Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

That Posture

Ajin's eyes widened, "Boss, you mean... there are still our people here?!"

"What people or not people..."

A merciless voice came from behind the mask, "The pirates are gone, we'll just recruit more. For the sake of victory, anything is worth it! Ajin, I've long since lost trust in you. Thanks for holding back that brat, now I'll have you all poisoned together!"

"Boss!" 

Ajin's lips trembled, "You no longer trust me?"

"What's there to trust about you?! If it wasn't for you acting on your own, sparing that cook and giving the gas mask to Straw Hat, I wouldn't have failed then, and wouldn't have fallen to this state now!"

Krieg roared: "I have no need for those who disobey my orders!"

Since arriving on this island, he hadn't given a single gas mask to these subordinates, precisely to deal with a scene like this.

This brat gave him the same feeling as Straw Hat! He would no longer let anyone hold him back, nor give such people any chances!

"Boss, I..."

The cane Ajin was gripping tightly fell to the ground. He knelt down, his expression downcast, "So, I've really been expelled after all."

"That's pretty good then."

Sag said: "You've been expelled, so you might as well join my pirate crew."

"You're no match for him. Though Krieg failed once, this time it's on land. You don't have a gas mask either. On land, he won't fail."

Ajin lowered his head with a bitter smile: "As for me, I betrayed the captain's will, so I deserve to die."

"Ajin..."

Ajin looked up at Sag, who showed no negative emotions.

"Pirates who come out from under World Government rule were never meant to be guardians of order. If we're talking about betrayal, you first betrayed the World Government. By that logic, you should have died back then. Someone like you can't be considered a pirate."

"I'm not a pirate?" Ajin was stunned.

Sag said: "What are pirates? Pirates are free, of course. They do whatever they want, and likewise, they don't do what they don't want to. You not agreeing with your former captain's methods is also a kind of freedom. If you don't even have this much freedom, how can you call yourself a pirate?"

"Besides, there's no such thing as being undefeated at sea, nor is there coincidence. As long as you're human, you're bound to fail. If you can fail once, you can fail a second time. What's most important isn't failure, but whether you have the heart to keep fighting."

Just like himself - it didn't matter how many times he failed, wasn't he still pursuing his dream?

Sag looked up at the sky. In the darkness, the stars shone brilliantly, and among those stars, one was particularly dazzling.

"The stars are quite bright today, especially..."

Sag looked towards Krieg, his voice deepening: "Your death star!"

"Big words! MH5 poison gas-"

"Shave!"

Before Krieg could even finish saying "bomb", before he could pull the trigger, Sag flashed in front of him, throwing a fierce uppercut that knocked away Krieg's shield.

Bang! At the same time, that fist violently imprinted on Krieg's iron armor. The tremendous force produced a muffled sound, actually leaving a concave fist print on the armor's surface, with cracks spreading out around the imprint.

The immense power even made Krieg's body bend slightly, his eyes widening.

"You-"

"North Star Hundred Crack Fist!"

Sag's hands became a blur, not giving Krieg time to react, rapidly striking at that iron armor.

Bang bang bang!!!

The sound was like drumbeats, quickly striking the iron armor a hundred times in succession. With each punch, the fist prints on Krieg's iron armor multiplied, the cracks becoming denser. Krieg was like a small boat swaying at sea, rigid and unmoving under these fists.

Until the final punch landed, the iron armor shattered into pieces and fell away. Krieg swayed for a good while before suddenly standing firm, raising his shield and laughing loudly: "What use is breaking my armor? I can still fight! MH5 poison gas bomb-"

"No."

Sag suddenly turned around, no longer looking at Krieg, saying calmly: "You're already dead."

"What?!"

Krieg cried out, his fingers unable to pull the trigger no matter how he tried. His body suddenly began to swell, like a balloon being inflated, growing larger and larger until-

Bang!!

The balloon burst, flesh and blood exploding, scattering all over the ground. Only the gas mask remained, lying intact among the bloody remains.

"Krieg..."

Ajin watched wide-eyed as Krieg exploded, then stared blankly at Sag as he walked over. "Why haven't I heard of a man like you before?"

"I just set sail, so it's normal you haven't heard of me. Besides, rather than having heard of my reputation, wouldn't it be better to join and make a name together with me?" Sag said.

"If I don't join... will you let me go?"

"That option doesn't exist."

Sag smiled: "I'm a pirate. I'll definitely get what I want. If you want to die, be my guest."

"Is that so..." Ajin lowered his head with a bitter smile.

He actually had no ambitions, nor had he thought about being a leader. All he'd ever wanted was to follow someone with a strong reputation.

Krieg was like that. Even if he was defeated, it didn't matter, because he was still powerful.

Ajin wasn't the type to easily switch allegiances. Once he chose someone, he would stay loyal to the end.

Krieg's methods, he actually didn't like.

But that was his captain, the person he had chosen. So he would carry out orders.

But now he had been expelled, for the second time.

He had already been expelled by Krieg once before at the Baratie.

And now this powerful man was inviting him-

Ajin glanced at the pirates lying on the ground and asked: "What about the others?"

"Of course they'll all join too. I'm short on subordinates after all," Sag said.

Ajin looked directly at Sag and said: "If we fight, there are some people I don't want to kill."

"I said, pirates are free. How you want to act is your freedom. You're a pirate, not a servant."

Sag extended his hand to Ajin, "So, do you accept my invitation?"

Ajin stared at Sag's hand in a daze, then took a deep breath. "I still have a promise to fulfill. Before that, I don't want to die."

He firmly grasped Sag's hand, saying solemnly: "Please take care of me, Captain!"

Sag smiled: "Let me introduce myself. I'm Norton Sag, and from now on, I'm your captain."

He looked at Lily as she approached and said: "This is Bienda Lily, our navigator."

Lily nodded and said: "You're strong. We should spar sometime."

Ajin's evasion of her attack earlier had left a deep impression on her.

"You're not bad yourself, a formidable swordsman..."

Ajin smiled: "From now on, I'm a member of the Sag Pirates!"

This statement made both of them freeze.

Sag Pirates? Sag blinked and looked at Lily. "Is that what we're called?"

"You're the captain," Lily said.

Sag scratched his head and said to Ajin: "Well, we've only been at sea for a day. We haven't thought of a name for the crew yet."

He really hadn't considered a name for the pirate crew.

In his impression, pirate crews didn't really have names. Things like the Krieg Pirates or Buggy Pirates were just gangs of pirates gathered around a captain.

The captain's name was the crew's name.

But since they had formed a pirate crew, Sag did want an official name.

For others, this was piracy. For him, this was a startup! And a startup naturally needed a catchy name.