Pirates' Magic Odyssey: Unveiling Eight Skills At The Beginning - Chapter 23

Seeing the young man fall into a brief silence, Iceberg exchanged a glance with Franky.

These two senior brothers had a deep bond, and just a glance was enough to convey their intentions to each other.

Franky clenched his fist tightly, raised his right arm high, and shouted, “Marines, get out!”

The shipbuilders of Tom’s Shipyard had long been holding their anger, and Franky’s words resonated with their sentiments. They raised their arms in unison and shouted, “Marines, get out!”

The momentum was overwhelming.

People naturally love to watch a commotion, and both Tom’s Shipyard and the Marines were easy targets for public attention. The conflict between them quickly attracted the attention of nearby onlookers, and even newspaper reporters arrived to capture the breaking news.

Members of the Blade Point Team looked serious, and Smoker, Drake, and Tashigi, being relatively young and inexperienced, were already uncertain about Habba’s one-sided account. Now, they were even more hesitant in the face of the shipbuilders’ overwhelming protest.

Seeing this, Iceberg seized the opportunity and suggested, “Honorable Marines, we are all strangers to each other. Instead of this confrontation, why don’t I play the host on another day and invite you to visit our company? It would help dispel some of the prejudices against our company.”

Iceberg and Franky played their respective roles, one as the mediator and the other as the stern defender of their company’s reputation.

To anyone unaware, they might think that Iceberg was skilled at handling situations, both giving the Marines a way out and saving their face.

Just as Yang Ming hesitated, he cast his gaze beyond Iceberg and suddenly saw Marcullo, the fish-man, standing behind him. All his doubts were instantly dispelled.

Inside the Sun Pirates, there were roughly three factions.

The largest faction was led by Fisher Tiger, a fish-man hero, and it was an idealistic group that believed fish-men could only coexist with humans under the blue sky by letting go of hatred and prejudice. This faction was later inherited by Fisher Tiger’s successor, the Warlord of the Sea, Jinbei.

The second-ranked faction was led by Arlong, a radical group filled with hatred towards humans. They were extreme racial supremacists, believing that fish-men were inherently superior to humans and that humans should unconditionally submit to fish-men’s rule.

The last faction was led by Marcullo, and unlike the other two, they had no idealism or racial supremacy. Instead, they sought to inflict on others what they had once suffered as slaves of the Celestial Dragons, and they enthusiastically engaged in human trafficking.

When Marcullo locked eyes with the young man, a deep sense of unease suddenly surged within him for no apparent reason.

After his time undercover at Tom’s Shipyard, Marcullo had developed strong nerves and good acting skills. Although he felt something was amiss, he managed to maintain a hearty smile on his face.

To anyone who saw Marcullo’s expression, they would likely mistake him for a simple-minded brute with a strong physique.

Yang Ming smiled slightly, and his gaze became sharper as he looked directly at Iceberg and said, “The Marines always uphold justice and will never let any criminals go free, nor will we wrongly accuse any good people.”

“Mr. Iceberg, may I ask if you are aware that the fish-men your company employs are actually members of the Sun Pirates?”

As Yang Ming’s words fell, Marcullo’s expression froze.

The other fish-men weren’t as composed as Marcullo. As soon as they heard Yang Ming reveal their true identities, they realized that they had been exposed.

Iceberg’s lips moved slightly, about to explain.

However, these fish-men pirates, who seemed to have their brains in their waists, were a different matter. They saw that the situation was about to be revealed, and their eyes suddenly flashed with a dangerous light.

Two fish-men reached behind Yang Ming and grabbed their hammers, viciously swinging them at the back of Yang Ming’s head.

Iceberg was dumbfounded.

What kind of experience was it to have such teammates?

Iceberg actually wanted to loudly tell these fish-men that even if they were members of the Sun Pirates, he would do everything in his power to save them.

After all, they were fellow countrymen of Tom.

However, arguing with the Marines was one thing, and attacking the Marines was another.

The former could at most test the patience of the Marines. As long as Tom’s Shipyard staunchly denied and refused the Marines’ inspection, there wouldn’t be a problem. With Tom’s Shipyard’s prestigious reputation, the Marines would hesitate to use force recklessly.

The latter, on the other hand, not only meant self-incrimination but also provoked the wrath of the Marines, a formidable force!

No matter whether the young man in front of him would be successfully attacked by the two fish-men or not, it meant that Tom’s Shipyard was in deep trouble!

Iceberg had many thoughts, and in an instant, he thought of the various possible consequences that might follow. He couldn’t help but feel distressed.

As the sound of the wind whistled in his ears, Yang Ming’s back seemed to have grown an extra pair of eyes. His slender fingers, which had already been placed on the hilt of his sword, suddenly tightened.

“Clang!”

As the standard-issue longsword was drawn from its sheath, a spark ignited at the tip of the blade. Then, a blazing flame spread along the blade, tightly enveloping the entire sword, forming a powerful flaming sword.

Yang Ming took a deep breath. With the Breath of Flames, he absorbed a large amount of oxygen into his body, drastically increasing his physical agility.

Following that, Yang Ming used his right foot as support, rotating his body clockwise in a full circle, and swung the flaming sword in a vortex-shaped blaze strike.

“Fourth Form: Blazing Whirlwind!”

The two fish-men only saw a dazzling flash of fire before a scorching stream of flames engulfed them, leaving them scorched corpses lying on the ground. The iron hammers they had held in their hands fell with a “clang” to the side.

Feeling that his body didn’t weaken as it used to after using the Breath of Flames, Yang Ming speculated in his mind. Perhaps his physical condition had further improved, gradually adapting to the aftermath of the explosive power of the Breath of Flames.

Looking at the two bodies at his feet, Yang Ming couldn’t help but admire the fish-men, who were inherently stronger than humans. 

Even the Tea-Haired Boss, Borsalino, with a bounty of 170 million Berries, had been reduced to ashes after taking his Flame Strike. But these two ordinary members of the Sun Pirates had not turned into ashes, showcasing the unique resilience of the fish-men.

The fiery vortex left on the ground continued to burn fiercely, as if loyal guards protecting their king. Within this ring of fire, Yang Ming, dressed in a sleek white training outfit with only a black belt tied around his waist, held the flaming sword in his hand and issued orders diagonally to the Sun Pirates:

“Arrest them and take them into custody!”

Upon hearing this, Smoker and his team snapped out of their daze and immediately sprang into action.

Drake cast a complex gaze at Yang Ming and thought to himself, “Could it be that he anticipated all of this? This guy… no, this man is incredibly deep!”

Unbeknownst to even Drake himself, he had gradually erased his initial hostility towards Yang Ming when they first started at the Marine Academy and had developed a genuine sense of admiration.

The situation inside the yard changed in an instant, catching most of Tom’s Shipyard’s shipbuilders off guard. They had seen these fish-men laborers as honest and hardworking, but in the blink of an eye, they had become ruthless pirates.

Most of the shipbuilders had a simple disposition and held no fondness for pirates. 

If not for their past camaraderie, they might have joined the Marines in attacking the Sun Pirates’ crew. Being able to choose to watch from the sidelines was already a display of camaraderie.

A few shipbuilders led by Iceberg had intended to intervene, but it was too late now. If Iceberg chose to help the Sun Pirates at this point, it would imply a deep connection between Tom’s Shipyard and the pirates. This would invite double scrutiny from the World Government and the Marines, which could be catastrophic.

Due to Master Tom’s past of having crafted the Oro Jackson for Pirate King Gol D. Roger, Tom’s Shipyard had faced difficulties with the World Government before, nearly leading to its dissolution. If unfavorable news about Tom’s Shipyard were to circulate at this time.

Iceberg could feel a headache coming on just thinking about the consequences.

As he tugged at his hair, he muttered to himself, “The four major Sea Train lines will officially open next year. Why did something like this happen now?”

Iceberg felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Marcullo cracked his wrist joints, producing a series of cracking sounds. Two massive fish-men stood beside him, even burlier and stronger than the average fish-men, serving as Marcullo’s right-hand men.

Garo, the master of Goldfish Swordsmanship.

Tans, a master of empty-handed combat.

Marcullo had initially thought that with the Sun Pirates’ sheer numbers, dealing with six Marines would be a walk in the park. 

However, the situation on the battlefield was far from what Marcullo had expected. The Sun Pirates found themselves locked in a fierce battle, unable to gain the upper hand.

Marcullo’s expression turned cold, and he sneered at the black-haired and black-eyed youth before him. “Brat, how dare you disrupt my—”

Marcullo’s words were cut short as he suddenly lost sight of Yang Ming.

Flash Step!

Yang Ming appeared behind Marcullo in an instant, swinging his sword without hesitation.

This slash was both fierce and swift!

The blade tore through the smooth fish scales and tough muscles, leaving behind a searing wound that emitted a fragrant scent.

The residual flames on the wound tried to expand, but were swiftly extinguished by the viscous mucus secreted by Marcullo.

Although he narrowly escaped harm, Marcullo was left in a sorry state.

With his blade poised, Yang Ming tilted the tip of his sword directly at Marcullo’s eyes and said sternly, “In battle, there’s no need for many words. Death has no regard for bloodlines.”