Clang!
A longsword pressed against Jamila's shoulder, cutting off the words he had been about to speak.
From the tiny Den Den Mushi came an urgent voice, but after a few moments it fell silent, as if the person on the other side realized Jamila had been exposed.
Gawain glanced coldly at the phone snail in Jamila's hand.
"Have I treated you poorly?"
Jamila lowered his gaze as if resigned, setting the snail down.
"The captain has treated me well."
"But what you've done today has disappointed me."
"Captain, do you know how many people die every year because of pirates?"
"Have I ever attacked innocent people?"
"But you're still a pirate!"
"And what of it?"
Gawain sneered.
"Even if you haven't been with me long, you should know. Aside from Lancer and the prisoners we captured, almost everyone on this ship only turned to piracy because they couldn't afford the taxes."
"Do they deserve to die?"
"I…"
Jamila faltered, guilt flashing briefly in his eyes.
But Gawain gave him no chance. With one stroke, Jamila's head fell.
Thud!
The headless body collapsed, blood spraying from the severed neck and pooling on the ground.
Gawain looked down at the corpse without the slightest ripple in his heart.
Jamila might have had his reasons, but the moment he betrayed them, he had already made his choice.
Just as Gawain turned to leave, a low, rasping voice came from the tiny phone snail.
"Even without Jamila's report, I already know where you are. I'll grind your bones into dust."
The voice radiated absolute confidence, as though stating a fact.
Gawain instantly recognized it. The one who had once left his predecessor gravely wounded. The one who hunted him relentlessly now. Navy Major Morgan.
If it were the old Gawain, the so-called Knight, he would already be planning an escape. But the man standing here was no longer that person.
Looking at the bloodied sword in his hand, Gawain's eyes glinted with ferocity.
"Then I'll be here… waiting for you."
With that, he crushed the phone snail underfoot, blood splattering across the ground.
…
By the next morning, Jamila's corpse was discovered. The truth that he had been a Navy spy spread quickly among the crew.
Panic swept through them.
Only now did they realize that while their training had made them far stronger than before, the gap between themselves and the Navy's elite was still like a chasm. Let alone against Morgan.
The Navy also had far superior equipment. There was no way to win.
In minutes, some broke down completely, sobbing on the beach.
"The Navy is coming?"
"Damn it!"
One pirate cursed and stared at the shore, but all he saw was a wrecked ship.
Its hull was battered with scorch marks, its mast broken, though the pirate flag still fluttered in the wind.
Above, vultures circled, their sharp eyes finally fixing on Jamila's corpse. They swooped down, burying their heads into the body and tearing out the soft innards.
The gruesome sight shattered the last of the men's composure.
"The mast is broken, the keel's split apart. The ship can never sail again. Does this really mean there's no way out for us?"
"No! We can still build another ship. If we reach the nearest island—"
"The nearest island is hundreds of nautical miles away. Even if the ship somehow holds together, you won't survive the Sea Kings."
Gawain crushed their hope without hesitation, forcing all eyes back to him.
He had once cut down Lancer with a single stroke, proving a strength they had never seen before. That had given them hope. But now, despair weighed heavily again.
As far as they knew, Gawain's injuries had only just healed. If he could maintain his old strength, that was already good enough.
But even at his peak, he had no chance against Morgan.
And now?
"Even you, Captain, cannot defeat him…"
One pirate shook his head in despair, and many shared the same hopeless look.
Gawain did not argue. He simply walked silently to the wrecked ship. His sword flashed.
Boom!
The air shook, smoke and sand billowed.
His calm voice came from the haze.
"Morgan is mine."
"You only need to train with everything you have before they arrive. Raise your chances of survival."
"This isn't for me. It's for yourselves."
As the dust cleared, every pirate froze, their eyes wide in shock.
The ship, dozens of meters long, had been split cleanly in half from bow to stern, even the keel severed.
One sword had cut a ship in two.
In their minds, only the monsters of the Grand Line could do such things. Their old captain certainly could not.
"Is the captain really this strong?"
"No… he wasn't like this before. He's gotten stronger!"
"He must have been training in secret, harder than anyone else!"
"He's the most hardworking of us all!"
Hearing this, Gawain's face warmed with embarrassment, but he said nothing. The system had to remain his greatest secret. If they believed it was his own effort, so much the better.
The crew's spirits reignited.
"With swordsmanship like that, even Morgan can be fought!"
Even those who had wanted to flee now looked at the severed ship with shining eyes.
The restless murmurs quieted. Hope filled the air once more.
"Back to training."
"Yes, Captain!"
In that moment, Gawain's authority soared to new heights, beyond question.
The pirates picked up their blades again, training harder than ever, repeating every move Gawain had taught them. Some switched to wooden sticks and began sparring fiercely.
Watching them, Gawain suddenly understood.
Moria had been wrong in the original story. Depending on comrades' strength alone to become Pirate King was a doomed path.
He had put the cart before the horse.
Only when the captain himself is strong enough to crush all enemies can he unite his crew and forge an unbeatable pirate band.
…
Night came quickly.
In Gawain's mind, the system prompt rang again.
Swordsmanship LV-5: 11/1600 → 58/1600
Physique LV-4: 366/800 → 418/800
The day's training had given him double the experience of before.
Over the following days, the pirates' near-maniacal training maintained this pace.
Physique was now less than 100 points away from leveling up.
…
A few nights later.
The moon shone bright, stars glittered, the salty wind carried a cool bite.
The men had just finished training and were preparing to rest when the sky lit up with red fireballs.
Countless cannon shells rained down like falling stars, slamming into the island.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions tore through the forest, flames roaring high.
The cool night breeze turned into searing heat that licked at their skin like knives.
"The Navy is here!"
…
Out at sea, a massive warship loomed, a beast with claws spread wide.
On its prow stood a burly man gripping a great axe.
Who else could it be but Morgan?
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