Chapter 5 Encounter with the Navy

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After a few minutes, Larson stared at the small box in front of him, deep in thought. "Is your pirate group really this poor?"

He had expected to discover several boxes of treasure and gold coins, but he only found this small box of Berries.

How much could possibly be in there?

Could it even amount to one hundred thousand Berries?

The little pirate spoke cautiously, "Our pirate group can only be considered small-time. We just established ourselves, so we don't have much."

Whitebeard looked indifferent. "Don't we already have a ship? Why do we need Berries?"

Larson regarded him with an expressionless face. "My sword was damaged because of you. Isn't it reasonable to use this money to buy a new one?"

"Ahem!" Whitebeard glanced at the Berries in the box with a guilty expression. "If you want to buy a sword, this amount should suffice, right?"

"Ugh."

Larson sighed and shook his head. The sum was indeed enough for a sword, but would he only be able to buy a basic one? And would they merely buy him a basic sword next?

Moreover, their pirate group would have plenty of expenses ahead. The only silver lining was that supplies on this ship were abundant. At least they wouldn't have to worry about shortages in the short term, saving them a ton of money.

"Forget it; let's focus on the positives for now."

He decided not to fret too much over the Berries. After all, acquiring this ship was an unexpected blessing, and one must learn to be satisfied.

"You, sail the boat," Larson commanded the little pirate. "Remember, you only have one day."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

After explaining, Larson rubbed his aching head and said to Whitebeard, "I'm going to rest for a bit."

He still had not fully recovered from the storm.

Once Larson went inside to rest, Whitebeard lay back on a sun lounger, drinking wine and soaking up the sun. The sun lounger had previously belonged to Dimo, and the wine was also left aboard the pirate ship.

Unbeknownst to them, Larson and Whitebeard's first day at sea passed by like this.

Early the next morning, Larson had completely recovered from yesterday's ordeal. He lay on the deck with his upper body bare, engaging in his daily training.

"Today's Special Training:"

"One hundred push-ups,"

"One hundred one-handed push-ups,"

"One hundred burpees,"

"One hundred squats."

In the distance, Whitebeard, lounging on his sun lounger, called out, "Stop practicing, Larson! Come have a drink with me!"

He punctuated his words with a loud burp, the smell of alcohol wafting through the air.

Ignoring him, Larson continued his training routine.

Since sparring with the powerhouse that was Whitebeard, he had become increasingly aware of his weaknesses.

In short bursts, he did not feel inferior to someone of Whitebeard's caliber, but in enduring combat, his stamina fell short.

There was no doubt that Whitebeard, currently at his peak, was the strongest person in these seas. While Larson could contend with opponents of that level and was among the strongest in the world, he was not content with just that. He understood that if he continued to follow Whitebeard, he would soon face enemies not weaker than Whitebeard himself.

Every bit of strength he gained would bolster his confidence in facing them in the future.

Closing his eyes, he assessed his current strength.

Even if his prowess in strength and speed lagged behind the top-tier powerhouses like Whitebeard, the aid of the Sharingan still made him aspire to become a supreme powerhouse.

What he still lacked were the three forms of Haki. They could be obtained in the same way as the Sharingan—by completing the special training set by his system.

He exclusively worked on increasing his mastery of the three Color Haki through daily training. Even though he had made some improvements over the years, his advancements in the Armed Haki and Observation Haki had been minimal.

Completing the final portion of his training, Larson clapped his hands together and stood up.

Whitebeard, noticing this from a distance, laughed heartily. "Why do you waste your time with such meaningless training? You could be having fun instead!"

From Whitebeard's perspective, what Larson had just done was almost a joke. Not to mention their experience, it wouldn't even be enough to warm up his powerful body.

Larson chose not to argue and walked over to Whitebeard, picking up a cup of beer and downing it.

At that moment, the little pirate holding a telescope in the distance suddenly shouted to them in a panic, "This is bad! This is bad!"

"What's all the fuss about?" Whitebeard asked, frowning.

"The sea! The sea! There's a Navy ship coming towards us!" The little pirate pointed forward, clearly terrified.

The reason for his panic stemmed entirely from the previous experiences in his former crew. Every time they encountered the Navy, his previous captain ordered them to escape without a second thought.

Whitebeard scoffed disdainfully. "What a joke. It's only the Navy; why are you so afraid?"

With that, he picked up the naginata lying beside him and stood up.

"I'll handle this," Larson declared, rubbing his wrist. "You are the captain; if you're involved in everything, what use am I?"

Upon hearing this, Whitebeard chuckled and sat back down. "Larson, then it's on you this time."

Larson stepped onto the deck, his gaze settling on the outline of the ship in the distance. He turned to the little pirate beside him. "Bring the ship closer."

"Ah? This, this…"

The little pirate nearly fell over when he heard Larson's order. He couldn't believe Larson and Whitebeard wouldn't run away upon sighting the Navy; instead, Larson wanted to draw closer.

He recalled that Dimo had said something similar when they first encountered Larson and Whitebeard, but now, they had no idea where their path led on the sea.

Larson shot a frustrated glance at him. "What are you waiting for?"

"Y-yes, yes!"

Despite his fear of the Navy, the little pirate didn't dare defy Larson's command.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

A soldier aboard the Navy ship, looking through a telescope, spotted the pirate ship where Larson and Whitebeard were.

He turned and shouted, "Second Lieutenant, a pirate ship has been spotted ahead!"

"A pirate ship?"

Upon hearing this, the ensign's eyes lit up. This was an opportunity he simply could not let slip away!

"Hurry up and catch up to them! Don't let them escape!"

"Second Lieutenant, that pirate ship hasn't run away..."

"Didn't run!" The ensign's excitement was palpable. "Then they probably don't know we're here. Move the ship over quickly!"

"Second Lieutenant, not only is the pirate ship not escaping, but it's also coming towards us..."

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