Chapter 33: The Pirate Way and Ungratefulness
The first ray of morning sunlight broke through the darkness of the sea horizon.
"Click."
Tatsuya expressionlessly sheathed his long sword.
At the same time, his other hand flicked, and a Kunai turned into a black stream of light, instantly piercing the body of Jango, who was just trying to scramble up and escape in the distance.
This Hypnotist didn't even have time to scream before he collapsed completely onto the beach.
By then, Zoro had finally finished off that "little kitty" and arrived at the beach below, holding the Wado Ichimonji.
He looked at the beach below, strewn with corpses, and couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Hey, Luffy! It's all your fault for leading us the wrong way! I missed the best part because of you!"
Zoro turned and complained to Luffy beside him.
Luffy scratched his head with an innocent look, blinking his big eyes.
"But, Zoro, you're the one who pointed the way for me. You said there was a sound over there."
"I was talking about the direction of the sound! Who told you to jump straight down the cliff!" Zoro was exasperated.
"Pfft, hahaha!"
Watching this scene, Tatsuya couldn't help but burst out laughing, and his originally cold killing intent dissipated quite a bit.
"You're really not honest, you directionally challenged swordsman. Clearly, you're the one who can't even tell left from right."
"What did you say?! You want to fight, red-eyed bastard!" Veins popped on Zoro's forehead.
"Ah!! My treasure!!"
Just then, a shrill scream interrupted everyone's bickering.
Nami finally arrived at the scene, bringing along a panting Usopp.
Seeing the treasure scattered all over the ground, she looked heartbroken.
"These bastards! How dare they dirty my Berries!"
Nami instantly turned into an afterimage, swiftly weaving through the battlefield, skillfully cleaning up the mess and picking up the scattered gold coins one by one.
Luffy picked up a Gold Crown inlaid with jewels from a bag on the ground, casually placed it on his straw hat, and asked with a grin:
"This is really pretty. Tatsuya, do I look handsome?"
"You look great, Captain," Tatsuya said perfunctorily, giving a thumbs up.
"Hahaha! We really are too strong! This is the strength of the Great Pirate Captain Usopp!"
Usopp had finally caught his breath by now.
Looking at the enemies covering the ground, although he couldn't stop trembling, he still proudly gave himself a thumbs up, his nose seemingly growing even longer.
"Did you see that! This is my lordship's Haki! With just a little effort, they all fell!"
"Huh? It had nothing to do with you!"
Nami, who was frantically stuffing money away, retorted without looking back, "Weren't you just hiding behind a rock and shaking the whole time?"
"Uh..." Usopp's face stiffened, and then he forced an explanation.
"That was just giving you guys a chance to show off! After all, if I made a move, my eighty million subordinates would charge out, and the scene would be uncontrollable then!"
"Ah, so amazing! As expected of Usopp!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with admiration once again.
"Thwack!"
Nami, unable to take it anymore, punched Luffy hard on the head, knocking the crown askew.
"Luffy! Are you an idiot? How can you believe such nonsense!"
Tatsuya ignored their antics.
He walked over to Nami, pointed at the massive Black Cat Pirates' ship docked by the shore, and said with a smile:
"Nami, don't just focus on what's on the ground.
"That ship is the headquarters of the Black Cat Pirates; there might be even more good stuff hidden inside. Go scavenge it all."
Hearing "more good stuff," Nami's eyes instantly turned into the shape of Berries.
"Roger that, Vice Captain! I'm on it!"
Nami instantly forgot her previous exhaustion and, carrying an empty bag, ran toward the Black Cat Pirates' ship like a gust of wind.
By now, the sun had fully risen from the sea, and golden sunlight flooded the land, dispelling the bloodiness and gloom of the previous night.
Tatsuya wore a beaming smile.
"Well, anyway, the battle is over. Let's go talk to Butler Merry to put the villagers' minds at ease."
Everyone naturally nodded in agreement.
"Hey, if I 'accidentally' say something about Captain Usopp's heroic fighting later, don't expose me, okay?"
Usopp whispered.
Hearing this, Luffy immediately clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
"Hee hee hee! Usopp, you really do love to brag!"
Usopp's face turned beet red, and he stiffened his neck to retort:
"Hah! I just defeated several pirates! It's just... I'm adding a little artistic flair!"
"Ah... I'm hungry! I want meat!"
At the back of the group.
Zoro deliberately lagged behind a couple of steps, walked up to Tatsuya, and bumped Tatsuya's back with his shoulder.
"Hey."
Tatsuya paused and turned his head. "What is it?"
Zoro hoisted his sword onto his shoulder, looked at Luffy's back ahead, and said in a low voice:
"Hey, next time, don't try to be a hero all by yourself. You're strong, but we're a team, aren't we?"
Although Tatsuya's move of jumping into the enemy ranks alone had a good outcome, it had made Zoro quite unhappy.
Tatsuya was stunned for a moment, a wave of warmth rising in his heart.
But he quickly masked it, his lips curling into a mocking arc as he said disdainfully:
"It's only because you're too weak and have no sense of direction. If we waited for you to arrive, it would be too late, you stupid moss-head."
"Huh?!"
Veins instantly bulged on Zoro's forehead, his face darkened, and his hand moved to his sword hilt.
"Fight me! You red-eyed bastard! I'm going to cut you down!"
...
Not long after, the group returned to the Village along the road amidst their bickering.
At this time, the Village was silent, appearing exceptionally deathly still.
The doors of every house were wide open, and the interiors were in shambles; evidently, while they were fighting, Butler Merry had organized people to urgently take everyone to the high ground.
The group headed all the way up and soon reached the high ground where the Villa was located.
Sure enough, the square in front of the Villa was crowded with a sea of seeking refuge villagers.
Seeing them return safely, covered in blood but otherwise fine, Butler Merry, standing at the very front, breathed a sigh of relief, his legs nearly giving way.
He stepped forward nervously and asked:
"Excuse me... those pirates..."
"Hee hee hee! We've taken care of all of them!" Luffy raised his hands and shouted happily.
Hearing this, Merry breathed a complete sigh of relief, his face showing the joy of surviving a disaster.
The residents behind them also quickly became lively upon hearing the news that the pirates had been wiped out, and the previously tense atmosphere instantly vanished.
But soon, several discordant voices rose from the crowd.
"Hey, Butler Merry, if these kids could handle those pirates, how powerful could they have been?"
"Exactly! And you made such a big fuss about kicking us out of our homes and bringing us here to freeze in the cold wind!"
"You left my house unlocked; what if something gets stolen?"
"Pirates of that level, we could have handled them ourselves with hoes! What a waste of effort!"
The murmurs grew louder, filled with complaints about Merry's overreaction and contempt for the strength of Luffy and the others.
"Hey!! What are you all talking about!!"
Hearing these words, Usopp trembled with rage and shouted angrily:
"We risked our lives to save you! That was the Black Cat Pirates! They're terrifying people!"
Luffy, on the other hand, just held down his hat indifferently, seemingly unbothered by it all.
Seeing this, Merry was a bit at a loss and hurriedly waved his hands to explain:
"Uh... everyone, please calm down... they are our benefactors. If it weren't for them..."
"Benefactors? I think it's just an act," a greasy, fat villager said disdainfully.
Tatsuya watched this scene coldly, a flicker of disgust in his eyes.
As expected, no matter where you go, these kinds of stupid and arrogant humans are all the same.
In that case, the solution is very simple.
That is... to solve it the pirate way.
"Thump!"
Tatsuya suddenly erupted. Without any nonsense, he delivered a flying kick, slamming it hard into the stomach of the fat man who was shouting the loudest.
"Gwah!"
The fat man was kicked flying five or six meters away like a ball, hitting the ground hard with a scream.
"That hurts like hell! You... you want to..."
The fat man was about to curse, but his voice cut off abruptly.
Because a cold long sword was already pressed against his throat, the sharp blade even nicking his greasy skin.
"Gulp..." The fat man swallowed, frozen in fear.
Holding the sword with one hand, Tatsuya's scarlet Sharingan slowly spun as he coldly scanned the surrounding crowd.
"Just now, who said they could handle it themselves? Step forward."
Tatsuya's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a suffocating killing intent.
The previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.
The villagers looked at the boy who had seemed friendly just moments ago, but now appeared like a man-eating demon. One by one, their faces turned pale with fright, and they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
This was a true pirate!
Seeing the intimidated crowd, Tatsuya gave a disdainful snort and retracted his long sword.
"A bunch of ungrateful fools."
Butler Merry sighed helplessly.
He knew the villagers had indeed gone too far, but he didn't want things to end in a deadlock.
He hurriedly ran to Tatsuya's side and bowed deeply.
"I am so sorry! Please forgive their ignorance and offense! Mr. Tatsuya, please don't lower yourself to their level."
Having said that, he made a "please" gesture and said respectfully:
"Please follow me to the Villa. To thank you for saving her life, Miss Kaya has already instructed me to prepare the most sumptuous food and fine wine for you all."