Chapter 8

A couple of shells were fired in our direction, and Diamante quickly moved to intercept them. With a swift motion, he pulled out his sword and deflected the shells back into the sea. It was clear that these pirates considered us their prey, but they were sorely mistaken. This wasn't the first time we had encountered such attackers, and I had already sent many of them to a watery grave. Diamante, having little experience in the New World, regarded these East Blue pirates as little more than a joke. For me, they were simply training dummies to hone my skills.

After Diamante deflected a few more shells, I observed as the pirates from the first ship began boarding the merchant vessel, armed with cutlasses, pistols, and other weapons. Using my Observation Haki, I could sense the chaos unfolding on the ship. A few armed soldiers tried to fend off the pirates, but they were quickly overwhelmed. Amidst the screams and threats, it was clear that the situation onboard was dire.

As the second pirate ship closed in on us, more than ten goons landed on our caravel, surrounding us with pistols and other weapons drawn.

"You're lucky to have avoided our cannon shots," a man close to three meters tall announced, jumping from the pirate ship with a massive two-sided battle axe in hand. "But your luck ends here. We are the infamous Red Scorpion pirates of the East Blue. Surrender peacefully if you know what's good for you."

Before he could continue, Diamante interrupted him. "If you value your lives, I suggest you leave this boat immediately. We don't take kindly to strangers aboard. I'm offering you this courtesy as fellow pirates, so don't push your luck."

"Hahahahaha, look here guys, a little kid and a teenage clown calling themselves pirates," the tall man mocked, his voice dripping with arrogance. Then, he abruptly stopped. "Do you two really know what it means to be pirates? Do you hear that scream, kid? Those aren't screams, but music to the ears of a real pirate." He flexed unnecessarily, trying to intimidate us.

"What's wrong, kid? Frozen in shock? Have you already pissed your pants?" he taunted further. "Look here, guys; it seems like the kid has soiled his pants in fear. Now, be a good kid and show me where you've kept the money and other valuables. Maybe I'll find it in my heart to spare your lives."

His words grated on my nerves, and I grew increasingly irritated. "Tch, such a poor joke. You don't have any class. Why is it that I always come across fools like you?" I leisurely started walking towards the man with the battle axe. As I stood in front of him, I gestured for him to come closer. The fool didn't think twice and bent down. However, what he didn't expect was my swift movement as I pulled out my blade and thrust it through his neck. What followed was carnage.

Diamante didn't even make a move, leisurely standing by the side, watching my performance.

I quickly drew the pistol from the waist of the now-dead man. Before his body hit the deck, I had shot five times, every bullet finding its mark. With Observation Haki enhancing my marksmanship, my shots were precise, a skill honed from my previous life.

"Thud" The bodies hit the ground. One of the remaining pirates reacted, swiping down with his blade to cut me in half from behind. I simply sidestepped, and the blade harmlessly crashed onto the deck. I swung my sword upward, severing both of the pirate's arms.

"Kill him!" With a loud scream, the remaining half-dozen pirates charged at me simultaneously, completely forgetting about Diamante. The commotion aboard our caravel had already attracted the attention of the pirates on the second ship. When they saw the large man lying in a pool of blood, some pirates couldn't help but scream, "Vice Captain." I realized the man I had plunged the blade into should have been the vice captain of the so-called Red Scorpion pirates.

I dodged all the attacks and bullets fired at me by the remaining goons, while the pirates from the second ship prepared to fire a cannon at such close range. Diamante swiftly intervened, landing on top of the cannon that was about to be fired.

"Sorry, but I cannot let you guys do that. This little caravel still needs to help our journey, and it's kind of perfect for us, so I've grown attached to it," he declared before striking down the man aiming the cannon. As I started cutting down the remaining pirates on the boat, Diamante initiated his own slaughter, quickly decimating the pirates on the second ship.

By the time the pirates on the first ship had taken the merchant ship under control, Diamante and I had already eliminated all the pirates on their second ship. Only after the chaos subsided did the remaining pirates notice the silence from the second ship.

"You guys, what are you daydreaming about? Quick, transfer the loot back to our ship before the marines arrive!" The captain of the Red Scorpion pirates kicked a dazed subordinate who was staring at the second pirate ship, noticing the unusual silence.

"Captain, something's not right. I don't see anyone on our second ship, and I felt like I heard the screams of some of our fellow crewmates earlier," the subordinate quickly explained.

"Oh, you guys don't have to be worried about them. They are no longer part of this world," a voice interrupted, drawing the attention of all the pirates on the merchant ship.

The pirate captain laid his eyes on a tall youth and a small child carrying a blade and a pistol in each hand. "Who the hell are you? How did you guys escape from..." one of the pirate crew began to ponder, but before he could finish, the pirate captain shot him dead, fear evident in his eyes.

"Oh, really interesting, someone who has brains. Well, in that case, it makes things easier," I remarked, realizing the pirate captain must have realized we were not to be offended, especially young Diamante, as fear was evident in his eyes.

"Don't worry, we just need a few pieces of information. As long as any of you can answer here, we will be on our way, not bothering you guys with your exploits," I reassured, knowing I needed information on Sixis Island, and who better to ask than a pirate who frequented these waters? The pirate captain showed no resistance and nodded quickly.

I began describing the details of Sixis Island and its surrounding sea features from my memory, amidst a group of pirates and the remaining passengers who had been tied down on the deck of the ship. Patiently, I waited for a response as the pirates frantically discussed the information I had shared. After a minute, I realized it was a failure, but unexpectedly, the captain of the merchant ship called out.

"Sir, I do know about the island you are referring to; at least I believe it's the same island from the description you provided," the man called out while being bound.

"Interesting. Go on," I said, approaching the man, while the pirates simply glared at the merchant captain, none daring to move as Diamante kept a watchful eye on them.

"I'm sorry, sir, I cannot do that unless you can guarantee the safety of everyone on this ship from the pirates," the man replied, attempting to use us as a shield against the pirates, realizing that the Red Scorpion pirates were no match for us.

"Hahaha, you want to negotiate, is that so? You sure are either brave or stupid. Fine, I will give you a chance. Tell me, what do you know about the island's location?" I asked the man. The remaining pirates understood the situation and quickly started boarding their own ship under their captain's orders, while Diamante watched, seemingly bored.

After a few minutes, I finally had the information I needed. By the time I had it all, the pirate ships had already traveled a long distance. Now, most of the people on the merchant ship were free from their bonds, and I had kept my word. The remaining were helping the others through their bondage.

"Thank you so much for your help, sir. We will never forget your kindness," the merchant captain bowed deeply towards me and Diamante. Just then, my words froze the man in shock as he stood back up.

"You know, I really do hate people who try to deceive me. I truly had no intention of harming you after I gave you my word, but you just had to go ahead and push your luck, didn't you?" My words made the merchant captain falter. However, what he didn't know was that I could somehow read his emotions and, in turn, his surface thoughts. Even I was not aware of how exactly this worked. I did not know if this was a type of power that I acquired from observation or a rudimentary form of something similar to the Voice of All Things. As I concentrated my observation Haki enough, I was able to read other people's thoughts.

The cunning merchant had planned to share the intel about the island I was looking for in the black market and with the Marines because he rightfully guessed that I was looking for some sort of treasure.

"Sir, I have no idea what you are talking about. Everything that I have shared is true. I was not trying to deceive you," the merchant captain started sweating, still confused as he hadn't realized that I already knew about his motives. He must have thought I was a mere kid and easy to fool; well, he would have succeeded if not for my ability to hear his thoughts.

"Bang." I did not want to waste too much time here now that I knew the approximate location, so I simply shot the man and threw away the pistol, walking away and jumping back to my caravel, not bothering about the reactions of the remaining passengers.

Diamante and I resumed our journey, with the details collected from the merchant captain. Diamante estimated that we would need another week to reach the suspected sea region.

"Diamante, let's first stock up on a nearby island before we venture into Sixis Island. If everything goes well, we should be back home within a month or two at worst," I said, and with that, Diamante set course to a nearby island, which had a town where we could restock.

After a week of travel, according to the acquired information, we were finally able to pinpoint the sea area where the island we were looking for happened to be. The sea in this particular area was much rougher than the normal condition of the East Blue Sea, more akin to the sea of the Grandline. Finally, after two hours of rough sailing, I laid my eyes on an island that resembled Sixis Island in my memory. I instinctively knew that this was the island I was looking for. I also saw a tall cylindrical landmass at the center of the island and huge birds flying around the landmass, probably using it as their nest.

The island was not as barren as I believed, as it was surrounded by lush vegetation, which didn't bother me much because I had already taken enough precaution and stocked up on enough resources, even if the island lacked sustenance.

With my confirmation, Diamante carefully sailed the little caravel through the turbulent waters. I had to say, Diamante is a decent navigator and helmsman, and I knew for a fact that if it were me sailing, the caravel would have already been in pieces.

After we reached ashore, as per Diamante's suggestion, we pulled the caravel onto the island because he estimated that the sea was too turbulent to let the caravel be anchored on the water. Pulling such a small caravel was something that even I could do with my current strength.