Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

"Hahaha!"

The first sound was a loud laugh. The leader had golden hair like Lily's, wore a crown, and was draped in a magnificent cloak. Underneath, his clothes were adorned with pearls and jewels. But his body was round like a ball, extremely fat and plump.

"Lily, long time no see!"

The man's face was covered in thick beard, his skin rough. When he opened his mouth to laugh, several of his front teeth were missing, making him look like a lecherous pervert - albeit a tall, round lecherous pervert.

Sag estimated he was at least 2.5 meters tall.

Seeing the newcomer, Lily gritted her teeth and spat out a few words: "Ennio!!"

The person before them was the culprit behind the country's turmoil, the despicable usurper - Biendetta Ennio!

Ennio bared his mouthful of gold teeth: "Finally caught you, Lily. During your absence, this king was very worried something had happened to you."

"You bastard!"

Lily's eyes reddened and she was about to charge forward, but as soon as she made a move, soldiers behind Ennio quickly rushed out and restrained her with their gun blades, stopping her advance.

Ennio reached out his large hand to touch her face, but Lily pulled back and glared at him angrily.

He continued reaching for Lily's face while asking: "So, since you escaped, why did you come back?"

Lily raised her head, staring directly at that ugly face, and said through gritted teeth: "Of course it's to stop you from continuing your misdeeds. This country can't be ruined by you any longer!"

Ennio showed disdain: "How do you plan to stop me? With the bounty on your head? Or with these commoners who don't even know you? Don't be ridiculous, they have no value other than obediently paying taxes."

"But they can choose not to pay!"

Lily said through clenched teeth: "As long as they leave the Oikot Kingdom and are no longer your citizens, they can choose not to pay taxes. Without money to pay the Heavenly Tribute, you won't be able to maintain your throne!"

A flash of hidden shock appeared in Ennio's eyes, but he quickly burst into laughter: "You mean let them become mountain bandits? Even as bandits, they'd still be on my territory! Or are you suggesting they go to sea?"

He didn't even give Lily a chance to respond before raising his hand and shouting to the watching citizens: "Hey, you all go to sea! If you go to sea, you won't have to pay heavy taxes anymore. Other places don't have such high taxes, hurry up and set sail!"

The heavy taxes and burdens of life were barely manageable for the citizens. All the people they had seen along the way looked pale and malnourished. If they could choose to go to sea and change their way of life, they would surely... not make any move at all.

The watching citizens showed no reaction whatsoever. On the contrary, they fearfully took a few steps back.

"Lily, you should understand. This country declined because of the war with pirates."

Ennio sneered, caressing Lily's cheek as he said in a deep voice: "Go to sea? Even if I, the king, personally ordered it, they wouldn't do it. Why do you think I can raise taxes recklessly? Of course it's because they're just a bunch of cowards! Cowards don't have the right to go to sea!"

As he spoke, he shook his head and smiled, seeming to have lost interest. He waved his hand, "Colonel Rat."

A marine wearing something like a trench coat stepped forward. The coat was connected to a hat with two ears on top. His mustache was like a rat's, with three long whiskers on each side, and his face resembled a rat.

He wasn't in good shape, with unhealed bruises on his face, looking battered and swollen.

He looked Lily up and down, revealing a lewd smile: "I am Colonel Rat of the 16th Marine Branch. Upon hearing of King Ennio's recent assassination attempt, I specially applied to change the local bounty to a World Government bounty. Now that the person has been found, we shall carry out the arrest!"

Ennio said: "Lily, you're too troublesome as an heir. Why don't I hand you over to the World Government? That way, I can have another source of income, right, Colonel Rat?"

Colonel Rat's smile grew wider, "Such a beautiful woman, and with the noble status of a princess, she would surely sell well as a slave. She might even catch the eye of the Celestial Dragons. They're known to spend lavishly."

"Exactly!" Ennio revealed an unrestrained smile.

"Um."

Suddenly, a voice interjected.

Sag raised his hand and said: "I'm the one who caught her. Whatever you plan to do, shouldn't the bounty be paid first?"

He had been watching for so long, unable to get a word in, and was quite anxious.

"Oh? So you're the one who caught Lily?"

Only then did Ennio look at Sag. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the white hair, and he smiled: "It's no longer a royal bounty now. If you want money, you'll have to ask the Marines. But, Colonel Rat, white hair is quite rare."

Colonel Rat glanced at Sag's white hair and revealed a smile: "Indeed it is. You're under arrest."

Thump thump thump! Following his words, the Marines behind him drew their guns and swords, quickly surrounding Sag.

How did this become about him?

Sag looked around at the Marines surrounding him and said: "The Marines don't have the authority to arrest me, right? I haven't committed any crimes, and I'm not a pirate."

"Look at my injuries!"

Colonel Rat pointed at his bruised and swollen face, "You attacked a Marine Branch Colonel. I consider you a pirate, so of course I can arrest you!"

Sag raised an eyebrow, looking at the two men with lecherous smiles, and nodded, "I see, you're trying to default on payment, aren't you?"

As expected, this bad luck was still following him.

He raised his hands and stepped back, "I'll chalk it up to my misfortune. I'm just a bounty hunter, my target was to catch the Arlong Pirates. I have no intention of conflicting with you."

He didn't want to clash with the Marines. If he ended up with a bounty on his head... there was still hope as a bounty hunter. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to change careers.

Hearing this, Colonel Rat's face darkened, while Ennio laughed: "The Arlong Pirates are long gone."

"Who did you say is gone?" Sag was stunned.

"Of course it's those damned Arlong Pirates!" Colonel Rat said through gritted teeth: "And that damned Straw Hat boy, causing me to not get a single Beli!"

He had been protecting the Arlong Pirates, cooperating happily and earning quite a bit of money. But when the Arlong Pirates fell, his protection of the pirate group was also exposed. Although he hadn't been punished yet, it was only a matter of time.

But fortunately, the Oikot Kingdom was under his jurisdiction, and he knew the situation in this country. Although he came this time to temporarily escort the Heavenly Tribute, Ennio's proposal was very tempting to him.

Ennio wanted to consolidate his throne and make the heir disappear, while Colonel Rat also needed a suitable person to please his superiors.

If he could take away this noble princess and send her to become a wife for the Celestial Dragons, not only could he avoid punishment, but he might even get promoted.

If that didn't work out, entrusting someone to place her in the Sabaody Archipelago could still earn him a sum of money, enough to avoid punishment.

He had been thinking about how to catch the fleeing princess, but now she was right in front of him, saving him the trouble.

As for this white-haired boy, since Ennio didn't like him, Colonel Rat cared even less.

The rare white hair could also fetch a good price.

"Catch him!" Colonel Rat shouted.

At that moment, Sag suddenly leaped high, jumping out of the Marines' encirclement. His agile movement caused Ennio to unconsciously narrow his eyes.

You've got to be kidding! Sag's face turned ashen. This was completely unexpected.

He still wanted to catch the Arlong Pirates, but they had already been defeated?

The Straw Hat boy must be Luffy, that he knew.

He just didn't know it would happen so quickly!

He had only just seen Arlong's wanted poster, and now they were gone?

Did his hopes have to be shattered so quickly?

"Fire!"

Bang bang bang! The Marines surrounding him immediately raised their guns and pulled the triggers, shooting directly at Sag who was still in mid-air.

"Two-Finger Vacuum Grip!"

Facing the incoming bullets, Sag extended two fingers on each hand, turning them into a blur of afterimages, swiftly catching the bullets.

A large number of bullets were caught between his fingers and then released, briefly suspended in the air in front of him.

Sag glared at the Marines ahead, a fierce look appearing in his eyes.

He had wanted to continue being a good bounty hunter, but now they weren't giving him a way out!

Bang! He clapped his hands in the air, producing a muffled sound. The suspended bullets flew back at a speed no less than before.

But at that moment, the air around him trembled. A faint blue slash attack quickly flew over, plowing a fissure in the ground as it charged straight at him.

Sag's body instinctively dodged, barely grazing past the slash attack. He exclaimed in surprise: "Rankyaku?"

At this, even Lily and Colonel Rat looked at Ennio in astonishment.

There were many rumors about this king - a tyrannical despot who extorted money, a greedy miser... but they had never heard that he was also a formidable fighter.

Ennio lowered his leg and glanced at the surprised Lily, then bared his teeth in a vicious smile at Sag: "I already said white hair is very rare. How could we let you go?"

Whoosh! As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared from where he stood, instantly appearing in front of Sag. Then, he extended one finger, creating an explosive sound in the air as he swiftly jabbed towards Sag.

Slap! Sag's body dodged to the side, a knee strike hitting Ennio's elbow and kicking his arm upwards. Quickly touching the ground, Sag's other leg shot out like a spear, fiercely striking Ennio's abdomen.

Bang! The sensation was like hitting steel.

Sag's expression tightened as he used the force to jump backwards, staring at Ennio uncertainly: "Rokushiki?"

Although he had forgotten what he should have forgotten, when someone suddenly displayed superhuman martial arts in front of him, he could still recall it.

If he wasn't mistaken, this guy had used Rankyaku, Soru, Shigan, and... Tekkai.

"Hehehe"

Ennio twisted his fat neck and sneered: "Before becoming king, I was a Marine."