Chapter 96: Not One Left

Jasha shook his head slightly, a faint smile curling at the corner of his lips, and said softly:

“I ate a Devil Fruit—it’s the change the Devil Fruit brought.”

“Paramecia—Smooth-Smooth Fruit.”

Gao Wen nodded, his gaze still fixed on Jasha until her face visibly flushed, then he finally looked away.

Maybe it was an illusion.

Gao Wen felt an unprecedented power emanating from Jasha, just like when Keluo had awakened his true heart amid bloodshed.

He sent out a probe—and the evaluation that appeared before him made him pause slightly:

【Name—Jasha】

【Potential—Bronze】

【Rating—Iron: Awakened True Heart, Chasing Absolute Power!】

This woman… has she achieved enlightenment like Longchang?

Bronze-level potential?!

Gao Wen forced down his astonishment and nodded to Jasha:

“You’re alive—that’s enough.”

“Thank you.”

Jasha clenched her lips tightly, as if making a final decision, and offered the treasure chest with both hands, bowing deeply:

“Mr. Gao Wen, please teach me the strength needed to protect the Crow Harbor.”

Gao Wen looked down at the girl before him, her gaze resolute, and reached out to ruffle her hair:

“Then from today on, the flag of the Gao Wen Pirates shall fly over Crow Harbor!”

“No!”

Jasha shook her head:

“Mr. Gao Wen, I don’t need your protection—I need strength. Strength to protect the people of Crow Harbor, to protect Jasmine.”

Gao Wen paused, then a faint smile touched his lips:

“That’s exactly what I meant. Join my pirate crew, and you’ll gain the power you seek.”

“Publicly, you’ll remain lord of Crow Harbor, and we’ll just be a pirate crew active near it.”

In truth, whether Marines, pirates, or nobles watching this, anyone with half a brain could see the connection between Crow Harbor and the Gao Wen Pirates.

But as long as Gao Wen and Jasha didn’t openly reveal it, no one dared to act.

After all, when the Gao Wen Pirates had already challenged and defeated renowned Donghai pirate crews—and even the Marines—

He had become, in every real sense, a hegemon: a lord with fixed territory, who followed rules.

Under these circumstances, while some Marines, pirates, or Donghai nobles might hate Gao Wen, few truly wished for the Gao Wen Pirates to fall.

Because the next pirate to rise to the top of Donghai would almost certainly not be as restrained as Gao Wen.

Gao Wen understood this. Jasha understood it too. She clearly grasped his meaning, and exclaimed excitedly:

“Then please guide me.”

“Captain Gao Wen!”

Gao Wen nodded, then turned to face the pirates on deck.

They, terrified, dared not move; seeing Gao Wen look their way, they lowered their heads even further, as if trying to bury their skulls into the deck.

Nothing like the bloodthirsty frenzy they’d shown in Crow Harbor.

“Lord Gao Wen, we surrender! We’re from the Grand Line—we know where Hanafuza’s treasure is hidden! I’m still useful!”

“I know his base, I know everything about him!”

“If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything!”

Facing death, these pirates could no longer hold back—they immediately betrayed Hanafuza without hesitation.

Gao Wen’s gaze grew colder:

“You can betray Hanafuza so easily—you can betray me just as easily.”

They froze.

For a moment, no one spoke.

It felt as if the aura pressing down on them had suddenly intensified, making it hard to breathe.

Someone lifted his head—and saw Gao Wen’s gaze, utterly devoid of mercy:

“Besides, as captain, I owe a reckoning to the brothers who died in Crow Harbor, and to the cat-people wounded by you.”

Saying this,

Gao Wen bent down, picked up a sword from the deck, turned, and placed it in Jasha’s hands, saying calmly:

“Since you’ve chosen to become a pirate, since you seek power—prove it to me.”

“Leave no one alive on this ship.”

Jasha’s hand trembled slightly as she gripped the blade—but steadied instantly.

Scenes from Crow Harbor flashed before her eyes once more, and she tightened her grip on the longsword.

“Yes!”

The word fell.

Jasha stepped forward, before the horrified eyes of the pirates, and swung her longsword—

Ssssh!

The blade slid through cleanly, meeting no resistance whatsoever.

After consuming the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, she was intimately familiar with the limits of her ability—her body could become frictionless, and so could the blade in her hand.

The result: a cutting power that even Gao Wen found astonishing!

Warm blood splashed across Jasha’s face; the slick sensation made her skin break out in goosebumps—but the nausea that should have overwhelmed her was instantly swallowed by rage and hatred.

“She’s insane! This woman’s gone mad!”

“Run!”

“We—”

The pirates stared at Jasha, now a frenzy of slashing blades, and felt their souls tremble.

Already shattered by what they’d witnessed, all they could think of now was fleeing.

Get away from this hell!

Return to the Grand Line—after all, that was paradise!

For the first time in their lives, they felt awe—no, fear—toward this place called Donghai !

But they had barely taken a few steps back—and before them lay only the raging sea.

Plop!

As the first pirate plunged into the water, the others followed like dumplings dropped into boiling broth.

Yet before they could even celebrate, a burst of flame erupted from the distant small pirate ship…

Boom!

A cannonball struck the drowning pirates with perfect accuracy—limbs and blood instantly stained the sea red.

Keluo stood on deck, his gaze cold as he stared at the distant sea:

“After all, his order was ‘leave no one alive’—how could you possibly escape so easily?”

Nami, standing beside Keluo, clenched her lips and forced herself to watch.

This voyage had long since taught her: the pirate world was never a fairy tale—bloodshed, slaughter, and plunder were its eternal themes.

Among them, the Gao Wen Pirates were already an absolute anomaly.

Besides, hadn’t those pirates shown no hesitation when they turned their blades on their own comrades?

Blood debt must be paid in blood.

Bellmère’s death had taught Nami this truth.

…

Amid the flames,

Jasha was drenched in blood, her face as cold as ice.

As the slaughter continued, her grip on the sword grew steadier, her heart harder.

Seeing all pirates on deck had fallen into the sea, Jasha turned and entered the cabin. Moments later, screams echoed from within.

When she emerged, her entire body was drenched in pirate blood—grotesque, yet radiating a strange beauty.

“Captain, when those guards died… was it this painful?!”

(End of Chapter)