Chapter 13 — So Damn Poor!
Jack had been wondering why he felt a strange sense of familiarity toward a weakling with a bounty of only five million Berries.
Now it finally made sense.
Wasn't that fat woman—who got sent flying by Luffy and then, by sheer coincidence, obtained the Slip-Slip Fruit and turned into a great beauty—named Alvida?
So what, she found him because she knew he'd snatched away her "plastic-surgery artifact" ahead of time and came to settle the score?
"Who is the most beautiful woman on these seas?"
"Of course it's Captain Alvida!"
Ugh…
Now that they were closer, Jack could clearly hear what was being said on the other ship—and he honestly wished he couldn't.
Alvida had been in a great mood, but her attention was soon drawn to Jack , who was dry-heaving on the "fat sheep ship."
"Very good. You're the first one who dares to mock me, Alvida!"
"But since you have a face worthy of matching my beauty, I'll give you a chance!"
"Become my man… or die!"
"Die your damn flowery head! You die first!"
Jack exploded in anger!
Without even waiting for her to make a move, he leapt straight onto the opposing ship!
Being targeted by such a disgustingly repulsive fat woman made Jack feel like his stomach was turning inside out—he was practically about to vomit up everything he'd eaten last month!
"Men, seize him!"
"But be careful—don't hurt his face!"
Ugh!
Jack nearly threw up again!
For the sake of his poor stomach, he decided to stop wasting words with her altogether.
With a thought, the treasure-laden Infinity Gauntlet appeared on his right hand, and black-and-white light suddenly flared.
Jack immediately entered the Honey Badger Devil Fruit's hybrid form.
Black, hardened fur covered his limbs, while his hair turned completely white.
Ten-centimeter-long claws rapidly extended from his fingertips, and even his teeth sharpened into bestial fangs!
The greatest benefit after obtaining the Slip-Slip Fruit was that even after transforming, he didn't look nearly as ugly anymore—which secretly pleased Jack immensely!
"A Devil Fruit user?!"
Fat Alvida and her subordinates were all startled. Even the most useless Devil Fruit user wasn't someone ordinary people could deal with!
Still, seeing Jack 's hybrid form, they barely relaxed—thankfully, it was just a Zoan-type…
But what followed completely shattered that fragile hope.
Jack launched into a frenzied slaughter.
His razor-sharp claws cut through their bodies as easily as slicing tofu. Severed limbs flew everywhere, blood splattering the deck!
Anyone who stood in his way was either dead or maimed!
Meanwhile, their shabby weapons slide harmlessly off Jack 's thick fur, unable to leave even a scratch!
Jack wasn't a bloodthirsty person, but slaughtering these scum stirred no pity or mercy in his heart.
Thanks to over a year of hunting—and being hunted—he had come to truly understand what survival of the fittest meant.
In this world, people only tried to reason with others when they couldn't beat them!
Just look at how the Celestial Dragons, who controlled the world's authority, lived in obscene luxury—then look at how the common people suffered in misery!
Jack didn't want others deciding his fate.
He didn't want to live his whole life bowing and scraping.
And he sure as hell didn't want to be anyone's dog!
So he needed overwhelming strength—strength so great that neither the Yonko nor Marine Admirals would dare provoke him lightly!
When he possessed the power to steamroll the entire world, would things like the damn Celestial Dragons or the truth of the Hundred-Year Void even matter?
At that point, there would be only one voice in this world—
His.
With the Infinity Gauntlet in hand, if he didn't even dare to harbor such ambitions, he might as well find a safe place and live as a useless freeloader for the rest of his life!
"Die!"
When Jack snapped back to reality, his claws had already sliced across Alvida's neck—along with her spiked club—cleanly cutting both in half!
And just like that, the Alvida Pirates were completely wiped out. Without survivors.
"M–My lord…"
Only after everything was over did the captain dare to approach with his men. It wasn't that they lacked the courage to fight—it simply wasn't necessary!
They'd stood there the whole time, watching in stunned silence. This wasn't a battle at all—it was a one-sided massacre.
A pirate with a five-million-Berry bounty like Alvida couldn't even survive a single exchange and was beheaded on the spot. Where in the world had their guild leader found such a terrifying escort?!
"Clean things up. Everything on this ship counts as my spoils of war, right?"
"Of course. Once we process this head worth five million Berries, we'll deliver it to you."
Jack nodded in satisfaction.
After this slaughter, his mental tolerance had grown even stronger. After a few more battles like this, he probably wouldn't feel any discomfort at all.
Half an hour later, Jack stared helplessly at the meager "treasure" before him.
After searching the entire ship, they'd found only this much—barely worth around one million Berries in total.
So damn poor!
Feeling unusually generous, Jack swept the more valuable-looking items toward himself.
"The rest—split it among yourselves. No reason for everyone to work for nothing."
The crew immediately burst into cheers and eagerly divided up what Jack didn't want. Even selling it off would net them at least two or three hundred thousand Berries—a huge profit!
"Oh, right—Lord Jack , we found this guy in the cargo hold. He was sneaking around, doesn't look like a good person. Should we chop him up too?"
"No! Don't kill me! I'm not a pirate! I was kidnapped too!"
A short, pink-haired man with glasses burst into tears, snot and tears flowing together in a pitiful mess.
"Explain."
"If it's true, I'll let you go. If you're lying—into the sea to feed the fish."
Without realizing it, Jack had become the one calling the shots on this ship. Even the captain followed his lead—the lingering pressure from that battle made it inevitable.
"My name is Koby…"
As Koby poured out his entire story, Jack finally figured out who he was.
He hadn't expected—or perhaps had forgotten—that Koby had been captured by Alvida two years before Luffy even set sail. What a stroke of bad luck.
Still, the kid had some potential. After being saved by Luffy, he joined the Marines and actually made something of himself—he even learned the Six Powers, (Rokushiki)
An innocent victim like this, with no conflict of interest whatsoever, naturally didn't warrant Jack's blade.
"Alright, I get it. You're a grown man—what's with all the crying?"
"For the next few days, just do your proper job (chores). Once we reach a safe place, I'll let you go."