Chapter 50: Sword Saint and Blade God

"Heh."

Gao Wen sneered.

He knew well Nami's level of navigation skills.

Even though she was not yet at the age to join the Straw Hats in the future, the fact that she dared to predict weather changes with minute-level precision showed she had absolute confidence in herself.

Thinking of Nami's performance in the original story, Gao Wen never once thought he would lose.

However.

Explaining this to Xiang Keluo at this moment would likely not make him believe it, so he might as well teach him a lesson.

It was absolutely not that Gao Wen wanted to watch him wash socks!

Jin, standing nearby, looked at Gao Wen, then at Xiang Keluo, and thought:

Whoever wins, someone will wash my socks for me. I've won big.

But deep down, he still sided with Gao Wen. The grudge from his defeat at Xiang Keluo's hands at Raven Port had not yet been avenged, and the truth was he simply could not beat him.

But after this incident, Jin felt he could eat at Xiang Keluo's expense for a lifetime!

Thinking of this, Jin could not help but curl a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Gao Wen looked at him suspiciously, then ignored him.

After ordering the members of the pirate crew to bring the purchased food, fresh water, and other supplies aboard, he cautiously anchored the ship in a safer location, completed the reinforcement, and only then went aboard to rest.

One day passed quickly.

But until the second night fell, the port remained perfectly calm. Let alone a storm, even the sea breeze grew gentler, blowing against people and even bringing a trace of warmth.

Gao Wen and the other two stood on the deck, quietly waiting for the time point Nami had mentioned.

After looking around, Xiang Keluo turned back to Gao Wen and said mockingly:

"Captain, how about this? You surrender now, and I'll let you lose half. Just washing for me will be enough."

"Surrender?"

"You'd better think about how to wash the socks on the ship."

Gao Wen did not yield, only looking out at the calm sea in the distance. He himself felt somewhat uncertain.

If Nami's navigation skills had only grown during the later years under Arlong's command, then the joke would have been too big.

No.

For most of those later years, Nami should have been outside raising money to buy back Cocoyasi Village. Her cultivation of navigation skills must have concentrated on the earlier years when she was drawing sea charts.

Thinking thus,

Gao Wen gradually calmed down, leaned against the deck, and looked faintly at the distant sea.

Time ticked away second by second.

Until nearly 11:20 PM, just when Gao Wen himself was about to lose patience, a layer of mist suddenly blew in from the sea surface in the distance.

Clouds in the high sky gathered at a speed that made people stare in shock. Within just a few minutes, they blocked out the stars and moon. Within the thick, leaden clouds, Lei Guang flashed.

The wind, which had been somewhat warm, changed at this moment. Mixed with water vapor, it blew the chill of the sea into the bones. The pirate flag on the ship began to dance wildly.

Whoosh~!

The cold wind carrying rain lashed against Xiang Keluo's face. A flash of Lei Guang lit up the night sky and also allowed Gao Wen to see the look on Xiang Keluo's face, as if he had seen a ghost.

"It's really this accurate?!"

Xiang Keluo, refusing to believe in bad luck, raised his wrist to check the time and saw the minute hand had just reached 11:30.

Not a minute more, not a minute less.

Just at this moment, the loudspeaker in the port transmitted an emergency notice:

"Alarm!"

"Storm approaching! Storm approaching!"

"Ships in the port, please take evasive action! Ships in the port, please take evasive action!"

On the deck.

Gao Wen patted Xiang Keluo's shoulder:

"What do you think now?"

The corner of Xiang Keluo's mouth twitched. He selectively forgot the bet and said directly:

"This woman is our navigator!"

"Also, I suddenly feel a bit dizzy. I'll go back to the cabin to rest for a while."

Saying this, Xiang Keluo did not wait for Gao Wen's reply and instantly disappeared from the deck. He returned to his room, locked the door behind him, and even put earplugs in himself.

As long as I can't hear it, it doesn't exist!

Washing socks for a whole ship of burly men? You might as well just kill me~

Unfortunately.

The two people on the deck had no intention of letting him off so easily.

Gao Wen and Jin exchanged a glance, and a wicked smile appeared on both their faces:

"Hehehe~"

"Hehehe~"

The next day.

Xiang Keluo tentatively opened his room door. As soon as he pushed it open a crack, a powerful, pungent smell rushed at him.

He lowered his head and saw hundreds of pairs of socks neatly arranged at the room's entrance; the smell of sweat mixed with athlete's foot was so pungent it brought tears to his eyes.

A sticky note was still attached to the doorknob:

"A true man keeps his word!"

Xiang Keluo's mouth twitched. Looking at the socks by the door, he completely broke down on the spot:

"Gao Wen!!!"

……

Gao Wen, standing on the deck and commanding the pirate ship to set sail, heard the noise from inside the cabin. His face immediately split into a wide grin, and Jin beside him was also suppressing a mischievous smile.

The two exchanged a glance:

"Hehehe~"

"Hehehe~"

……

This storm lasted only two days, arriving and departing swiftly, yet the damage it caused was extremely severe.

Nearly one-fifth of the ships in the harbor were blown over and sank into the sea; the rest suffered heavy losses as well.

Had Gao Wen not moved the ship to a safe location and furled the sails in time, this small pirate ship of his would likely not have escaped either.

Gazing at the tragic scene in the harbor, even Xiang Keluo could not help but sigh:

"This woman is truly an existence that defies convention when it comes to navigation, but..."

"What on earth is so good about that terrible movie?!"

Gao Wen glanced at him almost imperceptibly.

He then ordered the crew to inspect the hull, confirming the structure was undamaged and would not affect future voyages. They raised the sails and set off, heading toward Cocoyasi Village according to the planned route.

……

In the harbor.

Two figures watched the pirate ship gradually recede into the distance, cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.

"Joseph, you... you saw it clearly too, right?"

"That flag, that man standing on the deck—there's no mistake. It's Knight Gao Wen!"

"The man hailed as the greatest swordsman of the East Sea in the past two months!"

Johnny swallowed hard, trembling as he pushed up his sunglasses.

Joseph, standing beside him with dead-fish eyes, wore an equally shocked expression:

"Of course. But why would such a big shot come to Diya Port? However, given this route... is this Arlong's territory?"

"Are the two strongest pirates of the East Sea about to go to war?!"

"What are you two looking at?"

Suddenly, a figure with short green hair and three swords at his waist appeared behind the two, placing both hands on their shoulders and forcing his way in between them.

"Brother Zoro?!"

Johnny broke out in goosebumps. Seeing Joseph about to speak, he immediately clamped a hand over Joseph's mouth and turned to Zoro, saying:

"Nothing."

"We're just admiring the scenery, admiring the scenery~"

Johnny quickly signaled Joseph with his eyes. The latter instantly understood, thinking to himself what a close call it was, while also involuntarily looking up at Zoro, feeling a sudden headache.

If this guy found out about Knight Gao Wen's movements, he would rush to challenge him immediately.

But that was a pirate with a bounty of eighty-five million, a ruthless figure who had twice shattered the East Sea bounty cap within two months.

Even in the Grand Line, such a person would be a major warlord; charging straight at him would be pure suicide!

"Really?"

Zoro looked at the two suspiciously.

"Of course it's true. How about this? I'll treat you to drinks."

"It's a deal!"

Joseph looked at Zoro, his face contorted in pain, but compared to his life, none of this mattered anymore.

(End of this chapter)