When the Silver Pirates regrouped the next day, Jora's first words were, "Captain, did you see that explosion last night?"
"I saw it. What about it?"
"That explosion happened at a really convenient time, don't you think? We'd barely gotten here, and boom—something blows up. If I didn't know you all so well, I'd be suspicious one of our own crew caused it."
The moment she said that, Eustace and Kurokam wore identically awkward expressions. How the hell had Jora actually guessed right?
"What's with those faces? Don't tell me it really was you two."
Noticing something off about them, Jora's eyes went wide with astonishment, as if she'd stumbled on a brand-new world.
"Heh heh."
Eustace scratched his head with an embarrassed little laugh, then admitted it openly.
"Yeah, that scene last night was our doing. Sorry—looks like we're bringing trouble down on you all."
Hearing Eustace confess, the rest of the crew looked genuinely incredulous. They all knew exactly what kind of person Eustace was: usually as cool-headed as they came, rarely impulsive. Immediately they all pressed him for an explanation.
Eustace gave them a rough summary of what had gone down the night before. Once they heard the story, everyone understood. When it came to gambling, after all, he was notoriously petty and easy to set off.
"Still, we don't yet know who the boss behind Rain Feast really is."
"I know." It was Wend, who had been silent up to that point. If he hadn't taken the two of them there to gamble in the first place, none of this might have happened. So now that a chance to contribute had finally presented itself, he was naturally going to make the most of it.
"Word is, Rain Feast's backer is some noble from the kingdom—and it sounds like he wields quite a bit of power."
"Is that so? In that case, the trouble we've stirred up is no small thing."
Eustace said it to the group, but his tone carried not a trace of concern. It was exactly what he'd been thinking the night before: even if it meant going up against the entire kingdom, so be it.
"Speak of the devil."
Just then, Shirakawa spotted a column of soldiers marching toward them in perfect lockstep, clearly heading straight for their group.
"Cao Cao? Who's Cao Cao?" Jora asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar name Shirakawa had just dropped.
"Uh… even if I told you, you wouldn't know him. Just understand he was a very great man with some… particular hobbies."
"Oh."
Jora and the others didn't press the matter.
By then, the troops had reached them, leveling their spears directly at the crew.
"You're the Silver Pirates, correct?"
A man dressed differently from the other soldiers stepped forward and addressed Shirakawa's group.
"That's right. Can we help you with something?"
"No mistake, then. Arrest these pirates and deliver them to the marquis for judgment."
Without the slightest hesitation, he gave the order to his men.
"Straight to arrests, huh. Looks like this marquis has some serious pull around here. The three of you can handle them, no problem?"
"Of course, Captain. We caused this mess—we'd never make you wipe our asses for us."
Eustace cracked his knuckles, and the three of them stepped out in front of Shirakawa, squaring off against the soldiers.
"Are you resisting arrest?" The distinctively dressed soldier spoke up again, brows furrowed, fixing Eustace with a stern glare.
"Yeah, you nailed it. We're resisting arrest."
Shirakawa honestly wondered if these people were brain-dead. Who exactly had given them the nerve to send soldiers charging in to throw their weight around?
"We are subordinates of Marquis Kurooru. You would do well to consider the consequences of making an enemy of a marquis."
The man reeked of a fox borrowing the tiger's ferocity. His bravado had everything to do with the backing of this Marquis Kurooru. In fact, maybe these soldiers were the marquis's private army to begin with.
"Marquis Kurooru? Sorry, we've never heard of him. Besides, we've already killed one noble before. One more doesn't make much difference."
"You—you insolent wretches dare show disrespect to the marquis! I'll haul you in myself and make you grovel before him! Men, take them down!"
With a wave of his hand, the soldiers behind him surged forward, rushing at Eustace and the others.
Though their opponents were fully armed, Eustace and his two comrades weren't remotely fazed. They didn't even draw their guns, choosing instead to take them on bare-handed. Kurokam was of the same mind—drawing a weapon against these nobodies would be an insult.
Kurokam clenched his fist, drove it forward with explosive force, and unleashed a shockwave like a punch that struck an ox through a mountain. The soldier directly in its path, along with everyone beside and behind him, went flying in a single wave.
"Whoa, Kurokam is brutal. With moves like that, the guy was born to fight."
"The hell? Is that even human?"
The gawking onlookers scrambled backward, terrified of getting caught up in the carnage. Kurokam's strength had already blown past anything they could comprehend.
Eustace's fight, by contrast, had a kind of elegance to it. He didn't possess Kurokam's monstrous physical power, but he had terrifying Observation Haki. Against ordinary attacks like these, predicting their every move was child's play. No matter how many enemies there were or how many blows they threw, not a single one landed on him. And anyone who got within his reach was dropped to the ground with one clean punch.
As for Wend's battle, it looked downright fantastical. He simply stood there, not moving a muscle, letting every attack strike his body—and taking no damage whatsoever. Spears thrust straight through him as if he weren't even there.
"Are you some kind of monster?" Seeing his attacks completely useless, a soldier asked, his voice and eyes drenched in pure terror.
"What do you think?"
Wend swept a hand through the air, and every soldier in front of him was instantly caught up in a violent gust, hurled high into the sky, then dropped like stones back to the ground.
"That guy's incredible—it's like watching a magic show."
The crowd's praise fell on Wend, probably because his fighting style was the most visually spectacular. After all, they'd never seen a man take multiple spear thrusts and still walk away alive.
This response is AI-generated, for reference only./-\
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