CHAPTER 23.
Ren's eyes narrowed. His Observation Haki flickered with a strange sensation beneath the waves, but he ignored it as a smirk crept across his face.
"Shave."
His figure vanished, reappearing above the water as he punched the Sea King with a thunderous blow that launched it out of the sea.
Before the creature could even fall back, Ross swooped in, blades flashing—cutting the beast into clean, precise pieces mid-air.
"Umi, get the banquet ready!" Ren called.
"Aye aye, Captain!" Umi answered instantly.
But before Umi could carve into the meat, Kris raised a hand.
"Wait, Captain… something is crawling out."
"Huh?" Ren turned, already suspicious. "I thought so…"
A blonde girl, drenched in seawater and stomach fluids, clawed her way out of the Sea King's corpse.
"Ahhhh—thank God! I finally got out of that trench-belly!" she cried dramatically.
"WHAT?!"
The whole crew shouted, staring at the girl as she plopped onto the deck.
"Huh? Who are you guys?" She blinked at all of them, confused.
"We… we are the Pride Pirates. Who are you?" Ren asked.
"I'm Sophia. A government agent—wait, did you say pirates?"
"Yes."
"Damn it… I just escaped the frying pan and jumped straight into the fire," she muttered, slumping. "I shouldn't have said I was a government agent. Now I'm done for. You'll probably do whatever you want with me and then sell me—this is the worst—"
"Why are you crying?" Ren asked, genuinely confused.
"Hey guys," Umi snickered, "Cap just made a girl cry."
The rest of the crew gave Ren the judging side-eye.
"H-Hey! I didn't do anything!" Ren raised his hands in surrender.
Sophia sniffed and looked up. "Wait… are you guys actually real pirates?"
"Yeah, we're pirates."
Their auras shifted—wild, proud, and untamed.
Ren grinned.
"Just because killing and raping don't align with our conduct doesn't mean we aren't pirates. Those thugs out there are just bandits. Real pirates are the ones who set out to sea—betting their lives on dreams, treasure, adventure—without flinching, without looking back! Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Sophia blinked at his intensity.
"So… where are you guys coming from?" she asked, now calmer.
"From Impel Down," Kris said, already tinkering with the exotic sniper Ren had given him.
"Wait—the prison?!" she shouted.
"Yes. Our captain broke us out," Brocky added proudly, laughing deeply.
"You guys are insane…" she muttered, staring at Ren.
Umi cracked the grill open, already skewering Sea King meat.
"Hahahaha! Kebabs coming right up!"
Sophia suddenly leaned forward, her expression turning sharp.
"Wait—if you were at Impel Down, did you see a government agent ship with a fat man, the leader of our squad? Please tell me you killed that pig."
"I don't think—" Brocky began.
"I saw him," Ren cut in. "Black suit, big stomach, annoying grin."
Everyone turned to him.
"So? What did you do? He's definitely annoying, and you look pretty strong…" Sophia asked, eyes pleading.
"I killed him," Ren replied casually.
"WHAT?! YESSSSS!! Thank you so much!" she screamed, immediately jumping onto Ren's back.
---
(Five minutes later…)
"I'm very sorry… if I acted weird," Sophia said awkwardly.
"It's cool. No big deal," Ren replied, gazing off in thought.
"Hahahahaaaahhh" the other crew members laughed out
---
(Flashback — On Earth, Ren's Home)
"Big brother! What are you cooking?" a little girl shouted as she leapt onto Ren's back.
"Hey, slow down—you might fall," Ren laughed, grabbing her and settling her on his shoulders.
"I'm taller than my big brother now!" she bragged.
"Hahahaha!"
"Guess what!" she said proudly.
"You punched another boy in the eye?"
"No! Not that!" she huffed.
"You ran from class again?"
"No! And I only ran because the teacher was teaching things I already knew," she pouted. "Anyway—I got distinctions in my test!"
Ren grinned widely.
"Wow! That's my girl! I knew it—no one can keep up with my little Cinderella!"
She nodded smugly.
"I'm taking you to the amusement park tomorrow. And you're getting a whole truck of ice cream."
"That's my brother!" she cheered, jumping off his shoulders.
"Hey—be careful…" Ren called, stopping when he saw her already sprinting away.