Survival Requires Strength

"Captain System?"

Realizing what had happened, Gawain's eyes lit up as a translucent pale-blue panel slowly unfolded before him.

Yet the people around him showed no reaction at all. Clearly, only Gawain could see this panel.

[Captain System]

[Host - Gawain]

[Age - 24]

[Identity - Captain of the Gawain Pirates]

[Bounty - 8 million Berry]

[Title - Knight]

[Skills:

Swordsmanship - LV. 4: 431/800

Physique - LV. 3: 357/400

Navigation - LV. 1: 39/50

]

[Badge:

Captain's Wrath - Subordinates' stamina recovery speed +20%

]

[Rating - Black Iron: Minnow. Need I say more?]

Seeing the glaring word "Minnow" at the bottom of the panel, Gawain's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He then focused all his attention on the system.

Very quickly.

Gawain figured out the system's functions.

For every bit of progress his crew made in training, Gawain would gain ten times the benefit.

As for the Rating, it represented one's current strength. There were six ranks in total, from lowest to highest:

Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Legendary, Mythical.

The higher the rank, the greater the combat power. Peak Whitebeard and Roger, for example, were basically at the Legendary rank. The Yonko and Admirals started at Gold-tier, with some capable of reaching Legendary. The Shichibukai, meanwhile, were mostly clustered between Silver and Gold.

As for the highest rank, Mythical, it existed only in theory.

A Black Iron like Gawain was undoubtedly at the very bottom of the pirate world—a proper Minnow. Compared to the other pirates on the island, he was merely a slightly bigger Minnow.

The Badge mentioned in the earlier notification was also displayed on the panel. It could increase his subordinates' stamina recovery speed by 20%.

"So as long as I make my subordinates train hard, I can directly gain ten times the benefits?"

"I can even use the system Badge's effect to make these leeks... I mean, crew members train faster, while I harvest the gains even faster?"

"What kind of Cyber Capitalist is this?!"

Gawain looked around at the pirates.

After a quick count.

Including the shipwrights still aboard repairing the ship, there were more than ninety pirates remaining here.

He then turned to a pirate beside him.

"If we hide here with everything we have, how long can we hold out?"

"Optimistically, around a month."

"A month..."

Gawain did some quick calculations.

Thirty days, one hundred people, tenfold efficiency...

In other words, if he led this ship's pirates in training here for a month, he could gain the equivalent of more than eighty years of training for an ordinary person?

And after surviving this crisis, if he could recruit more geniuses under his command, then as long as they trained, he could grow stronger at ten times the speed?

That speed could even stack!

According to Gawain's memories, it was roughly Marineford Calendar Year 1517 now—the year Ace set sail.

"Ace's potential should far surpass that of ordinary people. After all, he would later awaken Conqueror's Haki, and he has Roger's bloodline backing him up."

"And the two main fighters of the future Straw Hat crew, Zoro and Sanji—one is still a Pirate Hunter, while the other is still an apprentice at Restaurant Baratie."

"As long as those three don't die young during their growth, by the system's standards, they'll at least reach Gold-tier, perhaps even Legendary, in the future!"

"If I can recruit them under my command, how fast would I grow?"

"Forget it."

"Better think about something practical first. Let's set a small goal—take down Morgans in seconds!"

Gawain looked at the pirates watching him with reverence, and an idea formed in his mind.

Early the next morning.

The changes that had taken place within the pirate crew last night had been enormous, but Gawain had also shown a decisiveness completely unlike before, giving everyone unprecedented confidence.

As a result, they were in fairly good spirits. They were no longer as lost and panicked as before, and even their actions had become orderly.

Standing before the crowd, Gawain looked at his leeks with satisfaction.

After a long silence.

He finally spoke in a grave tone.

"Cough, cough!"

"Brothers, after the shipwrights worked through the night to inspect and repair the ship, I can only regretfully announce that we can no longer set sail. In other words, only two paths to survival remain for us."

"First, we can hope that another ship passes by before the Marines find us. But while it isn't impossible, the chances are minuscule."

"Second, once the Marines arrive, we seize their Warship. But the Marines led by Morgans are absolutely an elite force in the East Blue. After all, we just suffered a crushing defeat at their hands."

The moment he said that.

The pirates on the scene immediately panicked. The hope Gawain had just inspired in them was instantly doused with cold water.

To these pirates, Morgans was practically an unbeatable existence.

After all, even their captain had been wounded by him, and bandages still wrapped his body.

"I..."

"I don't want to die. Captain, save me."

Sobs even rose from the crowd.

In truth, most pirates of this era were merely ordinary people who could no longer survive in their hometowns.

With blades and guns in hand, they naturally feared no other ordinary people. But fighting certain monsters was nothing more than a fool's dream.

Seeing their reactions, Gawain's lips curled slightly as he thought to himself.

Perfect!

Calling it manipulation might be a bit much, but this was exactly how countless short-video course sellers had done things in his previous life: first create anxiety, then sell the product.

The trick was simple, yet it worked time and again. With enough people, there would always be a few fools who fell for it.

To Gawain, these pirates before him—who had barely gone to school and had never experienced the impact of the information age—were not much different from fools.

"But!"

Gawain raised his voice.

"Can we really sit here and wait for death?"

"Think about the vows you made when you first set sail. Forget finding One Piece—what about money? Where's the money?!"

"We haven't found anything yet. How can we submit to the Marines?!"

"For the next month or two, do you want to take a gamble and become heroes, or stretch out your necks and await execution?"

An even louder uproar instantly erupted from the crowd. Under Gawain's persuasion, the pirates all turned red-faced and heated on the spot.

"Fight them!"

"Damn it, the timid starve while the bold feast!"

"Captain, tell us what we should do!"

The crowd grew increasingly fired up.

After silently marveling at how easy they were to fool, Gawain continued.

"Brothers willing to gamble with me, raise your hands!"

Whoosh!

Nearly a hundred people raised their hands without exception, their faces grave as they looked at Gawain, their eyes seeming to burn with fire.

"Good! Very spirited."

Gawain smiled faintly and said,

"For the next month or so, cast aside every distracting thought and train under me. I will teach you everything I know!"

"Remember!"

"You are not training for me. You are training for yourselves, because in this era, survival requires strength!"

"Your money can be taken from you with blades and swords, but no one can take away your strength!"

"Yeah!"

An excited roar suddenly burst from below. The pirates had all been won over by Gawain's words.

"That's right. Only strength is fundamental."

"I was even naive enough to think the Marines would uphold justice for me and help me reclaim my property."

"Only when I saw the noble who had taken my property standing with the Marines, laughing and chatting with them, did I understand that this world was already beyond saving."

"Only strength is everything!"

A pirate with a mohawk stared ahead with blazing eyes.

"That's right!"

"Survival requires strength!"

"And the only one who can give us hope now is Captain Gawain!"