"Hahaha, come, drink... drink, I can still keep drinking!"
"Come on, cheers!"
"Fine wine, come and drink, fine wine!"
The noisy deck was as rowdy as a wet market; cups were being clinked and faces were filled with smiles. Each one was genuinely happy, as if they were just overly optimistic people who hadn't committed murder and robbery just yesterday.
Or perhaps they were demons, throwing a banquet to celebrate the high value of the loot they had just plundered, wondering how many more times they could enjoy such carefree festivities.
Seated at the head was a three-meter-tall muscular man—the Captain of this ship, Kuriya. Born with divine strength, he was immensely powerful and could easily fight with a 500-kilogram giant axe. Many opponents were often defeated by him in the very first round.
Seated below him was a wretched-looking man just over a meter tall. He was a user of the Run-Run Fruit ability and wielded a short scythe. His speed was as fast as lightning; many Marines were killed by him before they could even react. The two of them were a so-called "best duo," capable of wearing down even those stronger than themselves.
They were currently in the midst of the revelry, with food piled up like small mountains in front of them. Drinking wine while eating meat was truly a joyous time! But just then, a pirate on the lookout tower shouted a warning, breaking the happy scene.
"Captain, Captain, there's a ship to the northeast. It's a small boat."
The pirates who heard the lookout's words burst into laughter, as if returning to the previous joyful atmosphere. They cursed the lookout, blaming him for ruining the mood.
"Haha, Neil, you coward! Without those damn women, you're scared of a single small boat? Did your mother forget to give you any courage when she gave birth to you?"
The other pirates laughed even more wildly upon hearing this and chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! Don't you see which Pirate Crew we are? We're the strongest Pirate Crew in the East Blue!"
Being insulted repeatedly, the pirate on the lookout tower couldn't take it anymore and began cursing back at the pirates below. "You bastards, shut your mouths! I wasn't even finished before you started barking like dogs. You're truly born pieces of shit."
Once the pirate on the lookout had vented his anger, his expression changed. He flatteringly reported his discovery to the Captain, hoping to be held in high regard.
"Captain, a boat is drifting on the sea to the northeast. There's a beauty on it. Look, should we pull alongside?"
The Captain laughed even louder upon hearing this. "Boys, a big fish has come along, and it's a great beauty! What do you think we should do? Hahaha!"
The pirates went wild when they heard it was a great beauty. Whether they kept her for themselves or sold her as a slave, she would bring them no small benefit. Thus, they shouted in unison.
"Captain, pull alongside! Let her know what a brave and mighty pirate you are!"
"Captain... leave it to us. We'll help you invite the great beauty back."
Hearing his brothers say this, Kuriya immediately ordered the ship to pull alongside.
Raiden Ei had been drifting on this sea for two days. Since the raft didn't have a cabin like a ship, she spent those two days on it. Those who haven't experienced such hardships wouldn't understand.
Although she hadn't encountered any natural disasters during these two days of sailing, she did run into two large sea beasts. Each was over ten meters long, opening their massive mouths to swallow her along with the raft. Fortunately, her current strength was decent. She spent a bit of time slaying the two sea beasts.
When she used the system backpack to collect the sea beasts, they could actually be converted into energy. Although it wasn't much, every little bit counted. Any sea beasts she encountered afterward were slain and exchanged for energy.
It wasn't until now that Raiden Ei finally encountered a ship—a pirate ship at that. It was hard to say whether it was her misfortune or the misfortune of the pirates on that ship.
Raiden Ei looked at the ship in the distance and really wanted to fly over. It was a case of "the mountain you see is further than it looks"; it didn't seem far, but it was actually quite a distance away. Fortunately, the pirate ship was sailing toward her on its own, so she began to wait there, adjusting her condition.
This was her first time seeing pirates, so she was a bit nervous. A battle was very likely to occur later, so she had to get into the right state. After all, no one could be sure if there would be any pirates as kind as the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy.
The pirate ship slowly approached. Raiden Ei heard the foul language coming from the ship, and her expectations vanished. Silently, she took the Kusanagi no Inabikari out of her backpack.
Although it was her first time killing, she wasn't afraid at all. These were all wicked pirates who had no human rights. She worked hard in those final moments to mentally prepare herself.
The pirate ship drew closer and closer. She could clearly hear the pirates leaning against the railing, looking at her with greedy eyes. Raiden Ei didn't plan to waste words with these wicked pirates; once the ship was close, she would just kill them all.
Raiden Ei wore a cold expression, waiting for the ship to cover the final distance. Listening to the pirates' laughter and foul language, her emotions were ignited.
It was about time. Raiden Ei gathered all her strength into her legs and stomped down hard, snapping the raft in half. The seawater dipped into a crater as she leaped up, landing directly on the pirate ship.
Raiden Ei looked at these pirates—some were fierce, some were treacherous, and some were insatiably greedy. At this moment, they were still laughing loudly, but they had all picked up their weapons and were surrounding her.
Raiden Ei said with a cold face, "I'll clear out the small fry first."
Before the pirates could react to what Raiden Ei meant, she activated her Conqueror's Haki. One by one, they rolled their eyes and collapsed onto the deck. The sight of nearly a hundred pirates suddenly falling in unison terrified the higher-ups on the ship.
They had only dazed for a moment when their subordinates all fell unconscious. Kuriya shook his dizzy head and looked angrily at the few remaining conscious Executive Officers and the First Mate.
Kuriya roared loudly, "You bastard... what did you do? Wake them up now, or I'll split you open with this axe!"
The other Executive Officers were both terrified and shouting provocations, seemingly unaware of the danger they were in. Meanwhile, the First Mate Langqi stood beside Kuriya. Both he and Kuriya knew...
This woman had used a method they didn't even know about to knock out so many people; she was definitely a tough opponent. The two of them had to cooperate well, or they wouldn't be able to leave this place alive today.
As for these pirate lackeys, their fate was up to the heavens. Who among pirates didn't live with their heads on the line? The reason Kuriya was so angry was that these pirates were the ones they had recruited over the years, each of whom had seen blood. This was the core crew he intended to take to the Grand Line, and now they were gone just like that. He was absolutely furious.
"There are still quite a few people left. My Conqueror's Haki isn't quite there yet," Raiden Ei thought to herself. Seeing the expressions of these pirates, she felt like laughing. They were just hurling foul language at her, and now that they realized she wasn't to be trifled with, they were afraid.
Raiden Ei didn't answer Kuriya. She turned to the left, and with a swift, accurate, and ruthless upward slash of the Kusanagi no Inabikari, she struck down a pirate Executive Officer.
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