If Sengoku doesn't pull back his net soon, I'll become the Pirate King!

Chapter 45 Sky Island Birka, Young Enel Makes His Debut!

Ruins of Devil's Town

Under the makeshift canopy, Hanafza and his pirate crew were fast asleep.

Just as Ember appeared at the entrance to the town, the bubble in Hanafza's nose suddenly burst.

"You're here, Jhin. It's been a long time."

Jin walked to the shade, his gaze on the ruins completely unmoved.

"What happened here? Did you completely wipe out this town?"

Morgans quickly picked up the Den Den Mushi and recorded the scene.

"How could that be? It was Bazelgan. His Redeemers army killed all the pirates in this town."

Hanafza yawned and pointed to a pit not far away.

"Ever since Bazel disappeared, these undead have gone over there to dig a pit, and then stayed at the bottom of the pit and refused to come out."

"As for the common people..."

Hanafza grabbed Morgans, who was about to leave, with a forced smile:

"You're a reporter, right? If you dare to write any nonsense, I'll kill you."

"We are the Beasts Pirates. We disdain indiscriminately killing unarmed civilians. Some of the residents of Devil Town have gone into hiding. We should rebuild the town near the forest to the south."

"I'll see for myself. How could a reporter believe what pirates say?"

Morgans scurried towards the pit, took some photos, and then ran into the ruins.

"What exactly happened? I want to hear you tell me the whole story yourself."

Hanafza gestured for Jin and Olga to sit down and offered them drinks.

"Four days ago, I just received news of Kaido's arrival here..."

The chaos caused by the Mantis Pirates was glossed over, with Hanafza mainly praising his victory over the captainless Wald Pirates.

"You have no idea, Abel! That half-fish-man can actually turn invisible! If it weren't for my Observation Haki and keen sense of smell, I almost would have been the one to turn the tables!"

"And another thing, that user of the Square-Square Fruit, he actually tried to create a square trap! Ha! But I, Hanafza, am a pirate with brains!"

"I immediately ordered the Redeemer troops to launch an attack..."

After patiently listening to the whole story, Jin took a sip of his drink and shook his head helplessly.

"Why do those guys target Miss Shi? If they could just survive, women and treasure would be within their grasp."

"How would I know?" Hanafza shrugged. "The reason the pirates here were wiped out was because of that Mantis Pirates."

"I estimate that this place will not be able to return to its previous prosperity for the next few years."

"Oh, right, Jhin."

"What should we do with the remnants of the Wald pirates on the coast? Should we let them join us?"

Olga quickly retorted, "How could that be? How dare they lay a hand on Sister Shi! Humph!"

"Speaking of which, Jhin~"

"Why do you say to take good care of them? Aren't they enemies?"

"Don't meddle in adults' business, kid." Jin's words made Olga roll her eyes.

"You're the brat! I'm a two-hundred-year-old woman, you should call me Grandma... Ouch!"

A large red envelope slowly rose above her head, and Olga, screaming in pain, lunged at Jin with bared teeth and claws.

"Damn you, Jhin, you hit my head again!!"

Jin stretched out his hand and pressed it against Olga's face to stop her from getting closer, while his eyes were looking up at the sky.

"I have obtained information about Sky Island from the World Economic Forum."

"If Bazel hadn't been too unlucky, he should have already reached that legendary island."

"All we can do now is wait here for him and Mr. Kaido to return."

Picking up the bottle and taking a big gulp, Hanafza grinned and said:

"Bazaar, like Kaido, is a man destined to become king."

"Instead of worrying about him, we should think about where to go next. With Kaido not here, what if a Marine Admiral comes looking for us?"

"What awaits us is a tough battle."

"The Navy...?"

Jin's eyes were resolute.

"If they dare to come, I'll cover their retreat. You take Olga and retreat to the New World to wait for Mr. Kaido."

"No matter whether it's a general or a marshal who comes, I will absolutely not allow them to harm you."

……

Meanwhile, the sky island of Birka--

A bonfire, tens of meters high, shot into the sky.

At the end of a road paved with red stones, a cross stands atop a pile of unburnt wood.

Oh oh oh yo~♪- Hoo!!

An inexplicable roar came from behind.

The native inhabitants of Bika Island, wearing white decorative wings, sat in a group.

The Sky Islanders, dressed in bizarre costumes and with their faces covered in paint, jumped around the campfire, humming songs that no one could understand.

"Is he the man you're looking for?"

A large tree in the distance.

A boy with long earlobes and a blond afro poked his head out from the tree canopy.

Several tree branches and leaves were also inserted into the hairstyle.

"Poor guy, he was captured by those old fogies and used as a living sacrifice."

"Hey, I've brought you to your target, shouldn't you pay me now?"

"Feel sorry."

Another head emerged from the treetop.

It was the time of day when the moon shone brightly.

"I don't have any money on me, but he will pay you."

Enel's face immediately darkened: "You bitch, you're playing me?!"

Tian Yue Shi wasn't angry; she simply looked at the boy she had spent four days with with gentle, apologetic eyes.

"...I...I know, all I have to do is wake him up, right?"

Enel blushed inexplicably and turned his face away awkwardly.

A few days ago, he was rescued for the first time while being routinely beaten by the priests.

The woman who suddenly appeared was like an angel descended from heaven; she defeated the sacred priests with that knife.

If this were on another sky island, Enel wouldn't know what the consequences of doing this would be.

But in the ancient and secluded Bica, the punishment for attacking a priest was death.

Without even bothering to curse the woman who caused the trouble, Enel immediately got up and ran away.

But by a twist of fate, Enel returned to the scene and escaped with Toki Amatsuki.

It was during his days of escape that he experienced a warmth he had never felt before.

That kind of gentle patience, like that of an elder sister or a mother, is like pollen that attracts bees.

And he was a worker bee.

"Honestly, don't run off this time. I don't want to be looking for you everywhere!"

After complaining for a while, Enel climbed down from the treetop using both his hands and feet.

Crouching low, they slipped into the woods and jogged towards the mountains.

But behind him, where he couldn't see, Tengetsu silently followed, holding two small branches.

"I've finally found it! You must wait for me, Bazel-kun."

……

"My people!"

"Today is the annual sacrificial day, and we have found unprecedentedly rare offerings!"

"A human from Qinghai—he will be the best offering we can make to Lord Thor!"

"Lord Thor will surely bless us with a wonderful, bountiful harvest!!!"

"..."

The priests picked up cloth bags and took out a pale gray powder that looked like flour, which they then sprinkled onto the crowd.

The Sky Islanders who were sprinkled with the powder were overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing towards the distant thunderous region, where their revered Thunder God was enshrined.

Just before the lighting ceremony was about to begin, a thin figure quietly climbed up the pile of firewood from the darkness.

He untied the water bottle from his waist and glanced furtively at the high priest not far away.

It's hard to say whether it was bad luck or the high priest's great power.

The two of them happened to hit it off at that moment.

"Enel!? You, a man rejected by the gods, dare to interfere with the sacrificial ritual! You deserve to die!"

Enel's body was stiff and his face was deathly pale.

"Damn it, we've been found out..."

"I'll do it!"

Tengetsu, who had been following behind, hurriedly snatched the water bottle and splashed the cold water inside onto the face of the unconscious Bazel.

"Light the fire, sacrifice the sinners along with the great Thor!!"

"Yes, High Priest!"

As the flames hurtled toward him, Enel felt his legs go weak and he kept muttering things like "I'm doomed" and "I'm going to die."

Just as the flames climbed the pyre and were about to engulf the cross, a hoarse voice rang out.

"...It's too early to talk about death now."

"Bazel-kun!!"

She dropped the water bottle and rushed forward, bursting into tears of joy.

"Thank goodness, I'm so glad you're alright!"

Bazel lowered his head and lightly touched his forehead with Amaterasu's, as if to express his longing for her after not seeing her for several days.

Then he looked up at the high priest, his eyes widening suddenly.

Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his body!

The flames that had already taken hold were instantly extinguished by this force.

"Get out of my way, you little bastards!"

The nearest gun-wielding priests didn't even have time to react; their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to one side.

"Wow, so strong..." Enel stared in disbelief at what was happening.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

After being untied from the rope, Bazel, who had not eaten or drunk anything for days, slowly straightened up.

"Me? My name is Enel, a sinner despised by Lord Thor."

"Lord Thor? Heh..."

"Bazaar, he..." Amatsuki hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

Without needing Tianyue Shi to say more, Bazel had already guessed what had happened in the past few days.

As an outsider, it was impossible for Tian Yueshi to find the place where he was imprisoned while he was unconscious on his own.

"Let's retreat first. Now is not the time to fight. I need plenty of food and water."

Toki didn't say anything, not daring to look at Enel's pitiful expression, which resembled that of a stray dog, and obediently followed Bazel into the darkness.

"You brat!"

Suddenly, Bazel stopped and turned his head to the side.

"What are you still doing there?"

Enel's eyes widened, a glimmer of hope appearing within them.

"My name is Bazel, and I'm the man who will change this sea!"

"If you have nowhere to go, come with me, and I'll show you the real world."

Enel quickly got up and ran silently to Bazel's side.

"Once I've fully recovered, I'll go see if that Thor is a human or a ghost."