First Meeting with Siegel

Ryan looked at Mihawk, who was still feeling gloomy over there, and said.

"Mihawk, winning and losing are common matters for soldiers. Besides, losing to me is not disgraceful, right?" As he spoke, Ryan winked at Mihawk.

Mihawk still remained silent, picking up the wine on the table and drinking it.

"Hey! Stop drinking, there's no wine left." Ryan snatched the wine from Mihawk's hand and poured a cup into his own bowl.

"It seems we have to leave. The food is almost gone too. If this goes on, we'll starve to death in this vast ocean."

"Can't we just eat fish?" Mihawk said indifferently.

"Who can stand eating fish every day? The main thing is that there's no wine left. Originally, Beli and I could drink for nearly a month, but then you showed up." After saying this, Ryan glanced sideways at Mihawk.

Seeing that Mihawk had no reaction, Ryan cursed in his heart: As expected, sword practitioners all have thick skin.

Killer: "???"

Ryan gathered everyone together and announced the news that they were ready to set off. Everyone expressed strong agreement, after all, aside from Crocus, probably no one could stand staying in such a place for long.

"Senior Crocus, we are getting ready to leave." Ryan said to Crocus, who was reading a newspaper over there.

"Leaving already? Then I'll see you guys out."

Crocus was quite happy about the news that Ryan and his crew were leaving; mainly because Ryan and Mihawk kept bursting out with Sword Intent from time to time, always disturbing his peaceful life.

Crocus had always liked a peaceful life. If he hadn't been captivated by Roger's charm and dream back then, he wouldn't have boarded Roger's ship and helped prolong Roger's life. You must know that when Roger found him back then, he was already close to death.

After leading everyone out through the internal passage, Crocus was just about to head back when Ryan called out to him.

"Senior, let me give you a gift."

"No thanks, old man doesn't need it."

"I have news about the Rumbar Pirates." Ryan smiled slightly.

"What!"

Ignoring Crocus's surprise, Ryan spoke to the giant whale Laboon.

"Laboon, Brook of the Rumbar Pirates is still alive. I will bring him back for you. But you must stop slamming your head against the Red Line."

Laboon: "Awoo~~ Awoo~~ Awoo~~"

Everyone hurriedly covered their ears.

"No need to thank me, this is also to repay your saving grace, Senior." Ryan said to Crocus, who was preparing to thank him.

Seeing Crocus about to pull something out of his pocket, Ryan hurriedly pressed down on Crocus's hand and gave a very suave wave of farewell.

"We're leaving, Senior."

Watching the departed Ryan Pirates, Crocus touched the Eternal Pose he had just prepared to take out and muttered: "Could it be they don't need an Eternal Pose?"

On the ocean.

"Captain, where are we going?" Kid asked Ryan.

"Alabasta." Ryan planned to go to Alabasta to see if he could run into Robin. Robin was his favorite female character when he watched Pirate King in his past life.

"I wonder if Robin is in Alabasta right now."

"Ryan, where is the Eternal Pose for Alabasta?" Lory reached out her hand toward Ryan and said.

Ryan: "..."

"I say I forgot about the Eternal Pose, do you believe it?" Ryan replied with a faint smile.

The next moment, Ryan was seen being pinned to the ground by Lory, undergoing indescribable treatment.

"Ah! You didn't remind me either!"

"You're the captain. Do you still need me to remind you of such things?"

"It's all Mihawk's fault. My brain must have been injured when I was sparring with him, that's why I forgot." After saying this, Ryan glared hatefully at Mihawk.

At this moment, Mihawk, who was coaching Killer in swordsmanship, was filled with question marks.

An untimely voice sounded: "Master Ryan, your brain is not injured."

While being beaten by Lory, Ryan cursed Killer furiously in his inner monologue: You still have the nerve to call me Master. Is this how you repay me?

The honest man Killer ruined Ryan's attempt to shift the blame onto someone else.

"It's fine, we can just rob other pirates' Eternal Poses. There are so many pirates in the Grand Line." After Ryan offered his solution, Lory finally let him off.

Just like that, Ryan and his crew sailed aimlessly on the ocean for three days, and Ryan truly experienced what unpredictable weather was like. In the Grand Line, where the magnetic fields were already chaotic, one moment it would be clear skies and ten thousand miles of sunshine, and the next there would be a torrential downpour, and Ryan even had the fortune of seeing hail.

For three days, let alone pirates, Ryan hadn't even seen a single small island.

"Wine! I want wine!" Ryan shouted loudly.

Just the day before, the wine on the ship had been drunk dry by the three of them, meaning the three alcoholics hadn't had a drink in two days—which was agonizing for them.

Mihawk managed to hold on because he had to maintain his persona, and Beli didn't say anything because she still had work to do. Only the idle Ryan couldn't bear it anymore.

Right at that moment.

"Ryan, a group of pirate ships has appeared ahead!" Beli's excited voice came through.

Beli currently served as the helmsman and lookout on this ship, responsible for steering the vessel and keeping an eye on the movements upon the sea.

Ships, there are ships! The others could no longer suppress their restless hearts. Even Hawkeye had a faint smile at the corners of his cold face.

The group hurried to the bow, only to see pirate crews of all sizes sailing toward Ryan from the distance. By the look of it, there were about twenty ships in total.

Ryan, Hawkeye, and Beli all had their eyes glowing like famished wolves.

"With so many ships, there's bound to be plenty of booze!" Ryan rubbed his hands and said.

"Yes, there certainly will be a lot." Hawkeye agreed.

Beli said nothing at all, only giving Hawkeye a deep look.

Lory watched the three men sharpening their blades, and for some reason, she actually started to feel worried for the pirates in the distance.

Meanwhile, on a flagship in the distance, a man in a suit and a fedora was delivering a pre-battle speech.

This person was none other than Siegel, captain of the Black Hand Pirates. His past identity was the boss of the Black Hand Gang, the largest mafia in West Blue. Due to the arrival of the Great Age of Pirates, he had disbanded the Black Hand Gang to establish the Black Hand Pirates and come to the Grand Line for adventure.

"Lads, this is our first battle in the Grand Line! Do you see the enemy pirate ships opposite us? We cannot let our guard down just because the enemy is weak. This battle will ring out the reputation of the Black Hand Pirates. Raise the signal flags and crush them!"

"Crush them! Crush them!"

Whipped into an emotional frenzy, the Black Hand Pirates cheered wildly.

The Ryan Pirates also sped up toward the Black Hand Pirates.

The ships of both sides continuously closed the distance.

Seeing this scene, Siegel smiled at the pirate beside him and said, "It's wonderful. They're actually taking the initiative to approach us."

"Remember, absolutely do not destroy the ships. Our things are still on them." After saying this, Ryan specifically glanced at Hawkeye, his meaning very obvious that these words were meant for him.

Actually, Hawkeye felt quite depressed. For some reason, Ryan always framed him, saying last time that he had beaten his head bad, and now specifically reminding him not to chop up the ships.

Hawkeye really wanted to ask Ryan, "Do I look like that kind of person?"

The distance grew closer and closer, and the three of Ryan could not wait to leap onto the enemy ship.

"Can you give all your food and booze to us?" Ryan smiled and said to the Black Hand Pirates.

"Of course not, little kid!" Seeing how naive Ryan was, Siegel smiled and replied.

In the past twenty--odd years, Hawkeye had experienced more battles of all sizes than he could count, but this was the first time he had seen someone be so polite before a fight.

"Is Ryan always like this?" Hawkeye asked curiously.

"Yeah, this is Ryan's special hobby. He has a lot of other special hobbies too, but only I know them!" Beli was declaring ownership.

Beside them, Hawkeye thought thoughtfully, "Is this why Ryan is so strong even though he's so young?"

"Then I'm sorry!" Ryan made his move directly. He often rushed into other people's battlefields...

When one person moved, everyone moved.

Ryan brandished Mubanniu, cutting down whoever he saw with a single sword stroke, and from time to time he would run over to the territories belonging to Hawkeye and Beli to steal kills.

Siegel, who had just been smiling faintly, stopped being so calm. Just as he prepared to personally fight the three of Ryan, his subordinate next to him grabbed him.

"Boss, that looks like the Bloody Swordsman Ryan, who has a bounty of 200 million Beli!" The subordinate pointed at Ryan and said.

"He looks the part, uses a sword, and is so young—it really is him!" After observing carefully, Siegel also reached a conclusion.

"Boss, are we still fighting?"

"We're not fighting, we can't beat him! That's a great pirate with a 200 million Beli bounty!" Siegel slapped his lackey's head and shouted.

"Lads, stop! Don't fight!" Siegel stood on the deck and shouted loudly to the fighting pirates.

Siegel's words still carried weight. The fighting pirates heard this and retreated back to their own ships, awaiting Siegel's next command.

This left the three of Ryan in a very awkward position. Were they supposed to keep fighting or not?

Siegel also saw the awkwardness of the three and took the initiative to approach Ryan, saying softly, "Lord Ryan, can we go inside to talk?"

Ryan also wanted to see what the other party intended to do, so he followed Siegel into the cabin.

Upon reaching the cabin, Siegel dropped straight to his knees at Ryan's feet and hugged Ryan's thigh. "Lord Ryan, I was most offensive just now, please forgive me."

Ryan said, "Get up first."

After standing up, Siegel said to Ryan, "Can I discuss something with you, Milord?"

"What is it?" Ryan asked doubtfully.

"It's just that I can give you all the food and booze, but can you spare us?"

Hearing this, Ryan found it quite interesting. This fellow was trying to buy his life with money. Coupled with the fact that the man had been quite polite earlier, Ryan did not directly refuse, just quietly watching his performance.

Seeing Ryan stay silent, Siegel screamed internally, This means it's not enough!

"We'll give you all our money too!"

Ryan remained silent.

"From now on, as long as you have an order, I, Siegel, will carry it all out."

Ryan continued to silently watch Siegel.

"There really isn't anything left. I just came to the Grand Line from West Blue, and I genuinely don't have anything else." Siegel started crying, tears actually streaming down his face.

Just as Siegel was about to break down, Ryan spoke up.

"Let's go with what you said then. By the way, do you guys have an Eternal Pose for Alabasta?"

Seeing Ryan finally agree to his request, Siegel let out a sigh of relief and replied, "We do. As long as it's an island on the Grand Line, we basically have it. I paid a full 100 million Beli for it."

"Alright, bring all of them here, and move everything I just asked for onto my ship."

"Um, Lord Ryan. Can you leave us a little food? Otherwise, we're going to starve to death out here on this ocean."

"Sure, but all the alcohol must be moved over."

After the terms were settled, Siegel came out and returned to his own ship.

"Boss, what'd he say? Should we take 'em down?" a lackey asked excitedly. In his eyes, Boss Siegel was omnipotent.

Siegel ignored him, cleared his throat, and said to the crowd, "The guy over there is the Bloody Swordsman Ryan, a man with a bounty of 200 million Beli. I just talked things over with Lord Ryan, and from now on in the Grand Line, Lord Ryan is going to watch our backs. But right now, Lord Ryan has run into a bit of trouble and needs our help. Lads, should we help or not?"

"Help! Help! Help!"

"Good, then move the food and booze from our ship onto Lord Ryan's ship. Get moving. Leave enough food for us to eat ourselves." After giving his orders, Siegel walked toward the cabin.

Meanwhile, Ryan in the distance used Observation Haki to listen in and couldn't help sighing in admiration, What an absolute talent!

Hawkeye asked with curiosity, "What did you two talk about in there?"

Ryan smiled and said, "It's a secret."

Hawkeye: "..."

Shortly after, they watched as the Black Hand Pirates continuously hauled food and alcohol over to Ryan and the others' ship, leaving Hawkeye and Beli completely dumbfounded.

Seeing that the loading was nearly finished, Siegel walked up to Ryan carrying several large boxes and said softly, "Lord Ryan, all the money and the Eternal Pose are right here. If there's nothing else, I'll be heading out."

Just like that, Siegel led the Black Hand Pirates away to continue their dreams.

As they left, Ryan even waved goodbye to the Black Hand Pirates. Everyone in the Black Hand Pirates except for Siegel left with beaming smiles.