CH 33

No way." a pirate mumbled.

"Gin...lost?" another asked. It was silent for a moment, but that ended when the chef's cheered.

"HA! See that pirates!" Patty yelled.

"This is our restaurant!" Carne added. Luffy smiled while the Krieg pirates couldn't help but stare on in shock. Krieg eyes were shadowed as veins started sticking out of his neck and on his forehead.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING GIN?!" Krieg bellowed, shutting everyone up. Gin turned an eye toward Krieg from where he lay. "LOSING TO A COOK?! HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE US LIKE THIS!" Other pirates were yelling as well.

"Come on Gin! Get up!"

"You can't lose to that cook!"

"Don." Gin muttered as his sight blurred in and out of focus on his captain. He then looked over at Sanji, who was also bloody, but standing over him. His then looked at Luffy, who was smiling.

"You're second-in-command of the Krieg pirates! How could one guy beat you?!" a pirate shouted out. Gin's eyes shot open at that statement, but not from anger. He stared, wide-eyed at the sky, for a few moments as the others finally stopped yelling.

"Well?!" Krieg shouted. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Everyone was quiet, waiting to hear what Gin had to say. It felt like forever before a sound came from Gin as he trembled. It was faint at first, but slowly the sound grew. Gin...was laughing. Everyone stared, completely gobsmacked, at hearing Gin laugh as he lay defeated.

"Is he laughing?" a chef asked.

"Sanji must've kicked him too hard." Luffy asked, just as stunned as everyone else. Krieg was grinding his teeth at this act.

"What's so funny Gin?!" he shouted. Gin laughter died down, but a smile was left on his face as he stared at the sky.

"I'm sorry." he said. "It's just that I asked myself the same question." Everyone looked at him confused before he continued. "When Hawk-Eye destroyed the fleet, I asked myself 'How could one man beat all of us?' I didn't understand it at first, but now it's all so clear."

"What's so clear?" Krieg asked in annoyance.

"Everything." Gin said as he struggled, but finally managed sit up. "Why we lost as bad as we did to Hawk-Eye." He looked at Luffy. "Why that kid doesn't fear us." he then looked at Sanji. "And why Sanji here beat me." Everyone looked at each other, totally lost at what Gin was saying.

"What was it then?" Luffy asked from the mast. Gin looked to the sky again before he sighed.

"Because...were weak." Gin said. Krieg's eyes widened and were bloodshot, while all the pirates had their mouths hanging open in pure shock. The chefs were equally stunned except Zeff, who smirked. Luffy smiled as well while some of the pirates found their voices.

"What do you mean 'We're weak' Gin?"

"How hard did that cook kick you?!"

"We're the Krieg pirates! We're the strongest in the East Blue!"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Krieg shouted so loud that he was on the verge of tearing his own throat. "WHAT EXACTLY MAKES US 'WEAK' THEN?! TELL ME GIN!"

"It's like that kid said." Gin said. "How are we getting stronger if all we do is add more to the crew?" Luffy smiled as Gin gave him an answer. "The answer: We're not." Everyone looked at him in confusion. "If we just keep adding more crewmates, the ones we have won't get any stronger. Right kid?"

"Shishishishi. That's it." Luffy said. Everyone was lost as Krieg had finally had enough.

"SILENCE!" he said. "Did you forget who we are? We're the Krieg pirates! All we'll need is that logbook of Zeff's and the Grand Line is in the bag!"

"No." Gin said. His smiled dropped as he stared at Krieg. "Even with that logbook, nothing will change. All we'll know is what's out there. We'll still be too weak to do anything about it." The other pirates couldn't believe what they were hearing. The most loyal of their crew was disagreeing with their captain.

"You little son-of-a-bitch!" Krieg said as he took one of his shoulder plates and aimed it at them. "If you've lost faith in us, then you're not my Chief Commander anymore! Pirates, out of the way!" The face on the shoulder plate opened its mouth at them all.

"Not the gas!" Gin gasped.

"He's gonna use MH5!" one of the pirates shouted. All the pirates then fished out masks and placed them on their faces. Gin pulled out his own as well.

"Drop that mask!" Krieg shouted. "You're not one of us anymore!" The chefs panicked while Krieg went on. "The only thing that matters in battle is who wins, even if more have to die. Poison Gas is just a means to an end. Victory decides what's right and wrong. No one will hear you complain if you're dead."

"No you don't!" Luffy said as he ran down the mast towards Krieg.

"You're wasting your time kid!" Krieg yelled as he punched the mast, making Luffy lose his footing. Krieg then shot long yellow and green striped spikes at him, but Luffy uses his Iron Body to avoid taking any damage as the spikes bent and dented on impact. Luffy landed next to Gin and Sanji before he looked back at Gin.

"Don't listen to him Gin." he said. "Someone like him isn't worth dying for." Gin looked at Luffy with a blank expression before he looked back at his mask.

"I said drop that mask gin!" Krieg shouted. Gin kept his head down as his eyes were covered in shadows.

"..u. up." Gin mumbled.

"Are you defying me Gin?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Gin roared as he raised his head. Everyone stared as he struggled to get up. "Up till now...I've obeyed every order without question...because I truly believed that you could do it. I respected and admired you because I thought you were the strongest. But now...I see I was wrong." The other pirates stared wide eyed at Gin as he narrowed his eyes at Krieg. "If all you think it takes is information and a lot of shipmates, then all you'll be doing is leading us to a slaughter." Gin looked like he was struggling as he tried saying something else, but found his voice caught in his throat. The memories of their loss on the Grand Line and of what had happened today were racing through his head.

"Gin! Stop!" screamed the pirates.

"Have you lost your mind?!"

"If that's all that you're going to do," Gin croaked out before his eyes shot opened and he roared "THEN I'M THROUGH LISTENING TO A COMPLETE DUMBASS LIKE YOU!" Everyone froze as Gin put his mask on. The pirates in terror, the cooks in shock, and Sanji and Luffy in surprise. Krieg however had a calm face.

"Fine." he said. "But when I'm through with you, you're gonna wish you died from the poison. FIRE THE GAS! M...H...5!" he shouted before he shot out the poison gas bomb.

.

.

.

🧿Visit my site at tiendup for more advanced content...🧿

🧿Read the complete novel in PDF, available at my Store!…🧿

https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/