"Buchi? Hey, wake up, Buchi!"
Sham hurriedly called out.
Soon, the other party also regained consciousness.
Looking around, they found that all the faces around them belonged to their once-familiar subordinates.
But now, even as they walked by right in front of them, every one of them was indifferent.
"Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up and untie us!"
"What the hell is going on!"
Sham and Buchi shouted, drawing everyone's attention to them.
Everyone stopped and looked over, yet none stepped forward.
"Your voices are too loud, you two."
A voice suddenly came from above them.
Sham and Buchi turned their heads in confusion and shock.
Looking up, they saw Alan sitting atop the boulder, a cigar in his mouth, while gazing down at them from above.
"If you want to order someone around, order your own men. What are you yelling at my people for?"
"Oh, right."
Alan pointed at the pirates below and lowered his eyelids.
"Except for you two, everyone here is my subordinate."
"What kind of joke is this! You bas—!"
Sham glared angrily at him.
But before he could finish, a pirate wearing a white headscarf rushed up and slapped Sham hard on the forehead: "How dare you talk to our captain like that! Clean up your mouth!"
"Karl! What are you doing...!"
Buchi glared at him.
But Karl glared back just as fiercely and slapped Buchi's forehead, too.
"What are you looking at! The captain didn't say your name, so you think you're safe? Say one more disrespectful word about Captain Alan, and I'll smash your mouth!"
Sham and Buchi finally understood what it meant to be tigers fallen to the flatlands and bullied by dogs.
Seeing their former subordinates, once respectful, now lifting weapons and surrounding them, Sham and Buchi wisely shut their mouths.
"Alright, Karl. Go on with your work."
Alan stopped the pirate wearing a white headscarf and waved for him to go away.
During the time Sham and Buchi were unconscious, he had already physically convinced all the other pirates.
These bottom-tier pirates were rarely loyal to their captain. Being swayed like grass in the wind was their nature.
They were a bunch of desperate outcasts forced into piracy, so naturally, they bent whichever way the wind blew.
A glowing cigar tip illuminated the scene as Alan, expressionless, looked at Sham and Buchi with a chilling gaze: "Now it's time for you two to choose. Will you call me captain… Or will you remain loyal to that Kuro who disappeared for three years?"
...
Sham and Buchi swallowed hard before asking cautiously: "If we choose the second option... What will happen to us..."
"Well, that..."
Smoke curled around Alan's half-covered face.
He didn't answer directly. Instead, the corner of his lips curled into a playful look.
"I'll tell you after you pick."
Sham and Buchi: "..."
Sham and Buchi fell silent. They exchanged looks, and it seemed they had already seen the answer in each other's eyes.
Finally, Sham and Buchi relaxed their tightly clenched fists and let out a long sigh of despair.
As if accepting their fate, they lowered their heads and said together: "Yes, Captain Alan."
"We are willing to serve you..."
…
Next, under Alan's lead, the former Black Cat Pirates began a small banquet.
At first, they were still a bit restrained, but under Alan's order, all the alcohol stored on the ship was brought out, and the seventy-some people ate and drank freely.
Until night fell deeper, after several rounds of drinking, the pirates finally let go completely, throwing their arms over each other's shoulders, singing and dancing, beginning a wild celebration on the shore of this uninhabited island.
They hadn't really been active on the sea for three years, and they had been suppressing themselves for far too long.
Before departing, Alan felt he needed to give them an opportunity to vent without restraint.
As for himself, he did not join the banquet.
Having suddenly changed captains, pirates always need some time to adapt. If he were there, it would instead make them act timidly.
Loyalty is not something that can be built in a single step. In the short term, he only needed his subordinates to be obedient and carry out orders.
And to achieve that, managing Sham and Buchi was much easier than managing seventy-some mixed-bag pirates.
Alan instructed his men to prepare some food and wine in the meeting room, then called Sham and Buchi and headed to the ship's supply warehouse.
When the door opened, a wave of stifling, muggy air hit their faces.
Alan fanned his hand with a disgusted expression, then stepped inside with Sham and Buchi.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A shabby oil lamp emitted a dim yellow light, barely illuminating the corners, while the wooden floorboards beneath their feet creaked under strain.
Alan's gaze swept across the small room that could be seen completely at a glance.
After the banquet had consumed a large amount of food and alcohol, what remained were only a few materials used to repair the ship and several boxes for storing daily necessities, all nearly covered in cobwebs.
The entire room emitted an unpleasant smell.
The smell of poverty!
"You were at least a fairly well-known pirate crew in the East Blue, and yet you were living so miserably?"
Alan couldn't help but complain.
Sham and Buchi rubbed the back of their heads in embarrassment.
Could they be blamed? Back then, they had Kuro.
Not only could they easily plunder villages and other pirate crews, even if the Marines showed up, they would also end up leaving behind both their ship and their bodies.
Without Kuro, they were like tigers with their claws and fangs stripped away. Though not weak in the East Blue, they absolutely couldn't be called strong.
And Jango's behavior was extremely low-key. Unless they ran into total small fries, he would always run if he could, almost as if he were terrified others might learn they were still active.
Since Kuro's departure, the crew's income has sharply declined. Yet the crew members all kept their old habits of spending lavishly, causing them to constantly be in a deficit.
Until a year ago, when they completely used up all their previously accumulated treasure, most of the time they survived by fishing and hunting. Only when they could endure no more would they set sail and plunder once.
After hearing about their situation, Alan could only shake his head helplessly.