One Piece: The Extra-Dimensional Pirate Crew

"Who's there?!" The crew of the Krieg Pirates shouted in alarm.

"We're just law-abiding citizens who happened to drop by to earn some extra cash." Surrounded by pirates, Eric shrugged nonchalantly. After many battles, Eric had already gauged his own level. Aside from Krieg, none of these small fry even caught his attention.

"Hah! So you're pirate hunters? You think just the two of you can beat us all?!"

"Fresh meat delivered to our door! What luck!" After defeating Wild Horse Jeff, captain of the second-strongest pirate crew in the East Blue, the Krieg Pirates were riding high on confidence. They didn't notice anything wrong. After all, their battles were usually chaotic brawls where sheer numbers determined the winner.

"Hey, there's a pretty girl over there—she's mine!" A lecherous pirate licked his lips with his long tongue, drooling in a way that could turn any ordinary woman pale with disgust.

"Bang!"

Before the pirate could get close, Eric shot him straight in the head. A crimson hole appeared, and some unidentifiable mix of fluids leaked out. (Don't overthink it.)

"Sorry, he was way too disgusting. I couldn't help it." Eric's apology carried zero sincerity. "And quit looking at my partner like that, you creep!" His face suddenly turned serious as he shouted, "The only one allowed to look at Jason like that is me!"

The tone was resolute, but the words sounded like something only an idiot or a pervert would say.

'Wait… why the hell did I just say that? Is my IQ dropping from hanging around pirates too long?' Eric froze, then nervously glanced at Jason beside him. 'Phew, no reaction.'

"You're spouting nonsense again. Hurry up and deal with them," Jason ordered in her usual calm tone, clearly confirming she'd heard his idiotic remark.

"Yes, ma'am!" Eric answered obediently and began slaughtering the pirates.

"Damn it! They're mocking us!"

"Kill them!" The Krieg Pirates roared in rage and charged forward.

Eric wielded a blade in his right hand and a gun in his left. None of the pirates could stand against him. He moved carefully, staying close to Jason while avoiding being surrounded. He lacked Observation Haki and couldn't risk attacks from behind.

Jason's strikes were even more ferocious. Despite her slender frame, her attacks were brutal. She bisected enemies at the waist or decapitated them in one clean swing. She avoided using Muramasa's cursed instant-kill ability whenever possible, relying instead on pure swordsmanship to deliver fatal blows.

"Hoh~" Krieg himself didn't hide in his captain's cabin. Instead, he stood atop its collapsing roof, observing the battle. He wanted to see if these two were stronger than him. Fortunately, he concluded they weren't, so there was no need to flee.

'Let my men wear them down first,' Krieg thought coldly. His crew was expendable. He could always recruit more. His own life was what mattered.

"Boss! We're no match for them! Please take them down!"

Barely a minute had passed—though to the pirates, their one-sided slaughter felt much longer. Realizing they stood no chance, the pirates backed away, hoping their captain would save them.

"Tch. Useless trash." Krieg clicked his tongue. His crew had been decimated without even tiring out the enemy. If he wanted to minimize further losses, he'd have to finish this himself.

"You two are strong. How about joining me, the ruler of the East Blue?" Krieg offered. His crew was weak, barely capable of bullying civilians. That was why he'd wanted to recruit Wild Horse Jeff as his vice-captain—to strengthen his officers.

"I refuse. You're too weak." Eric didn't hesitate. What, does he think acting like a big shot makes people kneel? He mocked Krieg with a smirk: "You look weak."

"You look weak… weak… weak…" The words echoed in Krieg's mind like a curse. His face twisted in rage, his eyes bloodshot, teeth grinding. "I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!"

He raised his shield. "RATATATATA!" The machine gun hidden in his shield roared, firing at Eric.

"Shave!" Eric vanished in an instant, darting behind Krieg's remaining crew and using them as meat shields.

"Argh!"

"Boss! You're hitting us!"

"Stop shooting!"

But Krieg didn't care. He was too enraged to stop. He would turn Eric into a pincushion, even if it meant mowing down his own men.

"Burial!"

Seeing the chance, Jason dashed behind Krieg for a surprise attack. Yet, whether due to sheer instinct or system assistance, Krieg suddenly sensed the strike. He blocked her sword with his shield and aimed his machine gun at her.

"Die!"

"Bang!" Eric's bullet struck Krieg's left leg, throwing him off balance. His aim shifted just enough—

"Burial!" Jason invoked her freshly learned Iron-Cutting Slash. Muramasa pierced Krieg's body, slicing from his lower right abdomen all the way to his upper left chest.

Krieg's golden armor split in two. Blood splattered everywhere.

Yet the monster of a man still stood, hefting his massive spear for one last attack. Jasonjumped back instantly. She knew better than to underestimate a cornered beast.

"Boom!" The spear slammed into the ground, missing her.

"You think you can kill me that easily? Naïve! I'm the strongest man in the world!" Krieg bellowed, his eyes wild. But then he froze—black, writhing characters began crawling across his wound, spreading through his body.

"W-What is this?!" Terror flashed across his face. He could feel it—the end was near.

Jason stayed silent. Eric had warned her not to reveal Muramasa's curse.

Krieg, the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world, the man who dreamed of becoming Pirate King, couldn't even escape the East Blue. The curse reached his heart. His massive frame collapsed to the deck with a crash, his ambition dying with him.

[Temporary Mission Complete: Reward – 5,000,000 Berries / 1 Achievement Point]

"B-Boss… no way…" The remaining pirates stared in disbelief.

"Boss is dead!"

"Run!"

Leaderless, the Krieg Pirates fell into chaos. Most jumped ship and fled to other vessels. A few stubborn ones stayed, glaring at Eric and Jason with impotent rage but too scared to attack.

Eric and Jason slaughtered the remaining stragglers. The rest finally bolted, but it was too late. Eric wasn't like the Straw Hats—he didn't leave enemies alive. Letting these pirates escape would only endanger defenseless towns.

…

Despite their efforts, three ships managed to flee. Without Moonwalk or long-range slashes spanning kilometers, Eric and Jason couldn't chase them. Jason even splits one ship in half with three "Moon Burial Slashes," sending it to the bottom of the sea. The remaining ships fled even faster, desperate to survive.

At least they had Krieg's flagship under their feet.

They ransacked the fleet. The treasure from twenty ships filled an entire room—about 50–60 million in value, plus 15.3 million in cash. Adding Krieg's bounty reward and system payout brought Eric's total haul to 45.346 million Berries.

"Jackpot! Hehehe!" Eric laughed like a maniac.

The system wouldn't buy the ruined ships, but it didn't matter.

"And we've got one survivor."

Jeff, crippled by poison but kept alive thanks to his Zoan Fruit recovery, was bound tightly to a post by Eric.

(End of Chapter)