Chapter 11: We Are Pirates, Not Scoundrels!

Chapter 11: We Are Pirates, Not Scoundrels!

The island's outer perimeter was a sandy beach, while the interior was forested, a typical small island.

In the center of the island, in a clearing within the forest, a large bonfire burned brightly, casting the silhouette of a human figure.

At the bonfire, on a broken log, sat an extremely tall and robust man, especially his upper body which resembled that of a gorilla. He had light purple hair, tied with a white headband, and his head was slightly lowered, revealing only half of his menacing face, letting the firelight flicker across it.

In front of him stood a group of people, three of whom were surrounded by the rest.

"Why?" the tall man said in a deep voice. "Tell me, why didn't you steal a ship? Why didn't you lower the pirate flag?"

"Gulp—"

A difficult swallow sounded from one of the three.

The foremost of the three, a man with messy hair and stubble, dark skin, and thick lips with heavy dark circles under his eyes, said: "Captain, the pirate flag is our symbol, we can't..."

*Bang!*

Before he could finish speaking, the tall man suddenly stood up and threw a cross punch. His forearm smashed the man to the ground.

"With only a small boat! If you don't lower the pirate flag, you won't be able to steal any ships! What's the point of talking about symbols now? Without a ship, how can we set sail!"

He stepped over the bonfire and stomped on the man's head, burying it halfway into the ground.

"Why don't you listen to my orders? Answer me!"

"Captain! The pirate flag is our honor! We can't lower it anymore. Our numbers are dwindling. If we lower the pirate flag again, morale will..."

*Bang!*

Another heavy stomp, the tall man fiercely stepped on his face, interrupting his words again.

"Morale is something that will always return as long as we steal a ship! As long as we have a ship, we can set sail again. As long as we set sail, we will always be able to recruit people!"

The tall man's roar sent shivers down everyone's spines. Still not satisfied, he stomped on the man on the ground a few more times, shouting:

"Because you disobeyed orders, I missed another opportunity! Do you want us to starve to death on this island before you're satisfied!"

"Cap, Captain..."

A man with long limbs and a strong build stepped out from the crowd, summoning his courage. "The captain didn't do it on purpose. He just wanted to protect the honor of the Krieg Pirates..."

"Hmm?!"

The tall man suddenly raised his head. "Are you going to defy orders too, Pearl!"

"No, no! I..."

The strong man trembled, and sweat began to flow from his forehead, dampening the crescent-shaped strand of hair on his forehead. "I'll listen to the Captain!"

"Very good."

The tall man stared at him and said, "Starting tomorrow, you will lead the team. When you return, I don't want to see that little wooden boat again."

He lifted his foot, looking at the man with his head buried in the ground. "As for you, if you don't change... then get out of the Krieg Pirates!"

"Captain!"

As soon as his foot lifted, the man on the ground pushed himself up with his arms. Ignoring the dirt on his face and the blood at the corners of his eyes and mouth, he said:

"Captain, you used to be ruthless, but you still had a heart for adventure on the sea. I admired you. But now, our men are leaving one by one. When we need to maintain morale, you're still thinking about stealing ships, stealing ships..."

"We can always steal ships, but we must do it with dignity, in the name of the Krieg Pirates, not through cowardly sneak attacks!"

"Captain! Don't say any more!"

People in the crowd began to shout. "The Captain is getting angry. Captain, apologize quickly!"

"Captain, the captain must be hungry and talking nonsense. We'll go find food right now."

"Yes, Captain, quickly say that you'll listen to the Captain!"

But the man seemed to hear nothing, looking up directly at the tall man, tears streaming from his eyes, mixing with the blood, and shouting: "We are pirates, pirates with a pirate flag, not scoundrels!!"

*Crack!*

The tall man's fists clenched tightly, his knuckles cracking. Blood vessels began to spread in his already ferocious eyes. He raised his fist high and roared:

"Gin! Are you defying me!!"

*Ever since being defeated by that Straw Hat kid, the Captain has been in a slump, his mind filled with nothing but how to steal another ship, even more cowardly than before.*

*Lowering the pirate flag to attack merchant ships and warships wasn't something they hadn't done before, but they failed! When they failed, instead of finding ways to boost morale, he thought about relying on a small wooden boat to sneak attack. That would only make them feel like they weren't pirates!*

*At least, not the kind of pirate Gin wanted to be!*

*Before, he would have hidden behind the Captain's powerful reputation, treating the Captain's ambition as his own.*

*But after being defeated by Mr. Sanji, he had awakened.*

*He didn't want to live this cowardly life. Pirates... could also be bold!*

*He wanted to meet them again on the sea, with dignity!*

*Boom!*

The tall man smashed his fist down heavily, the fist even making a whistling sound as it broke the air. Gin, looking at the oncoming fist, shouted without fear: "Captain, wake up!!"

"That's quite a speech."

Just as the huge fist was only an inch away from Gin's face, a voice suddenly sounded.

*Very close!*

The tall man's body froze, and he instinctively turned his head. He saw that two people had appeared near the bonfire at some point.

A girl stood to the side, and on the broken log where he had been sitting, a young man was now seated, his legs spread, his elbows resting on his knees, his palms supporting his chin, looking at them with interest.

"Who are you?" Krieg asked coldly.

"The same as you, a pirate."

With that, Sag sighed. "Before, I wanted to find you, but I couldn't find any of you. Now that I don't want to, I run into several of you in one day. You're really messing with me..."

He saw the firelight on the island and the pirate ship on the shore, so he came directly over.

Such a small ship, he thought it was just a few small-time pirates with no reputation. He was thinking that his pirate crew had just started, and it would be good to find some subordinates.

But when he arrived, good heavens, he recognized several faces, all from the wanted posters he'd seen before.

A bounty of seventeen million Berries, Captain of the Krieg Pirates, "Don" Krieg.

Twelve million, Krieg Pirates Chief Combat Officer, "Gin the Man-Demon."

Seven million, Krieg Pirates member, "Iron Wall" Pearl.

Plus the Buggy he'd encountered...

Four in one day!

If he'd encountered these four two days ago, what pirate would he be? He would have turned them in for bounty money to buy land!

As for now... he was bored.

But it wasn't without gain.

Sag wanted to recruit subordinates for his pirate crew, but he didn't even have a ship. Except for Lily, no one would look at him. Pirates weren't fools. Without a ship, how would they rob?

But now...

Wasn't this perfect?

They were even having an internal conflict. He couldn't pass up such a good opportunity.

Sag looked at Gin and said, "I admire you. Do you want to come with me? My pirate flag will never be lowered."