The vast sea stretched endlessly toward the horizon. Finding an island wasn't too hard.
But finding a single ship…
Boom!
A cannonball burst into a spray of seawater near the Black Sails warship. Several more shells tore through the air, hurtling straight toward the vessel—only to be cleaved cleanly in half by a flash of cold light.
Lili landed lightly on the side deck, her rapier glinting in the aftermath before she sheathed it calmly.
"Fire."
At her command, the cannons along the ship's side roared in unison. Explosions tore into the pursuing warship—one struck the mast, another tore into the deck, and a few slammed into the hull, each erupting in dark smoke and flame.
Lili gave a cold glance toward the crippled warship before turning to head for the captain's quarters.
Inside, Sarg had changed into a loose white pirate shirt, open down to the chest, with sleeves rolled up to the forearms. He wore wide-legged sailor's trousers tucked neatly into high boots. One foot rested lazily on the table before him as he slouched into what passed for a sofa, swirling a cup of wine in his left hand.
"How many is that now?"
He looked up as Lili entered.
"Second one today. Five total over the past three days," Lili reported flatly.
Pirate ships were usually hard to track down in the open sea—but apparently not this one.
In this area, it was like the navy had a personal grudge against Sarg. Every time they saw the Black Sails, they came charging like mad dogs, unwilling to give up the chase.
"Think a bounty got posted?" Sarg asked, curious.
Lili shook her head. "I've kept an eye on the News Bird's paper every day. No wanted poster with our name on it."
"Then what the hell…"
Sarg downed his wine in one gulp and slammed the glass onto the table. "Why the hell are they so damn persistent?!"
Lili didn't say a word, her face blank—but the look in her eyes betrayed her thoughts.
It was the curse.
Normal pirates don't run into warships every single day.
Most pirate ships were smaller and faster, usually able to flee. But they were sailing on a damn warship, same specs as their pursuers. Escaping was nearly impossible. If they didn't fight back, they'd risk getting surrounded after a long chase.
Sarg knew that. And he also knew the real reason.
His cursed luck.
Running into the navy every single day? Not a surprise at all.
What he didn't get was—why him?
Even if he'd been made a scapegoat, all he did was raid a few towns. There were plenty of pirates out there doing worse. Why ignore all of them and come straight for him?
He honestly wasn't sure if things were going well or terribly.
On one hand—yeah, being chased every day, barely getting any decent sleep. That sucked.
But on the other hand...
They weren't short on supplies. Looted from navy ships—good stuff too. Those branch captains lived decently: fine food, clean clothes, even premium booze. His current outfit came from one of the ships. Way better than the rags he used to wear. They even scored a few crates of top-shelf wine.
His crew was improving too. All the naval battles had made them sharper. Especially Lili—she could cut cannonballs now.
She'd always had the skill. What she lacked was experience. Their skirmishes with the navy had fixed that fast.
So yeah, maybe things weren't all bad.
But—
They still weren't making money!
Sarg became a pirate to get rich. Even if he became the strongest man in the world, that was only to make it easier to get rich!
"Maybe we should head somewhere else," Lili said carefully. "Black Sails Pirates aren't easy to find. And the crew's been drifting at sea for too long—it's bad for morale. We should find a place to rest."
"I'm just letting that bastard party while I take the heat? Hell no!" Sarg waved her off, then hesitated. "But you're right. People need solid ground. Alright—pick a town. We'll dock and rest a bit. Maybe gather some intel on the Black Sails Pirates. No point aimlessly floating out here."
He couldn't just fixate on one guy and ignore the rest of his "business." He was a pirate. Plundering came first.
If the big cities were too risky, they'd hit mid-sized towns.
"Pick out some decent islands. Let's loot a few. Skip the poor ones—they don't have anything. Go for the wealthy," Sarg said.
"Understood. Poor villages barely scrape together anything. About the guy you were looking for—Arlong—I've heard rumors. Apparently, his 'protection fees' are steep. A hundred thousand Berries a month per adult, fifty thousand per kid. He's already drained a few villages dry."
Lili nodded, then gave Sarg a long look. She opened her mouth a few times, hesitating, but in the end she simply turned and left.
Sarg poured himself another glass, raised it to his lips—and paused.
"…Was she trying to say I'm cursed, and that's why we can't find him?"
If you had a fixed location, finding someone was easy.
But if you didn't?
It was like when he used to be a bounty hunter searching for pirates. Never found a damn one.
And this guy wasn't even known. Sarg had memorized every wanted poster in East Blue—none of them matched a man in a black cloak. Either the guy wasn't famous… or he was a rookie, just like Sarg.
Sarg wasn't the stubborn type. Once he realized this, he started thinking—maybe it was time to give up on the target.
East Blue was vast. No need to camp around the 23rd Naval Branch. There were plenty of other places to plunder. Wasting time like this was just… inefficient.
He thought for a while, took a sip of wine, and leaned back comfortably, gazing out the window at the shimmering waves.
At least now, he had underlings and a secretary—even if they were "budget-tier." It was like getting a sneak peek at the life of a future land baron.
The island Lili chose was only half a day's sail away. An oval-shaped landmass, dotted with small villages and a sizeable coastal town.
Nothing special—just your average settlement. But wherever there were people, there were always rich folks. And those were Sarg's real targets.
As Lili said, the common folk could barely scrape together a few hundred thousand Berries over several months—not worth the effort.
Truth was, real pirate profit came from raiding merchant ships. The cargo alone was worth a fortune. Low risk, high reward.
Problem was, he couldn't find any.
If he could do it at sea, why bother raiding towns?
Towns might be wealthy, but they came with risks. The bigger the town, the stronger the defenses. Get tangled up too long, and the navy would show up in force.
Still, Sarg wasn't too worried.
In East Blue, unless he ran into one of those elite enforcers from Navy HQ, he was confident he could always get away.
Dusk settled into night as the Black Sails warship reached the coastal town Lili had chosen.
Sarg stepped out of the captain's quarters, leaned on the railing, and studied the town's growing silhouette. He turned to Lili.
"Once we're done here, we're leaving this sea. That Black Sails pirate probably left already. If he were still around, we'd have found him by now. Pirates like that make waves. If he resurfaces later, we'll find him."
Unusually, Lili didn't agree.
Instead, she handed him the spyglass, blinking her pretty eyes in mild amusement.
"I think… we just did."
"…Hm?"
Sarg quickly raised the scope and looked toward the town.
First thing he saw: a massive estate perched on a hill, brightly lit even in the darkness. No doubt the home of a rich bastard.
Below that, rows of houses spread out across the slope. Near the coastline, smoke was rising from several homes, drifting westward in the sea breeze.
And then—on the water.
A twin-masted ship was sailing away, smoke trailing past its sails. Through the lens, he could make out figures cheering on the deck.
And on the mast…
A pitch-black sailcloth with no flag.
Black sails.
CRACK!
Sarg crushed the spyglass in his hand, grinding his teeth. "Turn the ship around—intercept that Black Sails vessel!"
He couldn't find the bastard when he wanted to.
But now that he didn't—
The guy showed up on his own!