Noyer drew his sword. The two sisters hastily raised their tachi, sizing him up warily.
"Attack!"
The elder sister roared, and the two charged at him with their swords.
◇◆◈◆◇
Fifteen minutes later.
The two sisters knelt on the ground, their faces swollen like pig heads, and said in muffled voices, "So you really did defeat Arlong, No doubt about it!"
Noyer squatted down to examine them, "Are you really pirate hunters? You seem so weak!"
The older sister quickly nodded, "We didn't lie to you. I'm Sakura, my sister is Momoka, and we're famous pirate hunters in the East Blue!"
Famous? There were no such people in the original story, were there?
Noyer thought in confusion, but soon he figured it out.
They came looking for trouble with Arlong today. If Noyer hadn't changed the plot and that brutal fish-man was still here — they'd probably already be dead, wouldn't they?
With a cautious mindset, he used his inspection ability on the supposedly famous sisters.
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
" Sakura "
" Talents:〔 Wildly Slashing to Death Master [White/5th Rank] 〕|〔 East Blue Intelligence Barrel [White/5th Rank] 〕 "
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Wildly Slashing to Death Master 〕
〔 Rank: White 〕
〔 Description: Has a special Talent with the tachi. In one-on-one duels, when emotionally agitated triggers 'wild slashing,' has a 1% chance of hitting the enemy. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 East Blue Intelligence Barrel 〕
〔 Rank: White 〕
〔 Description: Because of her extremely thick skin, rarely encounters obstacles when socializing with people, and therefore has recorded intelligence on most pirates and evil forces in the East Blue. 〕
﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
" Momoka "
" Talents:〔 Ancestral Blind Tyrant Sword Technique [White/5th Rank] 〕|〔 Bounty Reporter [White/5th Rank] 〕 "
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Ancestral Blind Tyrant Sword Technique 〕
〔 Rank: White 〕
〔 Description: Has a special Talent with the tachi. When facing multiple enemies, when emotionally agitated triggers ancestral sword technique, has a 3% chance of hitting at least one person. 〕
﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃﹃
〔 Bounty Reporter 〕
〔 Rank: White 〕
〔 Description: Because she's bored out of her mind, she memorizes almost all pirate bounty posters and can accurately report the information. 〕
﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄﹄
Together, the two of them couldn't even make up one Blue Talent.
Noyer understood completely — the gap between people was real. Even Genzō, that weakling, had an innate talent for focused cultivation. Why were these two sisters' talents each more absurd than the last?
No wonder when he fought them, they fell before he even applied any force. He should be thankful their emotions weren't agitated.
Noyer covered his forehead and said helplessly, "Alright, I believe you. But I really did defeat Arlong. He's escaped now, so you should look somewhere else."
Sakura and Momoka exchanged a glance, then pulled their necks back like a drawn bow and slammed their foreheads toward the floor with a bang.
Noyer's heart jumped. He stared dumbfounded at the two kowtowing.
What's this? They know it's New Year's and are kowtowing for money?
The two sisters shouted in booming voices, "Master! Please take us as your disciples!"
Huh? Noyer tilted his head in confusion.
Sakura raised her head with a serious expression, "Anyone who can defeat us two sisters working together is a rare gem in the East Blue!"
Momoka nodded frantically, "I think so too!"
Sakura's eyes gleamed with wisdom, "Your swordsmanship is divine, and you defeated the great pirate Arlong — you must be an expert living in seclusion here!"
Momoka agreed deeply, "I think so too!"
Sakura devoutly lowered her head again, "Master! Please take us as your disciples!"
Momoka was even more sincere and kowtowed again with a loud thud, "I think so — ahem, Master!"
Noyer looked at these two oddballs, momentarily at a loss for words. With such "talented" disciples, he really didn't dare accept them.
He quickly waved his hands, "But I'm only twelve years old, and you're both older than me. Let's just forget it!"
Sakura and Momoka looked shocked, "Master, you're only twelve? You look so much older!"
Sakura looked humbly eager to learn, "Master, although you're young, you're stronger than us. We won't look down on you!"
But I look down on you!
Noyer was on the verge of tears. Then he had a bright idea. He pointed behind the two sisters, "Look! The sun?!"
"What?"
"Huh?"
The moment they turned around, Noyer leaped into the air, jumped off the pirate ship, and ran for his life!
He swore he'd never run that fast — not even when rushing to grab seats in the cafeteria!
"Where's the sun..."
◇◆◈◆◇
Noyer ran to the village, picked up Bell-mère, dragged out the two sisters who were sneaking drinks, then scrambled back home.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a sly smile on his lips.
Little punks, is that all? You think you can find this place?
◇◆◈◆◇
Early the next morning, Noyer stared with despair at Sakura and her sister standing at his doorstep.
How is this possible?!
Bell-mère was laughing brightly beside him, "Early this morning I went to the village, and these two girls were asking everyone for your location. They said they were your disciples, so I brought them home."
"Ahhh!" Noyer collapsed and screamed into his hands.
But there was no helping it. He couldn't just leave them standing there, so he had to go out.
When the two sisters saw him come out, their eyes lit up. They immediately bowed and shouted, "Master!"
Noyer felt his head buzzing, "You don't need to bow."
Sakura said seriously, "Bowing is the basic etiquette of showing respect to Master!"
Noyer pressed his throbbing temples, "Is your family's bow 180 degrees?!"
Well, life is like this. Since you can't resist, you can only accept it — maybe it'll even be more comfortable that way.
On the bright side, Noyer had gained two lackeys who could run errands — or rather, two junior sisters, which wasn't bad. At least when he fought in the future, he'd have two loud cheerleaders to clap and hype things up.
Although their cerebellums might not be fully developed...
Noyer accepted Sakura and Momoka as disciples and taught them swordsmanship. Unfortunately, their foundation was too poor, so he had them practice the basics.
As for the profession of pirate hunter — or Bounty Hunter, for the official name — Noyer was quite interested. Killing pirates and collecting bounties from the Marines was a good way to make money. In the future when he went to sea, he could also use this identity for adventure.
He had no fondness for pirates. Unless forced into a corner or provoked, he would never become a pirate. On this sea, pirate crews like Luffy's existed, but they were just a minority.
{T/N: Good people who just want to adventure and have freedom. Although the latter is quite forbidden, so it's quite difficult to do what you want without having a bounty on your head.}
As for becoming a Marine, Noyer wanted that even less.
Although it was stable and safe, working for the corrupt World Government and constantly cleaning up after the Celestial Dragons? No way.
If he saw those Celestial Dragon scumbags and didn't draw his sword to kill them, that would be showing restraint — forget about protecting them. And don't mention protecting people for justice and then overthrowing the government from within.
Noyer wasn't exactly a good person. He was selfish. As long as the people around him were happy, that was enough. The style of righteous Marine officers didn't suit him at all.
His plan was sound — he wouldn't become a pirate or join the Marines. Bounty Hunter was a good identity.
Of course, Noyer also wanted to see how far he could go on the Grand Line relying on a legitimate identity.
Early in the morning, the villagers gathered and pulled Arlong's pirate ship, the Shark Superb, into the village. They gave it a thorough beating. After a morning's work, the ship had been modified into a normal-looking vessel.
This was at Noyer's request. He planned to debut as a Bounty Hunter and needed a ship. Conveniently, Arlong's ship was sitting idle on the shore, so they decided to modify it.
He discussed it with Bell-mère, and she didn't object. After all, with his current strength, the East Blue was like a playground. Might as well earn some side money.
When Nami heard Noyer was going out to make money, she made a fuss about tagging along. Bell-mère shut that down quickly.
◇◆◈◆◇
On the East Blue, Noyer sailed with ease thanks to his 〔Climate Hyper-Perception〕.
He lounged in a beach chair, sunbathing, while Sakura and Momoka stood beside him discussing their targets.
Sakura consulted a small notebook, "Master, our target is in Tendel Village. A pirate named Yuke stores his plunder there after raiding civilians. We can strike at the heart — grab the treasure, then wait there and ambush him."
Noyer picked up his orange juice and took a sip, "Sakura, your intelligence work is impressive. You can dig up this kind of information."
Sakura's nose shot up with pride, "Yuke's bounty isn't high — he mostly robs and kills without provoking big shots. He should have quite a stash."
Noyer asked, "So what's his bounty?"
It's my time to shine!
BGM seemed to play all around. Momoka, who hadn't had a chance to show off until now, finally found her moment. She shouted with exceptional fluency and speed, "A total of ฿3,126,549 — absolutely no mistake!"
Noyer stared at her like she was some kind of monster. This talent of yours is truly "heaven-defying"! How the hell does it even have exact change?
He asked doubtfully, "Are you sure? What if the bounty gets updated?"
Momoka said proudly, "It won't! I memorize the updated bounties every night!"
Are you freaking kidding me?! What can I even say to that?
Noyer had wondered before why "reporting bounties" was even considered a Talent. Why the hell are you memorizing the exact change?! Saving up to buy Chopper?
No wonder even the system says you're bored out of your mind... Really can't blame it for that.
Just as Noyer was marveling at the sisters' talents, a ship approached in the distance. The familiar black flag with white skull and crossbones — truly the Age of Great Pirates! They hadn't gone far before running into a pirate crew.
Noyer walked to the bow and looked over. A whole bunch of pirates were jumping around like hunting dogs that had spotted prey.
"So many small fries again — how annoying." He looked at the group of pirate underlings with disinterest.
Not because they were troublesome — even if this bunch came at him all together, they posed no threat. They were just genuinely annoying.
Though small fries were certainly good tools for showing off.
Noyer looked at the clueless sisters, his eyes suddenly lighting up, "Disciples, let me teach you something..."
On the pirate ship, the newly debuted pirate captain stared excitedly at the vessel ahead. From what he could see, there were only three people — a brat and two dumb women. Finally, an easy target!
As the two ships drew near, the pirate captain shouted, "Boys! All of you, charge!"
"Ohhhhhhh!"
The pirate underlings howled and climbed onto the ship like monkeys, drawing their blades and glaring fiercely at their enemies.
The pirate captain took the lead, gripping his curved blade as he rushed onto the ship. He wildly swung his weapon and shouted viciously, "Hand over your money, or don't blame me for... huh?"
He felt as if someone had grabbed his throat. Wait, something's off about this picture!
Noyer sat in his chair with his legs crossed, wearing sunglasses and looking ridiculously flashy with his deadpan expression. Beside him, Sakura and Momoka stood solemnly on either side, holding their swords and wearing pink sunglasses with stern faces.
If these three were each given a matching suit, they'd look like emotionless Matrix characters.
The pirate captain was nearly thrown off by this bizarre aura. He shouted, "Stop playing the big shot over there! Hand over the money!"
Hearing this, Noyer's face showed three parts mockery, three parts disdain, and four parts casual CEO smile. He extended his hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Pft...
It didn't snap...
Noyer cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment, then extended his hand again and clapped hard!
Clap!
"Awe~some — "
The bodyguard sisters on both sides heard the signal and immediately began striking the ground with their scabbards, their loud voices finally finding their purpose.
When the pirate captain heard this thunderous shout, even though his side had superior numbers, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
That's exactly the effect!
Noyer looked at the dumbfounded pirates and thought to himself — this is what having underlings is all about!
"You dare to rob us?" He deepened his voice to a magnetic tone.
As he spoke, he stood up. Sakura saw her chance, raised her hand, and shook out a coat, stylishly draping it toward her master.
Except she used a bit too much force... The coat fluttered through the air and landed perfectly over Noyer's... head, covering it completely.
Noyer, whose sunlight was suddenly blocked, forced himself to stay calm and reached up to pull the coat down.
The pirate captain had figured it out by now. This guy's clearly a lunatic!
He roared, "Don't worry about this idiot! Brothers, charge!"
A swarm of pirates rushed forward. Noyer's eyes flashed with cold light, and his blade left its sheath in a blur!
Several silver flashes passed as he charged into the crowd — like a wolf among sheep. In an instant, bodies tumbled, pirates fell in all directions, and they cried out for their mothers.
Before long, all the pirates lay on the ground. Noyer slowly sheathed his blade, looking as lonely as snow.
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, exhaled a few smoke rings, then confidently prepared to sit back down with his hands in his pockets —
Thump!
He landed right on the ground.
Noyer turned to glare at Momoka, who had just lifted the chair. She said sheepishly, "Sorry, Master, there were too many steps — I forgot!"
Noyer covered his forehead.
Showing off with these two is really difficult...
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)