Chapter 194: The Return of the Giant Pirates

Karl stood on the deck at the shore, watching as four giants steadily approached, the distant island behind them flickering with bursts of fire.

“Looks like you all made quite the haul,” Karl said, nodding toward the heavy sacks slung over their backs.

After all, once a pirate always a pirate—none of them ever left a place empty-handed, and every one of them carried a massive bundle.

With every step those packs clanked and jingled inside.

Golden light peeked from the edges of their sacks, making it obvious they’d stripped the island of every last bit of gold and treasure.

“But it seems we’d better get moving,” Karl said, eyes fixed on Enies Lobby, now swallowed in raging flames.

The longer they stayed, the greater the odds the Navy would catch up to them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They tossed their loot onto the little wooden boat then all jumped aboard.

“Time to set sail,” someone said.

Brogy and Dorry understood just how serious things were. They’d just toppled a World Government institution—no doubt the Navy was already on its way.

Now was no time to fight the Navy head-on. They needed to return to Elbaf to gather the Pirate Crew once again.

Barely half an hour after they set out to sea, dozens of warships appeared on the horizon.

“Admiral Zephyr, we’re approaching Enies Lobby,” the adjutant reported. Zephyr stepped onto the deck, his brow furrowing as he stared at the blazing island.

“Land and start rescuing the wounded!”

Of course, he’d meant to arrive late. Now that there was friction between the Navy and the World Government, he didn’t feel much loyalty either.

Still, basic humanity remained. Seeing the disaster on the island, he ordered his men to move in for rescue.

“Why did you Navy people get here so late?”

Supported by several men, Spandine stumbled over to Zephyr and jabbed a finger at his nose, shouting angrily.

At this point he looked every bit the ragged vagrant—clothes torn, caked in dust from head to toe.

“We sailed over the moment we got your message. Never thought you’d be this helpless.”

Zephyr’s tone dripped with sarcasm. He’d always despised Spandine, who owed his post to connections.

“Zephyr, you—” Spandine was so furious he passed out on the spot.

“Hey, your boss fainted all by himself, don’t pin it on me!”

Zephyr put up his hands defensively, backing away.

He hadn’t expected Spandine to be so thin-skinned. Just a few jabs and he collapsed?

“What are you all staring at? Get to work and help the wounded!”

Feeling the awkward silence, Zephyr cleared his throat. Everyone was looking right at him.

“Right, right! Get the chief to the medics!”

The CP9 members finally snapped out of it and rushed Spandine onto a stretcher.

Whatever else, Spandine was still their commander.

“How’s the Navy’s casualties?”

Zephyr picked his way through the charred remains of Enies Lobby, asking his adjutant.

“Admiral Zephyr, Navy losses stand at 800,” the adjutant recited grimly. While these men might have strayed from true justice, they were still Navy.

“Give them the proper burials,” Zephyr said with deep regret. “Do we know who did this?”

Zephyr pressed for answers. Getting both giants to cooperate and destroying Enies Lobby… it couldn’t be just any Pirate Crew.

But hadn’t the Giant Pirates disbanded long ago?

Could it be they were trying to make a comeback?

A swirl of unanswered questions lingered in his mind, and none would make the Navy happy. The reason the Navy kept the Giant Pirates in check wasn’t just because of their strength.

It was because they had the Giant Kingdom backing them.

Every member of the Giant Pirates had powerful families behind them.

One look at their Wanted Posters and it was obvious—most pirates are fair game dead or alive, but for these giants, capture only. Nobody wanted to provoke the Giant Kingdom.

Keeping on the giants’ good side mattered, their power was too great for the Navy to handle on pride alone.

“Looks like it was the two captains of the Giant Pirates, Brogy and Dorry.”

Zephyr clenched his fists. “Damn it, it really was the Giant Pirates.”

The adjutant, young and inexperienced, didn’t grasp the full implications of those two setting sail again.

But one look at Zephyr’s furious face was enough; he’d never seen Zephyr like this. These giants posed a far greater threat than normal pirates.

It was a side of Zephyr nobody had seen before.

“Purururu!”

“Hello, is this Fleet Admiral Kong?”

Far away at Navy Headquarters, Kong picked up the Transponder Snail. “Has the truth been found?”

“Yes—they say it’s the Giant Pirates.”

“Looks like they’re making a comeback.”

Hearing the report, Kong frowned. The return of the Giant Pirates was the last thing the Navy needed.

The Navy had gone to such lengths to break them up once before.

“Understood. Return home, all of you.”

Once he hung up, Kong began to plan how to destroy the Giant Pirates all over again.

Elsewhere, Zephyr looked at the clicking, now-silent Transponder Snail, coming to the same conclusion as Kong.

The return of the Giant Pirates would surely stir up the balance the Navy guarded over the seas.

The Navy needed calm, not waves of turmoil.

“Gather the wounded. We’re heading back to Headquarters.”

Zephyr paused just a moment, then ordered his adjutant to prepare for departure.

None of them realized that Karl was actually behind all of this—they’d missed their chance to catch him.

But really, who could have guessed Karl was involved?

“You two are unbelievable—fooled by such a dumb lie!” Dorry scolded, unable to hold back, knocking both of them on the head.

“Sorry, it won’t happen again,”

Oiymo and Kashi rubbed the lumps on their heads and mumbled their apologies.

With those pitiful faces, anyone else might’ve thought they were big kids. But these ‘kids’ were just far, far too big.

“Alright then, straight to Elbaf we go.”

“I’m rebuilding the Giant Pirates, and our flag will fly across the seas again,” Brogy said, pleased with Dorry’s fierce determination.

This time, the two giants halted their duel and returned to Elbaf so the crew’s banner could once more reign over the sea.

“Who would’ve thought Jorlul would be such a pushover—he let the Giant Pirates fall apart just like that.”

Brogy was still bitter. When the two left for their duel, they’d entrusted the crew to Jorlul, never thinking he’d let things unravel so quickly. Shameful for the pride of the Giant Tribe.

“Giagiagiagiagia!”

“Don’t get down, Brogy—we’re back now.”

“Kababababa!”

“You’re right, Dorry.”

Elbaf—just wait and see what we’ll do to you.