Pirates: Seeing My Proficiency, I Became a Legend

"Boss! Another sloop spotted!"

"Oh?"

"Which side is it from?"

"Report to the captain, there is no flag!"

"What?"

At that moment, the pirate captain's arrogant smirk twisted into one of pure terror. A sloop without a flag in the East Blue? There was only one possibility.

"No flag… Could it be—?"

Every crew member on board went pale. The name alone sent shivers down the spines of even seasoned pirates.

The pirate hunter, Dongze.

"Turn the ship around! Hurry, little ones! If we stay, we're dead men! No one survives when Dongze appears!"

"Tch. Do I have to do everything myself?"

Dongze sighed, then with a single stomp of his foot, vanished into thin air. Using Soru and Geppo, he shot into the sky, reappearing in a blur above the enemy vessel.

"Yo! How's my proficiency doing?"

His muttering was lighthearted, but his grip tightened on his sword.

"Oh! Slip of the tongue! Slip of the tongue! How are you, little cuties?"

To Dongze, cutting down pirates was far easier than slaying Sea Kings. At least with humans, there was no risk of poison or ridiculous regenerative abilities.

In a flash, his figure blurred, reappearing behind the nearest pirate.

"Hundred Step Flying Sword!"

The technique had long since reached mastery. Even without Haki, his blade was lethal. But with his Busoshoku coating the sword, it ensured not just a fatal strike—but absolute decapitation.

The final stroke of the Hundred Step Flying Sword was a horizontal slash—brutally efficient in the Pirate World, where enemies often clung to life despite grievous wounds. Sealing a throat was not enough. Cutting off the head ensured the job was finished.

[ +20 Busoshoku Haki Proficiency ]

Dongze glanced at his stat panel and shook his head. Expected.

There were still enemies left in the ship's cabin, but they weren't his concern. None of them would leave this Cabin alive

The dimly lit cabin housed three people—two men and a young girl. The girl, barely in her teens, was hidden inside a wooden barrel, peering cautiously through a crack. Her sharp eyes darted between the two men, assessing the situation.

That girl was Nami.

The two men, on the other hand, were nothing more than corrupt merchants, known for exploiting the weak. To Dongze, they were no better than the Celestial Dragons—parasites feeding off society.

If the Celestial Dragons were the cancer of this world, then these merchants were the disease festering beneath them.

Take the underground auctions at Sabaody Archipelago—who made up most of the clientele? Not just pirates or slavers, but wealthy merchants. They flaunted their wealth, bullied the poor, yet cowered in the presence of the Celestial Dragons.

"The world is broken," Dongze mused.

If the World Government truly upheld justice, would pirates and the Revolutionary Army even exist? The answer was obvious.

Dongze exhaled, shaking off his thoughts, and stepped inside.

There was only one lamp in the room, casting flickering shadows across the bloodied floor. The two merchants were shackled, their bodies covered in bruises. They had been beaten senseless before the pirates even decided their fate.

If this were the world of Naruto, they'd already be in the afterlife.

Dongze smirked.

"Hey! Little one, all the pirates outside are dead."

"Aren't you coming out yet?"

The two merchants flinched at his voice. They had expected another round of torture, but instead, their captors had been slaughtered.

Relief flooded their faces.

"Sir! Please help us!"

"I'll pay you 10 million Berries!"

"No—20 million! Just get us out of here!"

"I'll pay 100 million Berries!"

"200 million!"

A certain thief cat's ears perked up.

Money.

Nami was desperate for money. Without hesitation, she exploded out of the barrel.

"Sir! I'll save you! Give me the money!"

"I'll even give you a 50% discount!"

Dongze chuckled. Her eyes had literally turned into Berries.

With a smirk, he mimicked Borsalino's lazy drawl.

"Oh~ there was someone hiding in the barrel all along~ How scary~"

The three captives' faces twitched at his exaggerated reaction.

Nami blushed furiously. "Liar! You called me out just now!"

Dongze grinned. "Ah~ you caught me!"

"Do I look that stupid?"

"But little girl, you're doing business all wrong."

He raised his sword slightly, letting its edge gleam in the dim light.

"I'm the one who defeated the pirates outside."

Nami hesitated.

That was a lot of money.

Even if she had no idea who Dongze really was, 200 million Berries was more than enough to wipe out her 100-million-Berry debt to Arlong. She couldn't just let it slip away.

"What's the problem?" she huffed. "I'm a victim! Isn't it fair for me to get some mental compensation?"

"Haha."

Now that was the Nami he expected.

Still, there was one more detail that needed addressing.

The pirates outside had mentioned something earlier—how they found these merchants because someone tipped them off.

Dongze's gaze sharpened.

"Hey, little girl. I heard these guys got caught because someone leaked their location."

"Who do you think that person was?"

Silence.

Nami flinched.

The two merchants stiffened. Their minds immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario: had one of their rivals betrayed them? That wouldn't be surprising—after all, backstabbing was a daily occurrence among the underground elite.

But they didn't suspect Nami.

She, however, was panicking inside.

(Shit! Could he have figured it out?!)

The truth was simple: Nami had sold them out.

After learning that these merchants were manipulating the economy of a nearby town—making it impossible for her village's orange grove to afford fertilizer—she had leaked their location to the pirates.

Now, hearing Dongze's words, she felt exposed. Did he know?

She forced a nervous laugh.

"Hehe! Brother, what are you talking about?"

At that moment, Robin walked in.

"Mr. Dongze, who are these people?"

"Black merchants."

Robin frowned. "A troublesome group. Were the pirates too weak to kill them?"

Hearing that, the merchants turned pale.

Even Nami instinctively shrank back.

Dongze smirked. "Actually, I was just about to finish cleaning up."

Then, in a whisper only Nami could hear—

"I'm guessing the one who leaked the information… was you."

Nami froze.

Her heart pounded. The two merchants stared at her, slowly processing the implications of Dongze's words.

Their faces contorted in rage.

"You?! It was you?!"

"You little witch! We'll kill you for this!"

Dongze simply smiled.

"Well now… what should we do with you all?"