"Hahaha… You're here for a woman? Did I hear that right, brothers?" a pirate with a red, bulbous nose bellowed.
The crowd of pirates erupted in laughter…
"Hey, kid, you're looking for women? You're in the wrong place. This is a pirate ship—scram! There's no woman here for you," a gruff voice called from the back.
Shao Feng looked up. On the second deck stood a middle-aged man in lavish clothes, wearing a felt hat adorned with a golden "金" (gold) character.
"That's not certain. I'm looking for a woman named An," Shao Feng said slowly.
"An?" The man paused, his sharp gaze locking onto Shao Feng, then spotting the cat-girl hiding behind him. "Oh, kid, so you're that guy's accomplice?"
"Kid? I have a name. I'm Shao Feng. Cut the crap—is the girl named An here or not?" Shao Feng shouted.
"Shao Feng, huh? Quite the brave kid. But this isn't a place for you to play tough," the man said with a smile.
At his words, the surrounding pirates' expressions hardened. They drew their weapons and charged…
Though seasoned pirates, they were only slightly stronger than average Marines, with strength around 15.
They were no match for Shao Feng.
In moments, he knocked them all down.
"I'm not here to fight. Is An still here? If she is, we can talk," Shao Feng shouted after felling the pirates.
Seeing his crew defeated, the man's face twitched, but as a seasoned pirate, he quickly regained composure.
Smiling, he said, "You're no ordinary kid. If I say she's not here, what'll you do?"
"Then I'll kill you all," Shao Feng said, his face darkening with anger.
"Kill us? Hahaha…" The man burst into laughter. "Bold kid, I like that. Bring her up!"
At his command, someone entered the cabin and dragged out a bloodied girl, tossing her onto the deck…
Alongside her emerged several burly men, one with dark skin and a bushy beard, resembling Zhang Fei from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, wielding a whip. He strode to the second deck.
"Big brother, what's up? I was having fun!" he bellowed.
Hearing him, Shao Feng clenched his fists.
Shifting his furious gaze to the girl on the deck, he saw her covered in blood, hair disheveled, face unrecognizable under the gore.
Her body bore horrific wounds, her gray sackcloth dress now stained red.
Shao Feng rushed over, cradling her head. "Shao… Feng…" Recognizing him, tears streamed down her face as she murmured.
Shao Xue peeked from behind him, stunned, then enraged at An's condition.
Roar! She let out a furious growl at the pirates, her hands turning to claws, leaving deep gashes in the deck…
The pirates recoiled in fear, stepping back…
Crack! A whip snapped.
The pirates' faces paled, then twisted with rage.
They stepped forward, raising weapons, but the man on the second deck stopped them.
"Kid, didn't you want to talk? Is this the woman you're after? She let our prey escape. By our code, we took her to cover our losses. What's your plan?" The man waved off his crew, eyeing Shao Feng.
Sighing, Shao Feng suppressed his anger. "You're after money, right? I'll buy her. I'll cover your losses."
"Cover our losses? Hmph, how much? A female Devil Fruit user could fetch a fortune. A Devil Fruit alone is worth 100 million. Can you afford that? Or are you trading the cat-girl behind you?" the bearded man roared.
"Hmph!" Shao Feng sneered. "A Devil Fruit might be worth 100 million, but she's just a user. If you sell her, she'd be some rich man's toy. Whether anyone would pay that much is questionable." He pulled out a small bag, pouring out gems from the basin onto his hand…
The pirates' eyes gleamed with greed. Satisfied with their reaction, Shao Feng smiled. "How about these to cover your losses?"
The pirates grew excited, looking eagerly to the man on the second deck…
"Sorry, kid, these aren't enough," the man said, spreading his hands regretfully.
"Really? Then forget it." Shao Feng casually packed the gems away.
"Wait!" Seeing Shao Feng's indifference, the man shouted hastily, realizing his mistake.
"Ahem, ahem," he coughed, then said, "Since you're sincere, we won't escalate this. Fine, we agree."
"Alright." Shao Feng tossed the bag of gems to the second deck, picked up An, and headed for the port…
"Hey, big brother, you're letting him go? And the cat-girl too? That's a fortune! One deal like this, and we wouldn't need to be pirates anymore!" the bearded man said to the middle-aged man.
The man gripped the railing tightly, his face grim with thought.
Suddenly, his expression hardened, and he hissed, "Fine, do it your way, brother." He turned and entered the cabin.
"Brothers, grab them!" the bearded man shouted.
Snapped out of their greed-fueled daze, the pirates understood their boss's intent. Driven by the promise of wealth, they charged maniacally…
"Figures," Shao Feng said, his face turning icy.
Forming hand seals, he shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four shadow clones appeared behind him. "Kill them. Take back the gems." He jumped off the ship, holding An.
Seeing the boy multiply into four, the pirates froze. A Devil Fruit user?
In that moment of hesitation, the four clones drew their ninja swords and charged. In an instant, several pirates fell…
Shadow clones, created with chakra, were perfect copies of Shao Feng, identical in strength—over 200.
Against such overwhelming power and merciless clones, every pirate in their path was killed or maimed.
In moments, the deck was littered with dozens of bodies, blood pooling across it…
The clones carried out Shao Feng's orders ruthlessly: kill everyone.
Stunned by the carnage, the bearded man couldn't fathom how his crew became corpses in under three minutes.
"No!" Rage over his lost men overcame his fear.
He charged, wildly swinging his whip.
Two steps in, he froze.
A dagger had pierced his chest. "Did we mess with someone we shouldn't have?" His body slumped heavily onto the deck…
After clearing the deck, the clones slipped into the cabin…
The sounds of slaughter outside unsettled the middle-aged man inside.
"He's a tough kid, but he's alone with two injured girls. They can handle him," he reassured himself.
Suddenly, the door opened…
"You…" His face paled as a blood-soaked Shao Feng stood in the doorway.
"Return the gems," came a cold, emotionless voice.
"How are you here?" The man was incredulous. "Didn't they stop you?"
"They're all dead. Don't worry—you'll join them." The Shao Feng at the door advanced.
"Why? If you planned to kill us, why bother negotiating?" the man shouted, drawing two flintlock pistols for a final stand.
"Simple. I needed a reason, an excuse, to kill you all without guilt," the shadow clone said.
"Go to hell!" the man roared, firing both pistols. The clone fell, shot…
"I won!" He waved his arms excitedly, seeing the body collapse.
Poof! The corpse vanished.
"What?" He froze.
A chill pierced his chest—a gleaming blade protruded from it… An arm reached from behind, snatching the gem bag from his waist.
As he collapsed, he saw three Shao Fengs leaving the room…