Waves surged as around ten massive pirate ships loomed faintly in the mist. All the ships passing by, whether merchant or pirate, hastily turned around and fled from this area.
The reason was simple: these pirate ships belonged to the fleet of the pirate admiral Krieg, known as the ruler of the East Blue!
Leading the fleet was a giant three-decked galleon with a black panther figurehead, and a pirate flag featuring a skull with hourglasses on either side, representing the death deadline for their prey.
This was Krieg’s flagship, the Dreadnought Saber.
“Captain, we’ve pinpointed the location of that sea restaurant. They just set sail from an island, and judging by their route, their destination seems to be Loguetown,” reported the strategist of the Krieg Pirates in a dimly lit hall.
“The town of beginnings and ends, huh? They’ve certainly picked a fitting place,” said Krieg, clad in golden armor, as he sat leisurely in his ornate seat, toying with his new massive war spear.
A few days old newspaper about the sea restaurant lay on the table beside him.
“Defeating both Buggy and Kuro… I wonder how much cash and treasure these guys have. I can’t wait to see it,” Krieg’s eyes gleamed with greed.
In a corner of the hall, a man with crossed legs, lounging on a chair, spoke slowly, “Their strength seems formidable. I heard there’s even a man who can destroy a beach with one strike. Isn’t it too risky to attack them directly?”
This gaunt man with a sinister gaze was Gin, the combat commander of the Krieg Pirates.
“Don’t worry, I’ve already devised a plan to deal with them,” the strategist with a lantern hanging over his head sneered, “A plan that will kill them without even needing to fight!”
Meanwhile, the Infinite Dream, unaware that it was being targeted by the largest pirate fleet in the East Blue, sailed smoothly on its fixed course after leaving Shimotsuki Village.
It had been nearly a week since the sea restaurant made headlines in the newspaper.
As other news spread, the restaurant’s business gradually returned to normal, with no more overwhelming crowds.
This made Icey reflect, “It seems that, even in the world of pirates, business depends a lot on ‘hype’!”
Enjoying a rare moment of leisure, he sat at the counter, crossing his legs, and began his usual routine of sipping tea and reading the newspaper.
“King! Come fight me! I’ve figured out how to beat you, and today, I’ll make you beg for mercy with just two fingers!” Aqua, having just served Icey tea and earned a 50-Berry tip, turned to challenge King, who was engrossed in his game.
Confident, she waved two fingers with an air of determination. As a revered goddess, she couldn’t stand the humiliation of being completely defeated, even if it was just in a game.
“Oh, sure,” King said expressionlessly, making room for her.
“Damn it! That nonchalant attitude of yours is so infuriating!” Aqua grabbed the game controller with a face full of determination. “Just wait! Hope you can stay this calm when I crush you!”
King didn’t respond, quietly opening the two-player battle mode.
“How about I give you a two-life advantage?” Aqua boasted, a sinister smile curling her lips as she looked at the game screen.
“It doesn’t make much difference,” King replied calmly.
To him, whether Aqua had two extra lives or not just meant spending a bit more or less time.
Soon, the game started, and the battle between the two began.
Ten minutes later.
As expected, Aqua was utterly defeated once again, leaving her mentally shattered.
“Ahhh! How is this possible?! I clearly set my character to be invincible when you went to the bathroom, so how could I still lose?!” Aqua, crazed, clutched her head, shaking frantically in frustration.
“You must have cheated, King! You must have!”
“My character was invincible! Invincible! It couldn’t lose any health!” Her eyes teared up with unspoken victory speeches, and she grabbed King’s collar, shaking him violently.
“Um, Aqua, I was just playing normally. If anything, choosing the weakest character doesn’t count as cheating, right?” King helplessly spread his hands, being swayed left and right by Aqua—after all, he lacked the strength to break free.
“The weakest character? Are you mocking me? You’re mocking me, aren’t you?!” Hearing his “condescending” tone, Aqua completely lost it. She threw King aside and stormed off to complain to Icey.
“Icey, did you see that? King beat my invincible character with the weakest one! How is that not cheating?!”
This brazen hypocrite, who secretly altered the game settings, had the gall to accuse others of cheating…
This bold-faced display of shamelessness astonished Icey once again.
“Let me see what’s going on,” Icey said, setting aside his newspaper and walking over to the game console.
Picking up Aqua’s controller, he pressed a few buttons, making her character perform a special move against King’s character.
Whoosh!
After the flashy effects, King’s character’s health bar remained untouched.
“Aqua, did you set the invincible attribute to P1 or P2?” Icey asked, putting down the controller.
“Of course, P1!” Aqua looked at Icey disdainfully. Do you think I’m stupid enough to make both sides invincible? That would make it impossible to win!”
“…You’re using the P2 controller.”
“Huh?!” Aqua’s face froze, and her mouth twitched.
In that instant, the air grew thick with silence, and the restaurant was filled with palpable awkwardness.
“Aha, haha, I see how it is,” Aqua forced a laugh, patting King’s shoulder. “King, you should’ve told me I had the wrong controller earlier! We’re on the same ship, after all!”
“Is it possible,” Icey’s simple question delivered a crushing blow, “that you never even touched King’s character, so he didn’t realize his character was invincible?”
Aqua, unable to bear the humiliation, collapsed. Hugging her knees, she squatted in the restaurant corner, drawing circles and sinking into a deep depression.
She silently vowed to herself that she would never challenge King to a game again!
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