You're Not Cut Out To Be A Pirate, But Then Again, I Wouldn't Call Myself A Qualified Pirate Either

But if they directly retreated at this time, whether Gawain obtained the Pluton blueprints or not, he would end up on the World Government's blacklist, and in the future, he would face attacks from all sides.

Even though the World Government might not care about this title, the necessary attitude would still show itself.

This was a matter of reputation, and for an organization like the World Government, which nearly dominates the world, reputation was often more important than one might imagine.

"What do you think?"

"This is more troublesome than we thought."

Gawain shook his head.

"Well..."

Kuro raised his hand to push up his glasses, his expression somewhat helpless: "You're no stranger to causing chaos, but this time… It's indeed..."

Kuro's voice gradually trailed off.

At that moment, a girl dressed scantily timidly approached Kuro. Her eyes were somewhat evasive, but the curiosity and hope in her gaze were unmistakable.

"Sir Marines, here..."

Kuro was momentarily stunned. He looked at the bread the girl handed over and then at his own uniform, which hadn't yet been removed. He instantly understood.

He took the bread and nodded stiffly: "Thank you."

"Sir Marines, will we have reinforcements?"

Kuro's breathing went stagnant, but seeing the still-wet tear marks at the corner of the girl's eyes, he firmly nodded: "We will definitely have reinforcements."

"Thank you!"

The girl's eyes reddened at once, her hands trembling with excitement, unable to hide her smile.

She placed another piece of bread in Gawain's hand and quickly turned to take the news back to the refugee camp in Water 7.

The camp was bustling, filled with survivors barely covered in rags, clinging to each other, maintaining a fragile sense of security.

Just a few days ago, they thought they were about to be saved, but when the sunlight hit, they were attacked by Katakuri and his crew.

Not only did the pillar-level fighter like Lucci fall, but Mayor Iceburg was also captured by the enemy.

But now, in their eyes, there was hope, all because of Kuro's brief words.

Soon, cheers erupted from the camp, and many eyes, seemingly unintentionally, swept over the two of them.

However, the intense hope in their gazes made Kuro uneasy.

Kuro fell silent for a moment, slowly tearing the bread in his hand and chewing it slowly.

A completely new feeling surged within him, and even his previously cold eyes began to burn with intensity.

He could only feel that the uniform he wore, one that had never truly belonged to him, suddenly took on new meaning.

After a long time, Kuro finished the last piece of bread and turned to look at Gawain: "Captain, no, Vice-Admiral Lancelot, what should we do next? Or are we going to watch these people die?"

"If the Marines had reinforcements, they would've already arrived."

Gawain shook his head, sighing: "The nearest branch base to Water 7 is only a few hundred nautical miles away. If the World Government really wanted to send reinforcements, the marines stationed there should've arrived immediately."

"But until now, there's no sign of the Marines, which only means they've given up on Water 7."

Kuro's breathing was choked.

He still had some leftover taste of bread in his mouth, and although it wasn't soft, it was sweeter than he had imagined.

Kuro argued: "There are hundreds of thousands of people here..."

"Back in Ohara, there were tens of thousands."

"But... But the Pluton blueprint is here too; aren't they worried about leaking it?!"

"That thing is important, but not that important. Even if we get the blueprints, it doesn't mean we can make it."

Gawain looked at Kuro, unable to help but speak up: "Kuro, we are not the Marines."

Kuro was stunned for a moment, feeling like a lump was stuck in his chest that he couldn't release.

He suddenly realized that if it had been his former self, he would never have said something like this, and it wouldn't have hit him like it did now, but at this moment, he actually felt alive.

From the East Blue to this point, everyone aboard the Raven had changed, and Kuro was no exception.

But he didn't dislike how he felt at this moment.

At least it made him feel like a person, not the walking corpse he used to be.

"It doesn't matter. What's important is that they need the Marines."

"The real Marines."

Gawain fell silent for a moment. His heart wasn't made of iron or stone.

Moreover, he had originally been just an ordinary person, and he understood better than anyone what the refugees in Water 7 needed right now.

He could empathize with their experiences and feelings.

In the face of catastrophe, justice had become their last hope.

After a long pause, Gawain spoke: "If we get involved in this, the opponents we'll face will be the most top-tier monsters on this sea."

Kuro glanced sideways at Gawain: "Are you afraid there will be too many opponents?!"

"Heh!"

Gawain chuckled lightly, not responding. He just summoned the system panel, and his gaze fell on the Conqueror's Haki.

> Conqueror Haki: Level 4 (8,989/25,000)

When he attacked the Big Mom Pirates' fleet before, Gawain briefly clashed with Big Mom, gaining over a thousand points of Conqueror's Haki experience.

Now, he was getting closer to the next level and awakening a new branch.

Raising Conqueror's Haki required constant battles, and the stronger the opponent, the higher the reward.

According to previous predictions, reaching level five with any skill was a transformation, and as the representative power of the world, Conqueror's Haki would make Gawain stronger than he was now once it leveled up.

And to find strong enough and numerous opponents, Water 7 was the best opportunity in front of him.

While thinking, Gawain bent down, placing his hand on the ground, feeling the massive vitality reserved in Water 7; a cruel smile spread across his lips: "Since that's the case, let's stir things up!"

"Anyway, we can't find a way to keep the warlords' title for now, so why not go for a big one?"

Once upon a time, Gawain had done everything to please the World Government just to gain the title of warlord of the sea, but in the end, it only earned him a marine siege.

However, after he revealed his strength and captured Zephyr to prove his power, the World Government immediately chose to back down.

People are inherently cheap; they like to be forced, and the World Government was no exception.

"As expected..."

Kuro's face showed a look of realization: "You're not cut out to be a pirate, but then again, I wouldn't call myself a qualified pirate either. But this feeling..."

"Not bad!"

"Since you've decided to stay, I'll go make preparations for battle."

With that, Kuro stood up and walked toward the crowd in the distance. He quickly disappeared among them as they surrounded him.

These people had originally been part of the defensive army formed by Iceburg and Franky.

Although it was called an army, most of them were either Franky's family's thugs or workers from the Galley-La Company.

Gawain even recognized some familiar faces among them.

The Square Sisters, Mozu and Kiwi, Franky's right hand, Zambai, Galley-La Company shipwright Paulie, etc.

Although they never really got along, when faced with the pressure from the pirates, they had no choice but to team up.

After several battles, even though they still traded insults, they had gained some mutual respect.

Now, with Iceburg missing and Franky seriously injured and unconscious, the local defense army had easily been taken over by Gawain and his group, disguised as the Marines.

However, when it came time to take over the defense of Water 7 and give these ordinary people a chance to survive, both Kuro and Gawain fell silent.

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