"Captain, something this exciting, and you didn't even call us? That's pretty selfish," Gin complained as he walked over.
Lucci nodded. "Yeah. Good thing we weren't stupid enough to stay behind."
"Huh? You two were here all along?"
Ye Chen was stunned. "That's low! Didn't you see me get hurt? Were you really hoping they'd hack me to death?"
"Heh... Lucci said this was your punishment for leaving without us," Gin explained with a grin.
Ye Chen rolled his eyes and glared at them both. "You two are ruthless!"
"Hey..."
Tang De and Shus were nearly upon him. Ye Chen hurriedly shouted, "Cu—time out!"
The two men faltered and almost stumbled. "What do you want, brat?"
Even with help arriving for Ye Chen, neither of them took it seriously.
Ye Chen gave them an earnest warning. "I'd advise you to get out of the way right now. Otherwise... you'll regret it."
"What did you say?"
Shus flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead.
As a fighter for the Redbeard Pirates, Shus had always looked down on others. He had a fiery temperament and a hair-trigger temper, and he took Ye Chen's words as an insult.
"You dare look down on us?"
Shus roared and swung his Abacus at Ye Chen.
"Captain, leave him to me."
Before Ye Chen could move, Gin rushed forward. Just as Shus's Abacus was about to strike, a gleaming black Iron Cane suddenly appeared in front of Ye Chen and blocked it.
"Small fry, I'll be your opponent."
Gin licked his lips, bloodthirsty excitement gleaming in his eyes.
His body looked slightly hunched. He could barely stand straight and swayed as though a gust of wind might knock him over. But his vicious eyes flashed with the savage glare of a Demon from hell.