After Being Rejected, He Joined the Rocks Pirates

Mind storage >>>

"Kid, what did you say? You want to join my Roger Pirates?"

The wind howled across the ruins.

Roger rested his long blade on his shoulder and looked down at the young man below.

He had just finished dueling Rocks, and exhaustion filled his face.

"Yeah." Ron gave a slight nod.

He had been transported into this old-era timeline for a full year and had now become a somewhat famous pirate.

After weighing his options again and again, the Roger Pirates had become the most ideal and safest destination he could choose.

Of course, it was not as though he had never considered the Rocks Pirates. But from what he knew on Blue Star, that place was filled with too much scheming and backstabbing. With his current strength, he could easily become a sacrificial pawn.

The Roger Pirates were different. Their companions treated one another honestly and trusted each other deeply. Their voyages held both boisterous laughter and unquestioning aid in times of danger. The atmosphere aboard their ship was free yet restrained, tolerant yet not indulgent. It was fertile ground where one could put down roots and focus on becoming stronger.

As for where he would go after fully growing stronger, what stance he would take, or which path he would choose... Ron had not thought that far ahead, nor was he in any hurry to decide. He only wanted to board this ship first, see it with his own eyes, experience it for himself, and then follow his heart.

"Hahahahaha!" Roger looked at Ron and suddenly threw back his head in laughter. "You're the one they've been calling the Devil Butcher across the seas lately, aren't you?"

After a pause, Roger added, "Someone like you, who kills innocents without restraint—even if I agreed to let you aboard my ship, my companions wouldn't accept it."

Ron froze. His pupils contracted slightly, and one brow lifted as a flash of incredulous astonishment crossed his eyes.

It was not as though he had never expected Roger to reject him. Roger had always held extremely high standards and had been exceedingly strict when choosing friends. But... Ron had never imagined that, as fellow pirates, Roger would reject him for such a reason.

Ron did not consider himself some saint concerned with the fate of all living things, nor did he intend to flaunt kindness and virtue. Every life he had taken had a clear reason behind it. Everyone he had killed was evil and had crimes to answer for.

Yet in Roger's eyes, he had become a "bastard who treated human lives like grass"?

"Isn't being a pirate all about living with a blade at your throat?" Ron paused, his voice low as he explained, "The people I killed were all bastards who deserved to die."

Roger's expression suddenly turned grave. His lips moved slightly as he said in a deep voice, "You mean... every villager in Bilen Village deserved to die?"

What Roger referred to was what had happened to Ron a few months ago.

A group of mountain bandits with a bounty of fifty million Beli had occupied the mountains near Bilen Village. To remove that thorn from their side, the villagers secretly sought someone capable of dealing with them.

Ron had thought he could earn a system reward while also receiving the villagers' payment. It was killing two birds with one stone.

But he had not expected the plan to be leaked. To give the bandits an explanation, the villagers had chosen to offer Ron up as a sacrifice.

What kind of joke was that?

Had he worked so hard to train just so he could become their sacrificial offering?

Fortunately, Ron was kindhearted enough to continue helping the villagers wipe out the bandits. But afterward, he discovered that those damned bandits had actually possessed the villagers. Out of principle, Ron had taken the opportunity to wipe them all out together.

Then the bastards at the news agency added fuel to the fire, exaggerating everything with sensational headlines and photos deliberately blurred to obscure the truth. Overnight, Ron became a "cold-blooded butcher" and a "devil who disregarded life," his reputation utterly ruined and his infamy spreading far and wide.

Ron stared straight at Roger. He no longer had any desire to explain, because he already knew that he and Roger were not headed down the same path.

"Honestly, I would have preferred it if you had just rejected me outright." Ron smiled instead, looking far more relaxed.

After all, they were both pirates. Who was really any better than the other?

Ron still remembered that in the original story, when an army insulted Roger's companion, Roger had gone and slaughtered the entire force.

The difference was that Ron had raised his blade against unarmed villagers.

While Roger had drawn his sword against an imperial army clad in armor, armed to the teeth, and lined up for battle.

The two seemed worlds apart, but in Ron's eyes, there was no essential difference. If anything, the villagers deserved death more.

Before Roger could say another word, Ron quietly took a step back and gave him a slight nod. "Sorry to bother you."

As soon as the words fell, Ron turned and left. Roger said nothing more.

"Tap, tap, tap, tap..."

Before he had gone far, Ron heard a burst of hurried footsteps behind him.

What followed was a string of breathless voices, full of reproach but also concern.

"Hey, Roger, you bastard, that was way too reckless!"

"You're not hurt, are you? Your arm's still bleeding!"

"You madman, that was completely insane."

"Hahahahaha!" Roger threw back his head and laughed. "Rocks and I merely exchanged a few moves. Sure enough... I'm still far from his level."

"Who was that guy?" Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, watching Ron's retreating back from afar as he suddenly asked in a low voice.

"A kid who wanted to join us, but I rejected him." Roger's gaze returned to Ron, his expression calm and his tone casual.

"Why?" Rayleigh tilted his head, his brows knitting as genuine curiosity rose in his eyes.

"I don't want a companion who thirsts for blood aboard my ship. Hahahahaha."

"I see." Rayleigh nodded, but inwardly he grumbled, Roger's rejecting people based on instinct again. Still... that young man's back doesn't look as relaxed as someone who's just been rejected should be.

"Hahahahaha~~"

A rough laugh suddenly crashed into Ron's ears.

At the corner of a ruined area piled with charred beams and shattered bricks, a mountain-like figure came into view. It was Rocks, who had just finished dueling Roger and had not gone far.

He sat casually atop a thick fallen log, one foot planted on cracked flagstones. His long blade was buried deep in the fissured earth. With a wide grin revealing his white teeth, he laughed openly in Ron's direction.

"Kid, Roger didn't take you in?"

When Ron had appeared to ask Roger earlier, just after their sparring match ended, Rocks had stopped with great interest and listened for a while.

There was no disappointment on Ron's face. He merely raised his eyes slightly to meet that blazing gaze, then let out a faint laugh. "My reputation stinks too much. I'm not a good fit."

"Hahahahaha!" Rocks burst out laughing again. He slowly rose to his feet, gripped his blade with his right hand, and pulled it free with a continuous hum before swinging it onto his left shoulder. "Your reputation stinks? Then forget a ship full of hypocrites like that! On my ship, I never ask how you kill people. I only ask whether you can kill them! Whether you're ruthless enough! Whether you're crazy enough!"

Ron fell silent. The most important part of his plan had failed, leaving him somewhat lost.

"Hehehehehahahahaha!" Rocks' laughter abruptly rose. He spun around and strode forward, his black cloak whipping wildly in the wind.

"When the destined day arrives!"

"Whether you follow me is up to you!"

"If you've made up your mind, then follow!"

"I'll show you the view from the top of the world!"