Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 100 The Wind Stops
The group returned on the flagship of the former Fore Pirates.

Although this large pirate ship looked quite worn out after being ravaged by the storm, there was not much damage inside, and the cabin was fully stocked with supplies.

At least it's much more comfortable here than staying in that small boat.

Moreover, given that Baishou is currently short of guns and ammunition and its maritime forces are stretched thin, there is really no reason to abandon this large ship.

As for the speedboat they brought here, it was now tied to the back of the flagship, ready to be taken back.

"Miss La, everything has been packed and the supplies have been replenished. We can return anytime."

Skygate came to La's side and said, his voice now filled with some hard-to-disguise fatigue.

After several days of continuous and intense travel, plus what happened in the morning... the man's tense spirit finally relaxed completely at this moment, and he could no longer resist the tiredness.

It seemed like other people, such as Wright, were already fast asleep in the cabin.

The pressure he was under during this period was even greater than that of Skepgate.

"Ah."

La nodded, and then said casually:
"After we raise the anchor, hoist the sails, and then you can go and rest."

"Well, who's going to steer the ship then? And what if..."

"It'll be alright, go ahead. The return trip will be as smooth as the way here."

This is God's guarantee.

Skepgate wanted to say something more, but La's voice was as warm as the sun, making it difficult for him to keep up his spirits, and he went to weigh anchor in a daze.

The sound of iron chains rubbing against each other was heard, and then the huge sail on the mast was lowered.

There is no need for the helmsman to pay attention to the course all the time. The gentle sea breeze blows at the right time and slowly guides the boat to the designated destination.

"ended."

La looked at the slowly setting sun and said softly.

……

"What did you say?! John's life card suddenly disappeared?!"

Heiner, a cadre of the Flying Pirates, who had just gotten up and was preparing to have breakfast but had not yet had time to eat, suddenly received an urgent report from his subordinates and hurried to the main cabin where John's life card was placed.

Ignoring the pirates around him who were at a loss, Heinar went straight to the glass cover where the life card was placed, and sure enough, he only saw some black residue.

"What's going on?! How did it suddenly become like this?!"

Heinar lifted the cover and wanted to look carefully to see if there were any life cards left that had not been burned, but the wind blew away all the ashes on the table.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but stagger back a few steps, seeming a little unstable.

"Boss Heiner..."

A pirate next to him wanted to step forward to help, but was stopped by him with a wave of his hand.

Hainar sat on the ground, his voice trembling as he asked, "Have you informed Boss Shiqi?"

"Not yet."

Are you kidding me? How could ordinary members like them dare to directly inform Shi Ji himself of this kind of news?!

Even if the other party can't do anything to him through the Den Den Mushi, no one wants to bear the wrath of the Golden Lion.

"Give me the Den Den Mushi. I'll go tell Boss Shiki myself."

Having calmed down, Heiner's voice returned to calm.

Although John's death is irreversible now, we still need to inform him of this as soon as possible. If we hurry, we may still have a chance to find the place where John died.

"Pah, pah..."

"Hello, is this Boss Shiki?"

"Hainar?"

The voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was very low, very different from Shiki's usual uncontrollable arrogance.

"You mean to talk about the life card? Chet has already contacted me."

Unexpectedly, Shiqi on the opposite side spoke first, but his tone was not as angry as Heinar had imagined.

Or perhaps Shiqi's anger had been vented at this time and was in a cooling-off period.

"You already know? Then, Boss Shiqi, we are now..."

"Hu~~"

This was the sound of cigar smoke being exhaled from the body. Heiner knew that Ski would only exhale such a long breath of smoke when he was upset.

Henar stopped talking and just waited quietly for orders from the other side.

It took about the time it took to finish a cigar for Shiqi to finally speak again.

"You don't have to worry about this. I've already asked Chet to continue exploring in the direction John's life card pointed to."

"If he doesn't find anything, then let's just leave it at that."

After experiencing two battles in succession, namely the Beehive Island and the Navy, Golden Lion's subordinates, both the subordinate pirate groups and the directly affiliated Flying Pirate Group, suffered heavy losses.

He himself was still wrapped in bandages.

The New World is not a place for children to play house. On the contrary, it is the cruelest and most barbaric Shura field in the entire ocean.

Big fish devour small fish, the strong enslave the weak, the law of the jungle is displayed here without any concealment to the world, and no one bothers to cover it up.

Therefore, even someone as strong as Golden Lion, if he bleeds and shows weakness, he will attract the attention and bites of countless hyenas. In the past few days, he has received several reports of his pirate groups being attacked, which would have been unimaginable in the past.

With his reputation as the great flying pirate, people in the New World always avoid him. Even the ships of the World Government will take the initiative to avoid his pirate flag and make way for it when they see it.

But now that he was injured and his subordinate forces suffered a series of blows, it became known that someone could not help but want to ruffle his lion's mane.

After ordering that the heads of all pirates who dared to provoke or even attack should be cut off and piled on the ship to deter others, Shiki had to consider temporarily withdrawing his forces.

"John's life card was completely reduced to ashes in an instant."

When Shiqi heard Chet's description not long ago, he realized that this matter would not have any results for the time being.

With John's strength, even if he was injured, it would not be easy to take his life in an instant. Even he couldn't do it now.

So either there was a natural disaster that was beyond human control, or some force had carefully planned and set a trap that was sure to kill them.

But how did the other party know that John was not dead, and was able to determine his whereabouts before him and even set a trap in advance...

All these concerns made Shi Ji choose to put this matter aside for the time being. After all, if there really was such a force, now was not the time to conflict with it.

All in all, the storm about John's treasure has finally subsided for the time being.

"Notify everyone outside to come back, and gather the subordinate pirate groups. We are now targeting the ancient weapons."

"Understood, Boss Shiki."

Heinar felt relieved but also a little unwilling when he heard the Den Den Mushi being hung up.

We spent so much money and lost so many members, but in the end we got nothing.

"Who killed John?"

……

"Miss La."

"Well? How did you sleep, Mr. Scapgate?"

La, who was watching the sunset on the deck, turned his head slightly and greeted the big man with afro who had just woken up.

"Haha~" Skepgate touched his head embarrassedly. He didn't expect that he would sleep until almost night.

He saw that many people were already up and busy in the cabin and on deck.

Because of John's incident, no one was in the mood to take care of the housework, which resulted in a strange smell throughout the ship. Now it naturally needs to be cleaned thoroughly.

The first thing to do is to pack up the cups that John had used, the bottles he had drunk from, and the sheets and pillows he had slept on... no, just throw them into the sea together with the bed.

After all, they will need to use this ship in the future, and keeping these things is really disgusting.

"Dinner is ready. It's on the kitchen table to the left."

La pointed to the cabin on the left, indicating that the other party should go to dinner first.

The flagship of the Fore Pirates is very large. Not only does it have many rooms, but it also has two kitchens, one on the far left and one on the far right side of the ship.

The reason for this strange design is actually that there was a "kitchen war" within the pirate group.

The incident started when two chefs in charge of food on the ship had a dispute over whether a bowl of glutinous rice balls should be made sweet or salty.

The old chef who was born in the East China Sea insisted that dumplings should be sweet, and anything else was heresy.

The young chef from the Grand Line believes that different flavors should be tried to satisfy everyone's tastes, after all, not everyone likes sweet food...

As time went on, this small dispute escalated, slowly spreading from the two chefs to the entire kitchen, and then to the entire ship... In the end, even Captain Fore and Deputy Captain Skipgate were involved, starting a protracted war of words.

It is known in history as the "Sweet and Salty Party Struggle".

Finally, under the mediation of Sir Thomas Wright, the then Minister of Logistics, Captain Fall ordered a new kitchen to be built on the other side of the ship, and the two sides ruled by rowing masts.

Those who like new flavors can go to the restaurant on the left, while those who stick to traditional flavors can still eat on the right.

As for the captain, Fall followed Wright's advice and went to the left at 1, 3, and 5, and to the right at 2, 4, and 6, focusing on maintaining unity.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he doesn't like sweet or salty food, but prefers spicy food.

However, when he confidently proposed spicy glutinous rice dumplings, he was unanimously opposed by the entire group. The old chef almost gasped when he heard the captain say that he wanted to make dumplings with chili filling...

Thinking of what happened in the past, the corners of Skepgate's mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

Pushing open the kitchen door, a large bowl was prominently placed on the clean dining table, with an even larger bowl placed upside down on top, probably to keep it warm.

After moving the stool and sitting down, Skipgate took off the bowl with some anticipation. Suddenly, a burst of hot steam filled the air, indicating that the heat preservation was very good.

But when the steam dissipated, he was stunned when he saw what was in the bowl below.

"Is this... glutinous rice balls?"

Dozens of crystal clear and delicate white balls are neatly arranged in the bowl. Each one looks like the finest jade, emitting a warm glow.

Moreover, these balls are all the same size and are perfectly spherical.

Skepgate, who was a little unconvinced, picked up the spoon next to him and poked it. The chewy feel from the spoon confirmed that it was indeed a glutinous rice dumpling.

With anticipation for the taste, he scooped one into his mouth...

Well, not sweet, not salty, but spicy.

Very spicy, but delicious.

One after another, Skepgate immediately stuffed the next dumpling into his mouth without waiting for the previous one to be swallowed.

The spicy dumplings in his mouth made his tears flow uncontrollably...

(End of this chapter)