Pirates Attack! A Slight Intervention

That exaggerated?

The surrounding crew looked at Ariki, their faces filled with shock.

They could not even withstand a single glance from a strong person?

"But such powerful people generally won't appear in the Four Blues. Only the Grand Line is where people like that belong. We just need to do our own jobs. With this great swordsman aboard this time, we won't need to worry about pirates anymore."

Ariki explained it to the crew.

However, judging by the way he was practically spraying saliva, he seemed to enjoy this sort of thing.

After all, there were no other forms of entertainment at sea, only bragging and drinking.

Now that he saw the stunned looks in the crew's eyes, his enthusiasm naturally rose.

"Captain, what is the great treasure of the sea?"

A young crewman asked curiously. He had heard Ariki mention it earlier, so he was eager to know.

After all, anyone who went to sea, even if they were not pirates, cared greatly about treasures.

"It's a type of treasure known as a Devil Fruit. It's said that those who eat one can gain all sorts of miraculous powers, though I've never seen anyone who has eaten one."

Ariki spoke without the slightest embarrassment over never having seen such a thing.

After all, it was a great treasure.

The other crewmen did not find that strange either.

"If I could eat one, maybe I could become strong too."

One crewman spoke with a longing expression.

"Heh, how vast is the sea? And how many such treasures are there? Instead of fantasizing about that, you might as well train hard and study swordsmanship. You can become a strong person of the sea that way too, like this gentleman."

Seeing the yearning on the crewman's face, Ariki chuckled.

He did not think the man was indulging in foolish fantasies, because he himself had once imagined eating such a treasure one day.

Unfortunately, after more than a decade at sea, he had met plenty of people and fought pirates before, yet he had never personally seen what a Devil Fruit looked like.

"I've decided! Once I earn enough money, I'll learn swordsmanship!"

A young crewman declared with a determined, yearning expression.

The crew immediately burst into laughter, but there was no malice in it.

Most of them simply thought he was naive.

Still, several other young crewmen wore similarly longing expressions.

"Then you'd better work hard. This captain won't treat you poorly."

Ariki seized the opportunity to say so.

"Yes, Captain! I'm going to scrub the deck!"

"Captain, I'm going to clean the mast!"

"I'll go cook. Uh, should I make a separate meal for that gentleman?"

A crewman who looked like the cook had somehow joined them as well. Inspired by the young crewmen's enthusiasm, he spoke up too, before remembering why he had come.

"Well, make him a separate meal. Be sure to put your heart into it."

Ariki considered it before answering.

"Yes, Captain."

The cook ran off at once. Watching everyone around him busy themselves, Ariki nodded in satisfaction.

Being able to speak with a great swordsman this time made Ariki feel deeply honored.

It was as if a figure from legend had appeared before him.

But he also knew that this voyage would likely be his only point of contact with such a powerful person.

For the following days, Lin Ye rarely came out.

A week later, some of the crew had nearly forgotten that there was a great swordsman aboard, until a pirate ship appeared.

A sharp warning bell rang across the ship. Everyone set down what they were doing and grabbed their weapons.

Crewmen of merchant ships who sailed the seas had usually fought pirates at least a few times.

After all, merchant ships were larger and had more people. Small pirate ships with only a dozen or so men were no match for them at all. Even pirate crews with dozens of men would retreat when they found that they could not intimidate a merchant ship with a larger crew.

Of course, this merchant ship had also been lucky enough not to encounter truly formidable pirates.

Naturally, they had encountered stubborn pirates as well, ones unwilling to give up even after realizing the merchant ship was not easy prey.

"Boys, charge them! Fire the cannons!"

When a black cannon emerged from the bow of the pirate ship and turned toward the merchant vessel,

Ariki's face darkened.

These pirates actually had cannons.

If the merchant ship was hit, the damage would be one thing, but the blow to the crew's morale would be even worse.

They might even give up resisting the pirates.

Worried, Ariki remembered that there was still a great swordsman aboard and quickly turned, intending to ask Lin Ye to come down.

The moment he turned around, he saw that Lin Ye had arrived at some point and was standing beside him.

"Sir, these pirates..."

Startled, Ariki hurriedly placed a hand over his chest in salute and began to speak.

"I'll handle it."

Lin Ye looked at the pirate ship in the distance and spoke.

"Thank you, sir!"

Ariki immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his face brimming with delight.

Was this what it felt like to have a strong person by your side?

It was truly reassuring.

Boom!

With a cannon blast, a black cannonball whistled toward the merchant ship.

It looked as though it would strike the merchant ship at any moment.

A slash flew out and cleaved apart the incoming cannonball.

Boom!

The cannonball exploded in midair.

The merchant ship fell silent for a moment before cheers erupted.

He could even cut apart cannonballs flying through the air?

Many people looked at Lin Ye with fervent eyes, their faces full of admiration.

The pirate ship fired its cannons one after another while continuing to close in, seemingly intending to board them.

Watching Lin Ye casually swing his blade a few times and make every incoming cannonball explode, Ariki relaxed even more.

Even as he watched the pirate ship draw near, he did not feel the slightest worry.

He only wondered how this gentleman would defeat the approaching pirate ship.

Lin Ye estimated the distance.

When he could already see the pirates' arrogant expressions aboard the opposing ship, Lin Ye slashed with his sword.

The Flying Slash split into more than a dozen streaks in midair and struck the approaching pirate ship directly.

Boom!

The pirate ship came apart instantly, sliced vertically into more than a dozen pieces. One of the slashes even struck the enemy's cannonballs in the hold.

The already shattered pirate ship detonated in a chain explosion, becoming a brilliant firework upon the sea.

More than a dozen transparent bubbles floated out from the exploding pirate ship.

Lin Ye sheathed his sword and looked at the large amount of shattered wood scattered across the sea, where flames still burned.

Then he turned and walked back toward his room.

Ariki watched Lin Ye leave with a fervent expression.

"So powerful!"

Only after Lin Ye's figure disappeared did Ariki let out a breath and speak in shock.

"Captain, there are still pirates alive in the sea!"

A crewman shouted loudly.

"Haul them aboard! We may be a merchant ship, but that doesn't mean we can't play bounty hunters for once."

Ariki immediately roared in response.

Most pirates did not have specific wanted posters, but so long as someone could be confirmed as a pirate, the Marines would pay a bounty.

Ariki had already decided to use the merchant ship's profits from this voyage as payment, yet he had not expected an unexpected gain.

It would depend on how many pirates there were.

Perhaps they really could make a fortune this time.