Chapter 81: Death And Revenge (part 2)
『Boss, where are we going?』
『To defect to ‘Captain John’.』
『’Captain John’? The great pirate from the Rocks Pirates?』
『That’s right.』
……
『Boss, that John guy went too far! He completely disregarded us and didn’t even give us an executive position!』
『Haha~ Alright, Gate, we’re just nobodies right now, while he’s already famous across the Four Seas. It’s normal for him to be arrogant.』
『But Boss, you’re clearly stronger than those so-called executives!』
『Haha! So in your eyes, your brother is that impressive?
Don’t worry, brother. Once Captain John sees our strength, he’ll surely put us to great use!』
……
『Boss, good news!』
『Captain John sent us to guard Fenrir Island. That’s the largest island besides Hachinosu Island!』
『Hehe~ Yeah…』
『Boss, why do you look unhappy?』
『Ah… huh? No, I’m happy too, Boss.』
………
『Damn it! Boss, that Fogg was clearly sent by Captain John to surveil us!
He even hypocritically said he’s worried we can’t handle it and came to help us manage food and weapons!』
『Gate! Don’t speak recklessly!』
『That Fogg is an experienced veteran executive in the crew. The captain must be worried that the two of us can’t handle the Beasts Pirates, so he sent him to assist us…』
『Boss! Do you even believe that?!』
………
『Boss, let’s defect to the Beasts Pirates.』
『I heard over there status is completely based on personal strength. That Fish-Man named Burufaruto was just an ordinary crew member a few days ago, and now he’s suddenly an executive!』
『Shut up! Skipgate!』
『We’re pirates, but we still value loyalty!
A real man born between heaven and earth shouldn’t waver like this, changing sides from morning to evening!』
『Since we’ve defected to Captain John, we absolutely can’t have second thoughts!』
『But…』
『Enough! Don’t mention this again!』
……
『What, the Golden Lion is attacking the island? I’m heading there now!
Uh… ‘Don’t bring Fogg and the others, just go alone?’
Got it, Captain John.』
……
『Captain John, it’s the Golden Lion’s fleet in the sky!
There are also two Navy warships not far away!』
『Please stay in the ship hold and don’t show yourself. I can face the enemy alone.』
……
『Foll, I’ve never trusted you.』
……
“I see…”
“But Captain John, I’ve never thought of betraying you.”
……
“Captain, Foll is dead.”
Babu nearby leaned in to check the lifeless Foll and reported back.
“Just leave the corpse here. Wild dogs will clean it up.
Oh, right, check if he has anything valuable on him. Can’t waste it. Hehe~”
John sheathed his sword without a care, while instructing Babu to search the corpse.
“Got it~”
Babu personally searched Foll skillfully, casually asking as if offhand:
“Captain, where are we heading next?”
“To ‘Paradise’.”
“Huh? Captain, did you hide the treasure in ‘Paradise’?”
Babu handed John a few crumpled Belly bills he’d found while continuing to ask naturally.
“Fuhihihihi~ You’re seeming overly interested in ‘my treasure.’ That’s not a good habit.
Also, hand over those gold coins you just snuck into your pocket. Don’t make me say it twice.
My tolerance has its limits, Babu.”
Caught red-handed, Babu stiffened, pulled out several bloodstained gold coins from his pocket, and smiled obsequiously:
“Haha~ Captain John, you misunderstood. How could I be interested in your things.”
“No problem~ When you do get interested someday, I’ll chop off your head in advance. Fuhihihihi~”
John tossed the gold coins in his hand, then frowned.
“Tch~ Fake ones for show?
Go resupply food and fresh water on this island. We’re setting off soon.”
With that, John tossed the gold coins aside casually, pulled out a bottle of booze from somewhere, and staggered back to the ship.
Babu picked up the scattered gold coins, examined them closely, weighed them in his hand, then lost interest and tossed them aside.
He hurried a few steps to catch up with John’s back, his gaze subtly sweeping over the unremarkable armband on his wrist, eyes flickering.
Once the two were far away, the previously silent pirates could no longer hold back and immediately grew chaotic.
“What do we do now?” a pirate asked.
“First, bury Boss and the others properly, let Boss rest in peace.”
Foll’s former first mate said.
He crouched down, picking up the discarded imitation gold coins one by one and putting them back in Foll’s pocket, murmuring softly:
“Jeez, you’re so poor yourself but still cared about face.
He always said one word was enough, but did those families of our deceased brothers really need you to support them alone?”
Seeing their calm reaction, some hot-headed pirates couldn’t help shouting:
“Are we just letting this go?! That guy killed Boss Foll without any evidence!”
“Exactly! We can’t just let it slide!
We all know what Boss was like. He would never sell out his comrades.”
Foll was usually generous and righteous, always charging ahead in battle.
Many crew members on the ship had received his favors, some even saved by him multiple times. His death was hard for these pirates to accept.
“Let’s go demand an explanation from that John guy!”
“Right! Demand an explanation!” Other pirates chimed in.
“What explanation? He won’t even listen to us!”
The pirate who spoke first helplessly tried to stop the crowd.
“Get out of the way! Worst case we die, consider it repaying Boss’s favor!
I was originally Boss’s crew member, not that John’s subordinate!
Without Boss Foll, I’d have died at sea long ago!”
“Wait.”
The ship’s first mate spoke up to stop the impulsive pirate.
“What?!”
“Wright! If you hadn’t stopped me earlier, I’d have gone up and chopped that John bastard already!
Are you not wanting to avenge Boss?!”
“No, we must avenge Boss, but now’s not the time. Going now is just dying in vain.”
The first mate named Wright answered calmly.
“Then what do we do?!”
“I saw some conflict between John and that executive named Babu. When they turn on each other, that’s when we strike together.”
“How long do we have to wait!”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be long.
Besides, going now is no different from suicide. Our deaths are minor; failing to avenge Boss would be major.”
Wright sighed, as if resolving on something.
“Go get my handwritten navigational log…”
“The log?… Oh, you mean the one you’ve always kept in your room?”
“That’s right, that one.
It does record information about the ‘Golden City—Shandora’.”
“What!”*n
At these words, nearly all the surrounding pirates exclaimed in shock.
“No need to be surprised. I only just deciphered it recently.”
Wright waved his hand, signaling everyone to keep quiet.
“What ‘Golden Land’? What are you talking about?”
Only that impulsive pirate was still confused.
In fact, not long after Foll’s pirate crew entered the Grand Line, they accidentally obtained a tattered navigational log near an island called Gaya.
But since its contents were written in a very rare ancient script, no one on the ship could read it.
Foll had planned to throw it away as trash, but Wright happened to see it. As a former archaeologist, he was interested in various ancient scripts and took it to study.
However, the ancient script was so rare that Wright had no leads for a while.
It wasn’t until they were sent to Fenrir Island that the first mate found clues about this ancient script on the island, prompting him to resume research on the navigational log.
Finally, not long ago, he completed the deciphering, and it turned out to record the secret of the legendary lost “Golden Land”!
But Wright didn’t publicize it—not because he wanted to keep it for himself, but because he knew if Foll found out, he would tell John.
Then they wouldn’t get anything and might even be silenced by John.
Now, resolved to risk his life, he had no more reservations.
“Exactly.”
“To make those two greedy guys turn on each other, the legendary ‘Golden Land’ with massive gold is the perfect bait.
With John’s personality, he absolutely won’t share that gold with anyone.
So they’ll likely clash and even fight, and that’s when we risk our lives to avenge Boss!”
“Th-this will work? Why not just contact the Golden Lion and those guys…”
“We have no way to contact those big shots. And John won’t give us the chance!”
“This is the only method I can think of to possibly kill John. If it fails, I can go down and join Boss.”
“Alright! I’m in…”
Puro puro~
Just as the pirates resolved themselves, a Den Den Mushi’s ringtone suddenly rang out.
The crowd looked at each other, realizing it wasn’t anyone’s.
“It’s Boss’s Den Den Mushi!”
Suddenly, a pirate spotted the source—it was from Foll lying on the ground.
The first mate reached into Foll’s inner pocket and indeed pulled out a ringing Den Den Mushi.
“Good thing that Babu is only interested in money, or Boss’s Den Den Mushi would’ve been taken too.”
“See who’s calling.”
“Mm.”
Wright picked up the Den Den Mushi to speak, when a weak but urgent voice came from the other end.
“Cough! Cough cough… Boss Foll! Are you okay?!”
“You’re… Brother Skipgate?!”*n
……
PS: John’s armband with the treasure clue seems to always stay on his wrist in the manga.
