Chapter 24: I Have Never Been Afraid
Thanks to his experience from his previous life, Sag always had a plan when it came to career planning.
It's just that his luck was bad, so he never succeeded.
Now that he was a pirate, he finally had a glimmer of hope.
"The Grand Line, huh..."
Lily murmured. Even though she had grown up in the royal palace, she had heard of the reputation of the Grand Line.
"Pirates' graveyard. Some also call it 'Paradise'. But no matter what, it's a very dangerous place. Can we really go there now? Only you can, Sag."
He was strong, that was undeniable.
Like the warships that had been chasing them these past few days, Sag had dealt with them all by himself. They hadn't been able to help.
But such days couldn't last forever. There would always be situations like when they encountered Ennio, where Sag would be tied up...
"Teach me how to become stronger, Sag," Lily said firmly. "I want to become as strong as you."
"I would have taught you even if you hadn't said anything."
Sag grinned. "At our level, even encountering someone powerful in the East Blue might be a problem, let alone the Grand Line."
He had originally planned to wait a while, until Lily had adapted to pirate life, before talking about this, and also to improve the strength of his subordinates. But since Lily had brought it up, there was no reason to refuse.
"I'll teach you the Rokushiki, but how much you learn is up to you. These moves have high physical requirements. But you're a swordswoman, so you don't need to learn all of them. What suits you best is best."
The Rokushiki were practical, but it wasn't necessary to learn all of them.
Sag could do it because the principles were the same, and he could learn them at a glance.
But others might not be able to.
In Sag's eyes, the only ones currently with the aptitude for Rokushiki were Lily, Gin, and Pearl.
Lily was very fast, so she could learn Soru first, and then master Geppo.
Gin had a good physique, the all-around type, so he could try to master all the Rokushiki.
Pearl... was a natural Tekkai expert.
"I understand. I will study hard!" Lily nodded heavily and left the captain's quarters.
Sag picked up a bottle of wine, opened the cork, poured a glass into the recently acquired gemstone goblet, but didn't drink it. He looked at his hand.
"Haki..."
Compared to the Rokushiki, which could be learned, Haki was more difficult to cultivate.
To go to the Grand Line, even the first half, not knowing Haki would be disastrous.
It was called 'Paradise' because the losers of the New World called it that when they returned to the first half.
And there was the Marine Headquarters there. You couldn't say that a major headquarters wouldn't know Haki, could you?
Without understanding Haki, Sag wouldn't advance to the Grand Line.
But this thing was really difficult.
Sag had done targeted training. The Fist of the North Star also had a method for 'Tōki', but he still couldn't cultivate Tōki. Without Haki, he couldn't use Tōki. The two should be one and the same.
They were both manifestations of willpower.
In terms of willpower, Sag was definitely not weak.
He had been unlucky for so long and still hadn't given up on his dream. No matter how many times his business ventures failed, he still persevered.
Whether it was initiative or willpower, he had no problems.
But he hadn't grasped either Busoshoku or Kenbunshoku.
As for fear and slack, those things that lost heart...
He stared at the wine glass. Under the light, the wine faintly reflected his white hair, and in his pupils, under the reflection of the red wine, a scarlet gleam quickly disappeared into the liquid.
Sag drank all the wine in one gulp, turned his head to look at the sea outside the window, and his voice was light, but with an undeniable confidence.
"I have never been afraid."
He had will from the moment he was born. From that moment on, he had never been afraid, not even of death. Sag didn't care.
Compared to death, being a poor ghost was more terrifying, especially an unlucky poor ghost!
Sag poured himself another glass of wine and said to himself, "Old man, the peaceful life you wanted is also my dream, but there's no way. I've done everything, legal and illegal. You can't really expect me to starve to death..."
Under the flickering light, Sag's self-pouring figure was infinitely elongated by the light, accompanied by the lively laughter outside, as if something was brewing.
"I can only cause some trouble."
...
With the nautical chart, Sag was no longer blind. The next morning, he headed straight for Nattia. After a day's journey, he saw the island at night.
The Kingdom of Nattia was an island kingdom, and a high island at that. It was surrounded by huge cliffs, with only one place being a shallow beach, which was used as a harbor.
The whole kingdom was like a huge staircase, from bottom to top, you could see villages, towns, and the castle at the highest point.
Lily put down the telescope and said, "Sag, this seems difficult to attack."
Although it was night, the harbor was brightly lit, and there were many cannons mounted nearby. Looking through the telescope, he could also see heavily armed soldiers.
"Difficult to attack, we still have to attack. Otherwise, I won't be able to get this anger out."
Sag also put down the telescope, casually threw it to a pirate behind him, and stepped onto the ship's bow. "I'll attack first, destroy the cannons, then you guys go in!"
Rushing in with the pirate ship was obviously not feasible. It would easily be destroyed by the cannons. He only had this one ship, and it carried Berries and treasure.
It was better for him to go first.
"Wait, Sag, there seems to be a ship coming."
Just as Sag was about to fly over using Geppo, Lily suddenly spoke again. She picked up the telescope and looked to the left. "It's a black-sailed pirate ship."
"Hmm?"
Sag turned his head and saw a black-sailed fast ship sailing from the sea, quickly approaching them.
Gin beside him clenched his staff, and the remaining pirates also drew their swords and pistols, looking unfriendly.
"Hey! What are you doing!"
Just as they were about to make a move, a voice came from the black-sailed ship.
A pirate stood at the bow of the ship and shouted, "You dare to disobey orders and go out looting? And this ship... you stole a warship?!"
As the sailing ship got closer, the pirate confirmed that it was a warship, and said in terror, "You guys are so bold, you even dare to sail openly towards the harbor. Hurry up and retreat, from the secret cave... Wait, who are you?!"
As the sailing ship approached, the pirate at the bow also saw the people on the black-sailed warship. He didn't recognize any of them.
"Enemy..."
"Hishigan! (Flying Finger Gun)"
Before the pirate could shout, Sag flicked his index finger with great force. The pirate opposite was hit as if by a bullet, his head tilted back, and he fell.
"Geppo!"
He stepped on the air, rising like stairs, and in a few leaps, he quickly landed on the bow of the sailing ship, looking down from above at the pirates who were just becoming alert because of the pirate's attack.
The sea breeze blew, stirring Sag's hair. He grinned, revealing his white teeth, which looked extremely狰狞 in the darkness.
"I've been looking for you for quite some time. I finally found your lair!"
"You are..."
"Soru!"
Before the pirates could react, Sag's figure quickly disappeared from the bow, turning into an afterimage that swept past these pirates, instantly reaching the stern.
Whoosh...
The wind he stirred up made his 'Sword Mountain Cloak' flutter.
"Don't be in a hurry..."
Sag turned his head, looking at the terrified but motionless pirates, and said faintly, "I'll ask you one by one."
With pressure point strikes, Sag instantly immobilized the bodies of these pirates.
This move actually had a name, called 'Hokuto Kōshu Gyakusetsu (North Star Steel Palm Reverse Thrust)'. Generally speaking, hitting the shoulder position could paralyze a person.
But for someone who had practiced to his level, it didn't matter where he hit. The forehead, shoulders, chest, back, and thighs all had similar pressure points for paralysis.
Anyway, it was just a pressure point technique, not like the Hyakuretsu Ken which had a unique effect. Whether it had a name or not didn't matter.
The black-sailed warship docked beside the sailing ship. Lily jumped onto the deck, drew her rapier, and looked coldly at these pirates. "Are you going to kill them?"
"Not for now. I need them to lead the way."
Sag walked to the nearest pirate, smiled at him, and quickly tapped his face and chest twice. Immediately, the pirate's face twisted, his motionless body also trembling slightly, sweat pouring down. He seemed to be enduring extreme pain.
"Remember this feeling."
Sag tapped a few more times, and the pirate suddenly collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes filled with fear.
That instant just now, the pain was simply like his body being forcibly twisted, like countless knives scraping his insides. But he couldn't even scream.
"Good reaction."
Sag nodded. "Tell me, how do I get to your secret cave."
He didn't want to play little games with these pirates, threatening them with death. He had a better way.
Just let people feel pain. And this kind of pain wouldn't kill people, they could only endure it silently.
A group of ordinary pirates, no one could endure this. Even if they were really strong-willed and could endure...
Sag glanced at the other people standing stiffly.
There were others...
---
You can also support me on patreon and can read upton20 chapter ahead on patreon.com/Devmaya
---