On the deck of the Blaku.
"Hey, kid." A big, fat man covered in layers of fat approached. He was Buchi, one of the fighters on the ship, a guy with formidable strength.
In addition to this guy, there was another fighter on the Blaku named Sham, who had astonishing speed. None of the reincarnators could pass his test.
These two guys seemed honest but were actually full of mischief, always thinking about how they could take down Captain Kuro and replace him.
"Morning." Kiba greeted him, his expression showing no hint of anything unusual.
Over the past few days, he had basically familiarized himself with everyone on board. Unfortunately, Captain Kuro had been holed up in his room the whole time, never giving anyone a chance to get close.
The fat man leaned against the ship's railing, gazing into the distance, mumbling vaguely, "The world thinks we're dead. We must have a tough battle. It's coming soon. We all need to be ready."
His words were somewhat incoherent, but Kiba could basically understand what he meant.
The disgrace of the pirate crew's defeat must be washed away with victory after victory, and they need to show the entire East Sea that the Black Cat Pirates haven't been beaten.
This means there will definitely be a series of intense battles ahead. Just sitting around and waiting for the mission to end leisurely isn't going to happen.
Fortunately, reincarnators never shy away from a fight. Without the clash of guns and fire, there's no way to gain the wealth that surpasses others.
Fighting isn't a problem for sure. What Kiba really cared about was Captain Kuro. If his guess was correct, this guy was probably still sulking after being defeated by the pirate admiral.
It won't be long before the "Hundred Plans' Retirement" event is triggered, and he should be able to reap a substantial reward then.
However, Kiba's ambitions go far beyond this. What he truly wants is to help the captain change his fate and not end up defeated by Straw Hat Luffy.
If he can help the Black Cat Pirates defeat the pirate admiral, the rewards would be immense. As for how exactly to achieve this, it depends on the upcoming mission flow.
At this moment, most of the reincarnators had already joined various factions, working hard to gain reputation and contributions. But Kiba was different; he had been constantly trying to learn hypnosis.
He didn't rely on scrolls or learn any specific skills. His method was simple: use his status as a formal crew member to continuously seek advice from story characters.
Zango, who was idle, didn't mind giving him a few pointers, and with his excellent spirit attribute, Kiba managed to learn quite a bit.
At least when he operated seriously, the swinging pocket watch could already influence ordinary pirates.
If he keeps going, he estimates he'll soon be able to master real hypnosis. Of course, reaching Zango's level is still a long way off.
Watching the fat man Buchi leave, Kiba casually turned his head, clearly catching a fleeting figure around the corner.
With a strange smile on his face, he knew someone was soon going to be unable to contain their restless heart.
Touching the Black Star at his waist, Kiba thought for a moment and decided to continue practicing hypnosis. Then he saw a man with slicked-back hair, dressed in a suit, standing on the balcony of the captain's cabin on the second floor, looking down at him.
Even the thick lenses couldn't hide his cold eyes, as if there was nothing in the world worth his attention.
He was the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, the "Hundred Plans" Kuro, with a bounty of 16 million.
"Finally showing up." With a slight bow, Kiba walked to the other side of the deck.
He knew the days of leisure were about to end. The Black Cat Pirates were about to embark on a blood-soaked journey.
"Set sail," Kuro ordered simply, then leaped down from the second-floor balcony.
Despite his keen perception, Kiba didn't hear the sound of him landing, as if someone had erased the captain's footsteps from existence.
With a cold glance at him, Kuro left a sentence, "I look forward to your performance," before heading towards the bow of the Blaku.
Seeing this, Kiba went back to the cabin alone. He needed to prepare for the upcoming battle.
---
Shells Town, Marine Branch 153.
"I said no!" Lieutenant Commander Rippa gripped the steel pen in his hand tightly, wishing he could stab the bastard in front of him to death.
Not long ago, his trusted aide, Captain Morgan, whom he had high hopes for, died in a very remote place.
With no one left under him to rely on, he was gradually losing his qualification to compete for the base commander position. Unless he could clear the disgrace, personally sending the Black Cat Pirates to the bottom of the sea.
That's right, the guy who killed Captain Morgan had joined the Black Cat Pirates. Many of his colleagues were now waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
As for the specific reason, wasn't it because the pirate forces were too strong? With the power of Branch 153 alone, it was hard to contend with them.
He was silently worrying when he heard his subordinate requesting to lead a team to besiege the Black Cat Pirates.
Wasn't this just nonsense?
If he really had the capability, would Rippa still let people laugh at him like that? He would have captured those pirates and hanged them in the town square a long time ago.
"Get out, and remember your duty." Rippa looked very angry.
Hearing his superior's curses, Monka left the office dejectedly. He didn't understand why Lieutenant Commander Rippa was so cowardly.
The righteous marines, why can't they eliminate the evil pirates?
"This world shouldn't be like this." Monka's eyes gradually became resolute.
---
Actually, "Axe King" Monka was once a passionate young man. Unfortunately, during a campaign against the Black Cat Pirates, he met with misfortune. After being hypnotized by Jango, his personality changed drastically, claiming that those with power are the greatest people in the world. Gradually, he became more like a Celestial Dragon, a typical example of someone whose confidence has been shattered.
During this period, he still had great trust and admiration for the Navy. So when his superiors didn't allow him, he decided to take action on his own.
Just as Axe King was assigning personnel, a girl with long pink hair suddenly walked up to him, her lips slightly curved into a smile. Her strong charisma even made Monka a little nervous.
"Captain, where are you planning to go?"
For some reason, Monka seemed to lose his senses and blurted out all his thoughts.
Knowing that he was going to fight the Black Cat Pirates, the girl's expression immediately became very solemn. "Pirates wreak havoc in the region and indeed should be eliminated. I'm willing to ask Lieutenant Commander Ripa on your behalf."
"This..." Axe King was somewhat tempted. To be honest, he wasn't very confident himself. If the powerful Lieutenant Commander Ripa could join him, he believed they could surely succeed.
Even though he didn't know what the girl was relying on, he thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
At this moment, Monka suddenly noticed the girl's companions.
There was a cold-looking man holding a large sniper rifle.
A muscular man with a tower shield.
A boy with a sunny smile, eating a bun.
And someone who gave him a strong sense of threat—a handsome young man wearing a mechanical glove on his right hand.
"Don't worry, she'll definitely succeed," Olsen said calmly, seemingly not even acknowledging the Axe King in front of him.
As long as they had that item, Lieutenant Commander Ripa would definitely agree to send troops. At that point, they could use the plot's forces to take down the Black Cat.
In this way, most of their set objectives would be achieved, and the remaining task would be to dig up hidden missions.
"The Silent Step—once I have it, my speed will definitely take a big leap forward," Olsen said, lifting his head, his eyes blazing like flames.
On the scorching sea, the sound of cannon fire echoed across the sky.
White sails fluttered freely in the sea breeze like an eagle spreading its wings to fly. Kiba stood at the bow of the ship, his eyes fixed on the pirate ships wandering in the distance.
Behind him, the pirates were busy working nervously, constantly checking the sails and rigging to ensure the ship was in the best condition.
The gunports on either side of the hull were already open, and the dark cannon barrels were aimed at the enemy ships. Black shells began covering them in round after round.
These were solid iron shells, hollow inside, filled with a lot of gunpowder. They could explode with just a certain amount of impact, so they were usually separated by thick cotton.
"The accuracy is too low," Kiba observed for a while and found that the efficiency of the cannon exchange was really poor.
After seventeen minutes of fighting, only one cannonball had luckily hit the enemy; the rest of the time was just blindly wasting ammunition.
At this moment, the two ships were quickly crossing each other, gunfire flying, and thick smoke rising from the sea.
This distance wasn't too far or too close, perfect for artillery strikes without worrying about the enemy boarding their ship. Clearly, the opponents were well aware of the Black Cat Pirates' reputation and didn't want to face the cunning Kuro.
"This won't do," Old Cat was a bit anxious, lowering his head to think for a while before suddenly focusing on his 3D maneuver gear.
"Jason, it's your turn to perform."
After briefly explaining his idea, the plan was simply to have Kiba use hooks to approach the enemy ship.
Hearing his suggestion, Kiba didn't speak, but the Reincarnator beside him immediately objected, "No way, that's too risky. Jason might not make it back."
The man had a nickname "Piglet." He was the Reincarnator who had gotten on board by buying something from him.
Piglet was extremely enthusiastic toward those who helped him. Kiba learned a lot of important information from him.
For example, when your military rank reaches a certain level, the space will unlock a synthesis function for Reincarnators.
As long as you know the recipe, you can synthesize powerful equipment, skills, and even titles obtained in the story world.
Initially, he didn't care much about titles, thinking their effects were very limited, but now he realized he had been quite shortsighted.
Amidst the argument between the two companions, Kiba always chose to remain indifferent. The decision to go or not was his to make; others could only give advice.
Looking up at the distant sailing ship, Kiba calmly said, "If we want to win, we must board the enemy's ship. Notify the others to be ready to act at any time."
Saying this, he picked up a bag on the ground filled with solid cannonballs.
(End of chapter)