They're Merely Not Entirely the Same (Seeking Monthly Votes, Recommendation Votes, and Rewards!)

Smack, smack~

Wude looked at the pirates sprawled in the puddles before him, kneeling and bowing. He froze for a moment, then turned his puzzled gaze toward one pirate who had secretly raised his head.

Jia held a bag of bombs and kept winking at the master, as if asking, When should I throw the bombs and blast these guys?

"Why did you kneel the moment you saw me?" Wude asked, looking at the pirates.

The pirate David hurriedly raised his head and said ingratiatingly, "Ever since you left the East Blue, legends of you have spread across the sea. You went alone to an island and wiped out a major pirate crew. Nobody doesn't know about you."

"Even quite a few naval base commanders went to your hometown specifically to inquire about you," the navigator added, raising his head.

"Many nobles and royal families from various countries also wanted to invite you to become an honored guest of their nations," the swordsman said ingratiatingly, raising his head as well.

"And many hot-blooded young people went to inquire about you, hoping to follow you," the gunner added.

Smack, smack, smack!

Jia gave each of them a slap, frightening them into trembling all over.

"I'm about to suffocate! Can't one of you finish speaking in a single breath, you bastards?" Jia shouted angrily, then gave each of them another slap.

Hearing the bombs clattering inside the bag Jia carried, the pirates fell silent as cicadas in winter.

"Grandfather, please calm down. Don't let the bombs keep clattering," David pleaded. His legs had gone weak, and hearing the bombs knocking against one another at such close range made his heart pound.

Everyone had their match.

When the notorious powerhouse from the increasingly exaggerated rumors returned, the arrogant little pirates instantly went limp.

And with a man who seemed to be a bomb-crazed lunatic slapping them around, they were even more terrified.

The pirates told him everything in one breath, and Wude understood.

"So that's how it is." Wude nodded.

"Sir, we can leave now, right?" David asked cautiously, watching him.

The master of the dojo, Augustus, emerged from the town with two disciples and some surviving elderly people, women, and children. They secretly poked their heads out and stared fearfully at the pirates, unable to help being stunned.

What was going on?

Wude looked toward them and waved.

The survivors of the town hurriedly hid again, shrinking fearfully into the corners.

"You can leave now."

Those words determined the fates of many people.

People wailed and sobbed behind the wreckage and ruins, while the pirates cheered and hurriedly scrambled to their feet and ran.

Wude watched the pirates completely separate from the town and gave a cold laugh. "Kill!"

Kuroh sprang into action. Its black wings beat as it flew above the pirates, its claws reaping one life after another.

Jia let out a loud laugh, charged forward, and flung a bomb with a casual sweep of his hand.

Boom!

Flames surged upward. The pirate captain and navigator running at the front were swallowed first, their bodies pierced by fragments.

Wude drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and sent a continuous stream of arrows flying with sharp whooshes.

One pirate after another fell with a wail. The three of them had surrounded an entire pirate crew.

Having returned from the Grand Line and been trained by Wude, Jia found killing this nameless rabble as easy as slaughtering livestock.

In the words of a fantasy novel: "You're nothing but a pack of country bumpkins~"

"Is this what a true powerhouse is?" Augustus, the dojo master, squatted weakly on the ground, staring in a daze.

"Living in such a remote corner, I've wasted my entire life." He sighed helplessly.

Not long afterward.

Even when the pirates, terrified by the slaughter, surrendered in panic, Wude did not stop killing. He left no survivors and cut them all down.

"Thank you!" Augustus brought the others over and expressed his gratitude through tears.

The survivors behind him looked at Wude gratefully, but they were already crying so hard they could not speak.

"It's nothing. I'll leave half of the David Pirates' money for you to rebuild your home. The rest will depend on you." With that, Wude turned and left.

Jia stayed behind to handle the aftermath.

"If you still want to thank him, join the Navy and serve under the master in the future." Jia patted Augustus and the two disciples on the shoulders.

Only then did they tear their gazes away from the departing man and nod solemnly.

Jia's wording had been very deliberate. He had said they would serve under Wude, and he could not help feeling pleased with his own cleverness.

I really am the master's confidant.

At the edge of the island, Wude stood on the beach, watching a ship slowly approach in the distance.

"We're too late." Dragon, wearing a cloak and hood, looked grimly at the town burning on the island.

"That's not your fault. We came as soon as we received the news," said a man with a rather "distinctive" appearance.

"Young man, did you save this place?" Dragon looked toward the person before the beach. He had some impression of this man.

For the past six months, news of him had been circulating throughout the East Blue.

"Yes, but also no." Wude sat on the beach, studying the tattoo on Dragon's face that looked suspiciously like a shoeprint.

"Why do you say that?" someone behind Dragon asked.

"I arrived late too. I only managed to save some of the survivors," Wude said, then took out some alcohol and began drinking.

In truth, he had merely been passing by.

"That's not your fault. You did everything you could." Dragon studied Wude. "At least you have a passionate heart for justice."

"Sir, I've finished handling things and distributed some money to those people so they can settle down," Jia shouted as he ran over from a distance.

"Mm. Let's go." Wude stood up, patted his backside, and walked toward the ship.

"Young man, could we talk? I believe we have some common ground," someone behind Dragon called out.

"We may become friends in the future, but when you say 'common ground,' do you mean our methods or our goals?" Wude stood on the ship and looked back.

"What about our methods? And what about our goals?" Dragon asked.

He wanted to know what this powerful young man from the rumors of the East Blue was thinking.

Ever since he had left the Navy several years ago and parted ways with his father, he had been searching everywhere for like-minded companions.

This young man seemed promising. Perhaps he would be a good choice.

"Neither is entirely the same, that's all. Ha-ha!" Wude said, then raised the anchor, lowered the sails, and left.

It wasn't that he looked down on Dragon's organization. It was just that the revolution in the story of those Japanese people living comfortably was practically child's play.

Fine, he did look down on them.

After all, the future of an entire world was supposed to be entrusted to a bunch of people who hid and skulked around to save it, and in the end, it was a pirate who led the charge.

How tragic.

Dragon frowned as he watched the other party sail away.

Wude sat on the ship, watching the morning sun rise ahead.

The Navy was merely a springboard for his stable development. He would pursue his goals through a steadier and better method.

Several days later, in the Oykot Kingdom.

Wude's ship docked along the island's shore. Jia remained aboard to keep watch, while Wude went alone to visit the old man who lay sleeping.

He sat silently before the gravestone for a long time, speaking to the old man about many things. Only then did he walk toward his teacher's home.

At the end of a country lane stood an ordinary little courtyard. The wooden door creaked open, and the old man stood at the entrance, smiling as he watched Wude return.

"You're back?"

"Mm. I missed you."