Rabble

Rabble

As Leo followed the two women toward the pavilion, he looked back from the stairs at the Amazon warrior women, their faces filled with excitement, and at the pirate ship gradually drawing closer. He could not help but laugh.

These warrior women had probably been cooped up here until they were sick of it. The moment they saw a pirate crew, they got excited. They were not nervous at all, as he had imagined.

This really was the Amazon tribe's style—delighted at the prospect of battle, without the slightest hint of fear.

But unexpectedly, the other side was even more desperate.

Before Leo even reached the pavilion, he saw several huge oars extend from the fairly large ship opposite them. More than a dozen pirates worked together to row four massive oars with all their strength, trying to get closer.

But with no wind, the ship moved painfully slowly.

If the Kuja Pirates chose to avoid battle, it would not be long before they were devoured by Sea Kings.

No wonder they would rather waste their strength rowing over.

This might have been their only path to survival.

Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong people.

Shaking his head, Leo did not enter the pavilion. He simply stood by the window beside the doorway and watched as the two warships slowly drew nearer.

The swimming snakes did not show themselves at all. They leisurely dragged the tower ship forward beneath the sea, while the pirates had no idea that such terrifying creatures lay beneath their feet.

Nor would those wicked Amazon women let the swimming snakes reveal themselves. This was their battle, and their feast.

Ever since Leo came to the One Piece World and became twenty years younger, he had not touched a phone or computer. His eyesight had gradually improved, and from several hundred meters away, he could even make out the excited expressions on the faces of those pirates, reeking of sweat.

Though they were somewhat blurry, the pirates' eyesight was not bad either. The moment they saw that this ship was full of women, they were already beside themselves with excitement.

Women aboard pirate ships were considered unlucky—not because women themselves were unlucky, but because it was impossible to give every man one. If only the captain and officers had women, it could easily breed resentment among the crew and disrupt discipline.

As the saying went, people did not fear scarcity; they feared unfairness. So it was simpler for nobody to bring women aboard, not even the captain.

And if pirates wanted to vent their overflowing testosterone, aside from plundering female passengers from merchant ships and passenger vessels, their only option was to visit prostitutes ashore.

At this point, it no longer mattered what Skull flag or words were on the sails of this ship full of women.

The pirates, who had nearly been driven insane in the Calm Belt, had long since let the worms in their lower halves crawl into their brains. Only humanity's most primal urges drove them now.

The Amazon warrior women wore calm, cheerful smiles as they took the snakes coiled around their bodies and arms into their hands.

The snakes naturally formed taut bow staves. The Amazon warrior women fitted bowstrings onto them, then set sharp arrows against their bodies one by one.

They drew their bows but did not fire, merely waiting with relaxed smiles for the pirates to come closer.

They could have launched an attack long ago, but they had not done so. There would not have been much fun in that.

When the pirates' battered ship slammed into the Kuja Pirates' tower ship and caused a slight tremor, the pirates immediately waved their swords and spears in excitement and charged forward.

To be honest, after drifting through the Calm Belt for so many days, their nerves had long been on the verge of collapse. Other than a few core members and leaders, who would carefully inspect the ship, its sails, or its skull emblem?

The pirates had only just leaped high into the air, their bodies drenched in sweat from rowing and their faces brimming with excitement, when they were met by an immensely powerful attack.

Even without using Haki, the warrior women of Nine Snake Island were formidable. Haki was an advanced combat technique, completely unnecessary against ordinary pirates like these.

Every arrow found its mark, striking pirates in midair. The tremendous force even sent them flying backward. Some were nailed directly to the masts, while others were pinned to the hull and deck.

This truly opened Leo's eyes. It was the first time he had witnessed the women of Amazon Lily in real combat.

He had to admit, their fighting style was full of romance.

Their arrows never missed. No matter how the pirates roared, the point where the two ships' sides met was only so wide. The women of Amazon Lily did not stand along that side; instead, they stood at the bow and atop the pavilion, shooting downward with precision.

Whether cooks or doctors, Amazons were Amazons. They all carried bows and possessed Haki. They trained every day without pause. Their combat quality, forged through full-time training, was entirely different from the pirates' live-for-today attitude.

Full-time trained warriors were naturally stronger than these bandits who lived by plunder.

Otherwise, there would be no justice in this world.

There were over a hundred and fifty pirates, packed densely across the deck. Some even climbed the masts, trying to swing over on ropes.

But how many times did it need to be said? Never leave the ground in a fight. Never leave the ground. Never leave the ground. Once they were airborne, with no foothold to shift or dodge, they became targets. The Amazon warrior women loved people like that most, and those pinned to the masts were mostly them.

Others tried to board by leaping across, only to be pinned to the hull in even greater numbers.

In a single exchange, forty or fifty men fell. Half the pirates' courage instantly went cold.

They were merely a gang of violent thieves who had taken to sea and become pirates. At heart, they were still roaming bandits, scattered rabble. Even elite troops could no longer hold formation once their losses exceeded thirty percent. What did thirty percent mean? It meant that among the four people around you, at least two had been removed from combat, leaving gaps and danger in two directions of your formation.

These pirates immediately calmed down. The disorganized mob looked uneasily at one another, then turned all their eyes toward one man.

He was the captain of the ship, a shockingly burly giant standing a full five meters tall. His face was covered in a thick beard, and he wore a captain's tricorn hat. A Wave greatsword rested in his hand, making him look somewhat skilled.

Leo felt that the man could kill him with a single punch, yet he was drenched in cold sweat as he stared blankly at the Kuja Pirates' sail.

"Boss! What do we do?!" a pirate beside him shouted. Unease and terror filled the entire ship.

Some of the pirates were illiterate and had no idea what that flag and an all-woman pirate crew represented.

Others were smarter, and they began breaking out in cold sweat alongside their boss.

P.S.: I made it onto the recommendation list. I've decided to update twice a day and start climbing the rankings, so please send in those recommendation votes!