The Black Cat Pirates were currently on their way to Syrup Village.
A few days earlier, they had received instructions from Kuro—their former captain—to stage a grand scheme in the village.
Kuro's goal was to seize the entire fortune of the wealthy Kaya family.
Unfortunately for him, he had already been killed by Lucky Drake.
There were roughly thirty pirates aboard the Black Cat ship.
When they saw two Thunderbolt Pirate ships speeding toward them, the pirates immediately sensed something was wrong.
"What's going on? Who did we offend?"
Hypnotist Jango looked irritated, but also nervous. Even a fool could tell the other side had malicious intent.
"Captain, what do we do? They're trying to surround us!" a pirate shouted toward Jango.
"Tch… damn it. It's too late to turn around. Full speed ahead—break through them!"
Jango growled. He could only choose to face them head-on.
On the Thunderbolt side.
Lucky Drake saw the Black Cat ship accelerating—as if planning to charge straight past them.
How naive.
"Prepare the cannons!"
"Ready!"
Both Thunderbolt ships aimed their twenty cannons, sealing off the Black Cats' escape route.
"Good. Fire one round—show them the firepower of the Thunder Pirates!"
Lucky Drake smiled, already imagining the panic on the enemy ship once they were hit by twenty shells in succession.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
With his order, all twenty cannons fired within three seconds.
Explosions erupted all around the Black Cat ship.
"Damn it! Why do these Thunder Pirates have so many cannons?! Did they rob the Navy?!"
Jango and the others couldn't even stand straight.
Their ship rocked violently and was swallowed by towering waves, seawater flooding the deck.
"Captain, this is bad! Their firepower is too strong—we can't break through!"
"And the ship is damaged!"
A panicked pirate rushed out from the helm.
"Captain, maybe… we should surrender?"
Jango's head throbbed.
But keeping his life was most important.
"Stop the ship! I want to see what these Thunder Pirates think they can do to us!"
He lowered his voice and whispered to his men,
"Listen. If they intend to kill us, follow my signals. We'll drag a few down with us. Understood?"
"Understood, Captain!"
Soon, the damaged Black Cat ship came to a stop.
The two Thunderbolt ships closed in rapidly.
Lucky Drake was the first to board the Black Cat deck.
"Hmph! You Black Cat Pirates really don't cry until you see the coffin. Wasted dozens of our cannonballs just to make you stop!"
Since killing Jango would grant him a system reward, Lucky Drake wasn't about to waste time.
Jango tried to steady himself.
"You Thunder Pirates—aren't you going too far? Our crews have no grievances with each other. We've never crossed each other's paths!"
"No grievances, huh? True enough."
"But what's our Thunder Pirates' motto? Brothers—tell them!"
Lucky Drake stood proudly in front of Jango.
The Thunderbolt crew puffed out their chests and yelled:
"Our motto—
Any pirate or Navy we dislike gets robbed clean!"
Their booming voices echoed across the sea.
"Hahaha! Hear that? We don't care if we have grudges or not. If we dislike someone—we rob them!"
Lucky Drake laughed right in Jango's face.
Jango's expression darkened.
"So… you're only here to rob the ship?"
If that was all, he could endure it. Better to lose treasure than lose his life.
Especially since the Thunderbolt crew was heavily armed with rifles—resistance would mean certain death.
"That would've been enough… if I didn't also want your life."
Lucky Drake's gaze turned razor sharp.
"What? You're not giving me a way out? Then don't blame us for fighting to the death!"
Jango shouted angrily.
"Fight to the death?"
Lucky Drake snorted.
"Thunder Pirates—hear me! If anyone from the Black Cats helps him, shoot them in the head!"
"Yes, Vice-Captain!"
The rifles were raised in unison, fully controlling the enemy crew.
"Hmph. Guns won't scare us! Even if we die, we'll take a few of you with us!"
Jango said coldly.
"Oh? Not afraid of death?"
Lucky Drake laughed.
People say that, but no one truly wants to die—not when there's still hope.
"Shame. We originally only wanted your ship's money, and at most your life. We weren't going to kill the rest."
Jango panicked instantly.
"Don't listen to him! We're pirates! Do you really think his words are trustworthy?!"
But before he even finished—
All the Black Cat pirates dropped their weapons.
"We surrender! Don't kill us!"
"You… YOU TRAITORS!"
Jango was furious enough to vomit blood.
"Fine! Thunder Pirates! I'll fight you myself!"
He reached for his necklace to perform hypnosis—
even putting one person to sleep might let him kill someone.
But—
"Hmph. Cheap tricks? You dare show them in front of me?"
Lucky Drake flicked a finger.
His strike landed on Jango's forehead.
Jango died instantly—didn't even understand how he died.
The entire deck fell silent.
One finger… killed him?
What sort of demonic technique was that?!
The Black Cat pirates were terrified—thankful they had surrendered.
Otherwise they'd have died without knowing how.
The Thunderbolt crew's respect for Lucky Drake grew even deeper.
They hadn't expected their vice-captain's strength to be this terrifying.
A moment later, the system chimed:
"Congratulations to the host for killing Jango. You have gained 2000 lottery points."
Lucky Drake grinned internally.
The more he drew, the stronger he became.
Lottery was becoming addictive.
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