Chapter 43: The Birth of a Pirate Crew

Laboon, sensing the urgency of the situation, pulled the ship at full speed out of the harbor. Thanks to Modi and the others' all-out defense, Mad Tiger's slashes failed to destroy the vessel.

"Damn it all…!"

Mad Tiger watched the ship growing smaller in the distance, his face so dark it looked like it could drip ink. This was the first time, aside from clashes with the great pirates of the New World, that he'd been left in such a sorry state.

Mad Tiger pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.

"This is Kong. Have you confirmed the identities of the Masked Hunter Group?" The voice of Fleet Admiral Kong crackled from the other end.

"Confirmed. The captain of the Masked Hunter Group is Capone Bege, eldest son of the Capone Mafia Family of the West Blue. He has already escaped the Sabaody Archipelago," Mad Tiger reported grimly.

"Capone Bege?!" Kong's voice erupted in shock. Then, fury took over. "Mad Tiger, with your abilities, how could you let them escape?!"

Mad Tiger sighed. "I did everything I could to intercept them, but Capone Bege is too strong. His individual strength surpasses all the Supernovas; he's comparable to those big-shot pirates in the New World with bounties over 400 million. Of course, if it were just him, I could have taken him down. But he's in league with the Shadow Demon, Gecko Moria, who has a bounty of 200 million. I couldn't handle them both alone."

Silence fell on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. After a few breaths, Kong's voice, thick with killing intent, resonated: "This Capone Bege poses too great a threat to the Marines. He must be eliminated. You will lead the team. I will dispatch elite Marines to assist you. You must kill Capone Bege."

"Yes, sir!" Mad Tiger responded instantly, his eyes filled with a chilling glint. Capone Bege, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will kill you with my own hands.

On the vast ocean, a giant whale towed a battered ship, speeding across the waves. Bege and his crew, having narrowly escaped with their lives, were sprawled on the deck, utterly exhausted. Modi and Moria, in particular, had exerted themselves to the limit blocking Mad Tiger's slashes, and were now completely spent.

"That Vice Admiral Mad Tiger was terrifying… I felt like he could have killed me in an instant," Moria said, his voice still trembling.

"Yeah," Bege said, his face grim. "This fight has made it clear how far we are from the Marines' top-tier fighters." He had underestimated the strength of the truly powerful in this world.

Moria and the others were visibly dejected, even more so than Bege. Moria, in particular, had taken a massive blow to his confidence.

"What's with the long faces? That was a top-tier Marine Vice Admiral! We're lucky to have escaped with our lives," Bege snapped, unwilling to let his crew lose their spirit. "Are you going to be scared by just one Vice-Admiral Mad Tiger? What about when we have to face Marine Admirals, or the emperors of the New World? Are you going to back down then?"

"Mad Tiger might be stronger than me now, but in a few years, he won't be my match. My opponents are the Marine Admirals, the Emperors of the New World. And you will eventually have to face opponents of Mad Tiger's caliber. If you're afraid, then get off my ship."

"Back down? Never. When you're ready to fight a Marine Admiral, I'll be there to hold off guys like Mad Tiger," Modi declared, stroking his sword with determination.

"I'm not afraid!" Hank growled, clenching his fists.

"Yoh ho ho ho! I don't even know how to spell the word 'fear'," Moria laughed confidently.

Seeing his crew's spirits revive, a smile touched Bege's lips.

"Godfather, the ship is leaking! We can't stop it!" the disciples shouted in a panic.

Even with Modi and the others' best efforts, some of the flashbangs had gotten through, blasting holes in the hull. The disciples were trying to patch the leaks, but it was no use. Seawater was pouring in, and the ship was sinking.

"Abandon ship," Bege said, struggling to reach the railing. He opened a castle gate in his chest, and a new ship was pushed out, landing on the sea's surface.

Bege and the others boarded the new vessel. As the tension finally eased, Bege coughed up another mouthful of blood, his head spinning. In the last moment before he passed out, he opened a castle gate, releasing a swarm of doctors from his internal castle. Then, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Godfather's injuries are too severe! We need to operate immediately!"

"Quick, carry him to the cabin! Prepare for surgery!"

"The speed is too great, surgery is impossible! Stop the ship!"

Chaos erupted on the deck as doctors and nurses pushed Bege into the cabin.

Bege's condition was critical. The doctors in his castle performed a series of surgeries, working tirelessly for a full day. Modi and the others waited anxiously on deck.

The day-long surgery stabilized Bege's injuries, but they were so severe that a full recovery was out of the question for the near future. He needed at least a year and a half of rest.

It was seven days before Bege finally awoke. He was swathed in bandages, propped up in a large chair on the deck, an IV drip attached to his arm. Doctors and nurses stood guard on either side. Modi and the rest of the crew were seated around him.

"I had planned to use the bounty hunter identity to hunt pirates, earning more bounty money to secretly develop our forces, but we were exposed too soon," Bege said, his voice flat.

Bege had a clear vision for his future. The current era, though chaotic, hadn't yet reached its peak of madness.

After the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, was executed, the Great Pirate Era would begin. That was when the seas would be at their most insane and dangerous.

Bege wanted to amass power before the Great Pirate Era arrived, gathering men and resources. When the era truly began, he would reveal himself as a pirate, rising swiftly to become a major power, even an emperor.

That's why he needed vast wealth to develop his strength. His family was expanding aggressively in the West Blue, seizing territory and developing the economy. Meanwhile, he would hunt pirates as a bounty hunter, earning money and bounties. He had intended to use the bounty hunter identity until the Great Pirate Era began, but fate, it seemed, had other plans. His hunter identity had been exposed after less than a year.

"Since we've been exposed, there's no point in hiding anymore. From this moment on, we officially establish our pirate crew," Bege declared.

"Alright! Finally, we get to be pirates!" Hank cheered, grinning widely.

The other disciples showed a mixture of anticipation and excitement.

"Godfather, since we're a pirate crew, we need a name. Godfather, how about the Fighting Dog Pirates?" Hank raised his hand eagerly, baring his two canine teeth. He threw a few punches, his face full of fighting spirit. Except, he was missing his arms, and moving them made pain shoot up, so he shouted out in pain.

"Are we all fighting dogs, then? Little puppy," Sam said, placing a large hand on Hank's head and ruffling his hair. Hank, annoyed, pried Sam's hand off.

"I'm a fighting dog, not a little puppy!" Hank snapped, baring his teeth, his canines exceptionally sharp.

Ignoring Hank, Sam continued, his eyes gleaming, "Godfather, we're going to be a pirate crew that dominates the seas. Pirates are a bunch of thugs, so how about we call ourselves the Thug Pirates?"

"No, no, Thug Pirates is too generic. I think we should be called the Prometheus Pirates."

"The Lion Pirates!"

"Lion? What the hell? Isn't that your name?"

"Bege, our goal is to become swordsmen. I think we should be called the Swordsman Pirates," Modi said seriously, holding his sword.

But as soon as he spoke, the others protested, since only two or three of them used swords.

"Fighting Dog Pirates is better!"

"Thug is the best!"

"I think Demon Pirates is the most imposing," Moria added.

"We're not demons…"

"Alright, that's enough. I've decided on the name. We'll be the Fire Tank Pirates," Bege said, rubbing his ears, impatiently quashing the debate. He couldn't be bothered to come up with a name himself, so he simply reused the name of Bege's crew from the original story.

Based on the Fire Tank Pirates' Jolly Roger from his memory, Bege made some changes: a fortress-bearing tank with cannons and guns protruding, and a sword and gun crossed over a skull.

The pirate flag was hoisted onto the sail, signifying the official appearance of a new pirate crew on the Grand Line.

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