At this time, on the sea surface shrouded in smoke.
A wooden plank drifted slowly out of the smoke with the current.
On the plank, a burly man was sprawled out.
The man's upper body was on the plank, while his lower body was completely submerged in the sea.
Even though he had drifted out of the central area, his face, covered in burns, still bore an expression of extreme fear.
Months ago, he was a Colonel in the Pirate Headquarters, with his own independent warship. But his warship and his subordinates were annihilated during a mission to escort nobles.
Having barely escaped with his life, he returned to his hometown island, only to discover that his family had been taken as slaves by the nobles he had protected, after his incident. By the time he found his family, they had all been played with and killed.
So, from then on, he had turned dark. He didn't return to the Navy Headquarters; after killing the entire clan of that noble, he even massacred the town where his hometown was located. He derived an extreme pleasure from the bottom of his heart when he heard people's screams.
In fact, on many nights when he massacred towns, he would pause for a moment. He knew very well that he had gone mad, but he couldn't stop himself. He immensely enjoyed this feeling.
As for the Silver-Haired Pirates, he was formerly in the Navy, so of course he knew of the famed Silver-Haired Kong Tai, who had shaken the seas a few months ago!
Therefore, the moment he saw the flag of the Freedom, fluttering and seemingly spinning in the wind, he immediately ordered a rapid turn.
His ship was a warship he had plundered from the Navy base in the first town he massacred. He knew very well that ordinary pirate ships couldn't compare to the speed of a warship.
So, even though he was aware of the Silver-Haired crew's power, the considerable distance still gave him a sliver of hope.
However, fate was not on his side. Even after he had maximally overestimated the Silver-Haired crew's strength in his perception.
He hadn't expected their strength to surpass his imagination, reaching a level he could never have conceived.
He hadn't been to the New World, nor had he witnessed an Admiral's attack. Therefore, in his understanding,
that bolt of lightning he had just witnessed was the most powerful attack he had ever seen in his life.
The moment the beam arrived, he clearly felt the threat of death, even closer than when his warship was annihilated months ago.
Perhaps it was due to his extreme good luck, his body was right next to that lightning bolt, and combined with his past as a Colonel in the Navy Headquarters, his strength was not weak, which allowed him to survive.
But now, he felt it would have been better to die in that beam of light.
Firstly, not only were his body severely burned, but his internal organs were also ruptured in multiple places due to the impact of the explosion.
He could feel that both the surface of his body and his internal organs were like they had been thrown into a frying pan; even immersed in the cold seawater, the pain was scorching.
Of course, these were superficial reasons. No one wanted to die, especially someone who had already experienced death once, and understood the beauty of life.
The main reason he wanted to die was the large sailing ship rapidly approaching in front of him.
And the silver-haired figure at the bow of the ship.
He had heard of Kong Tai's legend.
He knew very well that this time, he was doomed.
This strong contrast of just walking out of hell, seeing hope, only to step into another, even deeper hell, was the root of his despair.
Gazing at the approaching Freedom, he wanted to let go and end it himself, but the fear of death in his heart made him reluctant to give up this vibrant and colorful world.
"Hmm?"
Just then, he suddenly froze, because he saw that the Freedom didn't seem to be passing him, but rather from the other side.
This made an unprecedented light flash in his eyes.
At that moment, a crisp metallic sound came from the bow of the Freedom.
Ding~
"Sounds like a coin?"
While attracting his attention, a streak of blue light formed by lightning appeared in front of him.
Boom—!
Water splashed everywhere. His newly awakened hope was once again brutally extinguished. This time, it gave him no chance, directly dragging him, along with the wooden plank that supported his weight and the surrounding seawater, into the abyss.
Not long after, the Freedom sailed away from here.
Leaving behind a voice in its wake.
"Hey! Didn't expect there to be another one alive."
"Alive?"
"Yes, alive. It seems to be that... Hart Mayhem, the captain of this ship. What amazing luck."
Sssssss！！
Ding~
Bang—!
"Hmm... now he's dead."
"Yes, yes, yes, Gu Yina is amazing."
"Indeed."
The voices drifted across the sea, entwined with the thick smoke, and only after a long, long time did they dissipate.
And beneath the spot where Hart Mayhem had been drifting, a charred corpse with its head missing slowly re-emerged from the sunken sea.
He was right. Since they had encountered him, how could Kong Tai and the others let him go?
Life moves forward through constant choices. Some people, despite hardship, still aspire to the light, while others, upon being struck, fall into despair and even become demons.
Was Hart Mayhem wrong for killing nobles?
No!
What was wrong was that he inflicted his pain in a more brutal way upon civilians who were weaker than him.
What was wrong was that he hated nobles but was doing things more cruel than nobles.
What was even more wrong was that he himself was too weak and happened to meet the powerful Kong Tai and his crew.
What was wrong… was this world.
Because this lawless sea was a place of true survival of the fittest.
Here, there was no distinction between good and evil, no right or wrong.
If you didn't like someone, you could fight to the death at any time.
Here, only the strong could truly live well.
And Hart Mayhem was not only a villain but also a weakling.
This was what ultimately led to his… demise at sea.
…
Water Seven.
On top of a very unremarkable flat-roofed house.
Cartless lay on the rooftop like a true retired old man, smoking a large pipe and basking in the sun.
Beside him, a tall man exuding an aura of laziness also lay on a lounge chair.
However, the man's lounge chair had a sun umbrella, and he wore an eyepatch, clearly not liking direct sunlight but simply enjoying sleep.
It had been almost a week since they arrived in Water Seven, and there was no news of the Silver-Haired crew.
They had done nothing for the past week. Anyone who didn't know would think they were on vacation.
"I hope you guys have fun on the Sky Island long enough for the Navy to have to recruit me back."
The eyepatch-wearing man rolled over and muttered inwardly.
He had always been pursuing his own justice.
In his youth, he was a passionate young man, adhering to burning justice.
But after the Ohara incident, he changed.
He didn't become lazy; instead, he pondered what kind of justice he should pursue, thus becoming a lazy justice.
To be honest, he could easily wield his sword against evil pirates, but the Silver-Haired crew was clearly not just that. Therefore, from the beginning, he was very unwilling to encounter the Silver-Haired crew.
But it couldn't be helped; sometimes fate was contrary to one's wishes.
Just then, Kurot pushed open the door and walked in quickly. From his heavy, rapid footsteps, the eyepatch-wearing man knew that his plan might be in vain.
"Sigh~"
A sigh welled up from his heart and escaped his lips.
It was so faint, so faint that only he could hear it.