Chapter 57: The Black Ship in the Storm
*Boom!*
Lightning flashed amidst the dark clouds, stirring up an even stronger gale and torrential rain. It whipped the sea waves into tornado-like shapes, churning wildly and tossing a merchant ship violently about.
"Furl the sails! Hurry, furl the sails! Rudder to starboard over there, quickly! Don't let the big waves capsize us!"
The captain in charge, braving the downpour, roared on deck, commanding the sailors to furl the sails and secure the lines, struggling desperately to maintain control amidst the surging waves, keeping the seemingly about-to-capsize vessel afloat.
*Just moments ago, the skies were perfectly clear...*
The merchant captain grumbled inwardly. Only ten minutes prior, the sky was completely peaceful, everyone was eating delicacies and singing songs. How could everything change in such a short while?
He also served as the navigator and could read the weather. There were clearly no signs of a storm. How did this sudden storm appear?
This was the East Blue...
Not the legendary Grand Line with its notoriously unpredictable weather, just an ordinary stretch of sea. No strange currents or skies that change in the next second. Anyone with navigational knowledge could sail smoothly here.
And as the captain of a merchant ship, he certainly possessed navigational knowledge.
Most captains knew some navigation; some were even quite skilled.
This merchant captain was competent, but he simply hadn't anticipated the sudden appearance of a storm, and an incredibly fierce one at that, turning the sky as dark as night.
Luckily, however, his commands were timely, and they had temporarily stabilized.
"Wind direction is fine... Port nine! Then secure the sails again! Hold it steady, don't let go under any circumstances! If the canvas catches the wind in this gale, we're finished!" the captain commanded methodically.
Using this powerful wind, if they could just sail out of the storm's range, they would be safe.
The sailors on board followed the captain's orders, pulling ropes and turning the helm.
*Boom!*
Another clap of thunder boomed, illuminating the gloomy darkness. A sailor pulling ropes in the crow's nest on one of the masts suddenly froze, staring sideways in terror. The rope slipped from his grasp, allowing the partially controlled sail to billow out wildly in the storm, even tearing at the edges.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Didn't I tell you to hold the rope tight! You..."
The captain instinctively yelled towards the crow's nest, but his words caught in his throat as he froze.
In the brief flash of lightning, a giant black ship, several times larger than their merchant vessel, suddenly appeared alongside them, merging with the darkness created by the storm, enveloping the entire merchant ship.
The black hull and sails resembled stars in the night sky, but within the canvas, amidst that starry expanse, lurked a huge skull, seemingly devouring the entire cosmos.
The flag at the very top of the mast bore the same pattern as the sails...
"The Star... Starry Sky Jolly Roger!" the captain stammered.
A sailor asked fearfully, "Captain, do you recognize that flag?"
"No, I don't recognize it..."
The captain shook his head, but the fear deepened in his eyes. "But I know whose black ship this is!"
He certainly didn't know the flag; he'd never heard of a Starry Sky Jolly Roger. But he knew of the figure whose reputation had recently skyrocketed in the East Blue.
The 'Natural Disaster' who had destroyed three kingdoms rode a giant black ship!
And according to rumors, whenever the Natural Disaster's black ship appeared, a huge storm inevitably followed!
He had previously thought it was just a rumor. After all, what ship could possibly sail *in* a storm like this?
But today, he saw it!
For those who disbelieved the most, witnessing it firsthand transformed that skepticism into the strongest conviction.
There was no choice but to believe...
He saw it clearly. While they were struggling to furl their sails, this ship had its sails wide open, letting the fierce wind fill them, completely unafraid of being torn apart by the storm.
The most crucial reason was that on the side of this much taller ship, visible in the brightness brought by the lightning flashes, a crowd of people already stood. The blades in their hands glinted with the lightning. Among them, a man with darker skin, wielding twin tonfas and wearing a turban, sneered towards the merchant ship...
They were already here to rob; what was there left to believe or disbelieve?
...
*Death Omen Star*, First Floor Banquet Hall.
Sag sat on the throne, watching his subordinates bringing in boxes one after another, while Lily tallied beside him. She then said, "We left the merchant ship enough food and water for their return journey; that small amount wouldn't do us much good anyway."
Just as Sag didn't rob the poor, he had no interest in pushing people to their deaths.
He was a pirate, here to rob, not to kill.
How much were food and water worth? Leave it for the merchant ship to return, then wait for their next voyage, and rob them again. Isn't that better?
Dead people can't create anything.
Gin, leading the boarding party, had also followed Sag's instructions, leaving the food and water behind. For a merchant ship with only about two hundred crew, the food and water they needed for the return trip wouldn't be much. The rest was taken by Gin's party.
As for the goods, they were quite satisfactory.
"One thousand boxes of tea, one thousand boxes of sugar, one hundred boxes of silver tableware, thirty boxes of precious silk."
Lily reported, "The remainder consists of various supplies, a small amount of iron, food, and water, plus two boxes of gold coins."
Among the boxes placed in the banquet hall, two were opened, revealing glittering gold coins, causing the surrounding pirates' eyes to light up.
This was sea robbery.
There weren't that many treasure ships, nor did ships loaded entirely with gold and silver exist. Only ships responsible for transporting the Celestial Tribute carried such things, but since they transported the Celestial Tribute, their protection was certainly greatly strengthened. How could they be as easy to rob as merchant ships?
Sag waved his hand. "Keep one box of gold coins, put it in my treasure room. Divide the rest. Whatever can't be divided, find a town and sell it."
The ship in the storm was, of course, Sag's Death Omen Star.
After departing from the island where they resupplied, that damn storm had returned, impossible to shake off no matter how they sailed. Luckily, the people on board were used to it. Anyway, this finely crafted ship wouldn't capsize because of the storm; they sailed as they needed to.
The wind direction happened to align with their destination, so there was no need to deliberately adjust course; just sailing headlong into the storm was fine.
As for encountering a merchant ship...
Honestly, Sag hadn't expected it. He thought with his luck, encountering a merchant ship would be difficult; he hadn't expected to actually run into one.
As, strictly speaking, the first merchant ship robbed in his pirate career, Sag felt it held some commemorative value.
As for these spoils, those who wanted something could take it. What wasn't wanted could be sold to a black market merchant upon reaching a town.
Pirate robbery was like this: they robbed goods being transported by sea. These goods couldn't be eaten or worn by the pirates. They couldn't possibly survive on tea and sugar, right?
Ultimately, they had to be disposed of.
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