"Admiral Krieg of the East Sea," Dracule Mihawk's voice cut through the air like a blade. "Our personal grudge ends here… for now. But know this: I never forgive anyone who provokes me. Ten years from now, I will return to settle everything between us once and for all!"
Before leaving, the world's greatest swordsman made sure to deliver a heavy warning to the self-proclaimed East Sea Admiral Krieg.
In that instant…
Krieg and his band of underlings froze in disbelief.
"Hey, Big Shot Mihawk! What exactly did we do to you? I'm not really an East Sea Admiral! I—I was just bluffing! A tiny little squabble… and you're saying you won't forgive me even ten years from now?"
Indeed!
By the storyline, ten years later, Krieg would become a notorious East Sea overlord. But at present, he was at best a low-level thug, with maybe a hundred ordinary lackeys.
A fleet of fifty big ships under his command? Completely made up.
Krieg had simply been showing off, bragging excessively, acting overly high-profile—and by sheer misfortune, had rubbed the world's greatest swordsman the wrong way. Mihawk didn't just chase him to the East Sea…
He wasn't even willing to let it go ten years later!
Even Tsuneo couldn't help but think: pathetic.
Yet, despite his misfortune, Krieg didn't exactly deserve sympathy. Only moments ago, he had been ready to have the entire Baratie floating restaurant go down with him!
Ordinarily, that might not have been a big deal.
But today… this particular Baratie belonged to Tsuneo.
No need to wait ten years—the rookie pirate and his crew could handle it right now.
"Haoshoku Haki!"
In an instant, as Tsuneo had just scared Mihawk away and returned to the Baratie in style, he passed right by Krieg. A mosquito's leg or an elephant's leg—all was meat to him.
Without hesitation, Tsuneo released his top-tier Conqueror's Haki again—but this time, only a mere trace leaked out.
"THUD!"
Krieg and all his men collapsed to the ground instantly, unconscious.
…
[System Notification]
"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have once again actively used your top-tier Conqueror's Haki. Your mastery of top-tier Conqueror's Haki has increased by 1.1%; total mastery now at 3.6%!"
…
Truly befitting the world's greatest swordsman Mihawk. A single clash had already boosted Tsuneo's mastery by over 1%! Quite the XP gain.
As for Krieg and his gang? They barely earned 0.1%, if that. They were just small fry.
Meanwhile…
Kakuzu, who had been quietly crying over Tsuneo reserving the entire Baratie, suddenly brightened at the sight of so many pirates sprawled on the ground. Without a word, he raised his bag and advanced.
"One million… two million… three million… ten million! Captain, can you tell me the combined worth of these people?"
Tsuneo froze. How was he supposed to remember the bounties of every pirate in the sea, especially small fry like these?
But he had already noticed a tail following his little boat since arriving.
Three people, decked in flashy navy uniforms—their presence immediately gave them away.
No doubt, they were Admiral Kizaru and his two subordinates.
At that moment… they were hiding not far away.
Tsuneo smiled faintly.
"Haha, Kaku, why make things so difficult? Let the professionals handle this. Kizaru, had enough sightseeing? Time to step out and clean up!"
"Oh, how terrifying! He actually spotted us!"
Admiral Kizaru grinned slyly, and immediately he and his subordinates, Momousagi and Chaton, raised their hands and stepped forward.
Even with the world's greatest swordsman kneeling repeatedly before him, Kizaru, a navy admiral, showed no loss of face.
Completely normal—navy admirals are human too! Facing a god-like being, courage would be foolish.
"Kaku, my subordinate wants to know… how much is Krieg's head worth?"
"Oh! Just a low-level punk, about ten million berries."
"Ten million? Not bad. Kaku, you heard that, right? Also, bring in the clown Buggy, include him too. Oh, and remember—collect payment!"
"Understood, Captain! Buggy's head bounty is 1,505,000. Add the ten million from these guys, and it's 25,050,000 berries total!"
Kaku's math skills shone despite his questionable intelligence.
"Hey! You pirates, what's the meaning of this? You're taking bounty for defeating other pirates? Are you trying to rob the navy?"
"That's right! Boss, pirates claiming navy-approved bounty is outrageous! Only navy-sanctioned pirates can do that!"
Before Kizaru could speak, Momousagi and Chaton had already exploded. Pirates demanding bounty from the navy for taking down other pirates? Too brazen!
"Not allowed?"
"Relax, Momousagi, Chaton. There's always exceptions. Others can't, but the most dangerous rookie pirate in the world—Tsuneo—can."
At that instant…
Tsuneo's expression shifted. Kizaru grinned slyly, stepping forward:
"Twenty-five million berries. Not a coin less. We offer it to you, hands in full."
"Not troubling you, right?"
"Not at all! You earned it fair and square!"
"Good! Oh, one more thing, Kizaru… I tend to be a low-key person…"
"Got it!"
Before Tsuneo could finish, Kizaru understood. He had Momousagi and Chaton clean up, then turned and left.
"Momousagi, Chaton, remember—Buggy, Krieg, all caught by us. As for the world's most dangerous rookie pirate Tsuneo? We've never encountered him before in the East Sea."
"Perfect!"
Tsuneo nodded repeatedly, full of admiration.
A newly promoted navy admiral, one of the top three naval powers, and the world's most dangerous rookie pirate—there should be no connection. Yet somehow, the world worked in mysterious, wonderfully coordinated ways.
END OF CHAPTER
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