Duel

Chapter 25: Duel

"William, you handle the meat. And you there..." Leo pointed at the lanky man and asked, "What's your name?"

He quickly bowed his head respectfully and said, "My name is Wood. 'Longarm' Wood."

Leo glanced at him. His arms were indeed very long, far longer than his legs. In his own hometown, that lean, stretched frame might well earn him the nickname "Longarm." But on the Grand Line—especially in the latter half, after the Longleg and Longhand Tribes appeared—such a moniker became utterly laughable.

Of course, with their current setup, they'd likely be wiped out within two or three islands at most. They'd never even reach the second half of the Grand Line.

"Wood, you saw the bread." Leo assigned.

"Yes, sir," he replied, obedient and meek, picking up a small saw to begin cutting the bread.

That's right—sawing. All the bread was coarse grain, with the crust deliberately baked hard to preserve it. The loaves looked blackened on the outside and had to be sawed in half before they could be eaten.

And even then, not everyone got a whole loaf. Most people received only half a loaf, paired with a sliver of salted meat.

But this time, Leo was the one handing out the rations.

His only task was fairness.

In truth, most people in this world knew there was no such thing as fairness—no absolute justice. Leo understood that too.

Yet within a small environment, especially now with so few people, he could achieve relative fairness.

For example, with portions of food and rum.

The pirates lined up crookedly. The deck wasn't long enough, so the queue stretched all the way to the stern, but they were all looking forward to it.

At sea, don't expect hot soup or warm meals. The Straw Hat Pirates were an anomaly among anomalies. For most, having meat was already a luxury; the rest of the time, they chewed on hard, dry bread.

Now that they'd entered the Calm Belt, no one held much hope of getting out alive. Captain William had even implemented a rationing system—food and water were halved, and the lower-ranking pirates got even less.

Being able to eat meat and drink rum now was already more than they could ask for.

Leo stood on the third table, distributing the rum.

He would pull the cork from each bottle, making sure they drank it immediately—so no one could stash it away or have it stolen.

On a pirate ship with over a hundred men, management was a serious discipline. Most pirate captains learned instinctively how to control their crew, even pitting them against each other for personal gain. Dumber captains got their hands dirty, stirring up conflicts until all resentment pointed at them, forcing them to either abandon the crew or be killed.

Of course, in the world of One Piece, brutal pirate captains attracted equally brutal followers—like the subordinates of East Blue Admiral Krieg. It was a process of top-down assimilation. Anyone who didn't share their values was driven out, killed in battle, or executed by their own comrades.

In the end, only a like-minded core remained.

Leo knew what kind of men these were. Once these lowlife pirates tasted violence, it was nearly impossible to root out. But discipline was meant to restrain that violence.

When they took the rum from Leo's hands, there was no gratitude or thanks. Their eyes were all fixed on Rindou, standing behind him.

Rindou's attire was quite bold, carrying the wildness unique to female pirates: bright red lipstick, a cigarette dangling from her lips, an open jacket with nothing underneath—a few more glances and you might see something you shouldn't. Below, she wore a short sheepskin skirt that barely covered front and back, leaving it ambiguous whether she wore anything beneath. Her long, shapely legs were clad in black thigh-high stockings, constantly drawing the eyes of the half-crazed pirates.

Her height was also rare among the Kuja Pirates—around 1.7 meters, just right for most people's tastes and preferences.

Though she held a cannon, she hadn't acted earlier. With her cigarette and casual demeanor, if not for fear of retaliation from the Kuja Pirates later, they'd have long since dragged her into the cabin for unspeakable acts.

Rindou knew what they were thinking—even what they'd do to her—but she remained indifferent. She understood how brutal these pirates could be to the weak, so she was just as brutal to them.

Right now, she was still pondering Leo's management style.

She decided to watch closely whether Leo could truly tame this rabble.

If he really could...

Her gaze drifted from the distant horizon, slowly focusing on the man distributing the rum. Maybe he...

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Leo suddenly stood on a table and shouted, "Alright, lads, bellies full. Anyone want to stretch their legs?"

"What kind of stretching?" the well-fed pirates drawled lazily, hiding in the shade from the scorching sun. Few were willing to respond, but a few bold ones—bored enough to grow moss—called out in jest.

"I've been training lately and need a worthy opponent. Pick the weakest among you to fight me." Leo took off his jacket, revealing his well-proportioned upper body, and addressed them.

He had never slacked on training, but as an Earthling, his physical condition simply couldn't compare to the people of this world. Sometimes the simplest things made it obvious—among the Celestial Dragons' slaves, even women could easily lift a table, and men of various races could crush him with a pinky finger.

But that was around the Celestial Dragons, whose combatants were mid-tier at best, appearing only in the later stages.

Later, on Amazon Lily Island, he'd faced high-level fighters with Haki foundations. He wouldn't humiliate himself there.

But these ordinary pirates represented the average level and combat strength of most pirates.

Now, he was curious: how big was the gap between himself and these "grunt" pirates?

The ship fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted into roaring laughter.

"He says he wants the weakest one!"

"Hahaha... no ambition at all!"

"This guy knows himself pretty well!"

"Hahaha, Todd, you go!"

"No, no kidding, I'm not the weakest..."

The pirates exploded into chaos, the whole ship filled with joyous noise.

PS: First chapter.