Vice-captain of Whitebeard pirates

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At the port, on a small boat, several people were busy.

Jim, who had followed along, was a bit stunned when he saw the scene in front of him. He looked at the strong man nearby and asked, "Roberta, where did you find these people?"

The burly man, Roberta, grinned proudly. "I recruited them all on the island. What do you think?"

Jim's expression turned a little uneasy. "Yeah, yeah, but why do they look so... intimidating?"

What did the people working on the ship look like?

Some were tall, some short, some fat, some thin—each had their own unique features.

It was hard for Jim to imagine what could have brought together so many distinct individuals!

Roberta laughed heartily. "We're heading to Yeorg. There's no shortage of Sea Kings around there, not to mention all the pirates. How could we survive without a few skilled people on board? Otherwise, we'd be courting death!"

At that moment, a tall, muscular man approached with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Boss, everything's loaded. When do we set sail?"

Roberta waved energetically and said, "We're setting off now! Next stop, Yerug Island. Full speed ahead!"

Jim followed Roberta but couldn't shake the feeling that the large man in front of him seemed familiar, like he'd seen him somewhere before.

Once aboard, Jim quietly observed the people around.

A tall, slender man was at the helm, while a burly figure handled the wind direction. The more Jim watched, the more unnerving these people seemed.

Are these guys pirates?

Jim and Roberta were just island natives, not pirates, but Jim couldn't help feeling an instinctive fear of them.

"Roberta, where exactly did you find these people?" Jim found a quiet corner and voiced his concerns.

Roberta shrugged. "They're just workers I hired at the ship port. Funny thing is, I didn't have enough money to hire so many, but when they heard we were heading to Yerug Island, they agreed to lower their rates just to come aboard."

"Is there really such a convenient deal?"

Jim whispered, "Have you ever considered that these people might not be ship port workers? They could just be looking to use our ship to get to Yerug Island."

After all, with so many strange characters heading there now...

Roberta thought for a moment and replied, "That's fine by me, as long as they keep us safe."

Jim pressed on, "But what if they're pirates?"

"Hahaha."

Jim hadn't expected Roberta to burst out laughing at that.

"Jim, when did you get so scared?"

His booming laughter caught the attention of everyone on board, making Jim even more anxious. He wanted to reach out and cover Roberta's mouth.

"You're seriously saying they're pirates? Hahaha, that's hilarious!"

Now everyone's eyes were on Jim, driving him crazy. "Keep it down, keep it down!" he hissed.

After Roberta had laughed enough, he waved someone over. "Brother Kailuo!"

Jim saw the tall, muscular man he had noticed earlier approaching again.

Strangely enough, even though the weather wasn't cold, this man was wearing a large hood over his head.

Roberta slung an arm around the man's shoulders, grinning. "My friend here thinks you guys are pirates. Tell him whether or not you're pirates."

Kailuo looked at Jim with an amused smirk. "Pirates? Us? How could we be pirates? Look how friendly we are!"

"Hahaha! See, Jim, I told you they weren't!"

Roberta smiled and said, "Alright, Brother Kailuo, go ahead and get back to work."

Kailuo gave Jim a final glance, nodded, and walked off.

After he left, Roberta turned to Jim with a smile. "Kailuo and Quiying are the workers I found at the port. Both are excellent shipwrights, not pirates like you were thinking."

With his appearance and body shape, there's no way he could ever be described as kind!

But Jem held his tongue, afraid that Roberta's big mouth would blurt out his thoughts again.

In the distance, after Kaido returned, Queen and King approached him.

Queen looked irritated. "Boss, why do we have to pretend to be shipwrights? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill them and steal the ship?"

Kaido remained calm as he replied, "And then what? Wait for someone to find us and let that old man Whitebeard come knocking?"

Queen gritted his teeth. "Then why don't we just leave the East Blue and head to the New World? Why bother coming back here?"

They had been about to leave the East Blue before, but for some reason, Kaido suddenly decided to return on a whim.

In the grand scheme, the East Blue is often called "Paradise" for the first half of the Grand Line, symbolizing how much less dangerous it is compared to the New World.

But for them, right now, the New World was actually the safest place.

Hearing Queen's question, Kaido's eyes gleamed. "I've got a feeling something important for us is in that place."

Queen curled his lips. "The Whitebeard Pirates are also supposed to be in the East Blue right now. They might be heading there too. What if we run into them?"

Kaido responded calmly, "That's why we're disguising ourselves as shipwrights and sneaking onto their ship."

Kaido and Queen had changed their names to hide their identities. Kaido even wore a hood to cover his horns, as they were far too distinctive.

It couldn't be helped; in the East Blue, they had to constantly stay on guard to avoid being discovered by the Whitebeard Pirates.

Kaido turned to King. "Have you figured it out yet? Why are we always being chased by the Navy lately?"

Kaido was losing his patience. For the past few days, the Marines had been relentless, as if they had some sort of vendetta. The moment they showed themselves, Marines would swarm after them.

As a result, they had to not only evade the Whitebeard Pirates but also avoid the Navy's pursuit.

King looked puzzled. "Boss, I can't seem to find out why."

Kaido glared at him. "What do you mean you can't? What do I even pay you for?"

King sighed. "Am I supposed to just waltz into their base and ask them why they're after us?"

"Couldn't you at least catch a Marine and interrogate them?"

King hesitated. "I mean, isn't it normal for the Navy to chase pirates?"

Kaido clenched his head in frustration. "Why am I stuck with subordinates like you two?"

King and Queen really were a pair!

"Have you ever seen anyone being hounded by the Navy 24 hours a day?" Kaido growled through gritted teeth. "Do you know that the last time I was taking a dump, I turned around and saw a Marine squatting in the grass watching me!!"

King and Queen were stunned. The Marines had a habit of spying on people during such private moments?

"Boss, what happened after that?" Queen asked, intrigued.

Kaido remained expressionless. "There was no 'after'."

The two immediately understood. The Marine likely didn't survive.

"So, you understand now why I need you to find out why the Navy's chasing us like this," Kaido continued.

King frowned. "From what you said, Boss, the Navy does seem to be going overboard."

Indeed, it wasn't normal for the Navy to go to such extremes. After all, they were just a recently formed pirate crew. The Navy usually didn't give this kind of attention to small fry.

"Should I go investigate now?" King asked.

"No," Kaido replied. "We'll deal with it after we're done here."

Queen and King nodded in agreement.

Onboard the ship, aside from Kaido, the two of them, plus five others, including Rebecca and Jim, there were more than ten crewmates. They were all part of Kaido's Beasts Pirates, and the wealth Kaido had accumulated over the years was all stored on this ship.

Kaido eyed his two subordinates with a cautious expression: "Once we arrive at Yerug Island, we must be careful not to be detected by the Whitebeard Pirates."

King asked, "Boss, is the Whitebeard Pirates really as terrifying as you say?"

Seeing Kaido so visibly apprehensive, King couldn't comprehend his fear.

Kaido stared at King intently: "I'm not afraid of that monster, Whitebeard."

King was puzzled. "Then why are you so—?"

"Because I'm afraid that the fortune I've worked so hard to accumulate over the years will disappear in an instant."

King: "..."

Quinn: "..."

They both knew that when Kaido mentioned his "fortune," he was referring to them.

Although Kaido feared Whitebeard's immense strength, he was still confident that Whitebeard couldn't kill him.

But just because Whitebeard couldn't kill Kaido didn't mean King and Quinn were safe.

Kaido had a grand vision, and he wasn't about to risk losing his key men before achieving it.

Quinn murmured, "How about King and I head to the New World first? Boss, you could challenge Whitebeard one-on-one. That way, even if you lose, you won't have to worry about losing your 'fortune.'"

Kaido's expression darkened with annoyance, and the idea of disciplining Quinn crossed his mind.

Startled by Kaido's change in demeanor, Quinn's cigarette fell from his mouth: "Boss! I was just joking! Don't take it seriously!"

"Humph!"

Kaido snorted coldly. "Stop wasting time with this nonsense and get back to work. Don't forget, right now, we're pretending to be simple boatmen. Make sure you act the part."

"Understood." The ship slowly moved in the direction of Yerug Island.

Suddenly, three ships appeared in the distance.

Rebecca and Jim didn't find the sight of the ships unusual, but Kaido and Quinn were so terrified that their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"The Whitebeard Pirates!!! Wait, why are the Roger Pirates here too?!"

And to make matters worse, all three ships were heading directly towards them!

Quinn's voice trembled: "Boss, what do we do now?"

Run?

Kaido's eyes drifted slowly towards King.

Quinn froze in place. "Boss, you can't leave me behind!"

He thought Kaido was planning to abandon him and make a run for it with King.

"Shut up!"

Kaido was visibly annoyed. He had no intention of leaving Quinn. His crew, especially his key members, were the result of years of effort. Every person lost was a major blow to his plans.

No matter how frustrating Quinn could be, Kaido wouldn't abandon him unless it was absolutely necessary.

"We'll hide for now and see if they're really here for us," Kaido decided.

Quinn was on the verge of tears. "But what if they are here for us?"

Kaido said nothing.

If that were the case...

Well, Quinn might just be out of luck.

...

Jem noticed Roberta returning and asked, "What's going on?"

Roberta shrugged casually. "Oh, nothing much. Kailuo and the others mentioned there's a small issue with the cab. They went down to check it out and told me to keep an eye on things. Don't let anyone leave."

Jem looked puzzled. "Something wrong with the cab? Is everything really fine?"

"Don't worry, they've got this," Roberta replied with a grin. "They're experienced boatmen. There won't be any issues."

Still, Jem couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Just then, the three ships arrived and came to a stop right in front of them.