

"S-Someone jumped onto the ship!"

"Th-They jumped from the ship ahead onto our warship! It must be Slayer!"

"Don't be afraid! Our commander-in-chief is Gin the Demon Man, our second division captain is the invincible Iron Wall Pearl, and we have the incomparably powerful Chief Krieg! That so-called Slayer should be the one who's afraid!" Krieg sat in his large chair, listening to the pirates on deck sing his praises as the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.

Krieg's smile vanished as he stared in shock at the four figures before him. At the front stood a tall, red-haired man with markings on his face, holding a young and beautiful orange-haired woman in his arms. The man had to be Slayer Rody, while the woman in his arms was likely his navigator, Little Thief Cat Nami.

What truly shocked Krieg was the Vehicle Clan member, Windfire Wheel, beside Rody. Even on the Grand Line, which was filled with all kinds of strange races, a Vehicle Clan member like Windfire Wheel would have been extraordinary—let alone in the peaceful waters of the East Blue.

"Th-That's a motorcycle, right?!"

"What motorcycle walks upright like a person? That has to be a monster—a motorcycle monster!"

"Bullshit!"

"How could an upright-walking motorcycle be a monster? It must be a robot!" The pirates on deck stared in shock at the unprecedented race that was Windfire Wheel.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't slander me!"

"I'm not some monster! I'm the bravest warrior of the Vehicle Clan, the captain's second-in-command!"

"Windfire Wheel!"