One Piece: Honey Badger Speedruns the World

Snag didn't dare to pause for a moment, and quickly recited the prepared statement:

"I went to convey your message, but that bastard had already planned to escape, and even forcibly broke through the defenses of the myriad nations, fleeing to the open sea!!"

"Just now! That Jinbe guy actually ignored it too and deliberately let him go!!"

"What...?!"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. Then...

"That brat... how dare he betray me?!"

The old woman's voice was distorted to the extreme, filled with a brutal killing intent: "No one can leave the Kingdom of Ten Thousand!"

"Unforgivable... Absolutely unforgivable!!"

"Mom! Please calm down!!" Snag seized the opportunity and pleaded loudly:

"Please give me another chance! Grant me permission to leave the International Territory!"

Snag raised his head, his eyes flashing with a desperate, reckless glint.

"I will personally lead the fleet to hunt down that traitor! Even if I have to chase him to the ends of the earth, I will bring him back to you!!"

"I will extract his soul and offer it to you to make the most tormented Homie! So that he may forever repent for what he did today!!"

All that could be heard on the other end of the phone was heavy breathing, the calm before the storm.

a long time.

"Go, Snag." The old woman's voice was as cold as if it came from hell.

"Bring him back to me. If you can't..."

"Then use your own lifespan in lieu. Understand?"

"Yes...yes, Mother!!"

Click. The call ended.

Snag slumped on the deck, his body drenched in cold sweat.

He survived, for now.

"Huff... huff..."

He struggled to his feet, looking at the boundless sea, his fear completely transforming into an overwhelming hatred for Goss.

"Did you hear that?"

Snag drew his greatsword from his waist, pointed it in the direction the Narwhal had disappeared, and let out a hysterical roar:

"Full speed ahead!! Target—Goss!!!"

"I'll tear him to pieces!!!"

……

The edge of the international waters.

The salty, damp sea breeze instantly filled my nostrils, replacing the nauseatingly sweet aroma.

"Phew... finally out."

Thornton, who had been standing in front of the helm, let out a long breath. His massive body slumped onto the deck, and he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He looked back with lingering fear at the receding sea behind him.

Goss cursed inwardly. He'd left in such a hurry, and with all the previous commotion, he'd completely forgotten to set up a log pointer for even one new world.

In this treacherous sea area with its chaotic magnetic field and unpredictable climate, not having a tracking pointer is tantamount to suicide. They are now like blind people who have lost their sight; if they wander off, the ever-changing ocean currents will swallow them whole, even without the old woman's intervention.

He fumbled around for a long time, and finally only pulled out a strangely shaped object.

It was a permanent pointer mounted on an armband. Unlike ordinary pointers that would spin erratically due to magnetic field disturbances, it steadily pointed southeast.

This is the loot he obtained from Bucky—Captain John's treasure pointer.

"Captain, where are we going next?"

Thornton got up and asked, "Should we find somewhere to lay low?"

"Avoiding the limelight?"

"Avoid the limelight? Where to avoid it?"

Goss sighed and raised the pointer in his hand.

It's not that I don't want to avoid it, it's just that this is the only thing that can guide me.

"There is no such thing as a way out in the dictionary of pirates, because we simply don't have a way out."

Goss tossed the only pointer to Thornton, his tone resigned to fate:

"Adjust course and follow this pointer."

……

The captain's lounge is on the second floor of the ship.

The waves lapped against the hull, producing rhythmic, muffled sounds.

Inside the room, the atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Vinsmoke Reiju huddled in the shadows at the corner of the bed.

That thin white sheet was her only line of defense for dignity at that moment, tightly wrapping her naked body.

Her signature short pink hair was a little messy, and her face, which was always adorned with exquisite makeup and an elegant smile, was now filled with humiliation and vigilance.

That bastard... he actually brought me here.

Reiju bit her lower lip hard, her heart filled with unbelievable anger and a hint of fear.

There was no combat suit, no poison canisters, not even clothes... and his hands were shackled.

I'm like a lamb to the slaughter now. That man named Goss... what exactly does he want?

Using me to threaten my father? Or...?

"Creak—"

The sound of the doorknob turning sent a shiver down Reiju's spine. She instinctively shrank back, her beautiful eyes fixed on the doorway, prepared to fight back even if it meant biting it with her teeth.

However, it wasn't the electrified demon that walked in.

Instead, it was a fur-bearing girl who looked to be about the same age as her, carrying a stack of clothes.

Mia.

Goss's sister is also a swordsman on this ship.

"Um... um..."

Mia closed the door behind her and looked at the woman on the bed, who was wrapped in a sheet, revealing half of her snow-white shoulders and slender legs. Her cheeks flushed red instantly, her eyes darted around, and she even walked with her hands and feet moving in unison.

Wow...so white...so smooth...

Mia gasped inwardly, then immediately berated herself: No! Mia, where are you looking! That's so rude!

But... my brother has such good taste! A beauty of this caliber...

"These are clothes."

Mia hurried to the bedside, placing the clothes she was carrying on the bed as if they were a hot potato. She stammered, "These... these are new clothes I've never worn before. They're not anything fancy, and the fabric is rather rough, but... but it's better than being naked, right?"

Reiju paused, startled. She looked at the neatly stacked shirts and trousers, then at the blushing girl in front of her who dared not look at her. The wariness in her eyes did not diminish; instead, it intensified.

Is this some new interrogation technique?

Is he trying to lower my guard with this gentle approach first?

Or is it that... if you want to humiliate me, you can only wear this kind of rags that belong to ordinary people?

"Thanks."

Reiju uttered two words coldly, her voice still maintaining a sense of distance.

"No, you're welcome!"

Mia seemed to have received a huge boost. She took a deep breath and cheered herself on in her heart: Come on, Mia! That taciturn brother of mine definitely won't say a word.

This is when I, the caring younger sister, am needed to smooth things over! After all, she's a future sister-in-law in the making!

So she moved a chair and sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed, placing her hands on her knees and striking a pose like a caring older sister.

"Um... Reiju-san, right?"

Mia stole a glance at Reiju's still stunningly beautiful face, even in her disheveled state. Her heart raced, and she lowered her voice, speaking earnestly:

"I know, my brother was a bit rough this time, forcibly... um, to bring you here."

I understand that you must be feeling resentful right now.

Reiju raised an eyebrow, a cold smile playing on her lips: "Rude? He wrapped me in a sheet and tied me up, and you call that rude?"

"Oh dear, pirates, they don't know how to be gentle with women."

Mia waved her hand and actually began to defend Goss, her eyes gleaming with a kind of speculative brilliance.

"But he's actually not a bad person! Really! Although he's not very talkative and looks a bit fierce... he's very protective of his own and a strong person you can entrust with your life!"

"ha?"

Reiju's beautiful eyes widened instantly, and she even forgot her fear: "What are you talking about?"

What nonsense is this woman spouting? What is there to entrust with my life? I'm being kidnapped!

Don't be shy.

Mia blushed, wearing an expression that said, "I understand, we're all women," and even reached out to pat Reiju's shoulder, which was wrapped in a sheet, in a comforting manner.

"My brother has been alone all these years. Besides me, there isn't even a female mosquito around him."

This was the first time he'd ever brought a woman home, and such a beautiful and elegant woman at that.

Mia became more and more excited as she spoke, completely absorbed in her own logical loop: That's right! That must be it!

My brother is usually uninterested in anything, but this time he's risking offending Big Mom to steal this woman. What else could this be but true love? A domineering pirate falls in love with a princess from an enemy country… Wow, how romantic!

"Since you've already been taken aboard, it must be fate! Don't worry. Even though your brother is a pirate, he's very responsible and will definitely take responsibility for you."

"Just settle down here. From now on, we're family. If you need anything, just let me know. Treat this place like your own home... Sister-in-law... cough, Reiju-neechan."

In that instant, Reiju felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the top of her head.

Who wants to be family with him?!

Reiju screamed inwardly, her aloof persona almost crumbling.

She stared in horror at the girl with starry eyes before her, opened her mouth, but the well-prepared logical rebuttal she had prepared suddenly got stuck in her throat.

Is it really... just hostages?

Looking at Mia's confident expression, Reiju felt a crack appear in the high wall of rationality deep within her heart.

Thinking about it carefully... if that man didn't want Germa's technology, why would he go to so much trouble to capture me?

But... if it's just about using technology to trade hostages, wouldn't it be enough to just lock me up in jail?

Why did you specifically bring me to such a comfortable room?

Why would you have your own sister deliver the new clothes?

Moreover... when that man was carrying me just now, although his movements were rough, he didn't actually cause me any real harm or humiliation...

Reiju glanced down at the neatly stacked clothes, then recalled Goss's arrogant words, "Take the spoils," and a chilling, absurd yet terrifying feeling crept up her spine.

Spoils of war... does it refer to more than just hostages? Or does it mean... something else entirely?

The Vinsmoke family's cold-blooded upbringing had instilled in her a habit of measuring everything by self-interest, but now, faced with this group of pirates who acted completely unpredictably, her logic was utterly thrown into disarray.

"you……"

Reiju's voice was no longer as firm as before, but trembled slightly with uncertainty as she tentatively asked:

"Is there...some misunderstanding?"

She gritted her teeth, trying to regain some sense of self-awareness as a hostage, but her confidence was clearly waning.

"I'm supposed to be... just a hostage used to threaten my father... right?"

"I understand, I understand."

Mia interrupted her, revealing a meaningful smile: "That's what they always say at the beginning, hostages, prisoners... feelings can be cultivated slowly."

Okay, go ahead and change your clothes. I won't disturb your rest.

After saying that, Mia, like a little sparrow that had completed its glorious mission, hummed a little tune and briskly left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

Reiju was left alone, bewildered in the wind, looking at the pile of clothes, and for the first time felt a deep despair about her future.

Compared to being subjected to torture... this inexplicable unfolding of a family drama is far more chilling...

……

The Narwhal.

Sizzle... sizzle...

In the shadows of the corner, an ordinary-looking sealed wooden barrel that should have been in the hold was slowly and stealthily moving toward the deck.

"Hehehe... These idiots have such poor vigilance..."

A cunning eye peeked out from the crack in the wooden barrel.

Qianliang Daohua·Baki was holding his breath, observing the movements on the ship through a small hole in the wooden barrel.

He had been curled up in that damned, salty-smelling barrel for three whole hours, and his legs were almost numb.

That damned Goss... he made me suffer like this.

Just you wait, once I take over your ship, I'll make you clean the toilets!

Bucky's gaze swept across the deck, and after confirming that no one was around, he was overjoyed.

The only big, dumb guy at the helm was also dozing off...

Bucky clenched his fists tightly inside the barrel, with a few specially made miniature Bucky bullets between his fingers.

As long as I take advantage of the fact that no one is on guard, I'll first use a special tranquilizer dart to take care of that big oaf, then rush into the cabin and blow everyone else to smithereens...

Once the neck and the treasure pointer are retrieved, Bucky's revenge mission will be perfectly completed!

And I heard they captured a woman from Germa?

Hahaha! Selling her to the underworld will bring in a huge sum of money!

Then I'll be the new Great Pirate! What are the Seven Warlords of the Sea? The Four Emperors are all beckoning to me!

Bucky became more and more excited as he thought about it; the thrill of about to reach the pinnacle of his life almost made him laugh out loud.

He carefully pried open the lid of the wooden barrel a crack, just as he was about to reach out a hand to carry out his grand plan.

Suddenly, an indescribable chill enveloped the entire ship without warning.

Whoosh—! A sharp, piercing sound suddenly shattered the tranquility of the sea, breaking the brief moment of peace.

"Whoa!!"

Bucky was so frightened that his hand trembled, and the shattered hand that he hadn't even had time to extend instantly retracted.

With a "bang," the bucket lid was slammed shut, and the person curled up into a ball again.

W-What's going on?! Were we discovered?!

No… that sound is coming from outside! Could it be…?