Chapter 14 — Is Koby the Real Protagonist?
After settling Koby's arrangements, Jack was about to head back to rest when the captain stopped him.
"Lord Jack trusts what that kid said just like that?"
"Look at how timid he is—does he look like some vicious pirate to you?"
"That's true… but I still want to interrogate him properly. We just left the Goa Kingdom's protected waters and immediately ran into pirates. If you say that's a coincidence, it feels a bit too fake."
Hearing that, even Jack felt something was off. It really did seem like Alvida had been waiting for them to walk right into a trap.
"Alright. Ask what you need to ask—but don't scare the kid. He doesn't look like a bad person."
"Of course."
"Anything else?"
Seeing that the captain still seemed to have something to say, Jack decided to be direct.
"Spit it out. I'm waiting to go take a bath!"
"Well… about the ship we seized. How does Lord Jack plan to deal with it?"
Jack froze for a moment. He really hadn't thought about that.
Keep it?
That wasn't unreasonable. To go to sea, you needed a ship anyway—and something that fell into your lap would be a waste not to use.
It was just that the thought of this ship having belonged to that disgusting fat woman made him not particularly eager to keep it.
Sell it?
That wasn't a bad option either. Add in the head worth five million, and together it should be enough to buy a brand-new ship.
"What do you think?" Jack asked. Since the captain had come straight to him about this, it obviously meant he had something in mind. If Jack couldn't see through such a little scheme, he might as well jump into the sea.
"If you want to sell it, I can handle it for you. I'll just take a small intermediary fee and guarantee a good price."
"If you want to keep it, that works too. Someone in my family runs a shipyard—we can handle repairs and refitting. I guarantee you the biggest discount!"
After saying that, the captain scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"How much could it sell for?" Jack was interested now. As for the captain trying to benefit himself—Jack saw no issue with that at all. A win-win deal was always the best kind.
"I took a quick look earlier. The hull's in pretty good condition and very clean—looks like it was acquired not long ago. But since it's a used ship, and one used by pirates at that, the most it could fetch is around eight to nine million Berries."
Jack nodded. That already counted as a windfall.
He'd originally thought the bounty would be the main prize, but the real big ticket turned out to be the ship itself. Alvida must've spent all the treasure she'd looted over the years buying this ship—that explained why she was so poor!
"Keep it for now. We'll decide after we get back."
"Then do we return first, or continue onward?"
"Returning would be a hassle. Burn the pirate flag—we'll sail both ships together."
Jack issued the order directly, and the captain showed not the slightest dissatisfaction. Not only because Jack had saved all their lives, but more importantly because of the overwhelming strength he'd displayed—that was the real reason.
Back in his room, Jack stored the small pile of treasure and the box containing the head into the Infinity Gauntlet's internal space. Humming a tune, he went to take a bath, feeling more and more excited about the journey ahead.
......
The next day, Jack lay shirtless on a deck chair, basking in the sun.
Not far away was Koby's busy figure, scrubbing the deck with all his might.
In just one day, all the crew had grown fond of this diligent kid who always found work to do on his own.
And because of that, the other sailors found themselves with more free time—gathering to drink and play cards, the atmosphere lively and cheerful.
"My lord, how should we handle that matter?"
The captain appeared beside Jack at some point.
"Isn't there a Den Den Mushi? Send word to Old John. I'm sure he's already found some clues about who the mole is. Otherwise, I'd seriously have to question how he managed to build such a massive merchant guild from nothing."
The captain nodded and turned to contact the guildmaster.
This so-called "mole" was something the captain had learned from Koby during yesterday's questioning. Strictly speaking, Koby was just a captive and a chore boy, but Alvida never bothered hiding things from him when she spoke or acted.
She probably figured that a coward like Koby could never escape her control, which was why she was so brazen.
As a result, Koby—the non-pirate chore boy—ended up knowing a lot of things, including details about this ambush.
Someone had contacted the Alvida Pirates and provided them with the exact departure time and route, which was why they'd been able to wait in advance and intercept them so precisely!
Thinking back to how Old John had also "accidentally" leaked information last time and nearly got tossed into the sea to be fed to pirates, Jack didn't believe for a second that Old John had no suspicions about this.
With this incident added on, Old John would definitely give him an explanation once they got back.
When merchants got ruthless, they were far more terrifying than pirates!
"Koby!"
"What would you like to drink, my lord? Wine or juice? I'll prepare it right away!"
The pink-haired kid immediately appeared beside Jack, still holding the rag he'd been using to scrub the deck.
Putting aside his personality flaws, Jack actually quite appreciated Koby. His emotional intelligence wasn't low—he knew how to please people and flatter them, and he worked diligently and earnestly.
Otherwise, how could a weakling like him survive among a group of pirates? And if not for Jack's appearance this time, he'd have had to keep surviving in that pirate crew for another two years!
What a damn talent!
And there was something even more important.
When Luffy first met Koby, Koby looked to be under ten years old. Yet in less than a year, he grew to be about as tall as Luffy…
Two years later, Koby became a Marine captain…
So just how good was the Marine diet, exactly?
How terrifying was Garp's training?
Or was it possible that in the One Piece world, Koby was actually the real protagonist?
After all, when Luffy was nineteen, Koby was only a little over ten—and he was already a captain!
Might even end up stronger than Aokiji or Akainu back in the day!
And all without a Devil Fruit!
So maybe the future Marine Admiral—or even Fleet Admiral—could very well be this kid…
Emmmmmmm…
"How old are you this year?"
"Seven!" Koby answered honestly, while Jack fell silent.
"Koby, let me ask you something. Do you have a dream?"
Jack forced himself to look serious, though inside he was utterly exasperated—this wasn't some damn talent show audition!
But people in this world really did eat this stuff up!
Koby immediately snapped to attention and saluted excitedly.
"My dream is to become a righteous Marine!"
Heh.
"Actually, the Marines don't necessarily represent justice. And wanting to be a partner of justice doesn't mean you have to become a Marine."
Jack activated his brainwashing technique!