One Piece: Failure’s Road to the Pirate King

Clang!

On the deck, a cold gleam suddenly appeared, swiftly cutting through the air, heading straight for Sage, who was standing in front.

Sage smiled, quickly extending two fingers to pinch that cold gleam.

The narrow blade, about the width of his two fingers, was firmly held between his index and middle fingers.

"Too simplistic."

Sage looked at Lily, who wanted to retract her sword, and said, "The Soru technique is fine, but this level of attack can only deal with small fry. You are a swordsman; speed alone is not enough. While enhancing your speed, also strengthen the power of your swordsmanship."

"Power Impact!"

On the other side, a massive ram's horn hammer came crashing down rapidly. Sage pinched and flicked with his two fingers, sending the slender sword and Lily's body stumbling backward. At the same time, he easily jumped up and squatted directly on the face of the hammer.

"I don't have much to guide you on your abilities; you're more familiar with the power aspect. Just focus on developing your abilities. And one more thing, when will my gun be ready, Renetia?" Sage looked down at Renetia.

"It's already done! I'll give it to you!"

Renetia shouted angrily, twisting the hammer handle again. The enlarged ram's horn hammer quickly shrank back into an ordinary tool hammer, allowing Sage to fall out from it.

As soon as he landed, he heard the sound of rushing wind. Akin was charging from the other side like a cheetah, his cane swirling in a powerful arc, slamming toward Sage.

"Your intentions are too obvious."

Sage merely sidestepped, and with two fingers, pointed at Akin's head.

"Paper Drawing!" Akin's pupils constricted, and his body began to move, swaying like a willow in the wind.

"Still very greedy. As a Pirate, you're qualified, but your physical skills need to be developed step by step!"

Sage directly kicked out a leg, whipping Akin's side, sending him flying into the ship's railing.

Afterward, he retracted his foot and walked toward the trembling figure behind him.

"I, I am the invincible Paru!"

The remaining Paru's legs shook. Seeing Sage approach, he closed his eyes and shouted, "Iron Block!"

Bang! Sage's fist slammed into his abdomen, lifting him an inch off the ground, his body curling up like a shrimp, his eyes bulging out as he knelt down, holding his stomach with his mouth agape.

"Still need to strengthen, but he's not so afraid of pain anymore. That's encouraging."

Sage glanced at the fallen Paru and turned back to the Throne on the deck. After sitting down, a tray was brought over.

"Please enjoy."

Marika's gentle smile appeared beside him.

Sage glanced at her, reached for the glass on the tray, shook the liquid inside, took a sip, and said, "Not bad, Marika. Why don't you try it?"

Marika smiled, "Ah, I'm good at cooking, not fighting."

"Is that so?"

Sage squinted and shook his head with a smile.

In his eyes, this woman was hiding great strength.

As for the others, it was mainly because he had mentioned they needed more practice, which led Lily and the others to challenge themselves, resulting in today's events.

It was also a good opportunity to test these people's specific progress.

The results? Not too good, not too bad.

Lily seemed to have the best progress; she used the Soru technique well and could even begin to combine it with swordsmanship. However, aside from speed, her swordsmanship was lacking.

But Sage didn't know much about swordsmanship either; he understood physical techniques but not sword techniques. He only knew a term called 'Breath of All Things,' which supposedly allowed swordsmen to cut through steel.

Currently, Lily could only cut through stone, and she was still far from that.

Renetia was too young for intensive training. Besides, she was a mechanic and an ability user; she should focus on her own specialization first. For example, the tool hammer in her hands had a very complex structure. Without her own abilities to support it, she couldn't possibly utilize so many forms.

Akin was somewhat greedy; his attacks clearly showed traces of 'Iron Block' and 'Soru,' but he failed noticeably. 'Paper Drawing' was used decently.

As for Paru, his Iron Block needed strengthening.

"Sage."

At this moment, Lily walked up to Sage, standing slightly behind and to the left of the Throne. She took out a telescope to look ahead, then compared it with a sea chart, saying, "We should be there."

"Oh?"

Sage reached for Lily's telescope and looked through it.

Ahead in the sea, there was a thick fog. Through the telescope, he could see the outline of a massive bridge within the fog.

They had already sailed to a section of the Bridge Kingdom's bridge.

Akin shook his head, leaving the ship's railing and walking to the front of the deck.

Paru stood up, striking his fists together, following Akin. Behind them were the remaining Pirates, gripping their weapons tightly.

Further back, on the empty deck steps, Sage finished the drink in his glass and placed it back on the tray held by Marika, who stood to his right. At the same time, Renetia was tinkering away, handing over a beautifully crafted Flintlock Gun embedded with gems.

"Here, it's done. It's been modified to six shots, and it can fire normally in the rain without being affected by water."

Sage smirked, took the Flintlock Gun, and tucked it into his left side belt, remaining silent as he quietly awaited the massive black ship to break through the fog and gradually approach the outline of the bridge.

Only when he saw the bridge itself did Sage rise and say, "Our Pirate Crew is about to expand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped onto the air as if there were steps leading up to the massive bridge, quickly ascending after a few steps, piercing through the mist and landing on the edge of the bridge.

Crack! A whip crack echoed on the bridge, and a man in a guard uniform swung his whip, striking a laborer transporting building materials, leaving a bloody mark on his back.

"Hurry up! Don't delay the work!"

Then, the guard seemed to sense something and looked to the side, only to see a man standing high on the edge of the bridge, looking down at him. "Yo."

Sage raised his hand, smiled slightly, and greeted him.

Bang! He quickly drew the Flintlock Gun and pulled the trigger, a bullet appearing in the guard's forehead, causing him to fall to the ground with a look of astonishment.

Bang bang bang! Sage stepped forward onto the wide bridge, casually firing three more shots, killing the guards who hadn't reacted yet. Then he turned to the astonished workers in their uniforms and said, "I am Norton Sarg, a Pirate, and I am currently recruiting personnel. You..."

As the smoke from the gun gradually dissipated, so did the thick fog that enveloped the bridge.

"Do you want to join my Pirate Crew and become a Pirate?!"

This was a place where many unaligned individuals and criminals were sent to become slaves. The composition of this nation was entirely made up of these people, including the guards, who were once criminals.

Rather than a nation, it was more like a prison for holding enemies.

Regardless of whether they were civilians or not, anyone still alive here would possess tremendous endurance, resilient willpower, and sufficient vitality to withstand harsh environments and whippings.

Some were even seasoned warriors. At least, with just a cursory glance, Sage could see a dozen or so well-built talents on one side of the bridge.

Such talents, rather than being used as slaves, would be better suited to fill his Pirate Crew! This would be a solid foundation for him to become a landlord in the future!