"Sir, I agree!"
Lilith bit her soft lower lip and looked at Kai with anxious eyes, her face weak and helpless.
"The destination is the Beck Archipelago?"
Kai smiled.
"That works. It happens to be on my route anyway."
That was true.
The Beck Archipelago lay directly along the route from his current waters to Alabasta.
Sending her there would not delay him much.
Even without this so-called shipwreck survivor, Kai would still have passed near the Beck Archipelago on his way to Alabasta. Unless he deliberately took a detour, this was the natural route forward.
And taking a detour would only waste more time.
There was no need for that.
"Thank you, sir!"
Lilith looked visibly relieved.
After a brief pause, curiosity flashed through her eyes.
"Sir, may I ask your name?"
"My name?"
Kai narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Kai."
Lilith's expression did not change.
There was no shock.
No fear.
Not even the slightest ripple in her eyes.
Clearly, she had never heard his name.
"Mr. Kai, thank you for saving me today. Once we reach the Beck Archipelago, I will definitely repay you properly."
Kai watched her face and understood.
She had not connected his name to the Marine monster whose reputation had recently shaken the Grand Line.
If she had recognized him, she would never be this calm.
"Interesting."
Kai gave Lilith a deep look.
She thought he was prey?
Was this the Beck Pirate Alliance's misfortune, or its fortune?
Most importantly, Lilith had no idea what kind of monster she was bringing back to them.
"Do you need a change of clothes?" Kai asked.
Lilith's clothes were soaked through with seawater, outlining her graceful figure.
With her delicate face and youthful body, she was the kind of woman who could easily lower a man's guard.
"Thank you, sir, but there is no need to trouble you."
Lilith shook her head politely.
"Then we sail."
Under Kai's control, the small sailboat continued forward across the endless sea.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, half a day went by.
The voyage was smooth.
No obstacles.
No attacks.
Finally, the Beck Archipelago appeared in the distance.
Standing on the deck, Lilith's expression clearly became excited when she saw the islands.
Beside her, Kai remained calm as ever.
He glanced at her, then looked ahead with interest.
The Beck Archipelago.
In other words, the headquarters of the Beck Pirate Alliance.
The Beck Archipelago was made up of nineteen small islands. Together, they formed a large island chain located only about a day's sail away from Alabasta.
From here, reaching Alabasta would not take long.
That was why Kai was not in a hurry.
In fact, he had some interest in landing there and taking a look around.
He wanted to see what kind of pirates this so-called Beck Pirate Alliance really was.
And so, on that day, a small sailboat arrived in the waters of the Beck Archipelago.
The hull cut through the calm sea.
Waves rippled outward, glittering beneath the light as they slapped gently against the ship.
At the same time, on the coast of the Beck Archipelago, a crowd of pirates had already gathered.
Their eyes were filled with excitement as they stared at the approaching sailboat.
"She's back!"
"It's Lilith!"
"She must have brought us a big fat sheep this time!"
"Someone who dares sail alone into the Beck Archipelago must be a newcomer from the East Blue. Otherwise, how could he not have heard of the Beck Pirate Alliance?"
"That's exactly why people like us can survive. We borrow their resources."
"Borrow? You mean rob."
"Watch your mouth. It's called borrowing. Learn how to speak properly!"
"Right, right. Borrowing. We're just borrowing their resources."
Groups of pirates crowded around the port.
At a rough glance, there were more than two thousand of them.
Even across the Grand Line, a pirate alliance of this scale could be considered large.
And this was not even the full strength of the Beck Pirate Alliance.
Their total number exceeded five thousand.
The alliance was formed from thirteen pirate crews.
It was not hard to imagine how large their combined force was.
Gradually, under the pirates' excited gazes, the sailboat approached the port.
The moment it neared the shore, the pirates became even more excited.
They were certain.
This was a fat sheep.
In the Grand Line, the Beck Pirate Alliance had a strange reputation.
They were infamous, but not because they were especially strong.
Their specialty was robbing passing ships, whether merchant vessels or pirate crews.
However, they rarely killed.
They did not slaughter indiscriminately.
They even claimed to "rob the rich and help the poor."
Because of that, although the Beck Pirate Alliance had a bad name, they had not become hated enough to attract the full force of the Marines.
That was how they had survived until now.
On the sailboat's deck, Lilith turned toward Kai.
Her earlier helplessness disappeared.
In its place was a confident smile.
"Mr. Kai, thank you for sending me back."
"Since you were kind enough to help me, may I ask one more thing?"
"Could you hand over all the supplies on this ship to us?"
As expected.
The fox's tail finally showed.
The atmosphere became strange.
In Lilith's imagination, the young Marine should have been terrified by now. He should have trembled, panicked, and obediently handed over everything on the ship.
But reality was different.
"So this is your confidence?"
"The Beck Pirate Alliance?"
Kai smiled.
Lilith froze.
"You knew?"
"If you knew, why did you still dare come here?"
"Kid, should I call you stupid, naive, or just arrogant? You knew there was a tiger on the mountain, yet you still walked straight toward it?"
"I knew from the beginning."
Kai's tone was calm.
"And I should remind you. Your acting is terrible."
"Also, your fishing method is outdated. People stopped using this kind of trick years ago, yet you still bring it out as if it's clever."
"You—!"
Lilith was truly stunned this time.
What was going on?
This kid was not following the script at all.
He knew she belonged to the Beck Pirate Alliance.
Yet he still came to the Beck Archipelago without fear.
Why?
For a moment, her thoughts became chaotic.
"Big Sister Lilith! This fat sheep you caught looks especially fat this time!"
A pirate's excited shout came from the shore.
"Fat… sheep?"
Lilith's throat tightened.
At that moment, she was no longer sure.
Who was the real fat sheep here?
Was this child really prey?
He had known this was the Beck Pirate Alliance's territory, yet he still came alone.
Did that look like the mindset of prey?
While Lilith stood frozen, Kai slowly walked to the railing.
He stopped at the edge of the deck and looked down at the pirates gathered at the port.
His expression was calm.
From beginning to end, a faint smile hung on his face.
He showed no fear despite walking into the enemy's den.
At the same time, the two thousand pirates at the port finally saw the five-year-old figure standing at the rail.
They saw the white Marine coat of justice draped over his small frame.
In an instant, their excitement died.
It was as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over them.
The atmosphere became strangely silent.
"Wait…"
"He… he can't be…"
"No way."
"This is impossible!"
One pirate after another widened their eyes and stared at Kai in disbelief.
Silence fell.
Dead silence.
After a long while, someone swallowed hard.
The pirates felt their scalps go numb.
Lilith…
This time, you didn't bring back a fat sheep.
You brought back a terrifying monster.
The strongest genius in Marine history.
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