One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

Sage did not possess Armament or Observation Haki. These abilities were developed through training, and he had not yet mastered the activation of willpower. 

However, he did possess Conqueror's Haki, an innate quality that perhaps only one in several million people possessed.

Sage had this quality since childhood.

Haki itself was unrelated to physical strength, being a power of the will. This was especially true for Conqueror's Haki. No matter how strong Sage's physical techniques were, controlling this Conqueror's Haki was indeed troublesome.

Until now, he could not precisely release his Conqueror's Haki on multiple people. He could only direct it in one direction, and even people standing nearby would be affected if they were too close. Precise targeting of individuals was out of the question.

"What... is this?"

Lily stared blankly at the soldiers collapsing all over the mountainside, mumbling her question.

It was incomprehensible. Had all these soldiers suddenly become weak-kneed? But that wasn't it. Just a moment ago, she could still sense the soldiers' obvious excitement. But as soon as Sage went out to take a look, they all fainted, as if struck by some massive mental shock.

Not just her, but the other pirates were equally baffled. They stood with mouths agape, cold sweat streaming down their faces.

The captain was certainly strong, but they had seen this kind of strength in others before, just perhaps not to this degree. No matter how much stronger he became, they could accept it and marvel at the captain's power.

But faced with this unprecedented scene, their first reaction was not admiration or praise, but fear. Was such a man truly human?

"A Conqueror!" Renetia's words caught everyone's attention. She exclaimed in surprise: "You're actually a Conqueror?"

Akin said, "Sage defeated Krieg, so of course he's the new overlord of the East Blue."

"It's not that kind of weird thing, you monkey! Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" 

Renetia rolled her eyes at Akin and said, "My master once told me about a type of person on the seas. They appear maybe once in several million, born rulers with a powerful charisma that others don't possess. With this charisma alone, they can intimidate their enemies. Your captain is a Conqueror among pirates!"

"What kind of existence would a Conqueror among pirates be?" Akin swallowed, his eyes full of excitement and anticipation.

"Hmm." Renetia thought for a moment, then nodded firmly with a solemn tone: "Still a pirate!"

Everyone: "..."

"Don't just stand there, go collect the spoils."

Sage, having finished glaring at the soldiers, turned and walked back, laughing loudly: "Hahaha! No one can stop me now. Everything in this castle belongs to me! Paru, take that throne away. I want to see it in my new captain's quarters!"

"Yes, Captain!" Paru snapped to attention and hurried to move the throne that had been blown into a corner.

The rest began to plunder the treasures in the castle. Compared to the mayor they had robbed before, as a king, there were naturally many more valuables in the treasury. Especially since these Black Sail Pirates had already looted quite a few towns.

Apart from the materials Renetia needed, the towns were destroyed mainly because of the looting of valuables. This portion of money was not in her hands, but had been stored in the treasury.

Now, well, it all benefited Sage.

Piles of gold coins, gold ornaments, jewelry, precious corals... stacked together, they almost formed a small hill. Their golden glow made Sage's eyes shine.

He clutched a handful of gold coins, his right hand holding a jewel-encrusted flintlock pistol. Walking out of the castle, he looked at the star-studded night sky and grinned widely.

"Haha, hahaha!"

"Sage, are you happy? We need to board the ship now," Lily said as she approached.

"Of course! Lily, all of this is mine, mine!" 

Sage carelessly let a few coins slip from his palm onto the ground. He certainly loved money, but he wasn't Scrooge McDuck. On the contrary, he was also very generous.

With so much treasure, dropping a few gold coins just made him seem even more wealthy and magnanimous.

After laughing for a while, he said to Lily: "I have a plan!"

From the top of this highest island, he looked down the slope. On both sides of the slope, he could see numerous buildings. Villages connected to each other, and he could even spot several large towns.

"A kingdom's wealth is in two places: spread among all the commoners, and concentrated with the king. Robbing all the commoners takes time and effort, but robbing the king just requires taking him out. It's simple."

Sage grinned: "My plan is to rob all the kings along our route, all the way to the New World!"

Since the Navy had already pinned crimes on him, he might as well not bear the blame for nothing. The stolen materials had become the ship, the plundered treasures were in his hands, so he might as well keep going.

By robbing all the kings along the way, he could amass a huge fortune. Then he could flee to the New World where even the World Government couldn't reach him. This money would be his startup capital to become a great landowner!

It was a good path! The returns were higher than robbing merchant ships. As for risks, what business didn't have risks? Compared to risks, he was more afraid of not succeeding.

However, Sage knew clearly that this couldn't be rushed. Before having enough strength, some things still couldn't be done.

This point was very clear to Sage. Plans aren't achieved overnight; they come step by step.

Today he could rob a pile of treasures, tomorrow he could rob the world's treasures. Today he could rob kings, tomorrow he could become the Pirate King!

Robbing all the way, mastering Haki, then heading to the New World, controlling vast territories to become a great landowner, and finally reaching the pinnacle of the pirate industry!

Like "Hundred Beasts" and "Big Mom", establishing his own country, thus gaining vast territories and subordinates.

What? Aren't all pirates like this?

Of course! Sage was a pirate, and to achieve his dream, this was the only viable path.

If not this path, should he miserably go on adventures? Fight so many battles? The most valuable thing for a pirate crew isn't treasure, it's their individual bounties. Sage didn't have the luck to find some treasure. He had been a treasure hunter before, but couldn't even find a treasure chest, let alone actual treasure.

Only this traditional pirate path suited him.

Traditional meant foolproof! What Sage wanted now was to avoid mistakes!

"Sage... something's coming."

While Sage was still laughing wildly, Lily was looking at the sea surface below the slope. Under the starry sky, the sea had turned black, but within this blackness, the glowing outlines of ships were approaching.

Navy warships!

Plundering treasure also took time, especially since Sage was a meticulous person. He insisted on searching every nook and cranny of the castle. The thirty-odd pirates nearly scraped the gold foil off the light fixtures to take with them.

The surrounding fire and the earlier sounds of cannon fire had certainly attracted the attention of nearby people. Reporting to the Navy was inevitable.

"Let's go."

Sage, clutching his gold coins, walked with Lily towards the side of the castle. There, an enormous black ship stood on the ground.

Calling it a black ship now seemed somewhat inaccurate. In the night, the surface of the ship actually reflected twinkling stars, as if the ship had sunk into the starry sky.

This was a three-masted sailing ship, so large that when the thirty-odd pirates entered, it seemed as if they weren't there at all. The warships of the East Blue were completely incomparable to the scale and volume of this ship.

"Come on, come on!"

Renetia stood beside the ship, waving at them. "Hurry up and get on board. Don't worry about getting down. We'll slide straight down the slope and then out to sea! Those warships won't be able to catch this ship. I've also installed a power system on board that even ordinary people can control. It can go even faster, making it even more impossible for them to catch up!"

"Excellent!"

Sage laughed heartily, ruffling Renetia's hair as he climbed the stairs extending from the ship's side onto the deck.

"The figurehead still doesn't have an emblem. We'll change that later, make one that belongs to me."

He stood at the bow, gazing ahead for a moment, then waved his hand and shouted: "Set sail!"

"Okey-dokey!"

Renetia grinned, showing her little fangs, and pressed her hand on the deck. "Power thrust!"

Bang! The ship didn't experience any pushing force, yet it began to slide along the ground, all the way to the slope. The entire ship slid swiftly down the ground, the hard ironwood completely disregarding the bumps and jolts along the way, rushing all the way to the harbor at the bottom of the slope, then suddenly leaping into the air.

The starry sky beneath the black ship mirrored the sky above, blending into one. It soared past the numerous warships gradually approaching the harbor, descending into the sea behind the warships and creating a huge splash.

The ship disappeared into the splash, and by the time the water settled, it was already far away from the warships, not even giving them a chance to turn around.