After a while, the pirates finally led Alan out of the forest.
"This is it, Captain Alan. Our ship is docked down below."
The pirate wearing a white headscarf walked to the edge of the cliff, pointed at the shore below, then looked back.
Alan gave him a strange look.
This guy really changed how he addressed him pretty fast.
Beneath the cliff, the shoreline was piled with many rocks. The sea waves washed over the stones, leaving behind the marks of time and splashing cool sprays of water.
A pirate ship, entirely dark red, rose and fell with the waves.
Several heads peeked out from the top of the cliff, and Alan swept his eyes downward.
There weren't many people on the ship. Dozens of pirates were on the giant rocks along the cliffside, setting up pots and stoves as if preparing to start a fire and cook.
"Perfect timing. After I finish the fight later, we can even have a banquet to celebrate."
Alan grinned while pressing his fists together, his knuckles cracking loudly.
"Celebrate? Celebrate what?"
A big, burly pirate asked foolishly.
Smack!
The pirate wearing a white headscarf slapped the back of the big man's head, scolding him angrily as though hating how hopeless he was: "You idiot! Obviously, to celebrate everyone becoming Captain Alan's subordinates!"
"Ohhh, so that's how it is."
The big man scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
While they were talking, Alan was already moving.
"Get ready."
Then they saw Alan flip himself up and leap off the seventy-meter-high cliff.
This scene frightened several pirates nearby so much that their eyeballs nearly popped out.
"Eh!!"
...
Below, on a giant rock, several pirates wearing aprons had just worked together to carry a big pot and placed it on the thick wooden rack.
They were about to turn around and fetch water, when suddenly…
Bang!
A dark figure plummeted from the sky at high speed, violently stomping down with both feet onto the rock. The entire rock shook, causing the poorly secured wooden rack to collapse immediately.
The big iron pot crashed down with deafening clangs of sound, making the several pirates wearing aprons shrink their necks in fright.
At the same time, the sudden noise startled all the pirates nearby, and they quickly turned to look.
"Who's there!"
"Marines?!"
"The Marines are here!!"
Seeing the unfamiliar face that appeared out of nowhere, the pirates' expressions changed.
They all grabbed their weapons and became alert.
Alan slowly turned around, sweeping his gaze across all the pirates present. Then he revealed a playful smile: "No need to be nervous, everyone. Even though I haven't changed out of these clothes yet, I'm no longer a marine."
"Who the hell are you! What are you doing here!"
A pirate stepped forward and shouted. The others also stepped up with their weapons, eyes filled with wariness.
Never mind whether he was a marine or not; just the way this guy appeared was terrifying enough. Judging by the sound earlier, he must have jumped down from the cliff.
But…
One pirate glanced up and swallowed hard.
Jumping from over seventy meters... a normal person would already be smashed into paste!
Seeing that the surrounding pirates had no intention of lowering their weapons, Alan raised both hands and smiled even more mischievously: "I told you, no need to be nervous. Actually, I'm here to join your pirate crew. Who's in charge here?"
"Join us?"
Hearing that, the pirates looked left and right at each other, and eventually, all turned their gazes toward the pirate ship at the shore.
There, two figures, one fat, one thin, walked out from the deck.
The thin, small, hunched, green-haired man jumped onto the railing and crouched like a cat.
Sham looked at Alan with a mocking expression: "You're a marine, and you want to join us? Only an idiot would believe such nonsense. You're obviously here to infiltrate our pirate crew as a spy."
"What a moron. He didn't even bother to change his clothes, hahaha."
The fat man, Buchi, crossed his arms and laughed loudly in ridicule.
Seeing the two appear, Alan finally showed a hint of interest in his eyes: "Buchi, and Sham, the Nyaban Brothers with a bounty of seven million Belly."
"Oh? We've been off the radar for three years, didn't expect someone to still remember our name."
Sham narrowed his eyes slightly but became even more certain that this guy's intentions were bad.
"You even prepared such detailed intel, and you still say you're not here as a spy?"
Alan: "..."
If you insist on thinking that way, I can't help you.
"Alright then, if that's how it is, I'll just be honest."
Alan paused, then, under the stunned gazes of the pirates, he dropped a bombshell: "I'm here to be the captain of your pirate crew. If anyone has a problem, come up and try. Of course, I mean all of you together."
Alan put one hand in his pocket, and the corner of his mouth lifted. Then he curled a finger toward the Nyaban Brothers: "That includes you two little cats..."
Seeing his arrogant posture, Sham and Buchi ground their teeth, their expressions instantly darkening.
"You bastard...!"
"You'd better scream loudly when you beg for mercy later, otherwise I'll make your death miserable...!"
Sham raised his hand and revealed his sharp, clawed gloves that were flashing with cold light.
At the same time, Buchi let out an angry roar, and he leapt high and pounced fiercely toward Alan: "I'll crush your bones! Bastard!"
"Cat-a-Pult Cat-astrophe!!"
Buchi raised his knee and stomped down on Alan's position with all his might.
Using his tremendous weight combined with the force of freefall, he unleashed power like a cannonball crashing down!
Alan didn't even take his hand out of his pocket. He suddenly lifted one leg and kicked upward, colliding head-on with Buchi's stomp!
Boom!!
A burst of violent wind erupted from the point of impact between the two.
The rock under Alan's foot suddenly blasted open into a small crater, and the entire stone began to tilt as several cracks spread outward with cracking sounds!
"He... He blocked it!!"
"He actually took Buchi's special move head-on...!!"
Seeing that Alan had effortlessly withstood the attack and hadn't even moved an inch, all the pirates were stunned.
Boom!!
The tilting boulder finally toppled.
Buchi gritted his teeth and jumped back, rolling several times in midair while holding his knees.
After he landed, he staggered, nearly losing his balance.