Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger in the West Blue

The gentle sea breeze blew, the blue water rippled, seagulls circled in the sky, and fish played happily in the sea.

"Captain Longinus, the marine hero, has defeated the Black Corsair Pirates. Captain Felix has been arrested, awaiting for him the verdict and judgment of justice..." the tall man standing on the deck was reading aloud in calm tones, surrounded by shouts and applause.

"Captain Longinus is a worthy hero of the Marines; it hasn't even been a week since the last time he rescued a hostage!"

"Compared to the efficiency of Captain Longinus, the marines stationed in our kingdom are rubbish, and I wonder if their time and energy are being wasted on the bellies of women."

"Who says it isn't, I wish Captain Longinus would come and visit us on the West Blue."

"That marine...was it called Longinus? Was he the one who saved me then?" A small figure around the crowd was also listening intently, her little face tensed up and looking very serious.

"Little Irene, do you know the Captain, too?" The person next to her smiled and teased her when he saw how cute she looked at this serious look.

"Well, Nah! Uncle Isaac, I wish I could be as powerful as Captain Longinus!" The little girl's sweet voice made the hearts of many around her who loved children melt.

"Haha! Let's hope we can have another heroine in the future in the West Blue!"

The people around them laughed, as well. They didn't think that this little girl could also grow up to be as strong as Captain Longinus.

The little girl ran shyly to the other side of the deck, relieved to see that no one was watching, she wouldn't dare be in the centre of attention for long.

"Even a sea pirate-like Felix was defeated, that marine is powerful, no wonder he gave me the same feeling like the monster that used ice back then!" The little girl murmured to herself as she looked out over the vast sea, and it was indeed Robin who had escaped from St. Martin's Island some time ago and returned to the West Blue with a new identity.

"They say the most dangerous place is the safest place, plus I've appeared on the Grand Voyage before, so in a short time those people shouldn't expect me to return to the West Blue again!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as Robin was contemplating where to flee to next, the sea suddenly stirred up massive waves, and the ship began to rock violently, and the hysterical shouts of those sailors rang out from the ship.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Robin held on to the fence and looked out to sea, skeleton flags flying in the distance and three pirate ships lined up, firing heavy artillery at the passenger ship they were on.

"Oh no, it's a pirate!" Robin was shocked, although the other party was only a small band of pirates, not comparable to the kind of extensive pirates on the Grand Line, the passenger ship she was on looked ordinary, and it was hard to tell if she could stand up to the enemy.

The bombardment soon ceased, but the gloom in Robin's mind did not dissipate, and she was well aware that it did not mean that the enemy had abandoned the attack, but that the pirates had claimed all the wealth of the passenger ship as their spoils of war.

The last barrage was just a warning!

Perhaps the barrage had played its part, but the large-bellied captain, not daring to flee, waited patiently for the pirate ship to approach.

"You're probably the most useless captain I've ever met, and you don't even dare to fight back, but I have to admit that your cowardice saved you all because I'm Captain Jack who is destined to be the next Pirate King! Ahahahaha!" The red-haired young man on the pirate ship was laughing loudly, apparently very satisfied with his "might" of subjugating others without a fight.

The pirates on the three pirate ships were also laughing loudly, and it was undoubtedly the best thing to be able to reap the spoils of war without bloodshed.

Hearing the loud laughter, the guests on the ship were shivering, the reason why they were so envious of the instances mentioned in the newspapers previously was because the pirate situation in the West Blue was just too wild.

If it weren't for the Buster Call half a year ago that ruthlessly frightened a wave of pirates in the West Blue, the current situation would only be ten times more chaotic.

The red-haired captain on the other side had just recently gone to sea, and this newcomer was always bold and arrogant, and would not be restrained by any Buster Call at all, which made the ship's people encounter the pirates without any defence.

Who knows, the bully-looking captain smiled and mocked, "Idiots, I'm just worried about you damaging my ship, after all, it's my old buddy, it can't be broken into your hands."

"What?" Seeing that short and fat captain daring to say such words, the red-haired pirate captain only felt that his lungs were about to explode, "Damned old mongrel, see if I don't take your skull off and fill it with wine!"

"Hahaha! Captain, it seems like we've been retreating from the Grand Line for far too long for even such rookie pirates to dare point the finger at you!" The sailor with a broken arm laughed so hard he couldn't breathe.

"A dozen years ago, but even those marines didn't dare to speak to us in that tone!" The second mate, with his arms wrapped around her, said in a low voice.

At this point, even the slowest person would have noticed that something was wrong, it seemed that one by one, those older people on this ship were all confident and didn't take the pirates in front of them seriously at all.

"Captain Jones turned out to be the legendary pirate who marched the Grand Line!" The ship's passengers were half excited, and half frightened at the thought.

"They say that nine out of ten ships in the Wes Blue have been pirates, and it seems to be true!" Robin tilted her little face-up and began to look forward to the upcoming developments.

"The Grand Line?" The red-haired pirate captain was startled, then actually laughed aloud, "So you're a loser who escaped from the Grand Line? Just in time, hand over your logbook from the Grand Line, or don't blame me for killing all of you!"

"Looks like there's a need to teach you, newcomers, to respect your seniors!" Captain Jones drew his pistol from his waist, and, with a clumsy pull of a gauntlet, said in a low tone of voice.

...

The battle was quick to begin and fast to end!

"Ouch! Ouch! Sir pirate be gentle, spare our lives, spare our lives!" Captain Jones was creeping on the ground begging for mercy, a completely different kind of sea pirate than before.

Not to mention passengers on the ship, even pirates were stunned to see what was happening in their eyes.

"Huh? Is this the standard of the pirates who returned from the Grand Line?" The red-haired pirate captain stepped on Jones' head with disdain.

"No, no, no, we haven't been on any Grand Line at all, and we're not pirates." Captain Jones quickly explained, "We're just trying to scare off Pirates-dono with psychological tactics."

"That's what we used to do, but I didn't realize that your courage of mind was far from those pirates before you." Captain Jones said with subtle flattery.

The passengers around get on straight down there. Is the route so brutal?

Robin covered her face in shame; she had been fooled by the other party's exemplary acting skills before as well, feeling ashamed and lamenting at the same time.

"The West Blue shows crouching tigers and hidden dragons!"

Published in Qidian, March 04, 2019