One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

"Ma, Lady Marika!"

The guards on the city wall quickly descended, trembling as they spoke: "W-what are you planning to do?"

"Oh Uya, long time no see, how is your child?" Marika greeted him gently.

"Yes! Thanks to you, he's doing well," the guard instinctively replied, but quickly realized something was off, "No, Lady Marika, you…"

"Ah, this Pirate captain is here to rob, and I'm here to guide them."

Marika still wore a soft smile: "If all goes well, I might join them and become a Pirate too."

"Become a Pirate? That's great, Lady Marika, you've finally made up your mind—wait!"

The guard had just relaxed when his eyes widened, "The sea, a Pirate? Robbery? This is the royal city!"

"Indeed, are you going to stop us? Uya, and Kaha." Marika asked with a smile.

Both guards were taken aback, one of them blinked, thought for a moment, and looked up at the sky where a fierce wind had begun to blow and heavy rain was falling, "I just remembered my house needs repairs, I need to go fix it."

"Me too, my child hasn't eaten yet, I need to go feed him, being a single parent is tough."

The two guards exchanged words, put down their spears, and quickly retreated.

As for the bombing at the city gate, it drew the attention of others in the street, but no one cared.

Those who had come to watch the commotion, upon seeing Marika, spontaneously formed two lines, watching Sage and the others move forward.

As for Marika, she smiled and greeted each one.

She knew everyone in the royal city.

The commoners responded to her greetings, and as for stopping them… no one dared to intervene.

No matter what this group intended to do, as long as Marika was there, they wouldn't stop them.

In fact, seeing Marika like this made them even happier.

As for the people rushing from behind, they discovered long-lost family members and wept with joy.

Having been driven to the Shallow Sand Kingdom, their families had no right to visit; once they stepped into the 'territory' of the Shallow Sand Kingdom, it was considered an automatic forfeiture of their status in the Deep Forest Kingdom, leading to confiscation of property and arrest, awaiting transport to the Bridge Kingdom.

"You really are a person of great renown."

Lily glanced at Marika, "With such a reputation, have you never thought of leading a rebellion? Is there no strong person in this kingdom?"

"Strong person."

Marika pondered for a moment, then shook her head, "If you're referring to Xiji, he has already been killed by you. There is no one as formidable as you in this kingdom. As for rebellion… it's useless; we are neither nobles nor do we have royal blood."

"Is that so?" Lily nodded, her expression complex.

The situation was completely different.

She was of royal blood but unrecognized, wanting to do something but being obstructed.

Marika had a great reputation but was not a noble; she could do something but was unable to act.

This world felt like a huge joke.

Lily looked at Sage ahead and sighed inwardly.

Not as carefree as Sage. The group soon reached the royal city, where a large number of soldiers had gathered at the city gate due to the commotion.

Behind the soldiers, on the massive steps, a person dressed in a jumpsuit, wearing a crown of grass and adorned with gold jewelry, stared intently at Marika.

"Marika! Have you betrayed me? I gave you the title of Royal Chef; even if you don't obey my orders, I gave you two years, and now you do this to me, bringing a group of lowly people to rebel against me?!"

"Just a little interruption."

Sage raised his hand, "I'm not a lowly person; I'm a Pirate, and… you are the king, right?"

"I am, of course, the king of this country! You, Pirate, think that just because you brought a few people, you can…"

"Finger Gun!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sage flicked his finger, creating a hole in the king's head, blood spraying out.

The king's eyes widened, still maintaining a fierce expression, before he fell heavily to the ground.

"Done, your condition is fulfilled." Sage smiled at Marika.

Marika was clearly stunned, "Is it really that simple?"

That was the king! The ruler of a nation, the one who caused countless people to be displaced, a born ruler!

But in Sage's hands, he didn't even have time to finish his words.

"Sometimes, think of it differently."

Sage smiled, "Isn't the king also a person? When a person is killed, they die; no matter what authority they have, once they're dead, they have nothing left. Just like if you can't adapt to the rules, then change the rules to adapt to you; this is life experience I've gained from failing countless times."

If you can't do one job, then switch to another.

Can a living person be suffocated by urine? There's always a field, even if it's as unlucky as him, that can be adapted to.

Haven't we found it now?

This time, it wasn't an inexplicable scapegoat; even if it was scapegoating, he still gained benefits.

Moreover, now, he was the one actively robbing!

"Kill them!"

The soldiers in the palace were certainly not comparable to those guards; their pay was fully distributed, and they didn't pay taxes, so they were loyal to the king.

With the king dead, they would definitely seek revenge.

"Sage, leave it to us."

Lily stepped forward, pointing her slender sword at the charging soldiers, "Let's test our training results."

Whoosh! As soon as she finished speaking, her figure rapidly disappeared, her sword light darting like lightning, moving into the crowd under the dark storm, appearing behind the soldiers.

"Soru."

Lily maintained a slightly crouched posture, slowly sheathing her slender sword, completely ignoring the soldiers turning around and thrusting their spears at her.

"Lightning Waltz."

Click.

The two-finger-wide blade of the slender sword returned to its sheath with a sound.

Sizzle!!

In the next moment, the soldiers' bodies erupted with blood, collapsing to the ground.

"Oh, you've already mastered it."

Sage exclaimed in surprise, "Not bad at all."

Lily's speed was already very fast, and now that she had mastered Soru, although it wasn't yet perfect, she was already able to use it.

On the other side, Akin was also like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, swinging a club with an iron ball, jumping from the air and smashing into the crowd; as he swung the club, the iron ball struck a group of people.

As for the spears thrusting at him, they completely missed Akin; his body twisted in a strange manner, like a piece of paper fluttering in the wind, dodging a large number of spear thrusts, and then he swung the club again, knocking a group of people away.

The first to master it was actually 'Paper Drawing.'

But thinking about it, Akin's body flexibility was indeed impressive, and his combat reflexes were very quick, allowing him to make incredible body movements in battle; it was expected that he would be the first to master Paper Drawing.

Although it was still not perfect and relied on his innate talent, how long had it been?

To reach this level was already quite good.

This made Sage very satisfied; his subordinates were starting to grow, and he was about to gain a chef and seize a kingdom's treasure!

Collecting so many taxes, the accumulated wealth would surely surpass that of the Natia Kingdom! Boom!

The storm erupted with thunder, and his subordinates charged through the soldiers like a hot knife through butter, the brightness of the thunder illuminating his face, making his wild smile appear quite sinister.

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha!"

The reckless and arrogant laughter echoed violently in the storm, and Renetia, along with Sage's laughter, revealed a sinister smile, twisting her tool hammer, its power rotating, transforming into a hammer cannon.

Boom!!

A cannonball exploded in the palace, creating a massive breach, igniting in the wind and rain.

"What are you doing, Letty!" Sage shouted.

"Just setting the atmosphere," Renetia replied matter-of-factly, "It just feels like if I don't do something evil, it doesn't match your laughter."

Sage: "…"

What does that have to do with his laughter?