Ship-Ramming King, Jack the Drought

Zephyr, Issho, and Ryokugyu all joined them.

In high spirits,

on the voyage back,

Lin Yan began humming an off-key tune.

Lying atop the mast,

he lazily basked in the sun.

When people were in a good mood,

everything seemed to go smoothly.

"Hey, you're Ryokugyu, right? How about we spar?"

The return journey was a little boring.

Suddenly, some of the trainees wanted to test Ryokugyu's strength.

Although Issho was blind,

everyone had witnessed his strength firsthand.

He was no weaker than their division commander.

Naturally, the trainees would not—or rather, did not dare to—challenge Issho.

But Ryokugyu was different.

For one, the trainees had never seen him fight.

For another, they were extremely curious about him.

So they took the initiative to challenge Ryokugyu!

Ryokugyu himself was not the sort to sit still.

When he learned that these trainees had challenged him,

a sly glint flashed through his eyes. "Are you sure you want to challenge me? I can give you a chance to change your minds!"

He had fought Lin Yan.

Though it had been rare for him to enjoy such a satisfying battle,

he felt thoroughly exhilarated in both body and mind.

But he had lost, after all, so he could not help harboring a little resentment.

Now,

these trainees had suddenly come knocking.

Ryokugyu had been worrying about where to vent his frustration.

Still, as an old senior,

Ryokugyu gave them a chance to back out.

"Hahaha, it's just a spar. What's there to regret?"

The trainees had yet to realize the seriousness of the situation.

Zephyr shook his head.

His trainees

still lacked tempering!

Perfect.

He could use Ryokugyu's hands to properly blunt their arrogance!

Very soon,

the two sides set up on the deck.

As the trainees stood ready one by one,

Ryokugyu merely kept his hands in his pockets. "Going one at a time is too troublesome."

Seeing Ryokugyu act like this, the trainees grew indignant.

Damn.

You really don't take us seriously at all, do you?

Filled with hot blood, they charged straight into Ryokugyu's guns.

Then...

More than two hundred trainees on the scene

were beaten so badly by Ryokugyu that they were sent sprawling.

Every one of them was battered and bruised,

their faces covered in welts.

They lay scattered all over the deck,

each wearing what looked like a mask of agony.

Miserable groans filled the air.

After coming aboard, Ryokugyu had learned that these people were Zephyr's trainees.

Ryokugyu also held great respect for an old-generation figure like Zephyr. "Your trainees have a solid foundation. It's a pity they're too young, but they are still moldable talents!"

Zephyr set down his teacup. "Their temperament simply needs more tempering. I'll have to trouble you to teach them a lesson or two in the future!"

Ryokugyu rubbed his hands together. "Heh, I like this teaching business!"

Just as the Seventeenth Division was filled with harmony,

the sentries on deck noticed something strange.

On the distant horizon,

a massive pirate ship was slowly approaching.

Having spotted it,

the sentry hurriedly shouted to Lin Yan, "Division Commander, this is bad! A pirate ship has appeared to the southeast!"

Hearing him,

Lin Yan looked toward the southeast. Sure enough, he could see a dark shape approaching from afar.

But because of the distance,

no one could see it clearly.

Lin Yan asked, "Whose ship is it?"

The sentry raised his telescope and adjusted the focus. When he saw the Beasts Pirates' flag flying above it, he answered, "Division Commander, it belongs to the Mammoth Pirates!"

The Mammoth Pirates?

Lin Yan remembered. Wasn't that the pirate ship of Jack the Drought, the Ship-Ramming King?

Indeed.

The Seventeenth Division was still within the waters controlled by the Beasts Pirates.

They had not even left Wano Country yet!

Running into members of the Beasts Pirates

was perfectly normal.

"Jack the Drought? That's a little troublesome."

Issho said this with his head lowered as he wiped his cane.

"I heard the All-Stars of the New World are very strong. That really is a little troublesome."

Ryokugyu imitated Issho's tone.

"Jack the Drought is worth one billion berries to the Marines. He's a formidable enemy!"

"My suggestion is that we get the hell out of here!"

Lin Yan burst out laughing.

Listening to the three of them trade lines like they were putting on an opera,

Zephyr could not help sighing.

He wondered if he was getting old.

He was having a little trouble keeping up with the thinking of these younger waves!

Among the four of them,

any one of them could pull Jack the Drought apart with ease.

Yet as they chatted,

they had practically elevated an All-Star like Jack to the level of Kaido, one of the Four Emperors.

With their current lineup,

even if Kaido himself came, he would have to lie down.

Meanwhile, on the Mammoth Pirates' side,

they had also spotted the fleet that had entered their field of view.

Ordinarily,

Jack did not care about ships in his own waters.

However,

when he saw the Whitebeard Pirates' flag flying from that ship,

Jack's round eyes widened.

Why was a Whitebeard Pirates fleet appearing in Beasts Pirates territory?

Something was suspicious.

Jack made a snap decision.

He raised a veiny hand and pointed toward Lin Yan's fleet. "Bring the ship over!"

As the Mammoth Pirates drew nearer,

sinister, terrifying storm clouds rolled in from the distant sky. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the black clouds, bolts tearing across the heavens as if the apocalypse were about to arrive.

These were the special effects that accompanied Jack the Drought's entrance.

As the Mammoth Pirates advanced, the black clouds followed closely behind.

At a glance,

they gave off an immense sense of pressure!

Standing on the deck,

Lin Yan watched the dark clouds bearing down upon them.

He could not help sighing.

They said Jack the Drought had a one-billion-berry bounty, with nine hundred million of it being for his tusks.

But in Lin Yan's eyes,

the tusks were worth only one hundred million.

The remaining nine hundred million had to be in these special effects.

Just look at that man standing beneath the majestic black clouds, draped in black fur, his long tusks thick and powerful, standing tall and imposing in all his majesty.

His hair whipped wildly in the sea breeze.

Though his strength was not that great,

his presence was absolutely top-notch!

Lin Yan stroked his chin.

When he got the chance,

he wanted to create an equally grand entrance effect for himself.

Just to put on a show.

Zephyr, Issho, and Ryokugyu stood behind Lin Yan.

Everyone watched Jack the Drought slowly approach as if they were looking at an idiot.

"Do we fight or not?"

Lin Yan asked the three of them.

"Either way!"

Issho indicated that he did not care whether they fought.

"I don't mind either!"

Zephyr had no objection.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't just say whatever. If we're fighting, someone has to be sent up there."

"I've been fighting you guys nonstop these past two days. My back aches, my legs are cramping."

"Let's be clear, I don't want to move!"

Fighting was tiring, especially since Lin Yan's opponents over the past two days had been Zephyr, Issho, and Ryokugyu. He wanted to rest.

"I don't want to go either!"

Issho was rather fond of peace.

"You wouldn't make this old man, nearly eighty years old, deal with Jack, would you?"

Zephyr looked at Lin Yan.

"How about rock-paper-scissors?"

Lin Yan suddenly suggested.

Issho: "..."

Zephyr: "..."

While they were chatting,

Jack the Drought had already pulled alongside them.

As captain, Jack immediately spotted Lin Yan standing among the Seventeenth Division.

The moment he saw him.

Jack froze for a moment, then sneered. "I was wondering which reckless Whitebeard Pirates brat had shown up in Beasts Pirates territory. So it was you!"

Lin Yan was slightly surprised. "You know me?"