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CHAPTER 37

It had been almost a week, an uncomfortable time for Kreegan and Lex. As Don Krieg was paranoid, they had to hide from the guards who regularly roamed the island, and by their calculations, another week could pass like that.

"Kreegan, how much longer do you think it is going to take for them to come here?"

"I don't know if we are unlucky, one more week."

"What are we going to do if we get caught?"

"It wouldn't be ideal, but I am not allowing Don Krieg to go back to sea ever again. If we kill him without a blockade, even if we get out, the captain of other ships will continue to work like him. So, we need to show East Blue being like Don Krieg brings nothing but death to them."

"I am sick of eating jerky."

Kreegan bowed to Lex mockingly and said,

"My prince, what would you like to eat today? Should I make you a fettuccine alfredo?"

"Fuck you!"

Kreegan threw a big piece of jerky at Lex and said,

"No fuck you! Go and chew on this."

While trying to bite off a piece of the jerky, Lex said,

"It would be so good if we had that."

"Had what?"

"Fettuccine alfredo"

Kreegan couldn't help but laugh

"Yes, it would be good. I am sick of jerky too. You're on the first watch."

...

"Kreegan, you must wake up now!"

Lex shook Kreegan hard, and Kreegan jumped to his feet. Sparks of the Jolt cantrip appeared on his hand.

"What happened!"

"Nothing, I got bored, and it is already morning."

Kreegan stood still as a statue, and the corner of his mouth began to twitch. A creepy smile crossed his face, and he touched Lex with his sparkling hand.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"AHHH!"

"That hurt like hell, you asshole."

"No, you are the asshole. What kind of idiot wake people up like that?"

Lex pointed at a rock and said,

"Is that a guard?"

Kreegan turned and looked. At that moment, Lex landed a hard smack on Kreegan's neck. As Kreegan turned and was about to hit Lex, he said.

"Wait, we are even. Your spell hurt too much."

He said as Kreegan raised his fist to strike Lex again.

"Wait, look behind you!"

"Yes, I am not going to fall for that again."

"For real, there are marine ships on the horizon."

"Lex, if you are messing, I will use Shocking Grasp next time."

Kreegan turned around, and there were indeed Marines warships on the horizon, but just then, a new smack landed on the back of his neck. Lex took his staff and sprinted towards the fissure.

"You should watch your back. At last! We are going to have some action."

Right after him, Kreegan started running too, but Lex had turned into his full tiger form. In this form, his running speed was faster. So, it was not possible for Kreegan to catch him. Kreegan said in a low voice,

"You are going to pay for this."

When the surrounding guards saw the Marine ship, they signaled inside, and everyone in the rift stopped the fun and music. They were unaware that they had been discovered, and as usual, they thought the Marines would pass. There was an opportunity to sneak past as the guards at the edge of the island went into hiding.

In full tiger form, Lex entered the guards' hideout at the edge of the island and slit the throat of one man with one swipe of his claw. Then bit and ripped the throat of another. When Kreegan arrived there, Lex had already killed all three guards. Lex’s devil fruit was a mythological zoan, Neko neko no mi Model: Byakko. His white tiger form was slightly different, as he was a Byakko.

Pieces of blue mist and a flame-like aura were flying around his shoulders and hind legs. This was the first time Kreegan saw his full tiger form. His paws and mouth were covered in blood; he turned human again and started spitting.

"This is the only part I don't like about my fruit, one of my most powerful weapon is my mouth. Puh, puh! Disgusting! Should we lower the rocks at the entrance?"

During their time here, they learned how to pass between the rocks, observing the ships coming and going. The rocks in front of the entrance were barriers built on platforms that could be sunk and raised. If a ship had to go in or out, they would submerge these rocks and raise them back above the water after the ship.

"No, why would we? If we do that, Smoker will head straight for Don Krieg, but if we tell him how to get his ships in, he'll waste time searching for the rocks' control place while we hunt down Don Krieg and his main crew."

Kreegan brought the den-den mushi out and told Smoker about the platforms. After that, they snuck into the hideout. Kreegan and Lex were making their way through the cabins with no problem because there were 5,000 pirates inside this hideout, and it was unlikely that every pirate would recognize each other's faces.

They were making their way to the Dreadnought Saber in the harbor, and Kreegan was waving his mug of beer and bowing to everyone. Although the pirates didn't know him, they thought he was one of the new crew, and the pirates continued to drink and chat in tense silence, even if there was no music playing.

They seemed used to this tension, so it wasn't the first time the Marines had come this close. As they approached Don Krieg's ship, Kreegan placed Shocking Grasp, Shield, and Burning Hands in three spell slots.

Kreegan knew what type of weapons Don Krieg was using, so he knew he would need a shield spell this time, and the burning hand was a precaution in case Don Krieg could use poison gas. Like two drunken pirates, they came towards the ship's boarding ramp, but the man standing guard there stopped them.

"Who are you?"

"Brother, it hasn't been long since the two of us joined the crew, and we've never seen Captain Don Krieg up close. Can we join the fun on board if you allow us?"

"No, this party is for the crewmates that have proven themselves."

"Come on, brother, don't be that stiff. We can make it worth your while."

Kreegan took out a big stack of cash, around 50k bellies, from his jacket and started shaking it in front of his face and smelled the stack.

"This could all be yours. Come on. We wouldn't cause any trouble, and all we want to do is see our great captain."

"Okey, but only 5 minutes, then you are leaving the ship."

A sly grin spread across Kreegan's mouth as the guardsman turned and headed up the boarding ramp.