416. Crest Pirates

New World, Isle of Moore.

The pirate flag originally planted on this island belonged to the Whitebeard Pirates. By paying a certain protection fee every year, other pirates would not dare to invade.

But since Whitebeard stormed Marineford alone, the Isle of Moore, which has no food, naturally fell out of protection and became a "paradise" visited by pirates.

However, everything changed after the remnants of the group calling themselves the Whitebeard Pirates reappeared.

Although it would not return to its former prosperity, at least the pirates would not dare to go too far towards the residents of the town.

At this time...

Waters off the island.

A sailboat flying a pirate flag, featuring a white skull with half its body immersed in the waves, was heading towards Moore Island.

A dark-skinned man holding a broadsword on his back, with knotted muscles and large stains of sweat flowing into his black leather pants, stood on the deck.

"Is Moore Island ahead?"

The dark-skinned man suddenly picked up a crew member next to him. He was so huge and different in size that it felt like an adult lifting a child.

"Ship... Captain, I don't know either. I'm just a handyman who just came to the ship..."

The crew member was trembling like a chicken, and his words had a trembling ending.

"Hmph! Waste!"

The man known as the captain threw the crew member to the side of the ship, snorted coldly, and looked at him with cold murderous intent.

But it was just a pretense to scare this brat.

What is a pirate?

Free? Romantic? Looking for a sense of adventure?

Neither!

These are just a group of seafaring hooligans with no business in production. Laziness is their nature. Naturally, someone has to do the chores on the ship.

But what they have always believed in is carpe diem; chores and the like, is this what pirates should do?

Therefore, they will rob some people from time to time and use them as handymen.

Just like Koby's identity on Alvida's ship.

Said to be a crew member, in fact, the status is no different from that of a slave.

Basically, he was driven by the beatings and scoldings from the rest of the crew.

"Captain Crest, the front is indeed Moore Island, which used to be the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates."

A pirate wearing a sailor suit came over and said to the dark-skinned man.

Judging from his appearance, he was most likely the navigator on the ship.

After hearing the navigator's words, Crest's expression softened, "Whitebeard, although I'm a pirate and have a natural opposition to the Marines, Admiral Hakuryu is right in what he said—"

"The old era has passed, and the future of the new era should belong to us young people!"

He opened his arms as if intoxicated by the salty sea breeze.

"But..."

The first mate, who walked over looking a little hesitant, still said, "Captain, you are already over forty years old, you can't be considered a young man, right?"

"..."

Crest's expression froze. He glanced at the first mate as if nothing had happened, walked to the bow of the ship, and stared at the turbulent waves.

"What a pity. Although the fruit ability gave me magical abilities, I have been cursed by the sea forever."

Although his voice was not loud, Crest did not deliberately conceal it, rather showing off.

"What kind of fruit power does the captain have?"

The busboy who had just been thrown away by Crest asked in a low voice about another seniority.

The scale of the Crest Pirates is not small, so it naturally requires more than one handyman.

Their names were Maud and Elle, and they came to the ship one after another. Naturally, what they needed most was to stick together for warmth.

Perhaps there was not much time left, and he did not have a clear understanding of the cruelty on the pirate ship.

Therefore, they still maintained some conscience that had not yet been extinguished. Otherwise, instead of holding together to keep warm, they would pull each other down.

"Swim-Swim Fruit, I don't know the specific abilities. I heard that he only got this fruit not long ago."

Maud grew up in the New World, so his knowledge of Devil Fruits was naturally not limited to oral legends like those in the East Blue.

"Is it very powerful?"

Elle asked cautiously.

"Nonsense! This is a Devil Fruit. If the two of us gain this kind of power, we might be able to turn the tables on this ship in no time, without having to do such chores all day long."

Elle's words made Maud roll his eyes wildly.

Even the cheapest Paramecia is fetched at a price of 100 million berries on the underground black market, and it is still priceless!

"Really?"

Hearing this, Elle had a look of envy in his eyes.

Since boarding the ship in the past few days, the daily rest time had been squeezed out almost completely, and all the food they ate was the leftovers of the pirates.

From time to time, like before, if he said the wrong thing, or a pirate was in a bad mood, he received a few beatings.

"Hey! Elle, go clean the warehouse."

The first mate suddenly gave instructions to Elle.

At the end, he didn't forget to add: "Remember, don't eat the fruit inside, or I'll beat you to death!"

Pirates who have been making a living at sea all year round, the most important thing they need when landing to replenish supplies is fruit supplies.

Fruits are rich in vitamins that are necessary for the human body, but they are also lacking in people living at sea.

Without supplementation, it is easy to develop conditions similar to sepsis.

Elle paused when he heard the first mate's threat, but still pretended not to hear it and quickened his pace towards the storage warehouse.

When Maud saw this, he quietly walked away and went to do his own business.

"Stan, what do you think about taking over this island?"

Looking at the coastline getting closer and closer, Crest could not help but feel extremely proud and asked the first mate on the deck below.

In the New World, if you want to compete for hegemony, you must first have a territory of your own as a foundation, and Moore Island in front of them was exactly what he wanted.

First Mate Stan broke out in cold sweat.

Captain, are you serious? A Devil Fruit means nothing!

There are members of the Whitebeard Pirates on this island.

He and the captain were both natives of the New World, and they had only been pirates for a short time, and the reason was very sad.

——They didn't have enough to eat. Anyway, they usually bullied men and women in the village, so they simply went to sea and became pirates.

This Devil Fruit was obtained by chance a year after they went to sea. Of course, it was impossible for Stan not to be envious of it, but who said he was unlucky?

Bang—!!

The moving hull suddenly shook, as if it hit some hard object and was forced to stop.

"What the hell? Did we hit a rock?"

The navigator ran out of the cab with an eager look on his face and explored the situation.

At this time, the bow of the ship was still some distance away from the coastline, and there was a high probability that it had hit some reef.

However, he saw his captain staggering down from the bow of the ship, his face turned pale, and he pointed to the sea ahead with a trembling finger:

"No...it's not like we hit the rocks..."

Emerging from the water was a massive ship, easily dwarfing their own vessel. The Whitebeard Pirates' flag flew high above it, unmistakably marking the presence of one of the most powerful pirate crews in the world.

The sight of the Moby Dick struck fear into the hearts of Crest and his crew. This was no ordinary pirate crew they were dealing with; this was a remnant of Whitebeard's legacy, a force that commanded respect and fear across the seas.

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