Chapter 47: Captured Members of the Krieg Pirates
Johnny and Yosaku lay sprawled on the ground, their faces swollen like pig heads, their limbs twitching uncontrollably. The reason was that when they charged in, they barely got a few slashes in before being kicked over. It seemed the troublemakers found them too weak to bother using weapons on, so a group surrounded them and stomped them mercilessly with their big feet!
Ian watched this scene, finding it too gruesome to bear, and couldn't help covering his face, unwilling to look anymore. He had initially thought that since Johnny and Yosaku dared to step up and meddle, they must have some skills. That's why he had made way for them earlier. If he had known they were this weak, he shouldn't have let them through and just handled it himself.
Ian's gesture of covering his face was misinterpreted by the troublemakers. They thought he was scared by Johnny and Yosaku's miserable state and dared not watch, so they laughed even more arrogantly.
Just then, Johnny somehow managed to prop himself up on one side, trembling, and said to Ian, "D-Damn! Almost won... Take this chance and get out of here!"
Ian was stunned. What did he mean? Had Johnny and Yosaku not just stepped out to show off, but genuinely to help him? Otherwise, why would he still urge Ian to leave at a time like this?
"Haha, think you can leave?" the mustachioed man laughed loudly, and the group surrounded Ian again. "You think you can get away? Hand over your weapon obediently!"
Ian tilted his head, looking at them, and asked, "You said earlier that the last thing you fear is bounty hunters. Does that mean you're not pirates?"
"No, quite the opposite—we are pirates!" the skinny man said smugly.
"Oh, I see!" Ian understood, realizing, "I thought you were just ordinary street thugs. So, you must be from some big pirate crew, huh? No wonder you look down on bounty hunters."
"That's right! We're from..." the skinny man started to continue, but Ian shook his head and cut him off.
"Sorry, I don't have time to hear your names!" Ian pointed his Sword Saint Longsword at them. "Because whether you feared bounty hunters before or not, from today onward, you're going to have to!"
"W-What do you mean?" the skinny man asked blankly.
"Simple. I'm a bounty hunter too!"
With that, Ian acted immediately. He struck the skinny man's shoulder with the back of his blade. A terrible cracking sound followed as the bone in the skinny man's shoulder shattered. The skinny man screamed and fell to his knees.
For these low-tier pirates, Ian didn't bother using the blade's edge. This was a busy street, and making a bloody mess wouldn't look good, so he used the blunt side.
"Get him! Kill him!" The skinny man's plight didn't scare these pirates; instead, it ignited their brutality. Twenty or thirty pirates charged at Ian with their weapons.
Ian raised his longsword to block an axe swung by a pirate in front, then kicked him in the chest. The force sent the pirate flying like a cannonball, crashing into a nearby shop with a loud bang.
Too weak. Aside from their numbers, these guys had nothing going for them. Individually, they couldn't even match the grunts of the Buggy Pirates! Even when they attacked together, it was useless against Ian's speed and reflexes. He swung his longsword in an arc, precisely striking each pirate's wrist, knocking their weapons out of their hands. Then, as they froze in shock, he hit their shoulders hard with the blade's back.
Cracking sounds of breaking bones rang out continuously. The closest circle of pirates suffered the same fate as the skinny man, falling to their knees and screaming loudly.
One person screaming might not be much, but seven or eight screaming together was overwhelming. The remaining pirates finally got scared, standing frozen with their weapons, unsure whether to keep attacking.
While they hesitated, Ian didn't. He wouldn't let any of them off. He dashed into the crowd, striking each one on the shoulder with the blade's back, breaking their bones and leaving them kneeling and howling.
In just over ten seconds, all twenty or thirty members of this unknown pirate crew were taken down. He didn't even use any skills—they weren't worth it.
The bystanders, who had been watching from a distance, were stunned. They had expected the hat-wearing young man to be in trouble, but suddenly, the tables turned, and he had won! It turned out this young man was the one hiding his strength.
Seeing that all the pirates had lost their ability to resist, Ian sheathed his sword and walked over to Johnny and Yosaku. Looking down at them, he asked, "Are you two okay?"
"F-Fine!" Johnny and Yosaku stared blankly at Ian for a moment before snapping out of it and scrambling to their feet.
Looking at the pirates lying around, groaning in pain, Ian felt a bit troubled about what to do. After thinking it over, he asked Johnny and Yosaku, "Got any rope?"
"Ah! Yes!" Johnny and Yosaku replied quickly, "We do, big brother!"
After witnessing Ian's fight, they realized he didn't need their help at all. His strength was leagues above theirs, so they immediately started calling him "big brother."
Ian knew their type—they'd call anyone stronger than them "big brother"—so he wasn't surprised. He had them tie up the pirates with rope.
Johnny and Yosaku got to work and soon finished the task.
"Let's go to the Marine base," Ian told them.
And so, a bizarre scene unfolded on Loguetown's main street. Twenty or thirty pirates were strung together by a rope tied around their waists, with Ian walking ahead, pulling the rope. Each pirate had their right shoulder broken, limping along, leaning to the right while wailing.
To an uninformed observer, it looked like a human trafficker!
Someone must have reported the pirate disturbance to the Marines. As Ian led the group, Marine soldiers arrived. Seeing the sight, they were startled and raised their guns at Ian and the others.
Johnny and Yosaku raised their hands in fear, but Ian remained calm, saying, "I'm a bounty hunter, here to claim a reward at the base. These guys are pirates, so you'd better not point those guns at me."
A Marine sergeant leading the squad looked at the line of people Ian was pulling. They indeed looked like no-good types. He waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to lower their weapons.
"Young man, these pirates you caught look like low-level grunts," the sergeant said to Ian. "There are a lot of them, but their bounties might not be high—maybe even none at all!"
"No problem," Ian shook his head. "I caught these guys on the side because they tried to rob me. I'm not here for their bounty."
"Oh?" The sergeant was surprised. "Whose bounty are you here for? Do you have proof?"
"Of course," Ian said, pulling out the capture certificate issued by Morgan and handing it over. "I captured the Buggy Pirates."
The sergeant was shocked. He quickly examined the document. After a moment, he looked up at Ian in disbelief. "The document is real! So you're the bounty hunter Ian mentioned by Branch 153?"
"Yeah, that's me," Ian nodded. "I'm here in Loguetown to collect the reward."
Johnny and Yosaku, standing behind Ian, were wide-eyed with excitement. They knew about the Buggy Pirates—a crew with a 7 million Berry bounty on their captain, Buggy the Clown! After seeing Ian's fighting skills, they knew he was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be strong enough to capture a 7 million Berry pirate! This only strengthened their resolve to call him "big brother."
Hearing Ian wanted to claim the reward, the sergeant looked troubled. "Indeed, bounties in the millions are collected here in Loguetown. But unfortunately, you might have to wait a bit longer."
"What do you mean?" Ian raised an eyebrow.
"Don't misunderstand—it's not that we won't pay you," the sergeant quickly waved his hands. "It's because our base's commander has been reassigned! It's actually related to the Buggy Pirates you caught. They were bold enough to attack Branch 153, so headquarters decided to send a strong figure to oversee the East Blue. Orders have been issued. Captain Smoker from headquarters is already on his way. He's taking the Calm Belt route, so he'll be here in two days."
Captain Smoker? Ian was taken aback. No way—Smoker being transferred to Loguetown as the commander was because of his capture of Buggy?
He understood the sergeant's point. Large expenditures at the base required the new commander's signature for approval. Since it was only two days, waiting was fine.
But Ian was running low on money, so he held up the rope and asked the sergeant, "Can I at least get some cash for these pirates? For a small amount, no signature needed, right?"
"I'm not sure. Come to the base with me, and we'll check," the sergeant said.
So Ian led the line of pirates, following the sergeant to the base.
"You're amazing, Ian big brother!" Johnny said excitedly, sidling up to him. "I didn't expect you to capture Buggy with his 7 million bounty!"
"If only we could catch pirates with such high bounties someday!" Yosaku chimed in, dreaming. "Then we wouldn't have to fish to make a living!"
Despite their earlier selfless and somewhat righteous behavior, Ian had silently allowed them to follow him. But... seriously, how badly were they doing? What did "fish to make a living" mean? Weren't they bounty hunters?
Before Ian could retort, the mustachioed man being pulled behind him spoke weakly, "So what if you caught a 7 million Berry pirate? You'd better let us go! We're from the Krieg Pirates! If you dare to hold us, Captain Krieg will never let you off!"