Redbeard was furious.
From his point of view, Nami and Norton were practically flirting right in front of him, completely ignoring his presence.
And that feeling of being ignored made Redbeard seethe.
Very few people knew this, but the "beard" on Redbeard's face wasn't actually a beard at all.
It was nose hair.
Because he had been born with bright red nose hair, Redbeard had never been able to make friends as a child, and he had been mocked constantly. That was what shaped his twisted personality.
After growing up, he took Whitebeard as his idol, gave himself the nickname Redbeard, and swore that he would become a man feared by the entire world.
Redbeard hated being ignored.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three gunshots rang out in quick succession.
Redbeard panted heavily, eyes bulging with rage.
Anyone who ignored him deserved to die.
But when the smoke drifting from the muzzle cleared, Redbeard's pupils shrank violently. Shock, terror, and disbelief crashed into him all at once.
He had clearly fired three bullets straight at Norton.
And yet Norton looked completely unharmed.
"How is that possible? There's no way I missed!" Redbeard muttered.
"You didn't miss," Norton said.
He raised one hand and slowly opened his fingers.
Fragments of crushed bullets slid down from between them.
Standing between Norton and Redbeard, Nami had seen it most clearly. Her bright face was now filled with utter shock.
Had she seen that right?
This man had actually caught bullets with his bare hand?
"No way! That's impossible!"
Redbeard seemed to lose his mind as he frantically pulled the trigger again and again.
Gunfire tore through the air. Bullets punched holes through the deck.
Even after every round had been fired and the chamber was completely empty, Redbeard's finger still twitched against the trigger.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at where he had been aiming.
Wisps of smoke drifted upward through the splintered holes in the deck…
But Norton was no longer there.
He had vanished.
Redbeard's eyes instinctively shifted, trying to search his surroundings.
But he never got the chance.
Because a black blur of a fist suddenly filled his vision.
Everything went black.
Redbeard lost consciousness.
"He flew away!"
"What happened? What just happened?!"
The nobles and noblewomen stared blankly, completely at a loss.
"Captain got sent flying!" the pirates cried out, a beat too late.
Nami stood frozen in place, her mind completely blank.
Only Sanosuke stared at Norton's back, drenched in sweat.
Of everyone present, he was probably the only one who had understood what had just happened.
The silver-haired man had reacted to bullets and, in less than 0.1 seconds—perhaps even less—thrown a punch that blasted Redbeard away for hundreds of meters.
Even with Sanosuke's eyesight, he hadn't been able to see clearly how Norton had thrown that punch.
A speed like that was demonic.
"If it's this man… maybe he really can…"
At that moment, nearly the same thought surfaced in both Nami and Sanosuke's minds.
"Go save the captain!"
The pirates started to panic.
But when Norton's sharp gaze slowly swept over them, they instantly fell silent again, not daring to breathe.
"If you don't want to end up flying through the air like your captain," Norton said quietly, "then keep it down."
"Y-Yes!"
The pirates jolted in fright.
A monster like this was not something a human being could fight.
Seeing that they were at least capable of behaving themselves, Norton shifted his gaze away from them.
"Benefactor! Thank you for saving us! We'll definitely repay you!" the nobles immediately began flattering him, all arrogance gone without a trace.
The noblewomen, too, looked at Norton with burning eyes, clearly expecting the kind of grand heroic speech a prince or savior might deliver in a story.
But Norton merely cast the nobles a faint glance and ignored the noblewomen's heated gazes entirely.
"Who said I did it to save you?"
As soon as the words fell, the nobles froze.
The noblewomen froze.
Even the pirates were stunned.
"What do you mean?" one of the ladies asked. "If you didn't defeat the pirates to save us, then why did you do it?"
"Just because I felt like it," Norton replied. "You don't actually think you're important to me, do you?"
The expressions of the nobles and noblewomen changed immediately.
The pirates, on the other hand, quietly relaxed a little. If Norton hadn't done this to save the nobles, then perhaps he wouldn't kill them either.
And indeed, Norton had no intention of killing these nobles.
But he had no intention of "saving" them either.
He had set out to sea as a pirate.
At the moment, he had only a tiny boat and nowhere near enough supplies.
And now an opportunity had practically delivered itself to him. There was no way he was going to pass it up. He was not that kind of saint.
Without him, these nobles would likely already be dead. Being allowed to keep their lives should have been enough for them.
As for the treasure, the ship, and everything else—
These people simply weren't fit to keep them.
"From this moment on," Norton said with a grin, "this ship and everything on it belongs to me."
"What? No! You can't do that! Those assets are our lawful property!" the nobles cried out in agitation.
"Lawful or unlawful, what does that have to do with me?" Norton said. "I have no obligation to follow the laws handed down by that rotten World Government."
"How can you say something like that?!" a duke shouted angrily, pointing at him.
Norton smiled.
"You don't actually think I'm some naïve fool, do you?"
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the sky.
"My apologies—but I intend to conquer this sea as a pirate."
That single declaration left everyone speechless.
"This guy's a pirate?"
Nami quietly crushed the thought rising in her heart, and disappointment flickered in her eyes.
"A pirate?" the duke said in astonishment. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't even have a pirate flag or a proper ship. What kind of pirate are you? You don't even have a crew!"
"That's exactly why I said this ship is mine." Norton's smile was bold and brimming with confidence. "Great ambitions start here. A pirate flag, a pirate ship, powerful subordinates—I'll have all of them."
The nobles fell silent.
Even the duke, who had been leading them, was at a loss for words.
In the end, they slumped back onto the deck in defeat.
There was nothing they could do.
This man was completely immersed in his own world, and yet he was absurdly strong—strong enough to be called a monster.
"A man no one could resist," the duke thought silently, "whether in spirit or in body."
Once Norton saw that the nobles had settled down, he turned toward the pirates.
"From now on, you'll serve as my subordinates. Temporarily."
The pirates didn't dare object and nodded frantically.
Seeing that things were turning against her, Nami quietly tried to slip away while Norton's attention was on the pirates.
But in the next instant, a warm, steady hand settled onto her shoulder.
"Miss Nami," Norton said, his tone slightly gentler now, "for the next stretch of this journey, I'd like you to serve as this ship's navigator. I'm willing to pay you well for it."
Nami turned back stiffly, forcing a smile onto her face.
Deep down, she was still afraid of Norton.
Anyone would be afraid of a monster who could kill them whenever he pleased.
And besides—
How did this man know she had talent as a navigator?
Norton pointed toward the sea. Beside his own little boat floated another, even smaller vessel.
"I assume that's your boat," he said. "This ship is full of nobles, but you don't look like a young lady born into privilege. For a thief to cross the sea alone on a boat like that—that's enough to prove you're exceptionally capable."
So that was it…
'My boat gave me away,' Nami thought.
"I understand," she said softly, nodding. "I'll serve as this ship's navigator for the time being."
There was no other choice for now.
She'd just have to keep him placated for the moment, then wait for a chance to run off with the treasure aboard this ship.
"However, you have to pay me 100,000 Berries a day… no, 500,000 Berries a day!" Nami raised a finger and haggled on instinct.
"No problem," Norton said with a smile.
Judging roughly, the nobles' property aboard this ship was worth tens of millions of Berries. The portion Nami had already tried to steal alone was worth well over ten million.
That was more than enough to "hire" her for a while.
Not that Norton had any intention of letting Nami go.
He dreamed of building a great nation and becoming a great king.
To do that, he would need many exceptionally talented subordinates, vast territories, and enormous wealth.
And Nami—
Nami was the first cornerstone Norton had chosen for his empire.
As for the second cornerstone, Norton already had someone in mind.
"You're called Sasuke, right?"
"It's Sanosuke!"
"Oh, right. Sanosuke." Norton nodded slightly. "You're pretty capable. Want to become my subordinate?"
Sanosuke fell silent for a moment, feeling the pressure on his body begin to ease. That oppressive sensation, as though the Grim Reaper's scythe had been hanging over him—was finally receding.
"My kunai struck you just now," Sanosuke said.
"That doesn't matter," Norton replied. "You couldn't hurt me anyway. The fact that you were able to sense how strong I am means you're not that weak."
Sanosuke looked toward the patch of sea where Redbeard had fallen.
A moment later, he withdrew his gaze.
"I understand. I offer you my loyalty."
He bent one knee and knelt, performing a ninja's gesture of fealty.
Scenes like this had played out many times in Sanosuke's life before.
Because of the terrible luck he had been born with, he always ended up bringing disaster to his masters.
This time was no different.
Running into a monster like Norton in the East Blue was at least ten times worse than running into a Sea King.
Norton nodded in satisfaction and helped Sanosuke to his feet, like a king raising a vassal.
He had imagined doing this thousands of times in his dreams, and now that he actually performed the gesture, it came so naturally that he truly did seem like a king for a moment.
Sanosuke slowly rose.
In the distance, the sky was beginning to darken.
"Then, Captain," he asked, "what do we do next?"
Miss Nami, now "temporarily hired" for a handsome sum, seemed to have recovered a bit of enthusiasm for her work.
"Set course for the nearest island," Norton said after a moment's thought.
He had spent long enough at sea.
It was time to set foot on land again.