Chapter 386: He Would Give Them Injections
"I spotted a pirate crew approaching. They are old acquaintances!"
Snake, the navigator of the Red Hair Pirates, peered through his telescope and caught sight of two pirate ships on the horizon.
A grin spread across his face at the sight of familiar faces. He turned to Hongo, the ship's doctor, who was lingering on the deck with him.
"Oh? Who is it?"
Hongo was sprawled lazily atop a wooden barrel by the ship's railing, his voice dripping with curiosity.
"Higuma, the Power Sword, and Andre, the Tyrant King."
"It's those guys!"
Snake's restrained smile made Hongo pause, his expression shifting to one of nostalgia.
"Talk about persistent! We barely show up on the seas, and they are already chasing us down again."
He hesitated, a flicker of emotion crossing his face.
"And… How did the Andre Pirates even escape that place? That terrifying ghost place"
Hongo's words stirred something in Snake. The faint smile he had faded, replaced by a solemn look. His hand instinctively reached for a spot on his body, as if tracing a memory.
Both men fell silent, lost in their thoughts. The ship grew quiet, the only sound the creak of wood and the distant lap of waves.
After a moment, Snake wandered over to a barrel on the deck and sat down, stretching his arms to feel the cool sea breeze. His eyes tracked the two ships crawling across the horizon like sluggish snails.
"Should we inform the boss?" he said at last. "Let him decide what to do."
"Hahaha!" Hongo burst out laughing, his face lighting up with mischief. "The boss won't run from this! Last time, those guys gave us a thrashing. Now it's our turn to show them who is the boss!"
With a wide grin, he picked a nearby Den Den Mushi and dialed.
---
Meanwhile, on a nearby island, Red-Haired Shanks and his crew were hard at work. They hacked through a tangle of exposed roots beside a massive tree, digging deep into the earth. After burrowing dozens of centimeters, their shovels finally struck a stone slab.
"Hahaha! I knew it! This treasure is real, we are in the right spot!"
Lucky Roux, who had been chomping on a massive drumstick, caught sight of the slab and beamed. In one swift motion, he swallowed the entire thing—meat, bone, and all—then pulled another hunk of meat from nowhere to celebrate.
His antics left the others, with shovels in hand, staring in disbelief.
"Roux, you lazy bastard!" Limejuice, one of the crew's fighters, gripped his shovel and shot a glare at the chef. "You've been packing on weight for nothing! Get over here and dig!"
"I'm keeping a watch for you guys!" Lucky Roux shot back, tearing off another chunk of meat. "Besides, I'm the chef! A chef's hands aren't for digging dirt!"
"Hahaha! You have always got an excuse, don't you?"
The crew chuckled as they brushed dirt from the slab, their laughter mingled with the scrape of shovels.
"Alright, let us open this thing," Shanks said as his eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Time to see what treasures are waiting."
On the seas, treasures held a special allure. The unknown sparked endless curiosity, would it be a dazzling haul, a shocking discovery, or a letdown? That uncertainty was the thrill of the hunt, which is the heart of the Red Hair Pirates' adventures. For Shanks, the treasure itself mattered less than the journey and the adventure of seeking it with his crew.
"Here we go…"
Shanks gripped the edge of the massive stone slab, several meters long and wide. With the crew watching eagerly, he heaved it upward. The stone slab flew directly into the air and landed somewhere with a loud bang.
Silence followed.
Then, the air erupted with cheers.
"Ohhh yeah!"
"Hahaha! Not bad at all! We hit the jackpot this time!" Lucky Roux smiled excitedly, already dreaming of the rare ingredients he could buy.
The others rolled their eyes. This guy and his food obsession, they thought, but no one argued. Before them was an open pit, several meters wide and long, brimming with glittering gold and silver jewelry. The treasure was so densely packed that its depth was impossible to gauge.
Vice-Captain Benn Beckman surveyed the haul, his sharp mind calculating. By his estimate, this trove was worth at least a billion Berries.
They'd struck it rich.
As the crew hugged and hollered, a faint smile curved on Beckman's lips.
Blub! Blub! Blub! Blub!
The distinctive ring of a Den Den Mushi cut through the celebration. All eyes turned to Beckman, who pulled a small snail phone from his pocket.
A call now? Was something wrong back on the ship?
His face grew serious. Shanks stepped over and took the receiver.
After a brief exchange, he hung up with a grin.
"Hahaha! Alright, you guys, some old acquaintances are knocking. Pack up the loot quickly, I don't want them to get jealous after seeing this!"
"Ohhh yeah!" the crew roared, laughing as they sprang into action.
They hauled out massive sacks and set to work, scooping up the treasure with practiced efficiency. In no time, the pit was empty, not a single gold coin remained. The Red Hair Pirates were nothing if not thorough.
"Alright, let's move!" Shanks said while leading his crew back to the ship. "Time to greet our old pals."
Those "pals" weren't pushovers, but things were different now.
---
Time passed, and soon Shanks and his crew were back aboard the Red Force.
"You lot took your sweet time," Hongo griped as they boarded. "Any slower, and those ships might have started lobbying cannonballs at us!"
The two enemy vessels were now just over a kilometer away, close enough to be a threat if they opened fire.
"Hahaha! We made it, didn't we?" Shanks said cheerfully, patting the heavy sack slung over his shoulder.
Hongo's eyes lit up at the sight.
"Looks like a good harvest. Are we rich or what?"
His excitement dimmed, replaced by a wary look. These tricksters loved pulling pranks. He remembered one time when they had returned with sacks full of rocks, claiming it was treasure. He had opened the bags with a grin, only to find stones while the crew howled with laughter.
His face had gone dark. They had called his stunned expression the real "treasure."
Why don't they just die?
"This time it's legit," Shanks said, barely hiding a smirk. "But first, we have got guests to deal with. You're up, Hongo, take the helm!"
"Really?" Hongo looked at Shanks suspiciously, that smirk setting off alarm bells. Were they messing with him again?
His gaze flicked to the sacks piled on the deck, then to the approaching pirate ships. He shoved the thought aside.
Deal with the enemy first.
If they were pranking him again, though…
He would make sure they got their injections.