"Rear Admiral Klein! Pirate ship spotted ahead!" a lookout on the watchtower shouted.
On the deck, Klein was lounging in a chair, dressed casually in sunglasses, short sleeves, and shorts.
Szzz—
He took a long drag, his absurd lung capacity letting him drain the entire iced drink in one go. Then he tossed the last rice cracker from the bag into his mouth and muttered,
"This time's cracker record is... 5820."
Out of sheer boredom from the long voyage, Klein had resorted to beating his own cracker-eating records to pass the time.
He stood up and leapt lightly—appearing instantly atop the ship's main cannon, arms folded as his Justice cloak billowed dramatically in the sea breeze.
He stared toward the distant pirate ship.
Behind him on the rear deck, Os squinted through a telescope and said,
"Mr. Klein, judging by the pirate flag, it's Rebel Pick. Word is, he used to be the leader of a revolutionary army in some kingdom. After failing, he turned to piracy."
"How much is the bounty?" Klein asked the only thing that mattered.
Who cares about rebel armies or pirates—just show him the price tag!
How much is that head worth!?
"Thirty-five million Berries!"
Klein's eyes lit up. "Man, the sea may be boring, but stumbling upon a 35 million Berry payday? Now that's what I call happiness!"
A regular job?
Not in this lifetime!
With the paltry salary the Marines paid him, he could only afford to splurge on gacha games for two days a month. Then it was back to eating dirt.
"Mr. Klein, should we prepare to fire?" Os asked. The soldiers were already lined up neatly on deck, fully armed and ready to...
Execute justice!
The question sparked a sudden idea in Klein's mind, and he grinned.
"Bring me a cannonball."
The soldiers obeyed instantly, carrying over a heavy black shell and placing it beside Klein.
He picked it up and gave it a little toss. "Hmm... not bad. More than enough to deal with common pirates."
Klein thought back to the custom mega-bombs Garp liked to use and shook his head.
Even those giant shells didn't do much against real masters—in fact, they were more likely to end up as props in someone else's dramatic power display.
Small ones... had their own kind of charm.
Take, for example—
When Silvers Rayleigh was escorting Luffy to Marineford, he casually lobbed a tiny bomb with decent impact.
On the pirate ship—
The first mate shouted in panic,
"Captain! Trouble! A Marine warship ahead!!"
"A Marine warship?!" Pick's expression darkened. Already fleeing from pursuers, and now... a warship blocking the way!?
Why now, of all times!?
Was the world out to get him?
Was his whole life just one long string of failures!?
"Damn it!!" Pick roared. "Who do they think I am?! I'm Pick the Rebel! Bring the ship around—let's charge them!"
But suddenly, the first mate beside him was trembling like a leaf, black waves of fear pulsing from his body.
The kind of fear you'd usually see on the Straw Hat crew's coward trio.
"The cannonball... the cannonball's coming!!"
"Fistbone: Meteor!"
BOOM—
The cannonball slammed precisely into the mast. The violent explosion kicked up a storm of wind, tossing the untrained pirates on deck like rag dolls.
Smoke billowed, and flames from the blast devoured the sails, igniting the pirate flag.
Not that anyone was paying attention to the flag anymore.
"H-How... how is this possible?" Pick turned pale, shaking uncontrollably. "That distance... how could a cannonball hit us from that far!?"
Beside him, the first mate stammered, "W-What kind of sick joke is this!?"
Aboard the Marine warship—
Klein grinned broadly. "Hah! Knew it would work. And..."
"It's actually kinda fun!"
He was starting to understand the appeal of Garp's favorite pastime.
"...That was a sniper shot with a cannonball?" Os blinked in disbelief. Even elite snipers struggled to land hits at that range.
Klein chuckled. "If you're strong enough, nothing's impossible."
"Bring me another!"
If it weren't for the loot, the supplies, and that tasty 35 million Berry bounty...
That last shot could've landed right on Pick's skull—turned his head into red confetti.
"Fistbone: Meteor!"
FWOOOSH—
Klein hurled the cannonball—not in an arc, but dead straight.
A horizontal missile.
He wasn't even fighting seriously.
He was playing.
BOOM—
Pick felt a gust of wind tear past him—and then the ship was hit.
He hadn't even seen the cannonball's flight path. At most, he'd glimpsed a blur.
The blast wave tossed small fry pirates like rag dolls. The deck was chaos.
Pick was drenched in cold sweat, shouting,
"Turn the ship around!! That warship has a monster on board!!"
"We'll take our chances with the women behind us!"
He knew this route was death. They'd sink before even reaching the warship.
Damn it!
He looked up at the sky—clear blue—but to him, the world had already gone dark.
Aboard the Perfume Yuda
Gloriosa furrowed her brows. "Strange... why is the pirate ship on fire?"
"Lady Gloriosa! Rebel Pick turned around!" a subordinate reported.
Her suspicion deepened.
Something was definitely off.
She raised her delicate hand. The smooth, fair skin reflected the sunlight as her sharp eyes gleamed with caution.
"Hey, warriors! Those pirates look like they've resolved to fight to the death. Avoid boarding for now!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The warrior women kept their bows drawn, unleashing a rain of arrows onto the pirate ship.
But as they drew closer...
Something felt wrong.
"Lady! There's a Marine warship behind the pirate ship!!"
"What??"
"A Marine warship!?"
"Rebel Pick was supposed to be our prey, and now the Marines are stealing the kill?!"
"Hey hey hey—this is the Lady Gloriosa's first time leading a naval battle, and now the Marines butt in?!"
"..."
The ship exploded into uproar.
"Shakky, what do you think?" Gloriosa frowned, stroking the restless pet snake coiled on her arm.
Shakky's pretty face grew serious.
"Lady Gloriosa, I suggest we don't clash with the Marines over one pirate ship's loot."
"And besides..."
"Rebel Pick knew he couldn't beat us, but still chose to break through in our direction. That can only mean one thing..."
The Marines were even scarier.
Faced with two options, he chose to flee toward them.
Gloriosa nodded slowly, her expression turning grave. A flicker of frustration flashed in her eyes. Her brows furrowed.
"The Marines are a colossal force in these seas. We retreat."
Her reason prevailed—she had no intention of picking a fight with that behemoth.
"The Lady has given the order—retreat!"
Aboard the Marine ship—
Klein smiled. "Os, get ready. These kinds of enemies are perfect for sharpening your combat skills."
"Yes sir! I won't let you down, Mr. Klein!" Os stood tall and proud, removing the old sniper rifle from his back.
Looking at that beat-up gun, Klein thought,
"Hmm... that 'Qianlu' rifle sitting in my inventory is just collecting dust. Might as well sell it to Os when I get the chance."
Free?
No way!
That's not who he was. He freeloaded from others, not the other way around.
Of course, if someone did freeload from him...
Fate would be sure to mark down the price.
And that wasn't something money could cover.
Suddenly, the lookout shouted,
"Lord Klein! There's another ship in front of the pirate ship!!"
"Oh?" Klein's eyes sparkled. "A buy-one-get-one-free deal?"
Os shouted, "Hey! Check that flag carefully—what kind of ship is it?"
"One moment!"
The lookout raised the monocular telescope again, adjusting the zoom.
He turned it to 8x magnification.
A unique emblem on the sail came into view. He quickly described the symbol aloud.
"Nine Snakes?"
Os frowned. "Never heard of a pirate crew by that name..."
Klein's black eyes gleamed. A grin spread across his face.
Interesting.
If memory served him right...
The former queen of Amazon Lily, three generations before the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock...
Was none other than Gloriosa the Flame Flower, once an officer of the Rocks Pirates.
In the new era, she was just an old granny with white hair, a cane, and a short frame.
Granny Nyon.