The weather was calm and bright. Gulls cried, fish leapt, and a small Sea King was yanked out of the water by a thin hook and transparent line. The creature was larger than the entire pirate ship. Natalie's mouth nearly watered. "What a huge fish!"
The small Sea King, with winglike fins that allowed brief gliding, seemed to hear her. It twisted sharply midair and opened its jaws to bite her.
Natalie continued staring blankly.
Boom.
A single grain of sand shot from Rosen's room, striking the Sea King and blasting it away. It fell unconscious into the sea.
"Ah, the boss really spoils Natalie," Robin said, lying on the deck sunbathing, reading, and sipping coffee.
"He spoils her," Valentine agreed as she practiced her high-speed floating ability. She had already fallen into the sea several times, and the little sea calf patrolling the rail often dove in to act as a lifeguard.
"He spoils her," Leah added from beneath the mainmast, tinkering with something no other crewmate dared approach—she had accidentally caused one or two explosions earlier.
"Hey, enough already…" Rosen had just finished bathing in his room. High-intensity training didn't do much for him anymore, but he still maintained it so he wouldn't get rusty.
To train his Haki further, Hathaway advised him to use it constantly in daily life, both Observation and Armament.
So he heard everything happening outside.
"Pirate ship on the left. They ran off. Do we pursue?" Miggs asked from the lookout. Since the Dawn had appeared at sea, only clueless rookie crews dared approach; pirate hunters generally fled as fast as they could.
"No need," Daz Bones replied. Chasing pirates wasn't their job. If they crossed paths, they handled it. If the enemy ran, they weren't interested.
"I brought the fish meat back!" Natalie hopped onto the Sea King's body and cut a huge piece of belly meat—her favorite.
"Leave it to me. You still want grilled, fried, stewed, and steamed, right?" the ship's cook smiled as he took the ingredients.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Natalie nodded eagerly.
"Hey, don't slack off! Steer steadily. Don't ruin the boss's travel experience…" MR.5 called out, though no one really needed supervising.
But after training, he felt he needed something to do.
"It's just fish. Why make it so troublesome? Divine Judgment…" Enel muttered, biting an apple at the top of the mast, enjoying the height and wind.
He swung his hand. A thunder pillar blasted into the sea, electrocuting every fish within hundreds of meters.
"Violent man."
"Destroyer."
"Old uncle…"
Enel was baffled. What? He helped catch fish—why were they complaining? Blue Sea people were impossible to please. He resumed counting seagulls.
His Mantra activated.
Within ten thousand meters, there were thirteen seagulls. Three had just flown out of range, and five more were approaching from the southeast… now how many remained—
"Hey, looks like the Marines are chasing us."
"Finally something to do. We crushed four pirate crews already. The Marines must've noticed. Do we fight?" Daz Bones asked, glancing toward Rosen's room.
"It's your fault for being soft. If you didn't leave survivors from that Heavy-Hand Pirate Crew, the Marines wouldn't know who did it. Should've let me blow them all up," MR.5 boasted. With better Haki control, his explosions had grown stronger.
"No fighting. Run," Robin said calmly after a glance.
Fight the Marines? No point. Beat this ship and another would come.
"You heard her. Move quickly. Run…"
The Marines chased them… then lost them.
"Why do we keep running into pirate ships?" Not long after, the Dawn met another crew—the Fire Tank Pirates, led by Capone Bege.
A pirate captain with a bounty over 100 million.
The closer they sailed toward the Sabaody Archipelago, the more pirate crews they encountered.
"This one's mine." Last time, Daz Bones handled the pirates, so MR.5 was eager.
Rosen, Enel, and the others didn't interfere. Fighting was necessary for growth. Even though Bege was a hundred-million-level pirate, Rosen didn't think MR.5 would lose.
"Crocodile's ship, huh? Interesting. Since we've met, let's show them what we can do. Fire!" Bege commanded without fear.
"Boss, we're under attack!"
"What? Already? They only just entered cannon range—" Bege was startled.
"A pirate captain over 100 million? I've never beaten someone like that yet. Which one of you is the captain?"
MR.5, using Moonwalk and explosions, moved so fast he solo-charged their ship.
"Boss, it's a Dawn officer—Gem, MR.5, bounty 110 million!" A crewmate panicked.
He was slightly lower than Bege, but still trouble.
"Why are you alone? Where's your captain?" Bege complained. If they wanted a fight, it should be king vs. king. Sending a single officer to deal with him? Insulting.
Boom.
MR.5 didn't bother replying. If he beat this one, maybe his bounty would rise.
On the Dawn, he wasn't even in the top five. Embarrassing. Even noncombatant Robin had a 120 million bounty. For a fighter like him to be lower—it shamed the boss.
The battle began, cannons firing. But Rosen's ship had absurd defense. Enel alone could shoot down every cannonball.
So most officers had nothing to do.
"Place your bets! Place your bets!" Natalie shouted.
"Win within ten minutes is one-to-one odds. Win within an hour—"
"He'll be fine, right? The opponent's also a hundred-million pirate." Valentine floated with an umbrella, watching the distant battle.
"He'll be fine," Daz Bones said confidently.
Hathaway took one look, lost interest, and went to Rosen's room to teach him Haki.
"You're not going to watch?" Rosen asked as she entered.
"If he loses, I won't save him. His ability and fruit are good. If he can't win even with that, saving him is pointless."
"Still so cold. If I ever meet someone I can't handle, will you let me die too?" Rosen teased. With Daz Bones and Enel watching, even if MR.5 lost, he wouldn't be in real danger.
"If even you can't handle it, what use would I be? How's your Armament control?" Hathaway asked directly.
"My control's fine short-term. But over time I start burning out, and the precision drops. Look…" Rosen picked up a cup.
(End of chapter)