Chapter 126: Super Warship [Seeking Tips]

“No money? That’s all right. Then stay and become my slave! You’re so young, yet you’ve been stealing on the open sea all by yourself. You must be an excellent navigator!” Tang Shen said with a laugh, revealing his plan.

That was right. A wild little kitten like this needed to be trained slowly and properly.

It absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that his disciple had left his side, making him itch to train someone again.

Nami immediately looked as though she had seen a ghost and stared at Tang Shen in shock.

How could he possibly know what she was good at?

Every time she stole money from pirates, she relied on her navigational skills to sail out to sea. Otherwise, anyone daring to navigate the ocean in a tiny boat would soon be overturned by the waves.

Not everyone was as absent-minded as Ace and Luffy, protected by some miraculous stroke of luck. Luffy had not only gone to sea in a barrel, but had even survived in it. After all, he was a Devil Fruit user.

Really, what Devil Fruit user would dare pull something like that and then sleep soundly afterward? Anyone who did must have felt that their life was far too long.

The look of astonishment vanished in an instant. Nami had no intention of becoming a slave. She still needed to save money. Ideally, she should now appear completely useless, so Tang Shen would let her go.

She immediately put on a bewildered expression and said, “You’ve misunderstood. In truth, I’m not good at navigation at all. If I stay, I’ll only be a burden. You should let me leave.”

Tang Shen rolled his eyes. She was young, but her acting was surprisingly good.

He sheathed his sword and turned around.

“That settles it. If you can’t be a navigator, I’ll kill you. I have no use for deadweight,” Tang Shen said calmly.

Nami: “...”

Death or becoming a navigator?

Well, she had better obediently choose the latter.

“I can navigate. I can be your navigator.” Nami immediately changed her answer, her face filled with gloom.

She did not know why Tang Shen was so certain that she knew how to navigate. His previous reasoning had been sound, but she still felt that something was strange.

The corner of Tang Shen’s mouth curled upward.

Nice try. She actually thought she could fight him?

As long as he held her weak point in his grasp, nothing would be a problem. Her training had only just begun.

As long as he kept her by his side and refused to let her leave, the subtle influence of his presence would eventually make her unable to live without him.

“Good. A navigator, then. Go prepare to continue sailing.”

Tang Shen looked at Koby, who was kneeling on the deck, and frowned.

“As for you, do odd jobs for now. Go make me something to eat. When we reach the next island, you can get off the ship.”

Koby’s heart had been filled with unease. He had been terrified that Tang Shen would kill him for being useless. He never would have imagined that Tang Shen would say something like this—to let him disembark at the next island and return home.

He raised his head to look at Tang Shen, only to see the man already turning and walking away, leaving disbelief in his eyes.

This... this was all it took?

He could really go home?

He did not have to die?

It felt just like a dream.

Nami, on the other hand, was depressed. Why was this useless fellow not being killed? Why was he allowed to leave the ship at the next island?

It was unfair!

Why was the difference between people so enormous?

Why was Tang Shen treating her that way when she was clearly a girl?

She glared angrily at Tang Shen’s back, but did not dare say anything.

She was furious, yet completely helpless.

“What are you standing around for? Didn’t he tell you to prepare food? Make a portion for me too.” Unable to vent her frustration on Tang Shen, Nami took it out on Koby instead.

With that, she turned and stormed away.

Koby hurriedly scrambled to his feet and ran toward the ship’s kitchen. He had been aboard this pirate ship for several months and had originally been responsible for all kinds of menial work, including preparing food, so he knew the way well.

He never would have imagined that he would have a chance to return home.

If anyone could be called tragic, it was him. He had merely gone fishing by the seaside, but had boarded the wrong vessel and ended up on a pirate ship. Though he had not been killed, the pirates had ordered him around constantly, and he had even been beaten from time to time. These past few months had been a living nightmare.

Now that he finally had hope of going home, he felt completely reborn. He was so delighted that even cooking seemed full of energy.

The moment Tang Shen stepped out of the cabin, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Ahead of the ship, black spheres appeared in the sky, hurtling toward them at terrifying speed. They tore through the air with frightening shrieks.

Cannonballs?

Bang!

Tang Shen raised the tips of his toes and stamped down hard. His body instantly transformed into a blur, and he shot upward.

“Continuous Iaido Slash!”

With a low shout, his movements were many times faster than before.

The fine steel sword in his hand flashed repeatedly, sweeping out like lightning. In the instant he rose into the air, he delivered more than a dozen slashes.

This was the absolute limit of what Tang Shen could achieve in such a short time by combining his perfected Iaido Slash with a rapid succession of strikes. It placed a tremendous strain on his body, and his stamina plummeted in an instant.

The cannonballs that had been about to descend suddenly split cleanly in two, one after another. They flew past both sides of the pirate ship and crashed into the sea.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous explosions rang out. Waves surged into the air, and the pirate ship rocked violently from bow to stern.

Thud!

Tang Shen landed. Sweat covered his forehead, but as the ship swayed beneath him, he stood as steady as a mountain.

Nami came out right behind him and stared at the scene with wide, disbelieving eyes.

When the ship lurched, she hurriedly grabbed the edge of the doorway, her face still filled with shock.

Those had been cannonballs!

And he had actually cut every one of them in half in an instant.

How was that possible?

She had never seen anyone cut an incoming cannonball in two. She had not even been able to see his sword.

Nami had not witnessed Tang Shen slaughtering Alvida’s pirate crew, so the sight before her was especially shocking.

For a moment, she could not help comparing Tang Shen with the fish-men in her memory, wondering which was stronger. But because Arlong’s pirate crew contained so many fish-men, her fear of them ultimately overwhelmed the shock in her heart.

Tang Shen frowned as he gazed ahead.

A gigantic ship was slowly approaching. Its flag bore the Navy’s seagull emblem.

It was a Navy warship.

And it was enormous.

To put it simply, compared with this warship, Tang Shen’s current pirate ship was no more than an ant.

It was absurdly large.

The merchant ship nearby, which was still being organized, had also been stunned by the sight.

When had ordinary people in the East Blue ever seen such an enormous Navy warship? And this was not merely one ship—it was an entire Navy fleet. The spectacle was so astonishing that many people looked ready to pop their eyes out.

Dark cannon ports surrounded the warships, while their outer hulls were wrapped in thick iron plating. Every detail proclaimed their near invincibility.

The decks were also packed with people.

They were Navy soldiers.

Tang Shen’s gaze, however, settled on the bow of the lead warship.

A dog’s head jutted from its prow. The dog stuck out its tongue, a dog bone clenched between its teeth.

Tang Shen’s mouth twitched violently, and black lines seemed to appear across his forehead.

Damn it. It couldn’t really be that much of a coincidence, could it?