The First Escort Job Sank Two Ships

The black sails loomed closer.

Two fast boats cleaved through the waves from either side, gray fins nailed to their prows.

More than a dozen grappling hooks caught the railing. Pirates cursed as they climbed the crossbars, while light cannons turned toward the grain ship.

Lorne lowered his telescope.

"Grayfin Pirates. Their captain has a bounty of six million Beli. They specialize in robbing merchant ships, and after taking the cargo, they seize people for the mines."

Su Hang rose, bracing himself against the mast.

"Six million?"

"Think that's too little?"

"I just didn't expect trash like this to be worth six million."

The loudspeaker Den Den Mushi opened its mouth, and a rough laugh came from the other ship.

"Morning Bell Caravan! Leave all your grain behind, then pick twenty young laborers to send over. I'll let you crawl away in rowboats!"

Lorne raised a hand, signaling the sailors not to answer.

"They used to let ships go if they handed over thirty percent of their cargo."

"There was no demand for young laborers before. Give in once, and they'll know this ship can be squeezed a second time."

"So you want to negotiate?"

"I can."

Su Hang took the loudspeaker Den Den Mushi.

"Captain Grayfin, if you want the grain, come aboard and carry it yourself."

There was a moment of silence from the other side, followed by raucous laughter.

"Where did this little brat come from?"

"The escort."

"You think you can protect them?"

"Try me."

Captain Grayfin stepped onto the bow, a serrated broadsword in his hand.

He saw Su Hang's pale face, then glanced at his bandage-wrapped right arm, and laughed even louder.

"A half-dead man dares to be a guard? Tie him up too! A pretty little boy like him will fetch more in an underground workshop!"

Lorne lowered his voice.

"They have two ships and four light cannons. One punch of yours won't scare off this many people."

"Who said I was going to punch them all back?"

Su Hang looked toward the girl beside the mainmast.

A pair of small white wings grew from her back, and a cloud gauge hung at her waist. She had been crouching by a barrel, recording the wind direction.

"Your name is Mia?"

The girl looked up.

"Mia Compass."

"Lorne said you studied meteorology."

"I'm from the White-White Sea. The winds down here are more chaotic than on the sky islands, but I can read them."

"How long until the crosswind comes?"

Mia looked southwest.

Low clouds pressed down, and the ripples on the sea slanted layer by layer. She extended a damp finger and felt the air for a moment.

"Eight minutes. The wind will cut in from the southwest. It won't last long, fifteen minutes at most."

"That's enough."

Lorne frowned.

"You want to use the wind to shake them off?"

"This ship is loaded with grain. We can't outrun fast boats."

Su Hang kicked up a coil of rope and tossed the end to two sailors.

"Loop it twice around the mainmast, then connect the rest to the port and starboard masts. Don't tie dead knots. Leave three feet of slack for it to slide."

The sailors did not move at once. They only looked at Lorne.

Lorne furrowed his brow.

"That will link all three masts together. If one takes strain, the whole ship will veer."

"That's exactly what I want."

"If it veers too far, we'll capsize."

"That's why Mia will call the wind."

Lorne stared at Su Hang for two breaths, then raised a hand.

"Do as he says."

The pirate boats had already closed in.

The first grappling hook flew over. Its iron claw bit into the railing, splinters exploding across the deck.

Su Hang did not let anyone cut it loose.

"Wrap the hook line around the port-side winch."

A sailor froze.

"That'll pull them toward us!"

"Do it."

The second and third grappling hooks landed one after another.

Su Hang had them leave every line in place. He even had one threaded beneath the cargo rack and looped behind the mainmast.

Captain Grayfin burst into laughter.

"The little brat is scared stupid! Haul in the lines and pull alongside!"

The two fast boats turned their helms at the same time.

The boat on the left accelerated closer, while the one on the right cut toward the grain ship's stern.

The three hook lines rapidly went taut, dragging the grain ship sideways by half a foot.

Lorne gripped the railing.

"If we wait any longer, the masts will break first."

"Mia."

"The wind isn't here yet!"

"How much longer?"

"Twenty breaths!"

The Grayfin Pirates had already grabbed the hook lines, preparing to swing onto the deck.

The men in front clenched short blades between their teeth, with chains hanging from their waists.

"The cargo is ours, and so are the people!"

Su Hang grabbed a wooden staff.

"Lorne, get everyone back to the cargo hold entrance. No one touches the hook lines."

"You're going to hold them off alone?"

"I only need to hold them for twenty breaths."

The first pirate vaulted over the railing.

Su Hang did not stretch his arm. He pressed his foot backward against the deck, his rubber muscles storing the force before his body snapped forward.

Bang!

The wooden staff struck the pirate in the chest.

Before the man could even draw his blade, he crashed into the two companions behind him, and all three fell back onto the fast boat.

"A Devil Fruit user!"

"He just has some freakish strength!"

Captain Grayfin roared.

"He's badly wounded! Get him together!"

Five figures lunged at once.

Su Hang twisted aside from the blades. His wooden staff swept down across one man's wrist, knocking the short sword from his hand.

His heel then pressed into the deck, and his rebounding body slammed into another man's chest.

His shoulder struck the sternum.

A dull crack rang out.

That pirate staggered back with his waist bent. Su Hang casually grabbed his collar and flung him toward the third blade.

The sword swing was forced to stop.

The wooden staff had already come down.

Smack!

The fingers gripping the sword broke on the spot.

Su Hang did not pursue them. He merely returned to the point where the three ropes crossed.

In only a few breaths, four men were already down on the deck.

Captain Grayfin's face darkened.

"Useless trash! Fire the cannons!"

The gunner on the boat to the right raised a torch.

Mia suddenly shouted.

"The crosswind is here!"

The southwest wind struck the sails, and the mainsail abruptly billowed.

The grain-laden merchant ship slowly turned, its stern beginning to swing toward the right.

"Now."

Su Hang retreated into the mainmast's shadow. His right arm silently stretched along the mast.

Each of his five fingers hooked a different rope, and his arm extended backward to its limit.

The ropes tightened!

All three masts bent into arcs at once.

Mia shouted at the top of her voice.

"Raise the starboard sail, furl the port sail! Turn the helm half a rotation west!"

The sailors immediately obeyed.

The grain ship cut sideways with the crosswind, but the fast boat on the left was still tightening its hook lines.

Its bow was violently dragged off course, charging straight into the right boat's path.

Captain Grayfin finally understood.

"Cut the ropes!"

Too late.

Su Hang released his fingers.

The ropes, drawn to their limits, snapped back with a thunderous recoil, pouring all three forces into the pirates' own hook lines.

The left fast boat abruptly surged forward, its bow smashing hard into the side of the right boat.

Boom!

Planks shattered, and a mast toppled.

The gunner on the right had just lit the fuse when the cannon barrel was knocked upward.

The iron ball grazed over the grain ship and smashed through the Grayfin Pirates' own mainmast.

The huge sail collapsed, pinning more than a dozen pirates to the deck.

Lorne looked at the two tangled ships and slowly let out a breath.

"From the beginning, you were waiting for them to tighten the hook lines themselves."

"Free ropes would be a waste not to use."

Captain Grayfin bellowed and leaped onto the grain ship by stepping across a broken mast.

He gripped his broadsword in both hands and brought the blade down from above.

"Brat, I'll chop you up first!"

Su Hang did not take the blow head-on.

His right foot stepped back, his sole dragging half a foot across the deck.

The blade fell past his nose and split the planks.

Captain Grayfin pulled the sword free and slashed again.

Su Hang's foot suddenly rebounded, and his body slid along the flat of the blade into the other man's chest.

The wooden staff passed beneath his armpit and struck under his chin.

Bang!

Captain Grayfin flew backward, his back smashing into the mainmast.

He tried to rise, but Su Hang had already stepped on the broadsword and pressed the wooden staff against his throat.

"You wanted twenty laborers just now?"

Captain Grayfin panted heavily.

"I'm Grayfin! There are three more fleets in these waters. If you dare touch me, they'll tear you apart!"

"Then let them come."

Su Hang pressed his wrist down.

The wooden stick struck the captain's Adam's apple. Captain Grayfin's eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.

The remaining pirates no longer dared board the ship.

The two damaged speedboats could not untangle their grappling hooks, and could only watch helplessly as the grain ship sailed away on the wind.

Lorne ordered his men to cut the last few ropes, then turned to Su Hang.

"Not a single grain sack was torn. The deck suffered six points of damage, and repairs will cost less than five thousand Beli."

"So?"

"Ten thousand Beli for escort services. Pay upon arrival at Grey Stone Island."

"The fare is waived too."

"We already discussed the fare when you hid in the water barrel."

"That was a different deal."

Lorne looked at the blood seeping from his shoulder again.

"A victory without damaged goods is the only kind merchants recognize as invincible. Half the fare is waived. That's my bottom line."

"Deal."

Mia slid down from the mast and crouched beside a cracked section of deck.

When the two ships had collided earlier, a faint knock had come from beneath the cargo hold.

She tapped the wooden boards.

Two knocks sounded back from below.

Su Hang put away his wooden stick.

"Empty holds don't answer."

Lorne's expression changed slightly as he pried open the cargo rack himself.

A newly nailed false compartment was revealed behind the grain sacks, and a small hand covered in scrapes reached out through the gap.

Twelve children with no registered identities were hidden in the cargo hold.