Surrounded

The fleet smoothly entered the Calm Belt, and Kane finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was thoroughly sick of the pirates coming at them one after another.

Now that Kane had entered the Calm Belt, the pirates had no means of sailing through it. Naturally, he would have a period of peace and leisure.

What should he do with this time...

It was so hard to decide...

Hahaha...

On the deck of the warship, Kane lay back in a lounge chair wearing sunglasses, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

After entering the Calm Belt, the journey was just as he had expected—peaceful and tranquil, enough to put anyone in a good mood.

"Hina, can you stop pacing around on the deck?"

When Hina passed by Kane for the eighth time and blocked the sunlight bestowed upon him, Kane finally could not help protesting.

"Lady Gion will not rendezvous with us until tonight."

Hina frowned at the distant sea, hands on her hips as she anxiously tapped her heel against the deck, producing a steady clack-clack-clack.

"So?"

"So Hina will not get the Black Spear until tonight..."

"And then you will hunt Sea Kings in the Calm Belt?"

"..."

Hina was rendered speechless. She turned away irritably, pouting at the distant sea as the lollipop in her mouth crunched between her teeth.

Kane rolled his eyes and pointed at the calm, rippleless sea.

"The pirates from the North Blue cannot pursue us in here, and we have not encountered any pirates from the Grand Line yet. Even if you get the Black Spear, it will only add weight to the ship.

"So instead of that, we should take advantage of no one coming to bother us and enjoy this peaceful ti—"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The sudden warning was like a slap across Kane's face, brutally cutting him off mid-sentence.

Hina and Kane stared at each other as the lookout's shout came from overhead.

"One o'clock! Three pirate ships!"

"Four o'clock! Two pirate ships!"

"Seven o'clock! One pirate ship!"

"Ten o'clock! Two pirate ships!"

The unending warnings made Kane's heart sink rapidly. Eight pirate ships in total had already surrounded them completely.

Judging from their formation, they had clearly been lying in wait for some time, waiting for them to enter the Calm Belt before closing in!

"Which pirate crew is it?"

Kane shouted his question, but the lookout hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Unable to confirm..."

"Dammit!"

Kane leaped onto the lookout tower, snatched the telescope away, and looked for himself.

All eight pirate ships flew pirate flags, but every one of them was the exact same utterly generic skull-and-crossbones flag.

Pirates who flew such flags were usually rookies who had only recently set sail.

But rookie pirates could never possess eight pirate ships, much less the technology to sail through the Calm Belt!

That meant a massive and incredibly powerful force was hidden behind these eight ships!

Dammit!

Who could it be?

A local power from the North Blue?

Or some pirate crew from the New World?

But reality gave Kane no time to think further. He jumped down from the lookout tower and quickly dialed the Den Den Mushi.

"Officer, the situation is urgent. You—"

"I will not intervene."

"You still will not act at a time like this?"

"You want me to act just because of eight pirate ships? Are you underestimating me too much?"

"Do you have a swordsman's pride as well?"

"?"

Kane knew Tsuru's confidence came from her faith in her own strength, but she was also testing him.

After all, although the local pirates of the North Blue had swarmed them one after another, they had not put much pressure on Kane.

If she truly wanted to see what he was made of, she could only rely on a powerful force like this.

Knowing he could not trick Tsuru into acting, Kane shoved the command Den Den Mushi into Hina's hands and said quickly,

"Before the encirclement tightens, immediately command the fleet to break through. Our goal is to rendezvous with Lady Gion in the shortest possible time."

Hina gripped the Den Den Mushi, her expression growing tense as well.

"But there are three ships ahead..."

"I know."

Kane looked at the three pirate ships in front of the fleet. He understood that the enemy had guessed the direction of their breakout.

And without the ability to return cannon fire, once they were entangled, they could only be butchered at the enemy's mercy.

Tsuru would definitely act then, but Kane understood that his performance would become a weight on the scales in Tsuru's heart.

So how much weight he could hold in her eyes would depend on how he handled what came next.

"The enemy already knows we have run out of ammunition, but I have never let any witnesses escape alive, so they still have not figured out my strength.

"Therefore, you only need to focus on breaking through at full speed. Before you enter their firing range, I will crush them."

In the world of pirates, power ultimately had to be seized through violence.

Having made up his mind, Kane's gaze became more serious than ever before.

The enemy had come in overwhelming force. He did not believe they lacked powerful individuals, but he had not remained completely stagnant either. It would depend on how much of his strength they could force out of him.

Kane shot into the sky and flew toward the three pirate ships.

On the warship, Hina watched Kane's departing figure, gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and ordered the fleet to advance at full speed.

On Tsuru's warship, Tsuru leisurely sipped tea as she watched Kane rapidly disappear into the sky beyond the window, a smile curling at her lips.

"All of you stay aboard the ship. No one is allowed to help him."

Grey Pigeon was the first to shout her acknowledgment. Swift merely shrugged indifferently, then looked at Cuckoo, who was staring intently at Kane, and whispered teasingly,

"That worried about him? Why not sneak over and lend him a hand?"

Swift's teasing instead helped Cuckoo relax. She and Kane knew each other inside out, and she understood just how terrifying his strength was.

Even though she had improved considerably, she still could not gain the slightest advantage against him, even if she gave it everything she had.

Then, as if she had thought of something, she ignored Swift's teasing and simply craned her neck to watch Kane's retreating figure.

Swift could not help looking surprised. Just as she was about to intensify the teasing, she noticed a conspicuous crimson mark on Cuckoo's snow-white neck.

Judging by its irregular shape, it seemed to have been caused by subcutaneous bleeding.

Cuckoo was injured?

How had she injured that pla... huh?

Swift's eyes suddenly widened. As a woman, even though she had never experienced it herself, she knew what it was. She stared at Cuckoo in disbelief.

Cuckoo looked like a proud peacock, showing off the kiss mark on her neck. Swift instantly found herself unable to say another teasing word.

Had Kane messed up this girl's head?

What was there to show off about something like that?!

It was utterly ridiculous!

As Cuckoo deliberately displayed it, Swift felt the kiss mark on her neck constantly swaying in her field of vision, irritatingly conspicuous.

Growing increasingly annoyed, Swift simply turned her face away and stopped paying attention to Cuckoo.

Yet even so, that glaring kiss mark kept resurfacing in her mind. Amid her irritation, a strange thought also emerged.

What did a kiss that could leave a mark feel like?

While Swift was tangled in her chaotic thoughts, Kane, moving at full speed, had already closed in on the three pirate ships.

Yet strangely, although the people aboard had clearly spotted Kane, they showed no intention of attacking.

Their strange reaction immediately put Kane on guard. He guessed that they either had another motive or something to rely on—perhaps both.

Sure enough, just as Kane grew wary, a middle-aged man flew out from the lead pirate ship. He stopped several dozen meters in front of Kane and waved at him amicably.

"Lieutenant Colonel Kane, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"You know me?"

Unable to gauge the other side's background, Kane stopped in midair and carefully examined him.

The middle-aged man was extremely tall and wore a suit of strangely designed armor. Sharp eyes peered out through the gaps in his helmet, fixed on Kane.

He hovered in the air without making any movement, except for the powerful jets of flame blasting from beneath the armored boots on his feet.

"I did not know you before, but starting today, we can get to know each other properly."

The middle-aged man's voice came from within the armor, low and hoarse, difficult to distinguish.

"As long as you hand over Donquixote Rosinante."

Kane's expression darkened.

"If you want to know me, should you not introduce yourself first?"

The man nodded and replied readily,

"As you wish. Ironclad Pirates, Captain Torresis Lohr. Lieutenant Colonel Kane may simply call me Lohr."

Kane thought for a moment, then shook his head with a frown. "I am sorry, but I have never heard of the Ironclad Pirates or your name."

"That is normal. We were only established two weeks ago, and we will soon disband."

Lohr gave a courteous bow, his attitude respectful.

"Of course, that could also mean being defeated or wiped out by you. As long as you are willing to hand over Donquixote Rosinante, everything is negotiable."

Kane narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly,

"What if I am unwilling?"

Lohr hesitated awkwardly for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Please believe me, we truly do not wish to become your enemy, nor do we intend to offend the Marines' dignity.

"But Donquixote Rosinante is truly important to us. In order to obtain him, the Ironclad Pirates are willing to pay any price."

Kane suddenly understood something and gave a mocking laugh.

"Even if I ask for ten billion?"

Lohr nodded seriously.

"Yes, even if it costs us ten billion."