Chapter 93: I, Gao Wen, Am So Gentle

“Uh…”

Gao Wen froze, unsure how to explain.

Because Klo was right—but not entirely right. I did act to give you hope, but I truly didn’t master Armament Haki back then.

After hesitating, Gao Wen opened his mouth, but Klo cut him off brutally:

“You don’t need to say another word!”

“I understand everything!”

Klo’s eyes visibly reddened:

“You’re holding back on purpose, to keep my motivation from crumbling, aren’t you?”

“Ajin was right—you’re just too gentle, always thinking of your comrades, no matter what.”

“It was like that at Raven Harbor, like that in Cocoyasi, like that when you risked your life against Hawk-Eye…”

“We’re criminals—we don’t deserve this! How naive can you be?!”

As he spoke,

Klo grabbed Gao Wen’s collar, and the confusion on Gao Wen’s face only confirmed his suspicions.

His thoughts even began to wander, unconsciously recalling his first meeting with Gao Wen.

The more he thought, the more certain he became: someone with Gao Wen’s current character could never seek status or fame—then what possible reason could have driven him to become a Warlord?

“So even becoming a Warlord, securing a stable life—it was just a temporary excuse you made back then to give me a reason to live?”

“And you’re still training hard now, just to fulfill that promise… pretending to be so carefree during the day…”

“Just so we, your comrades, won’t worry?!”

“You…”

“Sigh!”

Klo let out a long sigh, his arm trembling as he lowered it:

“Do you think I’ll thank you for doing this?”

“Don’t dream it—I’m a pirate! A pirate without a heart!”

Every single one of his statements twisted the truth, yet somehow all seemed logically sound.

Gao Wen was momentarily stunned by his words:

“I…”

“Don’t explain!”

Klo shook his head, his gaze piercing through everything, and declared firmly:

“If after all this, I don’t let you become Pirate King, I’m not worthy to live as a man!”

Their argument quickly drew the attention of everyone on the ship.

The dozen or so pirates who had come along now gathered on deck, staring at Gao Wen with tearful admiration—many were openly weeping.

“So our captain has been carrying all this without us knowing?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t Raven Harbor also for our sake?”

“What a righteous man!”

“Woooh—!”

In an instant,

The deck echoed only with the wailing of the pirates.

Nami, standing outside the crowd watching Gao Wen, had already pulled out a tissue and started wiping her tears.

If anyone on board could fully empathize with Klo’s feelings right now, it was only Nami.

After all, she was the one Gao Wen had truly saved.

Everything Klo had said matched perfectly with how Gao Wen appeared in her heart!

“Mr. Gao Wen, so powerful and yet so gentle… Jianzhi …… Jianzhi ……”

“Wuuuuh—!”

Seconds later, Gao Wen was drowned in tears. He endured people wiping their eyes on his clothes, but then he saw a few bastards using his shirt to wipe their noses.

“Hey, that’s just a little rude, you know!”

Gao Wen’s lip twitched as he looked at the crowd surrounding him—helplessly torn between laughter and frustration.

The truth was exposed, but somehow it didn’t matter—looks like the drama would still play out, just with a weird tone.

Just then,

A massive wave crashed from afar, nearly sweeping the small sailboat into the sea, scattering the crowd gathered around Gao Wen.

Two unlucky ones were even swept overboard and barely managed to climb back up.

But after the commotion, everyone returned to their posts, focusing on sailing.

Only Klo remained beside Gao Wen, speaking in a low voice:

“I won’t give up on surpassing you—but I’ll also make sure you sit on the Pirate King’s throne!”

“That’s my promise!”

As he spoke, Klo extended his fist. Gao Wen sighed helplessly, then extended his own and bumped it against Klo’s.

The sailboat cut through wind and waves.

With Nami plotting the course in real time and Gao Wen smashing every obstacle in their path, the pirate ship moved far faster than anyone had imagined.

Just four days later,

They reached the Reverse Mountain before the Red Line.

After asking residents of nearby islands and confirming no one had seen that pirate crew pass through, Gao Wen led his men to guard the surrounding waters.

Waiting for their target to arrive.

…

Elsewhere,

Labut and Lachet, leading their pirate ship, stopped briefly at Loguetown to replenish food and fresh water, then immediately set sail again.

Lachet stared at the shrinking town behind them, a hint of resentment in his eyes:

“That natural-type bastard isn’t here?”

“Damn it!”

“I was hoping to settle the score from last time.”

“Even with Sea-Prism Stone weapons, he wouldn’t stand a chance against me if he were prepared.”

Labut shook his head and said:

“He’s a Marine. If we kill him, we won’t be able to explain to Lord Hanafuza.”

“Besides…”

Labut glanced at Lachet’s newly healed wounds, then couldn’t help speaking up:

“I observed him last time—his strength isn’t as simple as it seems. If we fought one-on-one, we might not win.”

“I’d lose to him?”

Lachet’s voice rose sharply, but he instinctively turned his head away, sounding unconvincing.

As they argued, a pirate slithered out of the cabin, his eyes gleaming with lust:

“Captain, the woman we took from the port—the men want to…”

“Hehehe…”

As he spoke, several pirates gathered around him.

Clearly, they’d been eyeing Gasha for a long time—previously too afraid to act, but now they couldn’t hold back.

“Don’t even think about it!”

Labut swept them with a cold, emotionless gaze:

“That woman is beautiful, a virgin, and a Devil Fruit user.”

“On the slave market, she’d fetch dozens—even hundreds—of times the price of an ordinary captive.”

“With that money, you can buy any woman you want.”

The pirates grumbled:

“But the men are all…”

“Find your own fish of similar size and solve it yourselves. If I find anyone touched her, I’ll feed him to the sharks!”

Labut’s tone left no room for argument.

The pirates were resentful but feared the man before them even more, so they slunk away.

The ship’s prison lay deep in the hold, every possible source of light sealed shut—oppressive and pitch-black.

Bang!

The ship rocked, and unseen objects inside the hold clattered together with a jarring noise.

Gasha, curled in the corner of the prison, pulled her knees tighter, her eyes wide as she tried to see what moved—yet all she saw was darkness.

(End of Chapter)