Bab 15: Once A Pirate, Always A Pirate
Upon hearing this, Kuro closed his eyes.
The opponent showed overwhelming strength and severely injured him. He had lost the strength to fight again. His subordinates had also turned against him. Of course, he knew that what Gawain said was true.
But he was really tired of being a pirate.
Rather than indulging in endless killing, it is better to end it all now.
Kuro closed his eyes and prepared to be killed.
Gawain was unwilling to give up. He regarded both the Pussyfoot Maneuver and Kuro's talent as something in his pocket.
After a moment's silence, Gawain said:
"I heard from Jango that you want to take off this outfit, change your identity and start over?"
Kuro opened his eyes.
Before he died, he didn't mind saying a few more words:
"You are still young, and you still have the idea of making a name for yourself through success or even grabbing that elusive One Piece."
"When you reach my age, you will understand that endless killing has no meaning except to wear down people's will."
"Only an ordinary and peaceful life is real."
Between these words, a longing expression appeared on Kuro's face. He had once lived a life like that, but he eventually ruined it with his own hands.
"Oh."
Gawain sneered and asked: "You don't really think that you can get rid of pirates' identity by taking off this suit? Even in the so-called most peaceful East Blue, how many towns are attacked every day?"
"How much money do you have to satisfy the desires of the nobility and the skyrocketing Heavenly Tribute? Do you still remember why those people on your ship set out to sea in the first place?"
Kuro was stunned, and his face turned paler.
He is an extremely intelligent person; how could he not understand such a simple truth?
It's just that people look at the white moonlight through a filter and may even subconsciously ignore the problems in it.
Now, Kuro, who has come to his senses after hearing Gawain's questioning, wakes up.
A peaceful life?
That means handing the knife to others. Do you count on those nobles, pirates, or even corrupt Marines?
"Oh..."
Kuro sneered:
"This filthy world really doesn't want people to survive at all!"
Gawain continued: "As long as you are strong enough to make everyone afraid of you, you will naturally have a peaceful life."
"I even know a real-life example. He was once a pirate, but now he's retired and living the life you expect."
"The Marines and the World Government know of his existence, but both sides have chosen to remain silent. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because he is the former right-hand man of King of the Pirates. Even if the Marines want to take action against him, they need to weigh the losses."
Kuro was silent. He closed his eyes and lay on the deck, but the Cat Claws on his fingertips kept shaking.
The air fell into silence for a moment, and all the pirates looked at the scene in front of them silently.
Gawain was also waiting for Kuro's answer.
After a few seconds, Kuro opened his eyes and looked at Gawain with burning eyes:
"So, what is your purpose?"
Gawain thought for a moment and said: "First, go to the Grand Line and take the title of Warlord."
Kuro was stunned.
He expected Gawain to go to the Grand Line, but the identity of Warlord had another meaning in his eyes:
Escape the Marines's pursuit!
As long as this is achieved, Kuro can live a relatively peaceful life to a certain extent.
Although it was not as perfect as the original plan, Gawain's words proved that it was nothing more than a self-deceiving fantasy.
Although becoming one of the seven warlords of the sea is still far away, it is truly feasible!
Kuro pushed his glasses up with his palm, and a different kind of light emanated from his pupils:
"Although I am unwilling, I will be grateful for your guidance in the future... Captain!"
"Ah, Kuro, my deputy."
Gawain smiled and pulled Kuro up.
The latter had just been severely injured, but his waist was still straight. Standing next to Gawain, he instantly had the temperament of a second-in-command.
The captain and three cadres have surrendered.
The members of the Black Cat Pirates naturally had no reason to continue fighting.
Under Kuro's orders, they simply laid down their weapons and announced their surrender.
The battle had only lasted a dozen minutes or so from the beginning, but the casualties on both sides had already exceeded one-third.
Fortunately, the Black Cat Pirates originally had three ships, and the number of people was close to two hundred. Even after deducting the casualties, Gawain now has nearly two hundred people under his command.
Gawain organized the pirate group's ship doctors and began treating the wounded.
The wounded were lined up neatly on the deck of the warship, and the ship's doctors walked among the crowd, treating their injuries.
"Ah!"
The ship's doctor poured high-proof alcohol directly onto the wound on a pirate's thigh. The pirate's body instantly tensed up, and his face looked like a cooked shrimp.
Gawain's eyes twitched. If possible, he would like everyone to receive more professional treatment.
"I still need to find a professional ship doctor afterward."
The conditions on the sea are crude. For injured pirates, the only treatment is to disinfect the wound with alcohol and suture it after stopping the bleeding. Whether they can survive the wound infection depends entirely on their luck.
As for those pirates whose injuries were too severe to be saved, the only thing they could do was to kill them quickly.
These pirates were already used to this, and even Gawain did not feel any pity.
After all, even if a huge price is paid, in the end, it will only make them die in longer pain.
Since then, the Black Cat Pirates have officially been incorporated into the White Knight Pirate.
A few days later, Gawain also announced publicly that Kuro would serve as the vice-captain of the pirate group, while the Nyaban Brothers and Jango would continue to serve as cadres.
Naturally, no one had any objection to this.
Gawain's former subordinates revered him as a god, and the former members of the Black Cat Pirates who witnessed Gawain crushing Kuro feared him even more than Kuro.
The next day, Gawain then asked everyone to start practicing.
Ordinary pirates follow Gawain to practice swordsmanship, while elite crews like Kuro, the Nyaban Brothers, and Jango, who have their own fighting methods, practice according to their own habits.
After obtaining a new goal, Kuro turned into a madman. He stayed in the training room on the warship all day long and practiced madly.
In order to avoid injury, Kuro even added a layer of protective padding on the wall of the training room.
Gawain was naturally happy about this.
After all, two hundred people trained together, many of whom were new members of the pirate group. On the first night of practice, Gawain gained more than forty points of swordsmanship and thirty points of Physique experience.
The magnitude of the surge of experience points even surprised him.
"The potential of my subordinates has almost reached its limit. These experiences should be provided by the newcomers. However, according to the proportion, these ordinary pirates should only be able to provide more than 20 points of Physique's experience."
"Should the extra ones be provided by Kuro?!"
"Is this the extent of Bronze-level potential?"
Gawain made a brief calculation.
Kuro alone can provide him with more than ten experience points every day. Because of his greater potential, his total output is far higher than that of ordinary pirates!
"How strong will Sanji and Zoro's output would be?"
Gawain couldn't help but look forward to it.
Suddenly, the system prompt sounded again in his ears:
"Unlock a new skill: Pussyfoot Maneuver!"
"Pussyfoot Maneuver: Level 0 (6/100)"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone