Chapter 3: Cowards Don’t Set Sail

"Hahaha!"

The first sound to break the silence was a hearty laugh. Leading the group was a figure with the same golden hair as Lily, crowned and draped in a lavish cape, with inner garments gleaming with jewels, yet with a body round as a sphere and wobbling with every movement.

"Lily, long time no see!"

The man's face was covered in thick stubble, his skin coarse and weathered, and when he laughed with his mouth wide open, several teeth were missing, giving him the appearance of a sleazy fool—but a large, rotund, and imposing one at that.

Sager quickly estimated—at least 2.5 meters tall.

Upon seeing him, Lily gritted her teeth and managed to squeeze out a name: "Ennio!"

The man before them was none other than the vile usurper and national traitor—Bendetta Ennio!

Ennio grinned with a mouth full of gold teeth. "Finally caught you, Lily. I was *so* worried something terrible might have happened to you while you were away..."

"You bastard!"

Lily's eyes reddened, and she lunged forward, but no sooner had she moved than Ennio's soldiers stepped up, crossing their spears in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

Ennio reached out his meaty hand toward her face, but Lily swatted it away, glaring at him with fierce defiance.

"So, since you managed to escape, why bother coming back?" Ennio asked, trying to touch her face again.

Lily held her head high, glaring straight into his grotesque face, and replied through gritted teeth, "To stop you from running this country into the ground any further! This kingdom can't take any more of your ruinous schemes!"

Ennio sneered. "And how are you planning to stop me? With the bounty on your head? Or maybe with these commoners who don't even recognize you? Come on, they're worth nothing to me but tax money."

"But they *can* choose not to pay!" Lily shot back, gritting her teeth. "If they leave the Kingdom of Oikot and renounce their citizenship, they won't owe you a single coin in taxes! Without their money, you wouldn't even be able to keep your throne!"

A subtle flash of shock crossed Ennio's eyes, but he quickly broke into laughter. "Are you suggesting they become bandits? Even bandits would still be in *my* land. Or are you saying they should set sail?"

Without giving Lily a chance to respond, he raised his hand and called out to the citizens watching in the crowd behind him. "Hey, why don't you all go to sea? No heavy taxes if you're out there! Go on, set sail! The taxes elsewhere aren't as high. Go ahead!"

The heavy taxes, the burden of daily life—everywhere Sager had looked on his way here, he'd seen citizens with gaunt faces, barely making ends meet. If they had the choice to sail away and start a new life… they would surely...

Make no move whatsoever.

The citizens watching had no visible reaction; if anything, they shrank back in fear.

"Lily, you should know by now that this kingdom was ruined because of its wars with pirates," Ennio sneered, running a hand along Lily's cheek. "Set sail? Even if I, as king, commanded them to do it, they wouldn't. Why do you think I raise taxes with no concern? Because they're all cowards! And cowards have no place on the sea!"

As he spoke, he gave a dismissive shake of his head, and with a wave of his hand, he called out, "Captain Mouse…"

A navy officer in a trench coat stepped forward. His hat was attached to his coat, with two ears on top, and his mustache extended on both sides in three long whiskers, giving him the look of a… well, a rat.

He looked worse for wear, his face bruised and swollen.

He gave Lily a once-over and grinned slyly. "I am Captain Mouse of the Navy's Sixteenth Branch. After hearing of Ennio's assassination attempt, I made sure to upgrade the local bounty on you to a government-level bounty. Now that you've been found, it's time to arrest you!"

Ennio smirked. "Lily, you're too troublesome as an heir. I might as well hand you over to the government—it'd be a new source of revenue for me, right, Captain Mouse?"

Captain Mouse chuckled even more wickedly. "Such a beauty, and a royal one at that… She'll fetch quite a price as a slave. The Celestial Dragons might even take a liking to her, and they'll pay handsomely."

"Exactly!" Ennio's grin grew even broader.

"Excuse me…"

A voice suddenly interrupted them.

Sager raised a hand and said, "I'm the one who captured her. Whatever you plan to do with her, shouldn't the bounty be settled first?"

He'd been watching for a while now, waiting for a chance to chime in.

"Oh? So you're the one who captured Lily?" Ennio finally turned his gaze toward Sager, eyes narrowing as he took in the man's white hair and gave a laugh. "The bounty's not from the kingdom anymore. For the reward, you'll have to go to the navy. But, Captain Mouse, that white hair's pretty rare…"

Captain Mouse glanced at Sager's white hair, smirking. "Indeed it is. You're under arrest."

Thud, thud, thud!

At his words, the marines behind him drew their muskets and swords, quickly surrounding Sager.

Wait a second…

What did this have to do with him?

Sager glanced around at the circle of marines. "The navy can't arrest me. I haven't committed a crime, nor am I a pirate."

"Look at my face!" Captain Mouse pointed to his bruised and swollen face. "You attacked a naval officer, so I say you're a pirate, which means I can arrest you!"

Sager raised an eyebrow at the two sleazy grins before him, then nodded, "Got it. So, you're just trying to skip out on paying."

Turns out, this bad luck was still following him.

He raised his hands and took half a step back. "Fine, tough break for me, I'm just a bounty hunter here for the Arlong Pirates. I'm not interested in a fight with you guys."

The last thing he wanted was to clash with the navy. If he ended up with a bounty on his own head… Bounty hunting still held some hope, and he wasn't looking to start a whole new career unless he had to.

Hearing this, Captain Mouse's expression darkened, and Ennio laughed. "The Arlong Pirates are long gone."

"Who's gone?" Sager froze in surprise.

"Of course, the wretched Arlong Pirates!" Captain Mouse snarled through gritted teeth. "And that damned Straw Hat kid—because of him, I didn't get a single berry!"

He'd been making a tidy profit protecting the Arlong Pirates, but once they were gone, his dealings with them were exposed. He hadn't faced any consequences yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Luckily, the Kingdom of Oikot was within his jurisdiction. Though he was only here for a temporary tax collection, Ennio's proposal had piqued his interest.

Ennio needed to solidify his throne, and Lily, the royal heir, needed to disappear. Meanwhile, Captain Mouse needed a prize to impress his superiors.

Handing over this noble princess to the government—if he could deliver her as a bride to the Celestial Dragons, he could not only avoid punishment but possibly earn a promotion.

If not, even selling her at the Sabaody Archipelago would fetch enough to keep him out of trouble.

And as for the white-haired kid… since Ennio didn't like him, he didn't either.

That rare white hair could be sold for a fair price too.

"Seize him!" Captain Mouse barked.

Just then, Sager suddenly leaped high, vaulting out of the navy's encirclement. His agile movement made Ennio instinctively squint his eyes.

What the hell!

Sager's face turned ashen—this was something he had completely not anticipated.

He had plans to capture the Arlong Pirates, but they'd already been taken down? 

The Straw Hat kid... that must be Luffy, a name he recognized.

But he never imagined it would happen so quickly!

He had just seen the bounty for the Arlong Pirates, and now they were gone? 

Could his hopes really be dashed this fast?

"Fire!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The encircling marines immediately raised their guns and pulled the triggers, aiming directly at the airborne Sager.

"Two-Finger Vacuum Pistol!"

Faced with the incoming bullets, Sager extended his fingers, creating afterimages that rapidly intercepted the projectiles.

Countless bullets were caught between his fingers before scattering, momentarily suspended in front of him.

Sager glared at the marines, a fierce glint in his eyes.

He still wanted to be a bounty hunter, but they were making it impossible for him!

Boom!

He clapped his hands together in mid-air, producing a loud bang, and the suspended bullets flew back at them with equal speed.

But just then, the air around him trembled, and a light blue slash shot through the air, ripping a fissure in the ground as it surged forward.

Sager instinctively dodged, barely skimming past the slash, surprised. "*Rokushiki*?"

Both Lily and Captain Mouse looked astonished at Ennio.

This king had many rumors swirling around him: a tyrant who extorted his people, a miser obsessed with wealth... but no one had mentioned he was also formidable in combat.

Ennio retracted his leg, casting a sideways glance at the astonished Lily, then grinned viciously at Sager. "I told you, rare white hair shouldn't be allowed to leave."

Whoosh!

As soon as his words fell, he vanished from his spot, instantly appearing right in front of Sager. He pointed a finger, producing a resounding crack in the air, and struck toward Sager.

Smack!

Sager sidestepped, delivering a knee strike to Ennio's elbow, forcing his arm upward, then quickly thrusting his other leg like a spear into Ennio's abdomen.

Thud!

The impact felt like hitting steel.

Sager's expression tightened as he fell back, eyeing Ennio warily. "Rokushiki?"

Though he'd tried to forget, having someone showcase such superhuman martial prowess right before him brought it all flooding back.

If he wasn't mistaken, this guy was using Soru, Rankyaku, Tekken, and... Tekkai.

"Hahaha…"

Ennio twisted his corpulent neck, sneering. "Before I was king, I was in the navy."