Beating Up the King

"Were you planning to cast aside all the rules laid down by the World Government?"

"Have you ever respected the rules of this world? Have you ever respected the World Government? Have you ever respected me, the king?"

Bekori stood before the window, growing more agitated as he spoke, increasingly convinced that he stood on the moral high ground and that Jin An was the one obstructing his dreams.

"I've always kept those things close to my heart," Jin An said, patting his chest. (Except for that bullshit World Government and you, the king.)

"But I have a question for you, Your Majesty."

Bekori could barely hide his excitement. "Ask whatever you like. I'm very patient right now."

"Have you ever kept your citizens close to your heart?" Jin An stared directly into the king's eyes.

Bekori answered without hesitation, "Of course I have. Without them, how would I collect the Celestial Tribute? How would I live the life I have now?"

Still the same exquisitely selfish bastard. Jin An shook his head. There was nothing wrong with looking out for oneself, but doing nothing while still trying to build a moral monument was a bit much.

"Your Majesty, if you can't keep pretending, then stop. Be careful you don't fool even yourself in the end."

"Life is rarely clear-cut, Jin An..." Bekori sighed. "We've dealt with each other for so many years. There are some matters where taking a step back would be good for everyone."

Bekori spoke slowly. "Do you remember what you said to me when we first met?"

"You said that as long as you remained on this island, pirates would never have a chance to land here."

Jin An nodded. "I fulfilled every one of those promises."

"Pirates haven't dared pass through the Sorbet Kingdom for a long time now, and you've successfully become the South Blue Commodore. Isn't it time you went elsewhere to protect other people?" Bekori stated his demand outright.

"Once the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dogs get cooked. You people really have no conscience."

Back when his life had been threatened, he had clung desperately to Jin An, terrified he might leave. Now that the danger was gone, he wanted to kick him aside.

Jin An smiled without quite smiling. "You people who play power games really do have filthy hearts. What a fine calculation."

"Thank you for the compliment. How else could I sit in this position if my heart weren't filthy?" Bekori said, utterly unashamed.

"I won't waste any more words on you. Since you don't want to leave, I have plenty of ways to make you leave!"

Bekori turned around. His eyes remained sharp as he fixed Jin An with a blazing stare. "See the guest out. Kindly escort this colonel from my palace."

Slap!

A crisp sound echoed through the palace.

Bekori covered his face in disbelief. "You dare hit me?"

Jin An craned his neck and looked left and right. "Ah, what a pity. Such a magnificent palace—I'd wanted to look around a little longer. But since the king has given the order, I can only leave."

As he spoke, he swayed toward the exit, completely disregarding everyone present.

"Stop!" Bekori shouted, his speech slurred.

"Guards, seize this traitor! I'll make him wish he were dead!"

Jin An did not resist. He cooperatively allowed the guards to bind him tightly. He could break free from such ropes with ease.

"Did any of you see what I did?" Jin An asked.

The people present in the palace could not make sense of what Jin An was thinking, but they honestly shook their heads.

They had not seen anything. They had merely heard the king's orders.

Jin An asked again, "If none of you saw anything, why are you tying me up?"

"You bastard! Out of everyone here, only you had the motive! You still want to deny it?"

"The injury on my face proves that you bastard did this!" Unable to suppress the rage in his heart any longer, Bekori roared.

Jin An clicked his tongue. "If someone wants to accuse you, they'll always find an excuse."

Slap!

Another slap rang out.

"Ah!"

This time, Bekori was sent flying outright. He crashed onto the throne, his condition unknown.

"See? I told you it wasn't me." Jin An was still tied up like a bundle, speaking carelessly to the guards who had bound him.

The guards looked as though they had seen a ghost, standing frozen in place.

The captain of the security guards went pale with shock. "Hurry and call a doctor!"

Seeing the king taking more breaths in than out, their faces turned white. If something happened to the king, they would all be buried with him.

Bang!

Jin An exerted a little force, and the ropes around him shattered across the floor.

"Since there's no way to prove it, carry on with your work. I'll be leaving first."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Jin An dusted himself off and walked away.

"I will have my revenge!" Bekori closed his venomous eyes and passed out.

Jin An laughed. Enemies usually said something like that. They would also call him despicable and shameless, wish him a horrible death, and so on. He did not care. He enjoyed seeing them hate him so much they wanted to eat his flesh, yet remain utterly helpless against him.

In the world of pirates, weakness was the original sin.

When Jin An returned to the training ground, just as expected, only Bartholomew Kuma was still training.

Ginny and Shanks were already sitting in chairs and resting. Of the breakfast laid out on the table, only one serving remained.

Training was really a process of repeatedly suffering. And if one wanted to grow stronger, one had to constantly surpass oneself, which meant the hardship would only increase.

"Big brother, why did you spend so long at the palace?" Shanks asked, pushing away the hand on his head.

Jin An reluctantly withdrew his hand. "The king was looking for trouble, so I was held up there for a while."

"You need to keep an eye on that old king from now on. I'm afraid he may make a move against you."

"Once he realizes he can't beat us head-on, he'll definitely resort to underhanded tricks," Jin An said.

Shanks waved his fists. "Then we should strike first and lock him somewhere nobody can find him."

"That idea won't do. Go home and copy the family rules once," Jin An said, knocking Shanks on the head with a fist.

"I think Shanks's method would solve the problem once and for all." Ginny shared Shanks's view. Solving the problem at its root was the simplest approach.

Jin An shook his head. "No matter how useless that guy is, he's still the king of a World Government member nation. Killing him casually wouldn't benefit us."

"Besides, killing him would throw this country into chaos. Several forces have been eyeing this piece of fat in the shadows."

Ginny scratched her pink hair in frustration. "Then what do we do? We can't spend every day guarding against thieves."

"That's why you need to train hard. Being strong yourself matters more than anything."

That was right. Shanks and the others had lived too comfortably for too long. They had no sense of urgency at all. If this continued, who knew how long it would take for them to gain the strength to protect themselves.

It would be better to create some danger for them directly and keep them focused.

The coming Great Pirate Era would be far more dangerous than the present. He could not stay by their sides to protect them at all times.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself.