"Is 11 million now worth more than 17 million ten years later? That's a question of economics."
Eric mused on this philosophical thought. In his previous life, when Zoro went to buy a sword, the shopkeeper tried to scam him out of the Wado Ichimonji. Tashigi said the Wado Ichimonji was worth more than 10 million Berries — but how much more exactly? 20 million is also "more than 10 million." A hundred million is too. With an annual income in the thousands, Eric chuckled to himself, "I guess I could also say I earn less than a hundred million a year."
Anyway — back to the point.
Sailing on the open sea, the initial excitement wore off quickly. Life became dull and repetitive: sword training, more sword training… It was driving Eric insane!
The thousand downward slashes he had to do each day were tedious and mind-numbing, making him increasingly irritable.
On a small single-masted sailboat, they gently cut across the waves. Under the warm sun, all Eric could think about was taking a nap.
That's when they saw several large ships battling in the distance — cannon fire thundered, smoke billowed.
"Are pirates attacking a merchant ship? Let's get closer and check. If we can, maybe we can help some civilians along the way."
Eric, with his sense of justice, hated pirates who committed every evil under the sun.
Akame didn't respond — she was already steering the ship toward the battle.
As they got closer…
"Aren't those the Krieg Pirates and the Mustang Pirates?!"
Eric carefully recognized their Jolly Rogers.
[Ding… You've received a new message]
[Temporary Mission: Defeat Don Krieg, Warlord of the East Blue. Reward: 5 million Berries / 1 Achievement Point]
Krieg had long set his sights on becoming the overlord of the East Blue. He planned to absorb all the well-known pirate crews, forming a massive 50-ship fleet. With that power, he'd conquer the Grand Line and obtain the legendary One Piece, becoming the next Pirate King.
The Mustang Pirates were the second-most wanted group in the East Blue after Krieg. But in the world of pirates, there was no peaceful cooperation or non-aggression pacts. The stronger party had every right to rob the weaker of their treasure — and their lives.
Krieg had divided his fleet of 20 ships into four squadrons, each consisting of five ships, and sent them into waters where the Mustang Pirates were known to roam.
Coincidentally, Krieg himself was aboard one of those five ships — and they happened to run into Mustang Jeff's crew.
At first, Krieg intended to talk — to recruit Jeff into his growing pirate army. But Jeff, with his explosive temper, scoffed at Krieg's high bounty, attributing it to numbers, not strength.
"Me, join you? Because you've got more ships?"
"Go to hell!" he yelled, flipping the table.
Jeff's men and Krieg's subordinates immediately started fighting.
Click.
Krieg's massive steel shield armor opened, revealing gun barrels on his shoulders, waist, and in his hands. Without a shred of honor, he launched a barrage of gunfire toward Jeff.
Amid the thunderous explosions and thick smoke, Krieg shouted:
"Hmph! No one defies me — all who do, must die!"
"Heh, classic Krieg — always the heartless schemer. Even sneak attacks are fair game to you, huh?"
Jeff's voice rang out from within the smoke.
As the haze cleared, Jeff stood in his human-beast hybrid form, not unharmed, but with only minor injuries. His tattered clothes fluttered around him.
"Your attack's useless — not enough power."
Jeff mocked, and then — using his Zoan-enhanced physique — charged forward:
"Mustang Stomp!"
His horse-hoof-like fist smashed down on Krieg.
But Krieg didn't dodge — he activated his "Spiked Cape," covered in metal barbs.
"ARGH!"
Jeff's hoof struck the spikes head-on, puncturing three bleeding holes in his leg.
"Heh. Fool. So easy to provoke."
Krieg sneered.
"Conquering the seas takes brains — not just brute force, idiot!"
"You think eating a Devil Fruit makes you invincible?! You damn landlubber!"
He pulled out his one-ton Battle Spear and bellowed:
"Disobey me? Then DIE!"
BOOM!
The Battle Spear smashed into the deck as Jeff narrowly dodged. The ship's planks splintered under the sheer force of the blow.
Jeff leapt from mast to mast, trying to lure Krieg across the ship. With explosions and smoke everywhere, he hoped to leap back to his own vessel — but it was being overwhelmed in a 5-vs-1 fight and looked ready to sink.
Krieg seized the moment.
WHAM!
With a powerful throw, the Battle Spear struck Jeff mid-air, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Well? Still not ready to join me?" Krieg asked again, clearly enjoying this.
"Screw you, Krieg!"
Jeff's Zoan instincts fully awakened. He transformed completely into his full-beast form, rearing up with massive hooves.
"Mustang Charge!"
Channeling all his power into his legs, he surged forward at top speed — just as Krieg had taken off his Spiked Cape.
BOOM!!
The explosive collision sent Krieg flying backward through the smoke. He skidded across the deck, his boots carving two deep trenches in the wood.
But… he was completely unscathed.
"USELESS! My invincible armor and overwhelming power — together we are the strongest in the world!
I am the strongest man ALIVE!"
Krieg roared in triumph.
The smoke faded, revealing Jeff's massive horse-form — far taller than a regular human.
"Heh… want a long fight with me?"
Since eating the Horse-Horse Fruit, Jeff had never lost in stamina.
But Krieg noticed something troubling — Jeff's earlier gunshot wounds had stopped bleeding, and the wounds were healing.
'Damn Zoan recovery. This fight's not in my favor if it drags on.'
Krieg frowned.
He shouted,
"Then I'll show you my secret weapon!"
"He's using poison gas! Get your masks on!"
Krieg's crew, well-aware of his tactics, all grabbed gas masks from their backs and helped alert the others.
"Toxic Gas Bomb – MH5!"
A purple canister launched with a loud BOOM, releasing a thick cloud of deadly gas that engulfed Jeff's ship. The fumes rose, drifting ominously upward.
A nearby seagull flew through the cloud… and immediately dropped like a stone.
"Holy crap, that's insane!"
Eric and Akame, just arriving at the edge of the scene, quickly turned their boat away from the danger.
Two of Krieg's ships had already spotted them — but with only two people, they weren't concerned. Their priority was to sink Jeff's fleet.
What could two randoms possibly do?
Ten minutes later, the toxic cloud dispersed.
Everyone from the Mustang Pirates who had boarded Krieg's ship now lay poisoned and foaming at the mouth.
Jeff, still in his beast form, had buckled hind legs and barely upright front legs. His once-glossy brown coat had turned an ashen gray — a sure sign of heavy poisoning.
He looked like he'd need a coffin very soon.
"Hmph. You eat a Zoan fruit and lose your brain too? Didn't even think to use weapons."
Krieg scoffed, pulling off his gas mask.
"Throw them all into the sea."
"All Devil Fruit users are landlubbers. Once they're in the water, they're done for."
Not even bothering to finish them off, Krieg turned toward his battered captain's cabin.
"Hold it right there. Leave this dirty work to us."
From a direction no one on Krieg's ship had been watching, a small sailboat had circled around and pulled up alongside the pirate ship.
Eric and Akame jumped aboard.
"Talk about luck! This saves us a ton of effort, Akame."
Eric grinned.
After all, who wouldn't be happy to be the fisherman benefitting from a fight between a snipe and a clam?
(End of Chapter)