After Yakazhuo death, Lu Yu cast an admiring glance at Kuina.
He had to admit—her timing was impeccable.
It almost felt like Lu Yu had baited Yakazhuo on purpose. The moment Yakazhuo managed to grab Lu Yu, his psychological guard completely dropped. That false sense of victory made him lower his defenses.
That mistake got him killed.
If not for that moment of carelessness, even in Kuina's current state, a sneak attack wouldn't have been enough to take him out in one strike.
"What a damn good battle," Lu Yu muttered.
"But this guy, this so-called former Heavenly Dragon Guard... he really was just someone who got tossed aside."
"Died to two kids. How pathetic."
Suddenly, an arrogant voice cut through the air.
"Hey! How about it? Do you two want to become my personal guards?"
They both turned their heads to see a man in lavish clothing step forward on the deck. He oozed aristocratic arrogance. Even the other nobles around him seemed overly respectful, almost groveling.
Clearly, this guy had the highest status among them.
Lu Yu ignored him entirely and looked back at Kuina.
"Kuina, want to join my crew?"
She blinked. "Crew? Wait… you're a pirate!"
They had just fought together seamlessly, but now Kuina finally remembered—Lu Yu was a pirate. And based on how he jumped aboard earlier, it was pretty damn obvious his goal was to rob this merchant ship.
She didn't like that. Not one bit.
"Sorry. I'm not interested in becoming a pirate."
She refused him on the spot, no hesitation.
Her home country was a mess, plagued by pirates. Her hatred for their kind ran deep.
"Zoro's already become a pirate," Lu Yu said calmly. "He's out at sea right now."
"Not all pirates bring disaster. Some of us have our own reasons."
"I'm Lu Yu, captain of the Dragon Hunter Pirates. And I'm officially inviting you to join."
The mention of Zoro stopped Kuina in her tracks.
She had always wondered—how the hell did Lu Yu even know about her?
She had faked her death and gone into hiding, training under a different name. Yet somehow, he'd recognized her immediately. Not just that—he even knew about her connection with Zoro.
Now that got her curious.
And as the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat—and the girl.
The moment Kuina's curiosity was piqued, Lu Yu had already won.
"My ship's over there," he said. "Go rest up. I'll return your sword."
"If you don't like what pirates stand for, fine. I won't make you do pirate shit."
He smiled, then casually walked up to her.
"Hey, what are you—wait—let go! I haven't even—ah!"
Before she could finish, Lu Yu picked her up and yeeted her off the ship.
"Akame, catch her! She's a full member of the crew now!" Lu Yu shouted toward his ship.
Then, he turned back around and locked eyes with the nobles.
"Well?" he said. "Made up your mind yet?"
"I'll pay you 100 million berries a year!" the fancy noble said proudly. "Come be my personal bodyguard!"
"Pirates are just jokes. If you want to live easy on these seas, pirates are a dead-end."
"Work for me. I'm Prince Onis, noble of the Allied Kingdom of Yacoslan!"
He spread his arms wide like he was the damn king of the world.
To him, everything had a price. If someone said no, that just meant the number wasn't high enough.
Lu Yu looked young—too young to have killed someone from the Heavenly Dragon Guard. But that only meant his future was full of potential.
And 100 million berries? To Prince Onis, that was pocket change.
"I refuse," Lu Yu said, dragging his sword across the deck, each step heavy and deliberate.
"Protect Lord Onis!" a voice shouted, and the guards rushed forward to shield their master.
"Two hundred million!" Onis yelled, brushing the guards aside like they were in his way. "Is that still not enough!?"
Money meant nothing to him. The goods on this ship alone were worth over a billion berries.
"Knock... knock... knock…"
Lu Yu didn't say a word, just kept dragging his sword, the metallic sound grating against the wood.
"Three hundred million—no—five hundred million!" Onis screamed.
"Do you even understand how much that is!?"
"You're a pirate! You could rob ships for your entire life and still not make that much!"
"All you need to do is guard me. That's it!"
Shhhk!
Before Onis could finish his pitch, Lu Yu's sword flashed through the air.
In one clean arc, every guard between them was decapitated.
Blood sprayed across Onis's face, and heads rolled at his feet.
"I already said I refuse," Lu Yu muttered.
"And your money? Doesn't mean shit to me."
He raised his sword again.
"No… You can't!" Onis panicked. "I'm a noble of the Allied forces!"
"If you dare lay a hand on me, the Navy will send Admirals to hunt you down!"
"Haha! That's right, I'm a noble—you wouldn't—"
Swish!
Thunk!
Onis didn't get to finish.
Lu Yu's sword sliced through him like paper. The prince's head hit the deck, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Even in his final moment, he couldn't believe Lu Yu actually went through with it.
"Prince Onis is dead!"
"No way… This has to be a dream. A noble of the Allied Forces, killed by a pirate?!"
"Yes! It's just a dream, haha!"
"I must've seen wrong… That can't be—"
The nobles who had been standing around, smug and elegant, instantly broke into a panic.
But Lu Yu's sword showed no mercy.
In the blink of an eye, screams filled the air.
All that talk of status and power? Meaningless in the face of death.
One by one, the nobles fell.
Soon, the deck was silent.
---
Ding!
You attacked the merchant ship belonging to a great noble of the Allied Kingdom. Information has been automatically sent to Navy Headquarters. Gained 8,000 reputation points.
As the system prompt echoed in Lu Yu's mind, he felt a rush of energy flow through his body.
The reputation points weren't just numbers—they also strengthened him.
But that little auto-report feature to the Navy?
Yeah, that was going to be a pain in the ass.
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