Chapter 244: Wendy's Growth
On the Sabaody Archipelago, at Shaki's Bamboo Stick Bar.
The sound of boots clicking on the floor echoed as a short-haired woman, whose age was hard to tell, placed a cup of coffee on the bar and casually lit a cigarette.
"Who would have thought even the Gold Lion would die at the hands of young Eric ?" Shaki, who had been in the Rocks Pirates, felt an inexplicable sadness, even though she and Gold Lion didn't get along—he had still been a comrade once.
"Yeah, Gold Lion... Another one of the old-timers from our era is gone."
Rayleigh, who was reading the newspaper, had mixed feelings—both lamenting the death of an old rival and reflecting on how a new generation was taking over.
"Now, young Eric 's bounty will rise again." Exhaling smoke, Shaki sighed. "A year ago, when I saw the news of young Eric becoming one of the Four Emperors, I was afraid he would get lost in his own vanity, but now, it seems he's been training hard."
"Most likely, they spent the year they disappeared from the papers on special training."
"The seas will be stirred by him again..."
...
After killing the Gold Lion, the amount of money Eric had in his system panel rose from around a billion to over 4.5 billion. Indeed, killing a great pirate was a way to become wealthy...
The money looked a lot, but as capital to establish a nation, it was still far from enough.
Unfortunately, there were still a few big pirates that Eric couldn't defeat right now, and his power was not enough. He needed to summon more companions.
After flying for a while, the Fearless arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Porche opened a large door in the air with his powers. Wendy carefully controlled the Fearless to fly through the door. As the air door closed, the steel warship disappeared from view.
"That's amazing." This was Wendy's first time seeing Porche use his power.
"Ugh, it's not that impressive," Porche said, blushing as he hugged Wendy. "Ah~ You're so cute."
"Hmph, that's a strange ability," Carla said, proudly. "But still, it's nothing compared to Wendy's abilities..."
"Negative ghost!" A transparent little ghost passed through Carla 's body.
Carla crouched down on all fours on the ground. "As a cat, I'm really sorry..."
"Ho ho ho ho!" Perona, holding an umbrella, said, "My ability is pretty good, right?"
A little while later...
Perona, held down by Eric , apologized to the furious Carla .
...
The master used runes to change the appearance of the Dawn Pirates' wanted criminals, and everyone dispersed to enjoy themselves.
"Eric -nii, these buildings look so rundown," Wendy, following closely behind Eric , said quietly.
"And everywhere, there are malicious gazes." Genos ' mechanical eye scanned the surroundings, and seeing someone robbing, he immediately rushed over to stop them.
"This is a lawless zone. Human traffickers, pirates, and all sorts of scoundrels run rampant here. Even the best buildings will be destroyed by their constant fighting."
Upon hearing the words pirates and human traffickers, Wendy shuddered.
"Are those pirates like you, Eric -nii?"
"No, ninety-nine out of a hundred pirates deserve to die. The other one..." Eric said in a deep voice. "Very much deserves to die."
"Hmm..."
"As long as we stay true to ourselves," Eric said gently to Wendy, "I will protect you, Wendy."
[Wendy's Affinity Increased, Bond Level Unchanged]
Carla , with her small body and big attitude, whispered to Wendy, "Be careful of men's sweet words. Those who say things like that are usually not good people..."
"How... how could..."
"Hey, speak quietly if you're going to talk about me, I can hear you!"
The group of adults, along with a few underage children and their pets, successfully attracted the attention of the lawless group, who mistook them for tourists from another place.
The robbery scene, which had appeared in many novels, finally played out.
Someone blocked their path and attempted to rob them!
It could also be an abduction.
Although the master's rune magic had changed their appearance and helped them avoid attracting the navy's attention, it had successfully caught the eye of the lawless group.
The ugly members of the lawless group stuck out their greedy tongues, and their foul stench could be smelled even from several meters away.
"Ugh!" Wendy, scared, hid behind Eric .
"Hahaha, looks like we've found some good goods. Let's sell them all to the slave market!"
"Ha, I thought we'd cleared out the human traffickers' group before, but now they've appeared again..." Eric muttered, "As expected, the Celestial Dragons are the source of all scum."
Eric could use his Conqueror's Haki to knock them out directly, but there was no need. He also stopped Genos , who seemed eager to jump into action.
"Kuina, do you want to try your hand?" Eric turned to the girl standing nearby, her back straight, her face young but the determination in her eyes clearly visible.
"Mm." Kuina answered briefly as she slowly drew her sword, Shusui, from its sheath.
"Hahaha, the adults won't do anything, so let the kids die instead?" The surrounding lawless members laughed wildly.
"..." Even though she often trained with real swords, Kuina still nervously swallowed a lump in her throat. This was her first time fighting for her life.
When training with Eric , Scáthach , and Akame, it was more about teaching her how to strike, not real combat.
"Ha!" Kuina dashed towards the lawless member with a speed beyond her age.
"Don't worry, kid. I won't kill you." The lawless member raised his blade, but it didn't look like he intended to show mercy.
"Clang!"
The seemingly powerful downward strike was easily blocked by Kuina.
"What?!"
Kuina stepped forward, Shusui moving with fluidity. The black blade seemed to absorb all the attention around it.
"Whoosh!"
The legendary blade Shusui, ranked among the Great Swords, easily split the lawless member in two.
"Thud!"
The upper half of the body fell to the ground, guts and intestines spilling out, the strong stench of blood filling the air.
"Ugh..." Kuina pressed her left hand over her mouth, fighting the rising nausea and resisting the urge to vomit.
"How dare you kill Toma..." Several more lawless members rushed forward, trying to tear Kuina apart.
"I can do this!" Kuina shouted, stopping Eric from intervening. The Shusui in her hand swung with precision.
Blood splattered, sword light flickered. Kuina, having been taught by the master, was far superior in swordsmanship to these scoundrels, especially since she had learned Haki.
In just a few minutes, the lawless members surrounding her were all dead.
The stench of blood grew stronger, and the scene of dismembered bodies was hard to look at, but Kuina still forced herself to walk back.
Wendy and Carla had been so scared by the brutal scene that they closed their eyes.
"You did great for your first time," Eric encouraged. "When I first killed a pirate, I vomited for a long time."
Even with a slight nod, Kuina felt her stomach turn, but she just tightly pressed her lips together, staying silent.
As they continued walking to the bamboo bar, Wendy and Kuina fell behind.
Wendy cautiously approached, wanting to use magic to heal Kuina's discomfort, but she was afraid of her killing actions.
"Why did you join the Dawn Pirate Crew?" Unexpectedly, Kuina spoke first.
"Eh? Me?" Wendy was unsure how to answer Kuina's question.
"I wanted to become the world's greatest swordswoman, that's why I followed Eric to sea." Kuina continued Speaking.
"Ah... you're amazing." Wendy said cautiously.
Kuina stopped walking, turned to look at Wendy, and Wendy froze in place, scared.
"I've heard about you and your guild," Kuina said, staring into Wendy's eyes. "Your previous guild master created countless illusionary personas for you. And now, everyone in the Dawn Pirate Crew takes great care of you."
"But... what if everyone in the Dawn Pirate Crew is killed?"
"No! That won't happen!" Wendy finally shouted in protest.
"Do you believe in Eric 's strength? It's true, Eric is strong, but there are powerful enemies he can't defeat." Kuina said solemnly. "If Eric , Akame, Scáthach , and General Esdeath fall... who will protect you?"
"I... I..." Wendy stammered, her usually introverted self about to cry.
"Do you want to see everyone in the Dawn Pirate Crew sacrifice themselves to protect you?"
"No! I want everyone in the Dawn Pirate Crew to always be together because they are all so kind."
"Then stop hiding behind Eric and become strong!" Kuina shouted. "Girls are no less than boys!"
With that, Kuina caught up with Eric and the others.
Carla stood beside Wendy and whispered, "Wendy..."
After a long pause, Wendy finally raised her head. The timid expression was gone, replaced by a look full of determination in her eyes.
"Carla , I will protect everyone in the Dawn Pirate Crew!"
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen10