Redbeard was furious.
From Redbeard's perspective, Nami and Norton were exchanging flirtatious glances, completely ignoring him.
Being ignored like this infuriated Redbeard...
Few people knew that the beard on Redbeard's face wasn't actually a beard, but nose hair.
Born with red nose hair, Redbeard had struggled to make friends as a child and was often mocked, shaping his extreme personality.
After growing up, he had made Whitebeard his idol and given himself the nickname Redbeard, swearing to become a man the whole world feared.
Redbeard hated being ignored!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three shots rang out in succession. Redbeard panted heavily, his eyes wide with rage.
Everyone who ignored him deserved to die!
But when the smoke cleared from the muzzle, Redbeard's pupils suddenly contracted. Shock and terror flooded his heart.
He had clearly fired three bullets at Norton, yet Norton looked completely unharmed!
"How is that possible? There's no way I missed!" Redbeard muttered.
"You didn't miss..." Norton raised his hand and slowly opened his fingers, letting fragments of the bullets slip between them.
Nami stood right between Norton and Redbeard, giving her the clearest view. Shock covered her radiant face.
Was I seeing things? Did this man just catch bullets with his bare hand?!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
As if he had lost his mind, Redbeard frantically pulled the trigger again and again.
Gunshots pierced the air, and bullets punched through the deck.
Even after he had fired every bullet and the chamber was empty, Redbeard's finger kept moving.
His eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the spot where he had aimed.
Wisps of smoke drifted up from the holes in the deck, but Norton was nowhere to be seen above them!
He vanished!
Redbeard instinctively shifted his eyes, trying to scan his surroundings, but he had no time. A dark blur of a fist suddenly swelled in his vision!
Everything went black, and Redbeard lost consciousness.
"He went flying!"
"What's going on? What happened?"
The nobles and ladies looked bewildered.
"The captain was sent flying!" The pirates reacted a moment too late.
Nami stood frozen, her mind blank.
Only Sanosuke stared at Norton's back, drenched in sweat.
Of everyone present, he was probably the only one who had seen what had happened. The silver-haired man had reacted to the bullets and thrown a punch in less than a tenth of a second, perhaps even less, sending Redbeard flying hundreds of meters!
Even with Sanosuke's keen eyes, he couldn't make out exactly how Norton had thrown that punch.
Such monstrous speed!
If it's this man, perhaps...
At that moment, the same thought surfaced in Nami's and Sanosuke's minds almost simultaneously.
"Hurry, save the captain!" The pirates grew agitated.
But as Norton's knife-sharp gaze slowly swept over them, they abruptly fell silent, too terrified to make a sound.
"If you don't want me to send you flying like your captain, keep quiet," Norton said in a low voice.
"Yes!" The pirates shuddered in fear.
No human could stand up to a monster like this!
Seeing that the pirates were reasonably obedient and well-behaved, Norton finally looked away from them.
"Our savior! Thank you for saving us! We'll be sure to repay you!" The nobles now shamelessly began currying favor with Norton, their earlier arrogance nowhere to be seen.
The ladies also gazed at Norton with burning eyes, expecting him to speak like a hero or prince from a play.
But Norton merely cast the nobles an indifferent glance and paid no attention to the ladies' ardent looks.
"Who said I did this to save you?"
At Norton's words, the nobles froze. So did the ladies and the pirates.
"What do you mean? If you weren't saving us, why did you defeat the pirates?" one lady asked.
"I just felt like it. You didn't think you mattered that much to me, did you?" Norton said.
The nobles' and ladies' expressions changed.
The pirates quietly relaxed as well. Since he wasn't here to save these nobles, he probably wouldn't kill them, would he?
Norton had no intention of killing these nobles, but he hadn't intended to save them, either.
He had set sail as a pirate, and right now he had only a small boat and insufficient supplies...
He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity that had landed in his lap. He wasn't some bleeding heart.
Without Norton, these nobles would probably already be dead. They ought to be grateful to have escaped with their lives.
As for things like treasure and the ship, those were beyond their ability to hold on to.
"From now on, this ship and everything aboard belong to me." Norton grinned.
"What?! No! You can't do that! This property legally belongs to us!" The nobles grew agitated.
"Legal or not, what does that have to do with me? I'm under no obligation to obey laws issued by the rotten World Government," Norton said.
"You... how could you do this!" a duke accused Norton furiously.
"You didn't think I was some naive fool, did you?" Norton smiled and spread his arms to embrace the sky.
"Sorry, but I intend to conquer this sea as a pirate!"
That declaration stunned everyone present.
This guy is a pirate?
Nami quietly extinguished the thought in her heart, disappointment creeping into her eyes.
"A pirate? You're joking, aren't you?" the duke said in astonishment. "You don't even have a pirate flag or a proper ship. How can you call yourself a pirate? You don't even have a single subordinate!"
"That's why I said this ship is mine." Norton's smile was confident and bold. "My grand ambition starts here! A pirate flag, a pirate ship, powerful subordinates-I'll have them all!"
The nobles fell silent. Even the duke leading them was momentarily at a loss for words.
In the end, the nobles slumped back onto the deck.
They were out of options.
This man was completely immersed in his own world, and on top of that, he was as powerful as a monster.
Someone beyond any hope of resistance, in mind or body, the duke thought silently.
Seeing that the nobles had settled down, Norton turned to the pirates.
"From now on, you'll serve as my subordinates for the time being."
The pirates didn't dare defy him and nodded repeatedly.
Realizing the situation was turning bad, Nami tried to sneak away while Norton's attention was on the pirates.
But a moment later, a large, warm hand settled on her shoulder.
"Miss Nami, I'd like you to serve as this ship's navigator for the next leg of our journey. I'm willing to pay you well for it." Norton's tone softened a little.
Nami turned stiffly and forced a smile.
Deep down, Nami was still somewhat afraid of Norton. Anyone would fear a monster who could kill them at any moment.
Besides, how did this man know she had a talent for navigation?
Norton pointed toward the sea. Beside his small boat floated an even smaller one.
"I assume that boat is yours. Everyone aboard this ship is a noble, but you don't look like a young lady from a distinguished family. Being able to cross the sea alone in a boat like that as a thief is proof enough of your exceptional talent."
So that's it... did my boat give me away? Nami thought.
"I understand. I'll serve as this ship's navigator for now." Nami nodded lightly.
There was no other choice. She could only placate this man for now, then look for a chance to take the treasure aboard this ship.
"But you have to pay me a hundred thousand Beli a day... no, five hundred thousand Beli!" Nami held up a finger and bargained.
"No problem." Norton smiled.
By a rough estimate, these nobles' possessions were worth tens of millions of Beli. The portion Nami had stolen alone was worth over ten million.
That was enough to "hire" Nami for a while.
Besides, Norton had no intention of letting Nami go in the first place.
He dreamed of building a great nation and becoming a great king.
He needed many talented subordinates, vast stretches of land, and plenty of money.
Nami was the first foundation stone Norton had chosen for his empire!
Norton already had someone in mind for the second foundation stone, too.
"Your name is Sasuke, right?"
"It's Sanosuke!"
"Oh, right, Sanosuke." Norton nodded slightly. "You're pretty strong. Want to become my subordinate?"
Sanosuke fell silent for a moment, feeling his body slowly relax as that oppressive sensation, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, receded.
"My kunai struck you just now," Sanosuke said.
"That doesn't matter. You couldn't hurt me anyway. The fact that you can sense my strength means you're not all that weak," Norton said.
Sanosuke looked toward the stretch of sea where Redbeard had fallen.
A moment later, Sanosuke withdrew his gaze.
"Understood. I pledge my loyalty to you." Sanosuke knelt, performing a ninja's rite of allegiance.
Scenes like this had played out many times throughout Sanosuke's life.
Because of his innate bad luck, Sanosuke always managed to get his master killed.
This time was no different. Encountering a monster like Norton in the East Blue was ten times worse luck than encountering Sea Kings.
Norton nodded in satisfaction and helped Sanosuke up as a king might raise his subject.
Norton had performed this gesture thousands of times in his dreams. Now he did it with such practiced ease that he truly seemed a little like a king.
Sanosuke slowly rose. In the distance, the sky began to darken.
"Well then, Captain, what should we do next?"
The temporarily hired Miss Nami had found a little enthusiasm for her work thanks to the generous pay.
"Set sail for the nearest island," Norton said after a moment's thought.
He had spent long enough at sea. It was time to get some fresh air on land.