"Blind man, stay away from me. Our pirate crew is just too poor. If we escape this time, we'll rob a small town. We definitely won't use the money to buy alcohol this time; we'll buy you a pair of glasses!" The pirate captain pushed away the squinty-eyed man whose face was almost touching his mouth and said with some self-reproach.
The blind man was among the first to board the ship, but he only did odd jobs. Because of his poor eyesight, he never participated in robberies or battles, making him the only good person on this pirate ship.
"Keep firing!" the pirate captain shouted to the others.
"Oh"
Fires erupted again from the pirate ship, and a new round of firing began. The pirate ship remained stationary, but the warship continued to advance, so this time the warship was completely within firing range.
Vic threw out several darts, piercing through several cannonballs fired from directly in front of him, which fell into the sea, creating explosions that sent up high splashes of water.
The flintlock bullets arrived shortly afterward, Vic covered his right hand with Armament Haki, catching each of the lead bullets that were fired at him.
People in other places didn't have it as easy as Vic. Some kicked away the cannonballs, some slashed with knives, and some used shields to block them.
"Um?"
Vic was somewhat surprised, and immediately threw several darts at the pirate ship.
"Boss, don't stand at the bow anymore, it's too dangerous here. Let's move back a little!"
The squinty-eyed man, seemingly struck by a sudden thought, disregarded his captain's disdain and forcefully pulled him back a step. Just as they stepped back, several darts shot out a step behind where they had been standing, landing right at their toes.
If the pirate captain were still standing in that spot, he would definitely have been hit by the darts.
The pirate captain stared wide-eyed at the dart embedded in the deck, with only the small hilt of the dart remaining outside the deck plank. The red cloth strip at the end of the hilt fluttered in the sea breeze.
The way it swayed back and forth was just like his own rapidly beating heart. The pirate captain touched his heart, feeling terrified. Luckily, the blind man pulled him back.
This is why this pirate could tolerate a blind man on his ship, because the blind man had saved his life several times during battles with other pirate crews, allowing him to dodge numerous bullet attacks.
For a pirate ship sailing on the Grand Line, finding a few strong and capable men to do odd jobs is quite easy.
"So that's how it is? Interesting!" Vic's lips curled into a smile.
Vic had just unleashed his Observation Haki. At first, he found the blind man's words amusing, but once he held the bullet in his hand, he realized something was amiss.
This is exactly what the blind man said! Could it be a coincidence? So Vic decided to test it out. Unexpectedly, the dart was dodged again. If this is still a coincidence, then he can only say that he has the same Conqueror's Haki luck as Buggy!
In the first half of the Grand Line, a user with Observation Haki the Future Sight appeared, and the time he could foresee might be even further into the future than Katakuri's.
Moreover, this blind man himself probably doesn't even know he possesses such a level of Haki; every time he speaks, it's in response to what he sees in the future.
But to others, he was just a blind man who liked to talk nonsense and became the target of their pranks. Only the pirate captain vaguely knew a little bit about him, and probably just thought that the blind man was lucky and that having him by his side would bring good fortune.
Vic carried Ain directly to the pirate ship using Geppo. Ain was very excited. She only knew that Rebecca could fly, but she didn't expect that Vic could too, and even faster and more steadily.
She had long wanted Rebecca to give her a ride, but she was too embarrassed to ask her rival for it.
Vic brought Ain along mainly because he was afraid that it would be dangerous to leave Ain on the warship. Guns don't discriminate, and any one of them could kill a child.
After Vic arrived on the pirate ship, he sat on the edge of the ship. The pirates, seeing a flying marine for the first time, were stunned and stared blankly at Vic, even stopping their firing.
"I have a question for you." Vic said calmly.
"Who do you think you are? Just because you can fly doesn't make you any better. Bringing a kid here to show off, what can you do to me if I don't say anything?"
The leader was the first to come to his senses. When he saw Vic flying over with a child as if no one else was there, he was furious and ignored the blind man who was tugging at his clothes with a look of fear on his face.
Without saying a word, Vic drew his sword and cleaved it into the sea. The pirates, seeing the sea split in two, immediately shrank back.
If that slash had landed on the ship, they'd probably be fished out of the ocean. Vic could certainly take them down, but their strength wasn't worth his time. Saving them for real combat was more important; Vic was only interested in the blind.
"Ahem, sir, what do you want to ask? We'll answer everything we know. Just ask away, because if you tell a single lie, you can chop me up right now, haha!"
It had to be the captain again; he was the first to recover from the shock, bowing low and looking at Vic with a fawning expression. The contrast between his earlier assertiveness and his current servility was so stark that Vic almost burst out laughing.
Hehehe!
Vic managed to hold back, but Ain couldn't and burst out laughing. The pirate captain's eyes twitched, but he didn't dare to glare at him, and could only force a smile.
"Is this squinty-eyed guy also a pirate? Does he participate in battles and robberies?" Vic's Observation Haki didn't detect any evil aura from the blind man, but he still wanted to ask, so he focused his Observation Haki on the pirate captain.
"Him? He's blind, he can't even see where he's going. Forget about robbery and fighting, he'd be lucky if he didn't fall into the sea. He's just a menial worker on the ship!"
The captain answered without hesitation, and it was the truth. He already knew that none of his men could escape. The navy was too strong this time. The blind man had saved him several times, and this time he was telling the truth as a way of repaying his debt of gratitude!
"The blind man is a coward; he never dares to kill anyone, always hiding in the back! So he can only do odd jobs on the boat, otherwise he's completely useless! Hahaha!"
The pirate captain's words startled the others, and another henchman spoke up, looking at the blind man with a mocking expression. He saw his captain speaking ill of the blind man, so he joined in, though he interpreted it as such.
Vic raised an eyebrow, then withdrew his outstretched hand. This kind of person wasn't worth his time; someone else would deal with him later. Vic picked up Ain, took a step forward, and as the blind man retreated in panic, he grabbed him and flew away.
Vic already knew that although the blind man was on the pirate ship, he had not participated in robbery or murder, and his aura was very gentle, so it was impossible for him to have a bounty on him.
It's not some big shot hiding on a small pirate ship. It's similar to Koby, and there's still a chance to save it. Moreover, it's someone who can Future Sight. I have to get it into my hands no matter what.
" Vic! Why did you bring this squinty-eyed pirate back? Is there anything special about him?" Zephyr didn't have the habit of using Observation Haki, so he didn't know what had happened on the pirate ship. When he saw Vic take Ain to the pirate ship, he thought he wanted Ain to see blood up close, but he didn't expect that they went to capture someone.
"Teacher, I've discovered that this guy possesses Observation Haki Future Sight, and his hands aren't stained with blood. I think there's still a chance to salvage this!"
Vic whispered in Zephyr's ear. Although there was Secret Sound Transmission, Vic didn't use it on Zephyr. It wasn't a very confidential matter, so it wouldn't hurt to just say it directly.