Leaving Amazon Lily, the Otherworlder-Go sailed across the blue sea.
Makoto stood at the bow, turned around, and looked at the girls on the ship.
For now, although Yu and the Four Gay Bros weren't around, many of the girls had gradually become able to take on important roles.
Not to mention those who already possessed considerable strength like Reze, Kotonoha, Ran, and the others.
Utaha, Megumi, and the others weren't weak to begin with, and now there was Miku and Leonora who had obtained abilities.
To be honest, as long as they didn't encounter an Emperor-level pirate crew, even if Makoto wasn't on the ship, they wouldn't need to be afraid.
Not to mention having Nayuta, that super big bug.
As Makoto's group was preparing to leave, the Kuja Pirates' [Perfume Yuda] also followed behind.
Tritoma, now serving as vice-captain, stood at the bow and waved to Makoto, shouting, "Makoto-kun! We want to come with you!"
Makoto looked around and asked, "I don't see Gloriosa?"
Shakky had already handed over the vice-captain position, so it was normal for her to stay behind in Amazon Lily. But as the captain, Gloriosa had no reason not to come.
Tritoma pointed to her own face and replied with a smile, "I'm the captain now."
"Huh?"
"After seeing Roger's behavior earlier, Gloriosa-sama basically lost all hope for that guy. She doesn't want to be captain anymore for the time being, so she simply handed over the entire pirate crew to me."
Hearing this, everyone was speechless.
'Good grief, in less than a week, Tritoma had jumped two ranks in a row.'
'From crew member to vice-captain, then to captain in one go.'
'Damn, it felt like even the Deserting King didn't level up that fast.'
For a time, the three ships, the Otherworlder-Go, the Rocks' Fury, and the Perfume Yuda, set off in grand style.
Nino walked up to Makoto and asked, "Makoto-kun, which Devil Fruit are we going to look for next?"
Ever since Miku got the Bake-Danuki Fruit, Nino had entered a crazy training mode.
She couldn't wait to get a Devil Fruit no less powerful than Miku's.
Makoto waved his hand. "No need to rush. Actually, you can all relax a bit. Our combat power is sufficient for now."
He planned to let the Rocks Pirates teach everything they could over the next few years.
Then, those on the ship who hadn't obtained special powers could basically just coast.
Just like the Straw Hat Pirates, didn't their main offensive rely on just three people?
Whenever something big happened, Chopper, Nami, Robin, and the others mostly just coasted along.
Of course, Usopp was an exception.
Makoto's words made some of the players on the ship very happy.
For instance, the wallflowers like Komachi and Uesugi Raiha, who had average talent and didn't really enjoy training, usually did odd jobs like washing dishes and laundry on the ship.
Now hearing Makoto say they could coast, they were naturally delighted.
But there were also those who were unconvinced and wanted to push harder.
The most typical example was Nino.
Among the five sisters, she had the 'worst' relationship with Miku.
She couldn't stand Miku being above her. Of course, it was only on the surface that they didn't get along, because their personalities were completely opposite… one outgoing and lively, the other introverted and silent... one liked shopping, the other liked staying home.
But in reality, they still cared about each other.
"Sigh, doesn't this feel more like the relationship between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo?"
Makoto couldn't help but mutter.
Puru puru puru-
As the ship sailed slowly, Makoto's Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
The moment Makoto picked up the receiver, the Den Den Mushi transformed into a familiar outline, Yu.
"Senpai, Uesugi Futaro is dead."
Yu's first words caused Raiha, who had just been excited about coasting, to faint from shock.
The other female players around also looked puzzled… the whole world knew that Yu and the Four Gay Bros were Makoto's subordinates, yet someone dared to touch the King of the New World's people?
Makoto also became somewhat interested and asked, "Who did it?"
"Byrnndi World."
Hearing this name, the expressions on the nearby ship, including Tritoma and Newgate on the Rocks' Fury, turned from surprise to understanding, 'So it was that madman.'
Byrnndi World, known as the [World Destroyer], was the user of the Paramecia-type More-More Fruit.
Although his bounty was only 200 million, the main reason was that he was the only fighter in his crew. Compared to Roger, Newgate, and others who preferred to operate in groups, his threat level was lower, hence the lower bounty.
But his ability was extremely troublesome… the More-More Fruit was almost a top-tier Paramecia that could rival Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
And more than his Devil Fruit ability, what gave his fellow pirates and the Marine a headache was his personality… describing him as a 'mad dog' would be an understatement. He attacked anyone he saw.
But even Newgate and Shiki hadn't expected this mad dog to be this crazy, to be dare to bite Makoto's people.
Hearing that Futaro was dead, Kei and Komachi quickly ran to Makoto's side, repeatedly asking if their brothers were okay.
Yu on the other end of the Den Den Mushi also heard their voices and replied, "Hikigaya Hachiman is fine. That guy has some skills. Shirogane Miyuki is not doing so well. He's still alive, but barely."
As he spoke, Yu glanced at Miyuki lying on a hospital bed with an IV drip and covered in ECG leads.
Hearing that her brother was alive, Kei breathed a long sigh of relief.
But Yu's next sentence made her heart jump back into her throat.
"Senpai, I want to abandon Shirogane Miyuki. Is that okay?"
Yu said the coldest words in the calmest tone. "He's not very useful anyway."
Hearing this, Kei was so scared that tears fell. She grabbed Makoto's arm and sobbed, "C-Commander! I'll sleep with you! Please don't let him abandon my brother!"
Upon hearing this, Moeha's eyes widened, 'Wait, girl, are you trying to jump the queue?'
Makoto patted the head of this fifteen-year-old girl and replied to Yu, "Don't be so heartless. He can still do odd jobs, right? And we've only been transported here for less than half a year. Not everyone has the buff of working two hundred times harder. Give the guy some more time."
Regarding Miyuki, Makoto didn't necessarily have much fondness, but he didn't dislike him either.
Just the fact that he didn't string along people who liked him already put him eight hundred miles ahead of other harem and romance manga's male leads.
"Alright, since you say so, Senpai, we'll bring him along."
Hearing Yu's answer, Kei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Makoto then asked, "What are you planning to do about Byrnndi World?"
Yu replied, "You don't need to get involved, Senpai. I'll take him down myself."
Since Morgans had reported his and Makoto's identities, unless Yu actively provoked someone, no one dared to challenge him.
This made Yu feel very bored… no matter how much he trained, he still needed real combat to achieve breakthroughs.
And at this moment, that mad dog Byrnndi World came knocking. Yu felt he was the perfect punching bag.
Makoto asked with a smile, "Are you interested in the More-More Fruit? It would work quite well with your abilities."
Yu recalled his previous fight with Byrnndi World… Byrnndi World could fire a pistol shot and amplify it a hundred times to the power of a cruise missile.
It would indeed work quite well with his abilities as the Gun Devil.
But after thinking it over, Yu still refused.
He didn't want the weakness of fearing seawater.
Moreover, as long as people feared him, as a Devil, he could continuously grow stronger. There was no need to give himself a weakness for short-term gain.
Makoto didn't force Yu, encouraged him a bit, and then hung up.
Reze commented, "I didn't expect there would be such an idiot."
Considering that the giants had a huge grudge against Makoto but now seemed likely to give up on revenge, she hadn't expected someone like Byrnndi World to come knocking on their door.
Makoto smiled and said, "Never underestimate the number of idiots in this world."
'Byrnndi World was still relatively normal. Wait until they met Kozuki Oden… that would be a real heavyweight.'
Aside from Futaro's sister, Raiha, no one on the Otherworlder-Go mourned his death.
Because of the intervention of the butterfly effect that was Makoto, Futaro hadn't even met the Nakano quintuplets as a child.
But his death did scare some of those who had just been thinking about 'coasting'.
They felt they could relax a bit, but probably shouldn't just coast completely.
After all, Makoto couldn't protect them every second.
And let's not forget, quite a few of them weren't yet Makoto's women.
Normally, Makoto might give them a helping hand.
But if it came to a critical moment and both Makoto's women and they were in danger, which side would Makoto save?
Does that even need to be said?
"Um, well, Commander, thank you."
Kei thanked Makoto quietly.
"It's nothing."
Makoto waved his hand, signaling her not to worry about it.
Kei lowered her head, her voice even softer. "Tonight, should I come to your room... or will you come to mine?"
Kei felt that if she didn't give something in return, it would be hard to justify.
Makoto flicked Kei's forehead.
"Fifteen-year-old girl, don't worry about such things."
Only then did Kei remember… she wasn't yet sixteen. Makoto wouldn't make a move on her.
Just then, Moeha couldn't wait any longer and jumped out from the side.
"Makoto-nii! I turn sixteen in one month!"
Kei was startled and quickly said, "I, I have two months left!"
Chika stood nearby, her internal alarm bells ringing loudly.
Her feelings for Makoto were somewhat subtle... she didn't know if it was romantic love.
But Chika felt that in this life, aside from Makoto, she probably wouldn't have any other choice.
Now that her little sister was raring to go, shouldn't she also take some action?
The Mrs. Nishikawas had black lines on their faces.
'Damn, it was one after another throwing themselves at him.'
They couldn't help but look at Nayuta holding Pochita, and Kokoro huddled next to Kotonoha… they felt that the two junior high girls, Kei and Moeha were far from the limit. There were more to come.
Some perhaps not even born yet.