East Blue, Somewhere Off the Coast
"Kill these ones and capture the rest. Make it quick," Hiro commanded, barely glancing back at the blood-streaked deck where his men dispatched the remaining pirates.
The past two days had been a whirlwind of engagements, pirate ships cropping up on his radar at every turn.
When the reports first came in, Hiro had been eager for a fight. But now? The thrill had quickly dulled. Five ships, and not a single pirate capable of putting up a real fight.
Each crew had fallen without him even needing to break a sweat. He hadn't used his more advanced techniques, barely even throwing a handful of punches.
He watched with a mix of satisfaction and disappointment as his crew moved with sharper precision than before.
While these encounters hadn't tested his own limits, they'd been a harsh baptism for his crew.
Most of them were still green when it came to naval combat, but Hiro had seen them grow with every skirmish.
The once-jumpy recruits had become battle-hardened; their faces, now set with grim determination, reflected the hardening of their spirits.
For many, it was their first time killing. But they'd done well, adapting quickly, and with each encounter, they handled themselves more skillfully.
Hiro could see the makings of a force worth commanding. And that was exactly what he wanted—to forge a crew loyal to him alone.
'This batch has potential', he thought, crossing his arms as he surveyed the deck. They were young, pliable, and already learning to follow his every order without question.
In time, at least a third of them would become his true loyalists. And as he saw it, that would be just the beginning.
Yet, there were other rewards beyond mere experience.
Of the five pirate ships they'd encountered, Hiro had destroyed two outright, leaving them smoldering on the waves. But three had been captured, their supplies and treasures seized. According to Marine protocol, each captured vessel would earn a bounty of a million credits, a valuable currency within the Marine ranks.
Hiro's crew would also receive a hefty cut from the pirates' bounties and treasures retrieved from those ships – nearly 12 million credits combined.
What were Credits Exactly?
Credits were a unique currency within the Marine system, equal in value to regular Berries but far more versatile in use.
Marines could trade them for anything from weapons, supplies, maps, and equipment, to promotions within the lower ranks.
These spoils provided incentive for crews to hunt down bounties, fueling both ambition and loyalty within the Marine system.
With the prize ships trailing behind, his own frigate moved slower, the weight of nearly a hundred captives dragging them down.
Loguetown, Hiro reminded himself.
It was the nearest place where he could trade these captured pirates for credits.
And Loguetown wasn't just a convenient location – It was a hotspot of gang activities, marine presence and pirate lore.
The city had a reputation as both, the birthplace and the death site of Gold Roger, the former Pirate King, drawing pirates in droves.
It was the perfect place to exchange prisoners, gather information and load up on equipment.
His gaze shifted back to his men, who were now finishing up, cuffing the surviving pirates.
Their hands moved methodically, even with the occasional injury or exhaustion showing on their faces.
A few of his men sported gunshot wounds, others nursing cuts and bruises, but none were in critical condition.
In this strange world, it seemed they were already healing just by eating heartily – a detail Hiro found both absurd and oddly beneficial.
Just by eating plenty and eating well, one could heal from nearly every injury, a kind of resilience built into the bodies of this world that Hiro was thankful for.
Just as the final sails were hoisted on his ship, Hiro's eyes caught something unusual on the horizon.
A ship, its flag proudly bearing a skull and bones, but not the usual black or blood-red vessel he'd grown accustomed to.
This one was pink, and bright pink at that, with heart-shaped symbols painted across its sails.
The color was striking, almost laughable. But the memory hit him, and he frowned, fishing a crumpled piece of paper from his coat pocket. The bounty poster stared back at him, bold letters proclaiming:
[ WANTED
DEAD or ALIVE
ALVIDA
฿ 5,000,000 ]
The name stirred something in him.
Alvida – known for her brutality, and according to the bounty poster, infamous for wielding an iron mace capable of crushing skulls as well as entire bodies into meat paste.
She wasn't exactly a high-ranking pirate in the Grand Line, but her bounty was enough to get the blood pumping.
Or at least, that was what Hiro thought.
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