The first ray of dawn pierced the darkness of the horizon, painting the sea in hues of bruised gold.
Click.
Viktor sheathed his longsword with a practiced, expressionless motion. Simultaneously, his other hand flicked outward. A kunai transformed into a black streak of light, instantly skewering the chest of Jango, who had just tried to crawl away into the surf.
The hypnotist didn't even have time to scream before he collapsed permanently onto the sand.
By now, Zoro had finished off the "little kitten" Butchie. He shouldered his blades and trekked down to the beach, clicking his tongue as he surveyed the field of corpses.
"Hey, Luffy! It's your fault for taking the wrong path! I missed the best part of the fight!" Zoro grumbled.
Luffy scratched his head, looking innocent. "But Zoro, you're the one who pointed the way. You said there was a sound over there."
"I was talking about the direction of the sound! Who told you to jump straight off a cliff?!" Zoro barked, exasperated.
"Pfft, hahaha!" Viktor burst into laughter, the cold killing intent from the battle finally dissipating. "You're so dishonest, Marimo. You clearly don't know your left from your right."
"What was that?! You want to go, Red-Eye?!" A vein throbbed on Zoro's forehead.
"AAAH!! MY TREASURE!!"
A shrill scream cut through the bickering. Nami, leading a panting Usopp, finally reached the scene. She looked at the scattered loot with a look of agonizing heartbreak. "Those bastards! How dare they get dirt on my Berries!"
Nami transformed into a blur of motion, weaving through the battlefield with professional efficiency, picking up gold coins one by one as if they were her own children.
Luffy picked up a gold crown encrusted with jewels from a nearby bag and plopped it onto his straw hat. He grinned at Viktor. "It's pretty, right? Do I look cool?"
"Stunning, Captain," Viktor replied with a dismissive thumbs-up.
"Hahaha! We really are too strong! Behold the power of the Great Captain Usopp!" Usopp had finally caught his breath.
Looking at the fallen enemies, he trembled slightly but still managed to strike a pose, his nose seemingly growing an inch longer. "See that? That's my Haki! One move from me and they all went down!"
"Huh? You had nothing to do with this!" Nami retorted without looking up from her gold-gathering. "Weren't you shaking behind a rock the whole time?"
"Uh..." Usopp stiffened before doubling down. "That was to give you guys a chance to shine! If I had stepped in, my eighty million subordinates would have swarmed out and the situation would have been uncontrollable!"
"Whoa, amazing! As expected of Usopp!" Luffy's eyes turned into admiring stars.
BAM!
Nami punched Luffy's head, tilting his new crown. "Luffy! Are you an idiot? How can you believe that garbage!"
Viktor ignored the comedy routine. He walked over to Nami and pointed at the massive Black Cat pirate ship anchored at the shore, smiling thinly.
"Nami, don't just stare at what's on the ground. That ship is their headquarters. There's likely a lot more hidden in the cabins. Go give it a proper sweep."
At the mention of "more," Nami's eyes literally turned into currency symbols. "Roger that, Vice-Captain! On my way!" She forgot her fatigue instantly and sprinted toward the pirate ship like a gust of wind.
The sun had fully risen now, its golden light washing away the gore and shadows of the previous night. Viktor's smile remained pleasant. "Well, the fight is over. Let's go talk to Mr. Merry so the villagers can rest easy."
"Hey, when we get there, if I 'accidentally' mention something about Captain Usopp's heroic deeds, don't expose me, okay?" Usopp whispered.
Luffy burst out laughing. "Shishishi! Usopp, you really love lying!"
"Hey! I defeated several pirates! I'm just... adding a little artistic flair!"
"Ah... I'm hungry! I want meat!"
At the back of the group, Zoro slowed his pace, walking beside Viktor. He bumped Viktor's shoulder with his own. "Hey."
Viktor glanced sideways. "What?"
Zoro rested his hand on his sword hilt, looking at Luffy's back. "Next time, don't play the lone hero. You're strong, but we're a team."
Viktor blinked, a small surge of warmth touching his chest. He quickly masked it with a smirk. "That's only because you're weak and have the navigational skills of a brick. If I waited for you to arrive, the village would be a retirement home by then, you moss-headed idiot."
"HA?!" Zoro's face went black. "Let's go right now, Red-Eye! I'm gonna mince you!"
A short while later, the noisy group returned to the village. The town was eerily silent, doors flung open and interiors messy—evidence of the emergency evacuation Merry had organized.
They climbed the path to the mansion's plateau. Sure enough, the plaza in front of the villa was packed with displaced villagers.
Merry, standing at the front, saw them return. Despite the bloodstains on their clothes, they looked fine. He nearly collapsed in relief. "Please... the pirates..."
"Shishishi! We took care of all of them!" Luffy cheered, arms raised.
Merry let out a long breath, a look of survival-induced joy on his face. The villagers behind him began to stir as the tension broke. But soon, discordant voices began to rise from the crowd.
"Hey, Mr. Merry, if a bunch of brats could handle them, how dangerous could those pirates have been?"
"Exactly! You made a huge fuss and dragged us out here in the cold for nothing!"
"I didn't even lock my door. If something's missing, who's paying?"
"Pirates like that? We could've handled them with pitchforks! What a waste of time!"
The murmurs grew into loud complaints, filled with resentment toward Merry's "overreaction" and contempt for Luffy's crew.
"HEY!! What are you saying?!" Usopp shouted, trembling with rage. "We risked our lives for you! Those were the Black Cat Pirates! They were terrifying!"
Luffy just adjusted his hat, seemingly unbothered. Merry tried to intervene, waving his hands frantically. "Now, please, everyone calm down... they are our saviors. If not for them—"
"Saviors? Looks like a staged act to me," a portly villager scoffed.
Viktor watched the scene, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. As expected. No matter the world, humans of this type are all the same.
Fortunately, the solution was simple. The Pirate's Way.
THUD!
Viktor moved with explosive speed. Without a word, he delivered a crushing kick into the stomach of the loud-mouthed fat man.
"GAH!" The man was sent flying six meters like a bowling ball, crashing into the dirt with a pained wheeze.
"That hurts! You... you want to—"
The man's voice died in his throat. A cold, steel blade was pressed firmly against his neck, the edge already nicking the skin. Gulp. He froze, paralyzed by terror.
Viktor held the sword with one hand, his crimson Sharingan spinning slowly as he scanned the crowd. "Which one of you just said you could handle it yourselves? Step forward."
Viktor's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a suffocating killing intent. The noisy plaza went dead silent. The villagers looked at the boy—who had looked so friendly a moment ago—and saw a demon. They turned pale, barely daring to breathe.
This is what a real pirate looks like.
Seeing the crowd sufficiently cowed, Viktor gave a contemptuous huff and sheathed his blade. "A bunch of ungrateful fools."
Merry sighed helplessly. He knew the villagers were out of line, but he didn't want things to escalate into a massacre. He bowed deeply to Viktor. "My sincerest apologies! Please forgive their ignorance and rudeness! Mr. Viktor, please don't lower yourself to their level."
He made a respectful gesture toward the mansion. "Please, everyone, follow me. To show her gratitude, Miss Kaya has ordered the most grand feast and the finest wine prepared for you."
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