Chapter 10: Pirate Crew Hunt (Part 3)
"Who's there?!" shouted one of Krieg's crewmen in alarm.
"We're just law-abiding citizens who happened to pass by. Figured we'd make some extra cash while we're here," Eric said with a shrug, completely unfazed despite being surrounded by a crowd of pirates. After several battles, he had a good understanding of his current strength. Other than Krieg, none of the grunts were worth worrying about.
"Haha! So you're pirate hunters? You two think you can take all of us on?!"
"Lucky day! Bounty bait walking right onto the ship!" After defeating East Blue's number two pirate captain, Wild Horse Give, Krieg's crew was brimming with confidence. They didn't suspect a thing—after all, most of their battles were just chaotic brawls where numbers decided the outcome.
"Hey, there's a hot woman. She's mine!" said a lecherous pirate, licking his lips in a disgusting motion. His drool practically reeked on sight—enough to make any ordinary woman pale.
Bang!
Before that pirate could get close, Eric shot him in the head. A red hole burst open, with some unidentifiable mix of fluids oozing out. (Don't overthink it.)
"Sorry, he was just too gross. I couldn't help myself," Eric said, with zero sincerity. "Could you not look at my companion like that?" Then, his tone shifted to something louder and even more outrageous: "Only I get to look at Akame like that!"
The completely shameless declaration stunned even Eric himself.
'Why the hell did I just say that?! Have the pirates' average IQ rubbed off on me?!' Realizing how stupid he sounded, Eric looked nervously at Akame beside him.
'Thank god… no visible reaction.'
"What nonsense are you spouting? Hurry up and deal with them," Akame said in her usual flat tone, which was enough to make it clear she'd definitely heard what he said.
"Yes ma'am!" Eric saluted as if reporting to a superior. Time to take care of the small fry.
"Damn it! They're looking down on us!"
"Kill them!" The pirates roared and charged.
Eric wielded his sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. Not a single crew member from Krieg's side could match him. He moved carefully, never straying too far from Akame, while making sure not to get surrounded—after all, he didn't have Observation Haki, and couldn't sense attacks from behind.
Akame, despite her smaller build, fought with ruthless aggression. Her blade sliced enemies in half at the waist, or decapitated them cleanly. She avoided using Murasame's one-hit kill effect whenever possible, relying solely on her raw swordsmanship.
"Oho~" Krieg hadn't returned to his cabin. Instead, he stood atop the crumbling captain's quarters, watching from above. He wanted to assess their strength before making a move. Fortunately for him, the results confirmed they were beneath him. No need to retreat—he could just trap them here forever. 'Let them wear themselves out against my underlings first,' he thought. As far as he was concerned, subordinates were disposable. His life wasn't.
"Boss! We can't take them! Please, you fight them!"
It had only been a few minutes… or less than one? When you're getting slaughtered one-sidedly, even a minute feels eternal. Krieg's men quickly realized they were hopelessly outmatched and began retreating, praying their captain would take over.
"Useless. The lot of you." Krieg clicked his tongue impatiently. His underlings hadn't exhausted the enemy as much as he'd hoped, and his own numbers had taken a hit. Still, to avoid further losses, he decided to finish things himself.
"You two are strong. How about joining the crew of East Blue's overlord?" Krieg offered again. His entire crew was basically deadweight—only useful for robbing civilians. They were barely stronger than Marine rookies. That's why he had planned to recruit Wild Horse Give as his new vice-captain.
"I refuse. You're too weak," Eric replied flatly. 'Just because you act like a king doesn't mean everyone will kneel.' His words were cutting: "You just look weak."
"You look weak… look weak… weak…" The phrase echoed in Krieg's mind, shattering his ego. His face contorted, eyes wide and bloodshot, mouth open as if to swallow a watermelon whole. He roared, "I'll tear you into pieces!" He raised his shield—
RATATATATA!
The machine gun hidden behind his shield spat bullets at Eric .
"Shave!" Eric vanished in a flash, reappearing behind Krieg's remaining crew and using them as meat shields.
"Ahh!"
"Boss, you're hitting us!"
"Stop shooting!"
The panicked pirates screamed, but Krieg didn't care. He was dead set on turning Eric into a pincuYoshino.
"Execution!" Akame, realizing Eric 's situation, dashed behind Krieg for a sneak attack. Yet somehow, Eric , who didn't have Observation Haki, sensed the threat. He blocked Akame's slash with his shield and spun the machine gun toward her. "Die!"
Bang!
But a bullet struck Krieg's left leg. His body staggered, throwing off his aim.
"Execution!"
Akame used her newly mastered iron-cutting technique, striking Krieg at close range. Murasame pierced through his armor, from his lower right abdomen to his upper left chest.
His golden armor shattered, blood sprayed.
Crack!
Even after taking such a hit, Krieg wasn't done. He raised his massive spear to strike, but Akame dodged lightly. She kept her distance—after all, even a dying enemy could lash out.
Boom!
The spear struck empty air.
"You think that's enough to kill me? You're too naive! I'm the strongest man in the world!" Krieg screamed, eyes red, clutching his wound. But then he noticed something… strange. Black symbols writhed across the wound, spreading over his body.
"What is this?!"
Fear of the unknown, and the eerie sense of doom, made Krieg shout in panic.
Akame, warned by Eric not to reveal Murasame's secrets, said nothing as she watched Krieg yell in anguish.
"Damn it!"
Krieg, who had always called himself the strongest, dreamed of becoming Pirate King and ruling the seas. But he couldn't even escape the East Blue. The cursed poison reached his heart, and his massive frame collapsed—taking his pride and ambition to the depths with him.
[Temporary Mission Complete. Reward: 5,000,000 Berries / 1 Achievement Point]
"Boss… No way…"
"Boss is dead!"
"Run!"
As expected of a ragtag crew, once their leader was gone, chaos erupted. Most tried to leap into the sea or escape by other ships. A few hesitated, clearly torn by revenge but knowing they weren't strong enough.
Eric and Akame started cleaning up the remaining pirates. The others tried to run, but it was too late. Eric didn't believe in the Straw Hat tradition of "defeat but never finish." Letting them escape would only endanger nearby towns that lacked Marine protection.
...
After the battle, three ships still managed to escape. Eric and Akame couldn't pursue them—they didn't know Sky Walk and couldn't perform those massive long-range slashes. One more ship was split in half and sunk by Akame's triple "Moon Burial Slash." The other three, upon seeing that, only fled faster. After all, you don't have to outrun death—just your crewmates.
The last ship was Krieg's flagship, still beneath their feet. Time to collect loot. As expected of a twenty-ship fleet, the treasure room was huge—packed with valuables worth an estimated 50 to 60 million Berries. There was also 15.3 million Berries in cash. Adding the temporary mission reward and bounty auto-redeemed by the system, they now had 45.346 million Berries.
"This is a haul, hehehe…" Eric chuckled like a creep.
The system refused to buy the ship due to heavy damage.
"There's one guy still alive."
It was Give—still alive thanks to the resilience granted by his Zoan fruit, but paralyzed from extreme poisoning. Eric had tied him up securely and lashed him to a post.
(END CHAPTER)
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