Bonus Chapter [5] - 400 Power Stones
Rigel found Jack aboard the Pearl, whose face was somewhere between anger and indignation. "Rigel, you said this was going to itch."
Rigel looked at him and winked. "And it didn't itch?"
Jack's lips trembled, but his exposed teeth were undeniably pearly white, nothing like those of a pirate.
He was cleaner and healthier than ever, but Jack felt not a shred of gratitude.
If Rigel weren't a Witch, Jack would have already tied him up, planning to leave him on a deserted island without even a bullet to kill himself.
Rigel ignored Jack's misfortune, he admits he may have gone a little too far, but he really liked Johnny Depp in his last life, and seeing Jack, so much like the man, looking like a walking garbage bag... he felt a desire to give him some "dignity."
At least in terms of appearance.
"You've never looked so stunning, Jack." Rigel smiled at him. "No need to thank me."
Jack grunted, annoyed, but didn't comment, instead focusing on another point. "You said giving away the compass unleashed a curse, what curse is that?"
Rigel took the compass from his bag and opened it, looking at it with interest, at the moment it wasn't pointing to Rigel's greatest desire, instead, it was pointing to Salazar.
Until the curse is broken, the compass only points to Jack Sparrow's greatest fear.
Jack swallowed hard when he saw the compass, already regretting giving it away, but thinking of Davy Jones, he swallowed any rhetoric he could use, at the very least, he would have to wait until he dealt with Davy Jones to get it back.
"The name Sparrow, do you remember how you got it?" Rigel asked calmly.
Jack's face turned deathly pale for a moment before he said. "Impossible, he's dead."
"Ah, he is indeed, so it will be even more difficult to 'kill' him again." Rigel explained.
Jack groaned irritably and looked at Gibbs with wide eyes. Gibbs stared back, confused.
"What?!" Gibbs finally asked, unable to bear Jack's gaze.
"Rum! Give me rum!" Jack shouted angrily.
"Ah! Of course, of course!" Gibbs quickly grabbed his flask and handed it to Jack, who drank several long gulps, his throat burning.
He turned to Rigel, who was staring at him curiously.
"So, instead of getting rid of one ghost, I got two." Jack complained.
"Indeed, but I'll help you get rid of both of them. After all, the compass now only points to Salazar, it would be useless to me without helping you, so don't worry." Rigel promised.
Jack sighed with relief, with Rigel, at the very least, he could save his life.
"I don't want to bother you." Gibbs took a step forward, already regretting boarding Jack's ship. "But who are these ghosts?"
Rigel looked at Gibbs, and at the rest of Jack's crew who seemed unhappy, then at Jack's smiling face with his hands clasped together, as if asking him not to speak. He had no doubt that if Rigel mentioned Davy Jones's name, his new crew, recruited from his old mutinous crewmen, would mutiny again before Jack even arrived in Tortuga to recruit new ones.
Rigel smiled and spoke. "One of them is too early to worry about, Mr. Gibbs, but the other, Armando Salazar, have you heard of him?"
The pirates exchanged confused glances, unable to remember the name, but Gibbs seemed to recall something. "That one from the Spanish Royal Navy? El matador del mar!"
"That's him." Rigel nodded. "He was part of the Spanish Royal Navy, a high-ranking officer, the number of pirates who died at his hands could stain the sea red."
The group of pirates swallowed hard, they had heard of 'El matador del mar'.
"He dreamed of ending piracy, and he lived up to that dream, he really came very close to it, sinking dozens of pirate ships wherever he went." Rigel continued the story. Jack had already found a bottle of rum somewhere and was drinking it with relish.
"Even the pirate lords feared him, he seemed unstoppable, unbeatable. His name should have been passed down in history, the name of his ship feared in all waters. Anyone who called themselves a pirate would have to think twice before hoisting the first black flag on the sea." Rigel looked around, pleased to see that the pirates were paying attention. "Everyone feared the ship, Silent Mary, and its captain, Salazar."
"However, in one attack, a man achieved the unthinkable. Jack, still a young pirate on the crew of one of the pirate lords, took command amidst Salazar's attack. Fortunately, not far away, there was a place where even the bravest pirates dared not venture, the Devil's Triangle."
"Devil's Triangle?! That cursed place?!" Gibbs paled, quickly spitting on the ground and spinning around in place, jumping up and down, followed by the other pirates.
Rigel nodded and continued, ignoring the comical pirates. "Jack pretended to be heading towards him, provoking Salazar to follow, but with a daring maneuver, Jack managed to steer the ship away from the dark cave. Unfortunately for Salazar, it was too late for him, that day, the legend of Captain Salazar died. However, the name of a certain captain soon emerged: Jack Sparrow!"
The group of pirates looked at Jack with more respect. Jack gave a sad smile and took another sip of rum, it wasn't really a story Jack liked to remember.
Seeing Jack like that, the pirates had doubts about whether it was true, Jack simply didn't inspire confidence.
Elizabeth was the only one who looked at Jack with shining eyes, Jack was simply what she had hoped for in a man, even more so now that he was clean. William, standing beside her, didn't notice that his beloved was gazing longingly at another man.
Jack was too preoccupied with his own life to care about women at the moment.
The pirates seemed doubtful, but since it was Rigel who spoke, they could only believe him.
Rigel ignored the pirates, glancing at Elizabeth, noticing that she was the one most enjoying the story, and said. "Salazar didn't die that day, nor his crew, not entirely."
"Devil's Triangle, just like you hours before with the Aztec chest, it cursed them, imprisoned them so they would never leave again, like bitter ghosts, with only the name of one man in their minds, the man who led them to the gates of hell and left them there." Rigel turned his gaze to Jack, as did the rest of the crew.
Ragetti and Pintel felt lucky to have left that unlucky captain behind.
"Now... Salazar will come once again, seeking revenge against Jack." Rigel finished the story, noticing the heavy atmosphere and Jack's erratic eyes, searching for a place to escape if there was another mutiny.