The storm

"Captain Grant..."

"That really is a shame."

Engels had only just spoken when Dunn cut him off.

"Then all I can do is wish you a triumphant return, Captain Grant." Dunn smiled at Grant.

Everyone froze at Dunn's words, unable to understand for a moment why he had given up so easily.

"Captain Dunn, wait. Let me discuss this with Captain Grant again." Engels spoke anxiously to Dunn, then pulled Grant aside.

A heated argument soon broke out between the two.

A short while later, the argument stopped, and the two returned.

"Captain Dunn, we've reached an agreement." Engels spoke to Dunn with a broad smile.

"Hmph, let's get this straight. It's only because we need Engels as a Ranger this time." Grant's expression was dark. "You lucky bastards can go count your blessings."

Then he turned and left.

"Hah, you think we'll go just because you want us to? We..." Annie was about to flare up when Dunn reached out to stop her.

"Then we really have you to thank, Engels." Dunn smiled at Engels.

"Not at all. Since I've joined the [Black Pearl], of course I have to look out for our own." Engels gave an honest smile. "Oh, right, Captain Dunn. We leave with the other four captains in three days."

"Three days? No problem."

Three days later, five pirate ships left Cutlass Harbor one after another.

Besides the [Black Pearl] and the [White Shark], the other three were the [Flying Fish], the [Blood Bird], and the [Wavechaser].

After sailing a dozen or so nautical miles from Cutlass Harbor, the five ships converged, then sailed off in a triangular formation with the [White Shark] in the lead.

The five ships all kept a relatively safe distance from one another without falling behind.

It was clear that they did not trust one another.

They sailed like this for a dozen or so days in the blink of an eye. During that time, Dunn drew two more Devil Fruits: the Spike-Spike Fruit and the Spring-Spring Fruit.

Along with the two he had drawn previously, the Wheel-Wheel Fruit and the Art-Art Fruit, which he had already claimed at Cutlass Harbor.

He had now drawn six Devil Fruits in total, and it seemed the best one was actually that Flame-Flame Fruit that even a dog wouldn't touch.

Although he had been praying all along not to get anything top-tier, Dunn still couldn't help grumbling to himself after six straight draws without a single gold.

At this rate, it would probably take years to eat all three fruits he had in mind.

Somewhere at sea, a lone ship drifted across the ocean. The black sail hanging from its side marked it as a pirate ship.

A "revel" was proceeding as usual aboard the pirate ship.

"Captain, spare me! I really didn't mean to! How could I have known that little girl could fly?!" A sailor knelt trembling in the middle of the deck, begging.

This was clearly a captain passing judgment on a sailor who had made a mistake.

"Who the hell are you trying to fool?! A little girl who wasn't even tier two could fly? Have I been too easygoing lately?!" the Pirate Captain roared in fury.

"It's true, Captain! Believe me..."

"Since she's already gone, there's little point pursuing the matter," the Navigator beside him said with a smile.

"As it happens, we picked up a strange fruit in our latest plundering. Eat this, and we'll forgive you."

As he spoke, he took out a peculiar-looking fruit and tossed it in front of the sailor.

"R-really... Captain?" The sailor immediately looked at the captain in excitement.

"Mm." Soothed by the Navigator, the Pirate Captain suppressed his anger and agreed.

The sailor immediately picked up the strange fruit in excitement and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hey, is that thing really cursed?" Watching the sailor stuff the fruit into his mouth, the Pirate Captain asked the Navigator beside him, "It isn't something good, is it?"

"Of course not! What good thing would have such a strong aura of a curse? Your perception isn't high enough, Captain. Anyone with more than 15 points of perception can clearly sense that nauseating aura of a curse on the fruit," the Navigator said firmly.

"Now that something this sinister has appeared among us, I doubt we can get rid of it easily. Having someone eat it is safer. If anything goes wrong, we can just throw him overboard."

"Mm." Listening to the Navigator, the Pirate Captain nodded in agreement. None of the pirates who had spent years making their way at sea were fools. With something so obviously cursed, disposing of it cautiously was the safest choice.

By then, the sailor had stuffed most of the fruit into his mouth and was chewing. The next moment, his expression suddenly changed. He spat out the fruit he had not yet eaten, then collapsed onto the deck, dry-heaving nonstop.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Don't spit it out! Swallow all of it! A few of you, get over there and feed it to him!" the Pirate Captain shouted at the sailor.

The pirates beside him immediately swarmed over and pinned the sailor down, picking up the fruit from the deck to stuff it into his mouth.

Amid the chaos, no one noticed that despite all his retching, the sailor had brought up nothing but saliva and the fruit he had not swallowed.

The next moment, a blast of flame erupted aboard the pirate ship. In moments, the entire ship became a sea of fire.

Across the vast sea, banks of dark clouds pressed down upon the horizon. The air was oppressively heavy, and the pitch-black sea was terrifyingly still, without a trace of calm or a single ripple.

For sailing warships, this was deadly, even in this supernatural world.

The five pirate ships charged toward the dark clouds without hesitation.

[Black Pearl]

"This looks bad, Dunn. Those are signs of a storm ahead. From the looks of it, it could be a natural-disaster-class one." Looking at the dark sky ahead, Annie spoke to Dunn with concern.

"We're not going to sail through it, are we?"

"Send a flag signal. Ask the [White Shark]," Dunn ordered the sailor in the crow's nest.

A short while later, the lookout shouted to Dunn, "Captain, the [White Shark] replied: follow them."

Everyone aboard immediately turned their eyes to Dunn.

Everyone aboard was a seasoned sailor who had sailed the seas, and they all knew how terrifying storms at sea could be. In particular, both the dark sky before them and the sea without a single wave spoke to the sheer scale of this storm.

"Everyone, prepare to face the storm." After a moment's thought, Dunn gave the order decisively.

A tense atmosphere immediately settled over the entire ship.

Having come this far, how could they be so easily frightened off by a storm?