Give Me a Lollipop

Less than three days after leaving Minion Island, Kane had deeply realized just how "uneventful" the journey Tsuru had mentioned would be!

On the first day, they encountered the Black Crow Pirates, who were wiped out by Kane through force.

On the second day, one pirate crew charged at them howling in the morning and another in the afternoon, becoming Hina's naval combat experience points.

On the third day, four pirate crews arrived one after another. Hina took out two, while Kane punched holes through the bottoms of the other two ships and sent them to the bottom of the sea.

On the morning of the fourth day, Kane basked in the sunlight on the warship's deck, taking the opportunity to replenish his energy.

After yesterday's battle, Cuckoo had called him away under the pretext of discussing strategies for dealing with enemies, and they had fought three fierce rounds.

Her improvement in Haki had greatly boosted Cuckoo's confidence. Even after being utterly defeated time after time, she came charging back, making Kane admire her willpower.

The key was that she was already sprawled on the bed, unable to stand, yet she still stubbornly insisted it was a draw!

Was this the pride of a swordsman?

It was simply unbelievable!

Kane shook his head speechlessly, wondering if he ought to try some new moves the next time he fought Cuckoo.

She had nearly figured out all his old tricks. She was becoming increasingly skilled at breaking them down and responding to them. Maybe that was why she was always so stubborn?

Mm, next time, he would try the animal style...

Thinking of the animal style, Robin's figure flashed through Kane's mind. She loved imitating little cats, dogs, fish, shrimp, and the like. Though clumsy, she was adorably endearing.

"Kane! A pirate ship has appeared at three o'clock! Get ready to help Hina retrieve the Black Spears!"

"Not a chance! It'll be perfect once they're all fired!"

Kane shouted irritably and looked up, only to see a pirate ship racing toward him through the morning light, like a devoted lover rushing toward romance.

Hina approached him with an anxious expression. There was a trace of pleading between her brows, yet she could not bring herself to lower her pride and say anything soft.

Kane was speechless at her antics too. After wiping out the Black Crow Pirates, Hina became excited whenever she saw a pirate ship, and whenever she got excited, she fiercely fired the naval combat weapon she had developed herself—the Black Spear.

After merely three battles, the Black Spears stored aboard the warship were nearly used up, so Hina wanted Kane to retrieve them one by one.

The problem was that Hina's artillery accuracy at this point was nowhere near as precise as it would be ten years later. The Black Spears stuck in pirate ships were manageable; with Kane's immense strength, retrieving them took little effort.

But the Black Spears that fell into the sea sank incredibly fast. Even if Kane jumped into the ocean to kill himself, he could not catch up with how quickly they plunged downward, so naturally, he recovered very few.

And as the Black Spears dwindled, Hina grew more and more anxious.

Now that she saw Kane's dark expression, Hina felt a little embarrassed too.

But the naval battle tactics she had been developing were about to be perfected. The Black Spears were an extremely important part of them, and she had to take this chance to conduct proper live combat drills.

After thinking for a moment, Hina seemed to make up her mind. Biting her lollipop, she said:

"Hina... can do many things."

Kane raised a brow as he looked Hina up and down. Finally, his gaze fell on the lollipop in her mouth, and he said with a strange expression:

"Give me a lollipop."

"Just a lollipop? No problem..."

"The one you're eating."

"...Huh?"

Hina was instantly dumbfounded. She stared blankly at Kane, wanting to know whether he was joking.

But all she saw was Kane's serious gaze, along with his finger pointing at the lollipop in her mouth!

He... he was serious!

Hina's face immediately flushed red. Her heart thumped wildly, and she even instinctively took a step back from nervousness, her mind turning to mush.

Kane went numb at the sight. He had only meant to scare Hina off. Ideally, she would call him a pervert and completely give up on the idea of retrieving the Black Spears.

But things had clearly developed beyond Kane's expectations and were racing in an increasingly suggestive direction.

Hey, hey, hey!

Don't make that lovestruck face!

That just makes me look even more like a pervert!

Unaware of Kane's thoughts, Hina timidly raised her hand, then hesitantly lowered it again, caught in an intense internal struggle.

Kane was serious...

If... it was him...

That still wouldn't do!

Wouldn't it?

It wasn't like it couldn't...

Fine!

Hina raised her hand once more. This time, she did not lower it midway. She was clearly determined to hand over the lollipop in her mouth!

"Kane, Kane! Do you want a lollipop? I have one!"

A crisp, cheerful voice suddenly rang out, breaking the stiff yet suggestive atmosphere between them.

Baby-5 skipped over between them and, without hesitation, offered the lollipop in her mouth to Kane, looking at him expectantly.

Feeling as though he had been granted a pardon, Kane immediately accepted it with a smile. He carefully placed it in his pocket, patted Baby-5's little head, and praised her:

"Your lollipop charm came at just the right time. With it, I'll definitely have good luck today!"

Baby-5 was so happy that her entire face turned red, and bliss nearly overflowed from her eyes.

Kane needed me!

So happy~~!

Grateful to Baby-5, Kane glanced at the stunned Hina and said evasively:

"Since someone has paid the price for you, I'll help you retrieve the Black Spears. But I still hope you can shoot a little more accurately."

With that, Kane jumped straight off the ship, stepping through the air with Geppo as he flew toward the approaching pirate vessel.

On the warship, Hina's fingers, frozen near her lips, moved slightly and hooked around the lollipop stick. Complicated emotions churned in her heart.

So he wanted it as a charm...

Right, he never said he wanted to eat it...

What was Hina even thinking...

Amid her chaotic thoughts, Hina suddenly caught sight of Baby-5's blissful smile, and an inexplicable trace of disappointment rose in her heart.

If Hina had not hesitated so much...

If she had moved a little faster...

Just a little faster...

Would it...

Faintly, Hina felt that the lollipop in her mouth had suddenly taken on a hint of bitterness. Yet when she savored it carefully, it was gone, leaving only an inexplicable discomfort in her heart.

Kane rapidly approached the pirate ship with Geppo, secretly wiping the sweat from his forehead. He had nearly overplayed his hand just now. Fortunately, Baby-5 had appeared in time, or it would have been hard to wrap things up.

Kane felt that it was not his fault either. Who would have thought that Hina, that overly serious woman, would actually agree to such a request?

Mm, he would have to consider the limits next time...

While thinking, Kane had already arrived above the pirate ship.

The pirates who spotted him stared in shock at him hovering in midair. Before they could react, Kane raised his right leg high, then whipped it down at a speed too fast for the naked eye to discern!

Rankyaku!

A massive vacuum slash appeared beneath Kane's foot, cutting toward the pirate ship with a terrifying shriek!

"What is that?!"

"What did he do?!"

"That thing is coming at us, move—"

Boom!

The vacuum slash shot through the air for dozens of meters before viciously striking the pirate ship's mast!

With a sharp crack, the mast snapped cleanly in half and crashed heavily onto the deck. Several unlucky pirates were struck directly and collapsed on the deck, wailing miserably.

Kane coldly watched the mast's smooth break and nodded in satisfaction.

He did not use Rankyaku often, but it was indeed a formidable mid-to-long-range attack among the Six Powers. Depending on the user, Rankyaku could also develop countless variations.

As he thought about it, Kane glanced at the warship far behind him, completely ignoring the cries and screams aboard the pirate ship.

A target that had lost its ability to move couldn't possibly still be hard to hit, right...

Very soon, Hina answered Kane's expectations with her actions.

Accompanied by the booming roar of cannons, thick, heavy black iron spears crossed a distance of several hundred meters, whistling toward the pirate ship.

Hovering high in the air, Kane estimated the landing points of those iron spears and raised his brows in surprise.

Hina's artillery accuracy had improved enormously!

Previously, even at her best, she had only hit one or two out of ten. Now, she could actually achieve a fifty percent hit rate!

Even though he had cut down the mast beforehand, that hit rate was still rather absurd.

The vast improvement in her firing accuracy shocked Kane, and he even began to wonder whether Hina had been putting on an act before.

Little did he know that back on the warship, Hina stood behind the cannon with her entire body tense, staring fixedly at the distant pirate ship. She clenched her lollipop so tightly between her teeth that it creaked, nervous beyond belief.

She carefully observed the arcs traced by the Black Spears through the air, continuously ordering the gunners to make slight adjustments to the firing angle, striving to raise the hit rate a little higher.

Finally, after a round of bombardment ended, Hina let out a breath of relief. Her tightly clenched fists stiffly relaxed, her palms already drenched in sweat.

Without waiting for the observer to report the results, she looked at the small black dot in the distant sky and murmured to herself:

"Twenty Black Spears, twelve hits. You should be satisfied now..."

Kane was indeed very satisfied. By the time the pirates were struck by the third Black Spear, they had all fallen to their knees on the deck, crying loudly as they surrendered to him.

Kane then began pondering with a serious expression. Only after the pirates piled their looted treasures onto the deck and begged for mercy did he accept their surrender and order the warship to stop firing.

In the end, Kane requisitioned all the lifeboats aboard the pirate ship and returned to the warship with the treasure they had voluntarily handed over and the recovered Black Spears.

Standing on the warship's deck, he watched the pirate ship gradually sink beneath the sea and listened to the cries for help and curses carried to his ears by the ocean wind. His mood could not have been better.

Hina stood beside him, her face still wearing its usual serious expression.

"What are you so happy about?"

Kane held a copper coin confiscated from the pirate ship. Brown, dried blood stained its surface. He suddenly grinned.

"The righteous Marines have won a great victory.

"The pirates who committed every kind of evil have returned to the embrace of Mother Ocean.

"The world ought to be like this."