A single act of kindness should be repaid by a surging spring of gratitude.
But how would these hardened, self-serving pirates repay the man who had just saved their lives?
Mona watched the crowd. His satisfaction was absolute. Not far away, he could even spot Supernova crews whose captains boasted bounties of five to six hundred million. They weren't openly cheering, but their expressions toward him carried a visible air of goodwill and respect.
The atmosphere was thick with gratitude and warm appreciation, and that was precisely when an unbelievably untimely voice shattered the peace.
"Brothers, are we just going to cower here like mice?"
Mona's smile vanished, his face twitching with fury.
'God dammit. Who the hell is this, trying to steal my spotlight?'
He had risked everything to run back and forth, dragging these people to safety purely for the sake of their future loyalty. And now some idiot was trying to incite them to commit suicide against the Marines?
"Exactly! I can't stand this!"
"If it were me, I'd charge out and fight them!"
"We pirates may be outmatched, but our blood is hot, we don't run from a fight!"
"Willing to risk everything, we dare to bring an Admiral down!"
The voices boomed, echoing through the vast underground warehouse, instantly commanding the attention of every pirate.
At the same time, a cloud of suspicion and resentment settled over many faces.
These pirates weren't fools. They knew the Marine forces were overwhelmingly strong. Charging out now meant certain death. Was this speaker treating them like simpletons, trying to trick them into a pointless, suicidal charge?
Following the sound, every eye fixed on a group of six towering figures standing together. The provocative words had come from various members of this group.
The six of them stood calmly, expressions confident and almost challenging as they faced the hostile crowd.
"Who are you people?" Mona yelled, his voice strained. These interlopers were interfering with his perfectly laid plans, and he felt no charity toward them.
"We?" The six exchanged cool smiles. "We are the Nether Soul Pirates!"
The name caused a ripple of confusion. Some pirates had genuinely never heard of them; others, who had, stiffened instantly, their earlier shock turning to wary silence.
"Nether Soul Pirates?"
"Hmph."
"What kind of trash crew is that? A bunch of fresh-faced rookies? Never heard of them!"
Disdainful whispers began to spread rapidly through the assembled crews.
At that moment, a young man carrying a long spear stepped forward from the center of the six. He faced the powerful pirate captains with an unnervingly shy, almost bashful smile, yet his words carried an unmistakable edge of Haki, overbearing and commanding.
"Never heard of us? Don't worry, you'll be hearing about us very soon."
Upon seeing him, a few of the more informed pirates gasped:
"Trens… that's Trens!"
"What? Who is that? Trens? Never heard of him!"
"Shut your mouth! You don't mess with that guy! He once wiped out an entire pirate crew with a single shot. His bounty was one hundred ninety million. He's one of the hardest Supernova to provoke!"
The hushed warnings spread like wildfire. The previous scoffing immediately died down, replaced by a widespread, wary silence.
Seeing the silence settle, Trens simply maintained his confident smile.
"Looks like a few of you know who I am now."
No one dared to respond. Mona remained silent, too.
The Mona Pirate crew was strictly business-oriented. In terms of strength, they were weak; their entire crew's combined bounty barely reached $100 million. Here was a young man who could reportedly kill a $100 million pirate with a single shot. How could Mona possibly challenge that?
"Just as my comrades said," Trens continued, his voice calm, "we are all pirates, driven by dreams and ambition. Our blood runs hot. Hiding underground like this… it just isn't our style."
He paused, letting the silence draw out.
"Going out to fight and conquer is the only path for a pirate!"
"As for Mr. Mona, who has been kind enough to provide us a temporary place to rest, I speak for everyone in expressing our sincere gratitude." Saying this, Trens turned and offered Mona a slight, formal bow.
Mona's face grew darker still, but he remained paralyzed and silent.
In just a few sentences, this newcomer had completely diminished the debt of gratitude owed to him, reducing the act of saving their lives to merely providing a place to rest.
Insane… that's several streets away from a life-saving favor!
"Trens, the Marines are swarming out there," a sharp voice cut through the air. "You say we should fight, how exactly do we fight out?"
"As far as I know, there's an Admiral stationed on the Sabaody Archipelago. In fact, yesterday alone, ten Vice Admirals arrived as reinforcements!"
"With forces like that, don't even mention us rookies, even the large pirate crews from the New World would struggle to resist right now!"
Everyone spun toward the voice. They saw a young man dressed in black, his expression cold and utterly indifferent. A heavy revolver hung at his waist, and his dark hair was partially hidden beneath a hat.
"That's Black Face Blanc, bounty two hundred fifty million!" someone quickly whispered, spreading the news.
"And where are your renowned companions? Armor-Crusher Jason, Sand Crocodile, and that mysterious captain of yours, Rojen?"
Blanc's eyes were like chips of ice, his expression grim as he continued to challenge Trens. He was one of the most powerful Supernova present, and his crew's total bounty reached a formidable $600 million. When he spoke, the entire warehouse fell into a profound silence.
"Blanc," Trens' eyes narrowed, his own gaze becoming sharp.
"You're right. There really is an Admiral stationed on the Sabaody Archipelago. And it's the veteran Admiral Zephyr!"
His words drew shocked gasps from the pirates.
"An Admiral? Oh my God!"
"Zephyr! He's from the same era as Hero Garp! He's impossibly strong, is he really here?!"
"This is terrible… I don't know how long we'll have to hide."
Many of the pirates had been completely unaware of an Admiral's presence, and many wouldn't have even recognized Zephyr, having only seen rare reports. To these rookies in the first half of the Grand Line, the Admirals were still unreachable, almost legendary figures.
"But here's the thing," Trens continued, his voice dropping slightly, becoming calm, deliberate, and measured.
"That Admiral… has already been severely injured by me and my comrades!"
"Right now, he's probably stuck somewhere, licking his wounds."
"So, if any of you have ambition or plans, now is the perfect time to strike!"
Trens' words, though spoken quietly, instantly silenced the entire restless warehouse.
This time, every pirate's eyes widened in genuine, staggering disbelief.
Blanc's face twitched as he stared at Trens, completely thrown.
Mona began to tremble all over, looking at Trens with a new mix of fear and awe.
They… they actually defeated Zephyr?
In a far corner, a small group of women stood utterly shocked, their leader, Phoenix Minco, gripping her hands tight.
(End Of This Chapter)
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