Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

Putting aside everything else, I reckon there are some discontents within the Whitebeard Pirates.

Just then, a series of rumbling sounds came from the same spot. A giant over thirty meters tall, upon hearing this, angrily raised his arm: "What is Sett! Little Oars is the one who lost the kingdom!"

As a demon and a descendant of Oars of the Land of Fortune, Little Oars was determined to claim the title of Land of Fortune, dedicating time almost every day to training his strength. And now…

“I have to say, the name Shen Kingdom does seem to be trying to piggyback on Yun Kingdom’s success.” Marco, standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

To this, Whitebeard stroked his chin and simply watched with amusement as the banquet became lively amidst Little Oz's anger.

"Gurarara~ Since you're angry, go and take it back yourself! Hahahaha~~~"

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From now on, the update time should be fixed in the evening, barring any unforeseen circumstances...

146. Child Labor

"Shen Guo Se Ti?"

Upon waking up and hearing that he had acquired this new nickname, Sett slapped his mouth and yawned widely, then said with an annoyed look, "What kind of lousy nickname is this? Can't you just call me Sett normally? Or even Sett would be fine."

"I feel pretty good."

Hawkeye, seemingly unfazed, leaned back on the sofa, newspaper in hand, reading intently. "The Germa Kingdom is a legitimate member state of the World Government. You've destroyed a third of its twelve national warships. To say the kingdom sank is indeed not a problem..."

He paused as he spoke. A hint of curiosity then flickered in Hawkeye's eyes; "Speaking of which, how did you lift it up? Was it a Devil Fruit ability?"

Having sailed for two or three months, Hawkeye has gained a fairly clear understanding of Sett's strength—Sett is very strong, that's undeniable. But one question remains: is Sett really that strong? —No.

When Sett hurled the massive ship over his head, even Hawkeye was caught off guard. The destructive power was secondary; more important was the sheer force with which he lifted the warship overhead—if Sett truly possessed the strength to lift a ship weighing tens of tons, a casual slap from him would likely have disintegrated Judge in that instant.

Faced with the power of this cache, all other technologies are just fancy tricks and useless efforts.

If you were to say that Sett could forcibly stop a moving warship, Hawkeye would believe it. Because Sett's explosive power is unimaginable to ordinary people. Especially that punch he threw when he parted Shanks' hair in the middle during their fight. Forget stopping it, he could easily blast Hawkeye to pieces with that punch.

But if you say Sett can lift a steel warship weighing tens of tons, leap tens of meters, and then crash down without even breaking a sweat... does that mean Hawkeye's brain is also pulled out when he gets dizzy?

Brains don't dissolve in excrement—except for Celestial Dragons.

Upon hearing Hawkeye's question, Sett scratched his head in annoyance and then simply said, "I have a system in my head. As soon as I tell it, it does it."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hawkeye remained silent, then shook his head indifferently; "If you don't want to talk about it, just say so..."

"See, you don't believe me even when I tell the truth."

"hehe."

While chatting, Sett pushed open the door and followed the servant to the dining table.

Throughout the journey, the servant's eyes were filled with fear—as one of the parties involved in the battle, the servant had witnessed Sett lifting the warship and then slamming it down from the sky.

The four giant ships were either twisted or broken in half and sank to the bottom of the water. The nearly 100-meter-high waves were still vivid in his mind.

Having lived his entire life in a small place like the North Sea, never having seen the vastness of the world, all he could feel after witnessing Sett's power was the fear stemming from the unknown.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, a mountain of delicious food was laid out on the table. Judge, still wearing some bandages, nodded slightly upon seeing Sett. Sett, however, seemed rather indifferent. He casually went to an empty seat and started stuffing a large piece of meat onto a bone.

In contrast, Hawkeye was much more refined. He picked up a glass of red wine, swirled it, savored its lingering aroma, and then slowly sipped it. His deliberate, unhurried movements were even pleasing to the eye—his stomach was better, and he could resume his pretentious act.

Although he was somewhat prepared, after actually witnessing this scene, Judge still couldn't help but sigh inwardly—what kind of encounter had brought these two people together?

The gap between personality and behavior is unbelievably large.

However, no matter how much he disbelieves it, it's clearly not something Judge should be concerned about.

“I’ve repaired the ship.” Taking a deep breath, Judge knew that he would have to face it sooner or later, so he simply said, “However, the cracks in the impact shell were beyond repair, so I installed a steam power unit on the ship. As long as there is enough coal or some other heat source, it can continue to sail.”

"Can't it be fixed...?"

Upon hearing Judge's words, Hawkeye paused slightly, his expression suggesting he had expected this. Sett, on the other hand, continued to devour his food without any apparent awareness.

Hawkeye wasn't surprised, because Sett has always been like that—he's never bothered to try to change habits that others can't break. Or perhaps, both Sett and Hawkeye are simply used to doing their part well.

The fact that the assault boat could not be fully repaired was within Hawkeye's expectations.

Sky Island Shells are already extremely rare, let alone in the North Blue. Even with the Germa Kingdom's advanced technology, completely restoring a Sky Island Shell is unlikely. Hawkeye, however, was curious: "Why was the Impact Shell damaged? Its lifespan shouldn't be this short."

"Because of the effect of external forces."

Judge said, "When injecting pressure into Sky Island Clams, the pressure needs to be kept constant below a certain threshold. Otherwise, it will damage the pressure-storing tissues inside the clam. The Shock Clam on your ship was damaged for this reason... The pressure was too intense, far exceeding its upper threshold."

"So, it's because the pressure applied to the impact shell was too violent?"

"……Yes."

Hearing this, he fell silent. Then Hawkeye turned his gaze to Sett, who was standing to the side.

"What are you looking at? You got a problem with that?"

Sett responded to Hawkeye's slightly questioning gaze with an arrogant expression. His cheeks were full of flesh, making him look like a hamster, puffed up and slowly chewing and grinding.

"...I dare not have any objections."

With a sigh, Hawkeye deeply understood a principle—the capable should do more. He'd better take on the responsibility of putting pressure on Impact Berserker from now on… Sett's words seemed to be putting pressure on himself, not Impact Berserker.

Sailing with heavy loads.

"What's the difference between steam power and the old methods?"

“It will be a bit slower,” Judge said. “With the technological level of the Germa Kingdom, steam power can only achieve a speed of around 14 knots at most… which is definitely not comparable to the 60 knots that an impact boat can normally travel.”

"Is that so..."

"I've been listening to you chatter on and on!"

While Hawkeye was still pondering his next move, Sett simply flicked a bone behind him and said, "Just tell me where the Shock Barrels are. I'm going to stock up on some!"

"...in the White Sea."

Unlike ordinary people, as a scholar, he had traveled the whole world. In terms of erudition, even Hawkeye knew far less than Judge, who was a scholar.

"To reach the White Sea, you need to ride the rising ocean currents to the Sky Island. The essence of the shell is to absorb different substances, store them, and then release them. The original habitat of the shell is on the shallow reefs of the White Sea."

"Sky Islands...do they really exist?"

Hearing Judge's words, Hawkeye seemed curious. For most people on this vast ocean, the so-called Sky Island was more like a vague legend—Fishman Island, at least, had some traceable underwater location, but an island floating in the air? And a sea made of white clouds? No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a fantasy.

Now, having heard Judge's words, it would be impossible for Hawkeye not to be surprised—through Judge's words, Hawkeye could sense that Judge had confirmed the existence of Skypiea.

“Hmm.” Judge nodded and said, “Sky Island does exist… I have a log pointer here that gives you a general idea of ​​its location. Once you get close, you can use the updrafts to enter the Sky Island. Of course, you can also use other flight methods, such as hot air balloons. With a log pointer, you can even find your way in the clouds.”

It seemed Judge had anticipated Sett's decision, or perhaps it was due to the meticulousness typical of scholars that he had prepared in advance. After saying this, Judge took out the Permanent Log Pose and handed it over.

Upon receiving the recording pointer, even someone as sharp-eyed as Hawkeye couldn't help but show a hint of surprise in his eyes when he saw it.

"You must know the legends of the North Sea, right?" Judge said from the side. "The great liar Rolando was once ordered by the king to go to Jaya Island to find the legendary Golden City, but he never found it. When questioned by the king, Rolando insisted that he was innocent. In the end, Rolando was executed and given the nickname 'The Liar King'... What you don't know is that before he died, Rolando speculated that the Golden City sank to the bottom of the sea due to plate tectonics. But that's not actually the case. It was swept into the sky island by updrafts."

"Wait a minute... what you're saying is a bit too outrageous."

As he spoke, Hawkeye's brow furrowed slightly. Rolando's story was a well-known fairy tale throughout the West Sea. And precisely because of this, the stories surrounding Rolando were all filled with lies and deception. Especially his insistence on the existence of the Golden City even on his deathbed, which solidified his status as a great liar—he had even fooled himself.

And now, the legend is true? Finding out about this all of a sudden would probably surprise anyone, right?

“But that’s the truth,” Judge said. “Follow the log pointer there. If you’re lucky, you might find some special Sky Island Shells underwater, even if you don’t go up.”

Upon hearing this, Judge Hawkeye remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.

The next day, Sett and Hawkeye set off on their journey once again. However, this time, an uninvited guest joined them on their small boat.

"Do you have to bring a child on a sea voyage...?" Sett rubbed his temples, his face full of disdain. Standing in front of Sett and Hawkeye was none other than Sanji, who looked rather reserved.

It must be said that the Vinsmoke family has a strong genetic ability. All of Judge's other children have eyebrows that curl to one side, and it is hard to tell whether they take after their father or their mother.

"No, it's okay! I won't bother you! And, and I can cook..."

"Cooking? Sure, at least it'll be edible..."

It's not exactly delicious, but after studying it for so long, Sanji's food is definitely not bad.

"Alright then." Sett waved his hand dismissively. "Come on along. But let's make this clear first, we're not responsible for your return. And we'll only take you for a short while; we'll drop you off at the next island."

"Ok!"

Hearing that Sett was willing to let him join their crew, Sanji breathed a sigh of relief. Although his father had promised him some money and soldiers to escort him safely out of the Germa Kingdom, Sanji preferred to stay on Sett's small boat rather than deal with those unfamiliar, even frightening, and emotionless soldiers.

Judge's eyes flickered slightly at this, but in the end he didn't say anything more. He just glanced at Sanji coldly and then watched Sett and the others leave.

"Take a break and prepare for the salvage operation!"

Having confirmed that Sett and the others had left, Judge finally felt a sense of relief. He knew that a large part of his survival was likely due to Sett's desire to spare Sanji the stigma and burden of patricide. Even so, Judge still didn't care much about Sanji.

This sea is a place where the strong prey on the weak. Judge firmly believes that superfluous emotions are useless—besides, the power Sanji currently possesses also originates entirely from others.

While Judge was still preparing for the restoration of the Germa Kingdom, on the other side, Sett, who had already traveled some distance, looked at the heavily repaired assault ship and stroked his chin in amazement.

"Wow, it's so well-protected."

Previously, the storage room, which could be opened with a single twist of a doorknob, was now sealed with layers upon layers of thick sheet metal. At a glance, one could be certain of its reliable, impenetrable seal.

He didn't say much about it, and Hawkeye was busy with other things with his eyes glued to the side.

Heavens behold, Sett, no matter what he eats or what he eats, at most he'll feel a little nauseous from eating the same thing for so long. But Hawkeye is different... The past month and a half has been like hell for Hawkeye.

Even if it were to sink to the bottom, let alone roll over, Hawkeye would make sure the storage room remains completely undamaged.

"Then... what can I do?"

Sanji, standing to the side, raised his hand timidly and asked – having just finished eating, he was momentarily at a loss as to what to do next.

Looking around, Sett picked up a shovel and handed it over.

"?"

"Go shovel coal," Serti said, gesturing with his chin. "The steamship just happens to need someone to add coal."

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I didn't originally intend to do this, but considering many readers need a place to urge me to update, I decided to bring out the group for my old book: 612053861

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We broke up. I'll be leaving Tai'an on the 6th or 7th and heading back to Rizhao. It's a five-hour drive, so updates might be reduced to 4k at that time.

To be honest, three years of relationship have come to nothing, and I'm feeling a bit down. I'll probably find a place to relax and then go write some more... I've heard Antai International is pretty good, but I wonder if they have any murder mystery games. I've always wanted to try it out and see if I can start a side hustle.