Three days later, early in the morning, Snowflake Island in the East Blue.
"Boss, we are surrounded! (ー_ー)!!"
"What should we do, Captain?"
Ever since Aigin joined, Summer and his crew had continued their journey toward the Grand Line, diligently training every day to build up their strength. Usually, Aigin and Fei Tuan would spar with each other. Although Aigin was still no match for Fei Tuan in terms of combat power, his strength was growing visibly by the day. Moreover, Summer had even taught Haki to Aigin. After all, once they entered the New World, there wouldn't be much time to train and hone their abilities; the first half of the Grand Line was a golden opportunity.
Thus, this scene unfolded: after waking up from a brief rest on the island, Summer and his crew discovered that their pirate ship, the Smiling, was surrounded.
"Oh? The Black Cat Pirates?"
Seeing the cat-headed bow of the pirate ship, Summer muttered to himself. It was currently the year 1515 of the Circular Calendar. According to the original timeline, Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates had no plans yet to seize the fortune of Kaya, the wealthy heiress; his operation wouldn't start for another two years.
"Ding! Group mission triggered: annihilate the Black Cat Pirates together as the Smiling Pirates. Points +20, draw opportunity +1."
Oh, a system mission had actually been triggered? Summer was somewhat surprised. A group mission? It seemed these only appeared after establishing a pirate ship, unlocking yet another fast way to earn points! (●′?`●)?
"Fei Tuan, Aigin, this is the perfect time for you two to warm up! Go get them!"
"Hee-hee, watch me, Boss! I can handle them all by myself!"
Upon hearing Summer's words, Fei Tuan's chubby face broke into a wide grin. He could finally cut loose and fight properly! His sparring sessions with Aigin lately had been so frustrating because he couldn't go all out for fear of injuring Aigin.
"Captain, I'm going too!"
Clutching the Supreme Golden Hammer given to him by Summer in both hands, Aigin gave a brief acknowledgment and bolted toward the Black Cat Pirates as well. Unlike Fei Tuan, who was a chatterbox, Aigin was rather taciturn and rarely spoke unless necessary.
He was the picture of someone who was ruthless and sparing with words—something clearly evident from his relentless, sleepless training pushed to the absolute limit recently.
"Kill them! Just two people dare to come here and throw away their lives!" Captain Kuro adjusted his glasses and sneered. In the waters of the East Blue, the Black Cat Pirates were considered powerhouses, and very few people dared to provoke them.
"Too weak! Too weak! Not a single one of them can fight!"
As Fei Tuan entered the battlefield, he swatted away the enemy like children, pushing straight through their ranks. The crew members of the Black Cat Pirates flew through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, diving headfirst into the dirt.
"Buchi, this bear is so strong! What do we do? What do we do? I'm so scared!" The skinny man, Sham, looked terrified, his face pale with fear as he slowly stepped forward like a soul shorn of its body, creeping closer and closer to Fei Tuan.
When he was just a meter away from Fei Tuan, seeing the bear's utterly indifferent expression, a flash of malice crossed Sham's eyes. He leaped into the air, his cat claws instantly raking across Fei Tuan's body.
"Screech—!"
A harsh, metallic screech rang out. Sham froze in place, staring in shock at his own cat claws. There was no bloody spectacle as he had imagined; his steel cat claws hadn't done the slightest bit of damage, failing even to pierce the skin of the bear before him, and his own claws had actually been worn down by two centimeters.
"What, what kind of monster are you?! (??﹏??)"
Sham rapidly retreated, his hands trembling slightly. He couldn't even break through the defense—how was he supposed to fight this?!
"It is impolite not to give back in return for what one receives! Among three people walking, there is bound to be one who can be my teacher!"
Tuantuan muttered to himself. Because Summer was very fond of reading the "Analects of Force", Tuantuan had also picked up a few famous quotes and proverbs.
Tuantuan's little eyes were filled with utter disdain. A mere few dozen people were far from enough; at the very least, an entire division should have been sent! Not a single one of them could put up a fight.
"Tai Chi: Crushing Force!"
While Sham and Buchi were exchanging glances to plan their next move, Fei Tuan's figure flashed in a mere second or two, appearing right in front of the pair. His chubby, fat paws delivered heavy blows directly to their abdomens.
"Bang!"
The terrifying force instantly caused their eyes to split wide with agony. Their bodies bent into a bow, their mouths wide open in an "O" shape, and they flew backward like cannonballs, plunging into the distant sea and kicking up a pair of splashes.
"Damn it! Since when did such a powerful monster appear in the East Blue?" Jango broke out in a cold sweat. In his understanding, the capable veterans of the Black Cat Pirates were extremely strong and practically invincible to anyone except their captain. Yet against this fat ball before them, they couldn't even withstand a single blow.
"Interesting. Jango, I'll leave this guy with the hammer to you."
Kuro adjusted his glasses once more and gave the order. Then, swaying unsteadily, he slipped past Aigin and sprinted toward Summer. To capture the bandits, one must first capture their leader; if he couldn't defeat their boss, the Black Cat Pirates were bound to lose.
The sharp, ten-bladed cat claws gleamed in the sunlight before his figure flickered and vanished right in front of Summer.
Silent Step!
Walking without a sound like a cat—a special high-speed assassination technique that could rival the Navy's Six Powers: Shave to a certain extent.
"Whoosh! Go to hell!"
A malicious smile crept onto the corner of Kuro's lips as his cat claws thrust straight toward Summer's head. Just as he thought his decapitation mission had succeeded—
"Bang!"
"How is that possible?! (⊙o⊙)"
"Are you kidding me? Captain Kuro's attack actually failed!"
"He's a monster! He even blocked Captain Kuro's ultimate technique!"
Armament Haki coated Summer's arms, directly colliding with the cat claws in a shower of sparks. At that moment, Kuro panicked. He quickly took a step back, staring fixedly at Summer.
The members of the Black Cat Pirates dropped their jaws in sheer disbelief.
"Shamshir!"
Kuro spat out the two words with a gloomy expression. This was his strongest technique, one he rarely used because it drained too much of his own pirate crew's strength, seeing as it was an indiscriminate ability that didn't distinguish between friend and foe.
"Oh, you're actually using it? It's somewhat similar to Cavendish's ability. However, if you can't even control your own power, then vanish!"
"Xun Character: Wind Ropes!"
"Kun Character: Earth River Formation!"
Summer frowned as a magical Bagua diagram materialized beneath his feet. Heaven and earth twisted; as his voice rang out, howling winds surged through the void, forming countless ropes of wind that shot forward in a dense barrage to bind Kuro. In no time at all, Kuro was securely wrapped and tied up by the wind ropes.
Immediately following that, the ground violently cracked open, sending a massive chunk of earth shaped like an earthen dragon hurtling toward Kuro. The terrifying force slammed straight into him, shattering the restraint of the wind ropes and sending him vanishing out of everyone's sight.
On the other side, Aigin had also finished his battle. Jango's hypnosis was completely ineffective against Aigin's cold personality. With two straightforward, decisive hammer blows, he directly defeated the hypnotist Jango.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. Reward: points +20, draw opportunity +1."
The system's pleasant chime rang out in his mind, and the corners of Summer's mouth curled upward into a happy smile.
"Damn it, Boss! Someone is stealing the ship!" Tuantuan exclaimed in shock.
Looking out across the sea, the Black Cat Pirates' ship was actually turning its bow around and heading further and further away. Glancing at the equally dumbfounded and terrified members of the Black Cat Pirates who were still staring at him, Summer felt a surge of irritation.
"In the mere East Blue, of course someone would try to steal my treasure right in front of me!"
Yes, at this point Summer had already claimed the treasure of the Black Cat Pirates as his own. After all, he was a pirate—the victor decided everything.