Chapter 42: Davy Back Fight (Part 2)
"How could this happen?! I can't believe the Porche, Capote, and Monda trio actually lost!" Foxy ground his teeth in frustration.
"Round one is over. The winner of the Island Rowing Race, the Eric Pirate Crew, may now choose one crew member from the Foxy Pirates or take their flag. Since the Eric Pirate Crew doesn't yet have a flag, would you like to take their pirate emblem instead?"
"No thanks. That parted-hair guy and the red-nosed clown must've had some idiot design it. Your pirate flag is hideous," Eric said pointedly, clearly targeting Foxy.
"Idi…" Foxy immediately fell into one of his depressive episodes and collapsed to his knees.
"Ah! The captain collapsed in sorrow!" muttered some nameless lackey.
"Captain! Ugh, can't you watch your mouth?!" Porche scolded Eric angrily.
"Hmph, is that really the tone you want to use with me?" Eric grinned with a wicked smile.
"W-What…?" Porche recoiled slightly, hugging her shoulders.
"I choose you—navigator Porche."
"What?!"
"He picked our idol?!"
"Porche-chan!!"
The Foxy Pirates wailed in despair, bawling and collapsing dramatically.
"Give Porche back to us!!"
That was manageable. But what wasn't was the sharp glare Eric felt from Akame and Da Vinci.
Akame: "Lolicon."
Da Vinci: "Heh~ So this is your type, huh? Captain Little Brother~"
"What do you mean 'lolicon'?! How old are you, Porche?" Eric shouted back, turning to ask Porche directly. "Fifteen…" she replied, shrinking back nervously.
Eric looked at Akame's stat panel—[Age: 15]—then turned to her and said, "Aren't you the same age?!"
Da Vinci leaned in and whispered to Akame, "Akame, be careful when you sleep tonight."
"Mhm. If he tries anything, I'll cut it off."
"Cut off what?! We've been together all this time and nothing like that has ever happened!" Eric roared in defense. "Ugh—I can't even breathe."
"Navigator Porche, you're one of us now. Aren't you going to swear loyalty to me?" Eric asked, turning to the defeated Porche.
"Uuuh… I swear… loyalty… to you, Captain Eric ," she stammered, tears in her eyes.
'Whoa… is my sadistic side awakening?' Eric felt a strange heat rising inside him.
Ziiing The glares from the two girls stabbed at him again.
Eric removed the Foxy mask from Porche's face. "Much better!" Her exposed face turned red with embarrassment.
"Wow, Captain Little Brother's girl-flirting skills are pretty good," Da Vinci teased.
"Next up—Round Two: GROGGY RING! Competitors, prepare to enter!"
"Let's explain the GROGGY RING rules first:"
"There are two goals on the field. The objective is to toss the 'ball' into the goal to win—but the ball isn't a ball. It's a person. Each team chooses one 'ball person.'"
"I'll be the ball," Eric volunteered.
"So reliable, Captain."
"Now entering the field—the elite team that has never lost a single GROGGY RING match: The Wobble Monster Trio!"
"Leading the charge: Four-Legged Sprinting Man—Hamburger! Next is the Human Blocker—Pickles! And lastly, the hybrid Fishman-Giant—Big Pan!"
Each bigger than the last, the trio was utterly shameless.
"Hey, weapons aren't allowed! Drop the bow and sword!" said the red-garlic-nosed ref from the sideline.
"Oh? But what if they bring weapons?" Eric , knowing the anime, suspected foul play.
"See? They don't have any on them," the obviously biased ref said, pretending not to know.
Eric walked silently to Cricket and Da Vinci and whispered, "When I give the signal, you two take Porche back to the ship."
"Got it, Captain."
"Now flipping the coin," said the ref.
"Tails." (Hamburger)
"You guys?"
"We can pick tails too?" (Eric )
"Nope."
"Then why ask?! Only heads is left!"
"Disrespecting the referee—yellow card."
"...#" The blood pressure was rising fast.
"Hehehe… Tails. Ball or field?" Cheating right out the gate.
"Ball."
"The Wobble Monster Trio chooses the ball!" (announcer)
"Eric , please stand in the opponent's ball zone."
"..." Eric stood silently inside the circle. In front of him were three towering beasts—it looked like a one-sided slaughter waiting to happen.
"Full-speed rush, Big Pan!"
WHISTLE! "The match begins!"
"Here I come!" Pickles, the ten-meter-tall green giant, charged like a raging boar.
"Hmph!" Eric used [Soru] to dodge. The boar-like Pickles couldn't stop and crashed into his teammates.
Chiron stepped forward to intercept.
BOOM Pickles slammed into him, but Chiron caught him, grabbed his shoulders, and suplexed him headfirst into the ground—knocking him out cold.
"Akame, be careful—they're strong," he warned.
"Mhm."
"Oh! Captain Hamburger is diving for the ball! Is he going to attack?!"
"Akame, heads up!" Eric lunged under Hamburger and punched him mid-air. He was sent flying—straight toward Akame.
"Got him!" Akame spun mid-air and kicked Hamburger back out, like a game of violent badminton.
"Captain Hamburger is down! Only Big Pan remains!"
"What do we do about this guy?" Chiron asked.
"Wait. Let them reveal their weapons first," Eric replied, waiting to unleash punishment guilt-free.
"Huh? Aren't weapons banned?" Akame asked.
"Yeah… but shameless people don't care."
THUD THUD THUD Big Pan charged, using blades hidden in his shoes to stomp at them.
"See that, Akame?" Eric said, then shouted, "HEY REF! Didn't you say weapons aren't allowed?!"
The ref turned away, pretending to whistle innocently.
"..." Eric flashed the prearranged signal to Cricket and Da Vinci.
They got the message and quietly led the still-watching Porche away.
"Huh? Aren't we gonna keep watching?" the younger Porche asked.
"We just need to grab something from the ship, that's all," Da Vinci said with a big-sister smile to ease her anxiety.
"Won't it be bad not to cheer for Eric ?" she asked worriedly.
"They'll be fine. Believe in them," Cricket said coolly, puffing smoke.
Back on the field, Big Pan had drawn a massive axe and was now chasing the trio across the arena.
"The two unconscious teammates are back up! Wait… something's off! Hamburger has iron gloves and bracers! Pickles has spiked shoulder guards! These are weapons, and that's a clear violation of the rules!" (announcer)
"Too bad the ref's back is turned."
"And by the way, in GROGGY RING, killing your opponents is totally allowed!" (announcer)
"..." Eric stopped in his tracks. "That's enough. You two stay back—I'll handle this alone."
CRASH! Big Pan stomped down with his blade-embedded shoe—straight onto Eric .
"Oh no! Eric just got stepped on by Big Pan! Is he dead?!" the bird-announcer shouted.
"What's that?!" Blue lightning sparked and crackled, slowly forming into Eric 's body.
"A Devil Fruit! And it's a Logia?!"
"What?! He's a Logia user?!" (announcer)
[Teleport] Using the electric field generated by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Eric moved like current itself. He appeared next to Big Pan's leg, placed his hand on it—"20 Million Volts: Discharge!"
BOOOOM A bolt from the blue! Big Pan dropped to the ground, charred black—dead on the spot.
"One hit KO! What terrifying power!"
"30 Million Volts: Thunderbird!" A giant lightning bird spread its wings and flew toward Hamburger.
"30 Million Volts: Thunder Beast!" A lightning wolf formed and lunged at Pickles.
ZAP ZAP ZAP A blinding flash—then both opponents fell, bodies charred, and shattered as they hit the ground.
"In an instant… the entire Wobble Monster Trio is down! The one responsible—Captain Eric !"
'Announcer… I've had enough of you.' Eric had been holding back his wrath for a while.
"...!" Foxy's eyes bulged, bloodshot, with red snot streaming from his nose.
[Achievement Unlocked: "Fishman Giant Slayer" — 1 Achievement Point]
(END CHAPTER)
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