Amid the sound of shattering glass, Sanosuke came crashing down from above with a man pinned beneath his feet.
Norton, Nami, and Funing immediately hurried over to see what had happened.
Only when they got close did they realize that the person Sanosuke had stepped on was one of the Redbeard Pirates.
"What happened?" Norton asked, frowning.
The pirate was already dead.
Sanosuke's kunai had slit his throat, and blood was still pouring out of the wound.
Funing's face turned pale with fright, and Nami quickly covered her eyes.
"My lord, he violated your order," Sanosuke said with lowered head.
A commotion broke out inside the castle. Hearing the disturbance, the guards rushed over, followed shortly by the butler.
"Miss Funing! Please come over here at once! Stay away from those dangerous people!" the butler cried out the moment he saw Funing standing with Norton and Nami.
"What exactly happened?" Funing bit her lip. Though frightened, she still tried to remain calm and ask for the full story.
"These guests—no, one of the pirates got drunk and harassed a maid in the castle. Then the pirates started fighting among themselves!" the butler explained loudly. "That ninja killed several of them!"
At those words, Norton's expression gradually turned cold and hard.
He looked at Sanosuke.
"Where are the others?"
"They're all in the banquet hall. The guards have probably already subdued them," Sanosuke replied.
"How many did you kill?" Norton asked next. "Did you kill all the ones who caused trouble?"
"Seven in total. I killed all of them." Sanosuke wiped the blood from his kunai.
Norton turned toward the butler.
"Bring the rest of them to me."
Why should I listen to you? Don't order me around like that! the butler wanted to say.
But when his eyes met Norton's, he instantly wilted.
That was a gaze that did not permit defiance—a gaze that made others instinctively feel small.
"Bring them over! Let this gentleman deal with them!" the butler said, wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.
A few minutes later, the guards dragged the remaining pirates before Norton.
The moment they saw Sanosuke, several of them reacted fiercely.
"Sanosuke, you traitor! We were comrades for so long, and you actually did this to us?!"
Sanosuke's expression remained calm.
He had never felt much sense of belonging to the Redbeard Pirates.
Even before meeting Norton, most of the crew had never welcomed him. Only Redbeard, because he wanted to make use of Sanosuke's strength, had treated him tolerably.
But "not too badly" was still far from "well."
So after these pirates broke Norton's rules, Sanosuke had shown no mercy whatsoever.
Norton pointed at the pirates who had shouted at Sanosuke.
"Arrest those few and send them to the nearest Marine base."
If they dared condemn Sanosuke right in front of him, then it meant their hearts were still with the Redbeard Pirates. Keeping people like that around would only create trouble later.
After that, Norton slowly walked past the rest of the pirates, his eyes scanning each of their faces one by one.
In the end, anyone who looked resentful, furious, or was clearly suppressing their anger—Norton singled them all out and ordered them sent to the nearest Marine base as well.
Norton understood perfectly well that these pirates were only obeying him temporarily because of his strength. The moment they found an opportunity, they would either flee or stir up trouble.
He didn't mind if his subordinates harbored thoughts of betrayal.
He had the confidence to control anyone.
As long as they didn't cross the line, he wouldn't care.
But once they did—
They had to be punished.
Even if Sanosuke hadn't acted, Norton would have killed the troublemakers himself.
The guards followed Norton's orders and led away the pirates he had identified.
The remaining pirates all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
To them, whether their captain was Redbeard or Norton made no real difference. They had gone to sea only to scrape together a living.
Call them cowardly if you wanted. Call them cold-hearted.
All they wanted was to survive.
Sanosuke watched the pirates being escorted away, and a flash of killing intent flickered across his eyes.
Norton didn't even spare the remaining pirates another glance.
He turned to the butler and said, "Lock up the rest for now."
"Yes!" the butler answered reflexively.
"And one more thing." After a brief pause, Norton said sincerely, "Please convey my apology to the lady who was harassed."
"I will, sir." The butler bowed slightly.
Nami blinked in surprise.
She hadn't expected a man as forceful and proud as Norton to apologize so earnestly.
Her approval of him rose a little more.
"If there's nothing else, everyone may disperse now. Thank you for your hard work," Funing said to the crowd.
The butler nodded. After the body and bloodstains were dealt with, he led the guards away, taking the remaining pirates with them.
In the blink of an eye, only Norton, Nami, Funing, and Sanosuke were left where they stood.
"Do you still want me to keep showing you around the castle?" Funing asked. Her face was still a little pale.
As the cherished daughter of a duke, Funing had never witnessed anything so bloody before. The fact that she hadn't vomited already counted as bravery.
"No, forget it. Let's just stay here," Norton said.
Nami nodded in agreement. After something like that, she wasn't in the mood to keep sightseeing either.
"I need to use the bathroom," Sanosuke said.
"Would you like a servant to lead the way?" Funing stood and asked.
Sanosuke shook his head.
"No need. I've already been there once."
Norton watched Sanosuke leave, his gaze deep and unreadable.
But once he had moved beyond Norton's line of sight, Sanosuke did not head for the bathroom at all.
That had only been an excuse.
He caught up to the guards and the pirates being escorted to the Marine base, following them from behind.
When they entered a secluded street, he struck without hesitation.
The guards never even saw Sanosuke clearly before he knocked them unconscious.
"It's you! Sanosuke! What are you trying to do?!"
One of the pirates recognized the attacker in the chaos.
Sanosuke had no intention of concealing his identity. As long as the guards were knocked out, that was enough.
Because Sanosuke intended to kill every last one of the remaining pirates.
Now that he had sworn loyalty to Norton and accepted him as his new master, Sanosuke believed it was his duty to eliminate all threats for him.
If you cut the grass but leave the roots, it will grow back when spring comes.
Even though these pirates were weak—far too weak to ever threaten Norton—Sanosuke still had no intention of letting them go.
A ninja's duty was to destroy anything that might be harmful to his master.
"A ninja is his master's blade—something that lives in the darkness and clears away every obstacle in his master's path."
His teacher's voice still echoed in his ears.
"So this is… the so-called way of the ninja," Sanosuke murmured to himself.
His kunai flashed through the air again and again.
One pirate after another fell, until the street ran red with blood.
Only after killing them all did Sanosuke vanish in an instant.
A few minutes later, the guards slowly regained consciousness and discovered the pirates' corpses.
Standing in the blood-soaked street, they froze like statues.
Sanosuke returned to the duke's castle.
Norton, Nami, and Funing were discussing matters related to the White Pearl.
Whenever the topic turned to ships, Funing's enthusiasm became unstoppable. Most of the time, she was the one speaking, while Norton and Nami listened quietly.
When Nami saw Sanosuke come back, she asked curiously, "What took you so long?"
"A little constipated," Sanosuke said, tossing out a casual excuse.
Norton swept him with a calm glance and said nothing.
But Sanosuke felt the depth in Norton's gaze all the same—as though Norton had seen through everything.
He quickly lowered his head and avoided eye contact.
At that moment, the duke came walking over from the distance, his expression looking rather unpleasant.
"Father, where's His Majesty's attendant?" Funing stood up.
"He's already returned to the palace," the duke said, looking at Norton. "Mr. Norton, I'm afraid you may have to move sooner than expected. His Majesty has ordered me to deliver the White Pearl to the royal palace immediately."