The Great Pirate's Treasure

The other villagers: "..."

Even more shameless than the village chief!

The pirates: "..."

A rival had arrived... their positions were no longer secure!

The way Alvida looked at Moke had changed from scrutiny to complete satisfaction. Though the pirates under her command praised her every day, none of them had ever flattered her in a way that made her heart flutter like this brat did.

"Ha ha ha..."

Alvida burst into laughter again, though a hint of bashfulness now appeared on her face.

"This..."

Moke's scalp went numb as he thought, Had I laid it on too thick... If this woman takes a liking to me, I won't even have the ability to resist.

Looking at Alvida's freckled face and barrel-shaped figure—

Moke's face twitched. This was no longer a matter of whether to turn off the lights. This was a matter of losing his life...

Fortunately!

What Moke feared did not happen. Alvida quickly recovered.

Still, Alvida asked Moke in a very friendly manner, "What weapon are you skilled with?"

Moke thought for a moment. "I'm skilled with guns. Within two hundred meters, I never miss."

He was not just saying that. Back during live-fire shooting practice in his university military training, his shooting score had ranked first in the entire school. Later, an instructor had noticed him and given him special training.

He had no trouble with a rifle at two hundred meters.

The instructor had said he had the potential to become a sharpshooter and had repeatedly tried to persuade him to enlist.

Unfortunately, that was not where his ambitions lay.

The instructor had deeply regretted it, but still respected his choice.

Alvida said, "Good. From now on, you're the captain of the musket squad on my ship."

"Huh?"

The pirates all gaped, their faces full of disbelief.

The village chief and the villagers were equally dumbfounded.

"So arbitrary?" Even Moke was utterly shocked. He had thought Alvida would at least test his marksmanship.

He had never expected her to appoint him directly.

Alvida had completely thrown Moke off. But what he felt most clearly was the sheer recklessness that came with strength.

As long as you possessed absolute strength, your subordinates would obey every command you gave. No matter how arbitrary or absurd that command was.

And just like that, Moke boarded Alvida's pirate ship and became a glorious pirate.

Watching the Alvida Pirates sail away, the villagers all showed worried expressions.

An old man could no longer hold it in and voiced his concern directly to the village chief. "Chief, Moke won't take revenge on those young men from our village, will he?"

"Yeah! My Xiao Hai boarded the ship too. Moke is now the captain of the musket squad in the Alvida Pirates. If he targets my Xiao Hai, won't my Xiao Hai be doomed? Sob, sob, sob..."

A middle-aged woman broke into grief-stricken tears as she spoke.

Because such a thing was entirely possible.

The parents of the other young men also turned to look at the village chief, their eyes carrying a trace of hostility.

Then their gazes shifted in unison to a young man standing beside the village chief. He was the youngest among the village's eligible youths. Originally, they had all felt deeply sympathetic toward him.

But now, because of him, their children had been placed in danger.

Their stance had changed.

To harm several young people in the village because of one person—what an unwise choice. Even though they knew that becoming pirates basically meant death, without Moke's involvement, they could at least still hold onto some hope.

But now, all that remained was despair.

The village chief's expression changed as well.

Before, he had only thought of having Moke take one of the slots. That way, the village would have one fewer sacrifice. But now he realized it had been a no-win situation from the start. No matter what he did, people would criticize him.

If he had not let Moke take the slot, the villagers would have said he could not distinguish between family and outsiders.

If he had let Moke take it, the villagers would have said he was foolish, that he had harmed the other young men for one person. But if Moke had taken the place of their own children, they would probably have worn entirely different expressions.

That was human nature.

Sigh!

The village chief could not help but sigh, his heart incomparably heavy. He had not expected that after throwing away his own kindness... and his own principles, what he received would be the villagers' incomprehension and blame.

At that moment, Alvida stood at the bow with half a map in hand, staring ahead.

"Straw Hat brat, just you wait! Once I find Lileya's Treasure, I'll be able to recruit troops and expand on a grand scale. Then I'll make you pay."

"Lileya's Treasure?"

Moke, standing not far from Alvida, immediately caught the key point.

His eyes lit up, because he believed that the Paramecia-type Slip-Slip Fruit Alvida had obtained might have come from this treasure.

At the thought of that possibility, Moke clenched his fists. However, he suppressed his restless heart, afraid that someone might notice something.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, half a month had gone by. Alvida had circled the surrounding waters an unknown number of times before an island only several miles wide finally appeared before them.

Excited, Alvida subconsciously waved the iron club in her hand.

"Captain, this is bad... A pirate ship has appeared on the port side."

"Huh?"

Alvida froze at first, then her expression changed drastically. She immediately turned to look toward the left.

Moke did the same.

A highly peculiar pirate ship was speeding toward them. Why was it peculiar?

Because its bow was especially strange. At first glance, it looked like an elephant.

But on closer inspection, the tip of the elephant's trunk had a clown's distinctive red nose.

Looking even more carefully, they discovered that the red nose was actually a massive cannon muzzle.

"What the hell..."

Moke was completely stunned. That ship was so distinctive that he recognized it instantly. This had to be Buggy the Clown's pirate ship... Sure enough, when Moke looked at the other side's pirate flag—

The skull representing the pirates also had a red nose.

That confirmed it beyond doubt. It was Buggy the Clown.

After all, in One Piece, there was no other pirate flag like that.

His gaze returned to Alvida. In other words, this was where those two met and later formed an alliance to take down Straw Hat Luffy?

So...

Moke's gaze fell upon the tiny island not far away.

Because if that was the case—

The chances that the Paramecia-type Slip-Slip Fruit was on this island shot up dramatically. Moke trembled all over with excitement. Perhaps many people looked down on the Paramecia-type Slip-Slip Fruit.

But it had to be said—

Some Devil Fruits were truly underestimated.

For example, the time-based Slow-Slow Fruit. What an insanely powerful Devil Fruit, yet in Foxy the Silver Fox's hands, it had become something as worthless as trash.

Then there was the Slip-Slip Fruit Alvida had eaten. Not only could it beautify its user, it could also make attacks slide off. If developed to the extreme... it would be utterly heaven-defying... So when it came to Devil Fruits, it mainly depended on who ate them...