Chapter 12

Bang!

Inside the tavern, a burly man with a chest full of thick hair fiercely slammed a barrel of wine on the table.

"What if it's the Donquixote family? I'm going to rob them!"

"Scared? If you're scared of everything, what are you doing out at sea as a pirate? Go home and suckle your mothers!"

The muscular man's scornful words drew startled expressions from many across the table, with some of the more hot-headed ones already readying their weapons to teach this insolent guy a lesson.

"You're talking nonsense, who's scared!"

"No manners, I was speaking to your captain, who allowed you, a runt, to squawk?"

"Damn! I'm..."

"Shut up, get back!"

The one who spoke this time was a guy dressed in a tight green combat suit, with a Western sword hanging at his waist - a very odd getup.

When the captain spoke, the scolded guy had to swallow his grievances, no matter how aggrieved he felt.

"Black Bear Miles, you sent someone to say you wanted to discuss a big deal with me, so I specifically brought people over. But you want to rob the Donquixote family's smuggling ship. Have you thought about the consequences of this?"

"Heh! What consequences could there be? It's nothing more than a fight to the death with them. I've had it with the damn Donquixote family! I always thought Silver Sword Lawrence was someone notable, but seeing him today, heh, turns out he's just a coward. If you don't dare to act, then let our Giant Bear Pirate Crew do it. However, let me say this upfront, if you Hundred Sword Pirate Crew dare to interfere, don't blame me for not showing any mercy."

These words were downright heart-wrenching.

The members of the Hundred Sword Pirate Crew were indignant, eyes ablaze, even Silver Sword Lawrence had a dark expression, with a murderous aura.

"If you stupid bear really want to die, I can send you off right now!"

Being insulted to his face, if he didn't react, he might as well not be the captain.

"By you? A coward who trembles at the mere mention of the Donquixote family? Hahahaha!"

Black Bear Miles roared with laughter, his crew members joining in, laughing uproariously.

Even though Lawrence knew that the other party was deliberately provoking him, trying to infuriate him, he couldn't stand this kind of humiliation.

In the next instant, a silver light flashed!

Lawrence's sword pierced into the chest of Black Bear Miles.

The name 'Silver Sword' was widely circulated precisely because of the spectacle when he drew his sword.

However, to Lawrence's astonishment, his western sword could only pierce half an inch into his opponent's body before it could go no further.

Looking up, he saw Miles grinning fiendishly at him, then unbelievably transforming into a gigantic black bear standing five meters tall!

That thick fur was the best defense.

"Are you trying to tickle me?"

Miles raised his bear paw and smashed it down hard.

With a loud bang, the entire sturdy wooden table was shattered into pieces.

But Lawrence was no mere braggart. In the nick of time, he retreated swiftly, avoiding injury.

However, his expression was particularly serious.

"A Devil Fruit user?"

"Correct, you seem to know a thing or two."

Black Bear Miles was quite proud; he was indeed a Zoan type Black Bear Fruit user.

After transforming into a black bear, both his strength and defense were significantly enhanced. Crushing several skulls with one swipe of his paw was as easy as play.

He too, had risen to power in the North Sea over the past two years, with a bounty of 33 million Berries.

Due to Lawrence's earlier debut and more 'achievements', his bounty was somewhat higher than Miles', standing at 35 million Berries.

However, judging from their earlier exchange, it wasn't certain that Lawrence would have the upper hand.

But who would lose and who would win, only a fight could determine.

"Again!"

Lawrence once again drew his sword and charged, Miles also met him head-on, swinging his bear paws fiercely.

In an instant, the unfortunate tavern was leveled.

And with the respective captains starting to fight, the rest of the crew also began to get restless.

Although they couldn't interfere in the fight between their captains, there were plenty of opponents in front of them, and with the grudges from before, some people couldn't hold back anymore.

However, not much time passed before the two captains, who seemed ready to fight to the death just a second ago, simultaneously stopped.

This shocked everyone present.

Why did they stop fighting?

Of course, they didn't want a Pyrrhic victory.

On one hand, Black Bear Miles had strong defense and great strength but found it hard to catch the more agile Lawrence.

On the other hand, Lawrence's quick sword couldn't inflict significant damage, forcing him to dodge and search for vulnerable areas like eyes to attack.

For a short time, neither party could get the better of the other.

But in a fight to the death, undoubtedly Black Bear Miles would have a higher chance of winning.

Miles, being a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, could withstand many of Lawrence's attacks. However, if Lawrence were to make a single mistake, he would immediately face severe damage! In terms of stamina too, Miles, who had eaten the animal-type Devil Fruit, was far superior to Lawrence.

However, that didn't mean Lawrence was without any chances. After all, his strength was evident.

Precisely because both knew they couldn't continue fighting without consequences, they tacitly agreed to stop.

"You're strong, no wonder you're confident enough to plan on attacking the Donquixote family's smuggling ship," Lawrence, who was at a disadvantage earlier, conceded, giving Miles a step down. Miles didn't insist on keeping up the fight and reverted to his human form, laughing heartily, "You're not too bad yourself. After all this fighting, I didn't even touch you once."

"If you had hit me even once, would I still be alive?" Lawrence couldn't help but scoff inwardly, but outwardly he suggested, "I've become somewhat interested in your proposal. How about we discuss this elsewhere?"

Miles was overjoyed, "Great! If we team up this time, even if there are high-ranking officers guarding the other ship, they'll be no match for us!"

Cooperation required equivalence in status and power between the parties; otherwise, pulling in a weak link could be deadly.

Hence, this fight was not in vain; both parties saw the strength of the other.

There's a saying: "No fight, no acquaintance." The earlier tension suddenly vanished, causing their subordinates to doubt their life choices.

How true it was that they were captains, and these fellows could only play the roles of minions.

If they didn't understand the crux of the matter, they'd forever be cannon fodder.

Meanwhile, Abel was unaware that two pirate groups had their eyes on the wealth and resources of the Donquixote family's smuggling ship and had already teamed up to take action.

He was currently focusing on his system.

Three days had passed, and he had another chance to use a new search.

He was debating whether to use it now, as once they set sail, resources would only become scarcer.

Furthermore, he was unsure if the upcoming plan would go smoothly.

If he could complete a new order as quickly as possible, he might get some reward that would be immediately useful.

Thinking this, he decided to risk it!

Even if he came across an order that was hard to complete, he had the "Four-Star Good Review Card" as a backup.