Even though Steel Blade abandoned all dignity and chose to flee, his escape didn't go well at all.
After all, he was still bleeding from his wounds and running low on stamina—already a spent force.
Meanwhile, the beast chasing him had a strange burst-speed technique: whenever his giant sword lit up, his running speed would increase out of nowhere.
The distance between the two shrank rapidly before their very eyes.
Steel Blade hadn't even run more than a few dozen meters when Garen's blade was already swinging toward his back.
At this rate, he was going to die! Steel Blade could already see his cruel fate laid out before him.
This self-proclaimed mighty pirate finally showed a weaker side. Just like those weaklings he used to look down on, he prayed helplessly in his heart for a miracle.
And just then, a miracle really did appear.
"Stop!"
Steel Blade suddenly stopped in his tracks and shouted back at Garen, "Take one more step, and I'll blow his brains out!"
Garen instinctively stopped his sword just before it landed on his opponent's head. He quickly turned his attention to Steel Blade, now clearly struggling to stay on his feet.
And there, in Steel Blade's thick, muscular arms—somehow—was a young man.
The man had an average build and a refined appearance. Unlike the towering brutes common in the world of pirates, he looked like a regular man from Garen's own world.
He wore a well-fitted suit, had neatly combed blond hair, and wore gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He looked like a cultured intellectual.
However, in this moment, he was anything but dignified. He was being held several feet off the ground by the three-meter-tall Steel Blade, and a massive flintlock pistol was pressed tightly against his forehead.
"Uh…"
Garen blinked. "Who's this supposed to be?"
This street had long since turned into a blood-soaked battlefield, even the sheriffs had all run away. And now a civilian pops up?
"A hostage!"
Steel Blade answered honestly. "I took a hostage!"
"D-Don't kill me…"
The young man was struggling to breathe under Steel Blade's iron grip. With great effort, he raised a hand to show the camera he held and gasped:
"You… you can't kill me. I-I'm a reporter here to cover the battle!"
"A reporter?"
Steel Blade paused for a moment, his ferocious expression softening slightly.
In the world of pirates, reporters held a mysterious and elevated status.
High-ranking reporters were lightning fast, with ghostly footwork, superhuman reflexes, sharp eyesight, and photography skills that bordered on the supernatural.
Even billion-berrie pirates couldn't escape their lenses—one slip, and a high-definition mugshot would appear on a new bounty poster the next day.
To get those up-close, in-the-action shots of these fearsome pirates—these reporters clearly weren't ordinary folks.
And even low-ranking reporters got by just fine in the seas.
They might not be powerful, but they had the social clout to travel freely across the oceans.
For small-time pirates like Steel Blade, increasing their bounty meant increasing their fame. And the best way to boost one's fame? Show off to the roving war correspondents.
Running into one was often considered a stroke of luck—an opportunity to make headlines.
In all his years terrorizing the East Blue, Steel Blade had killed many, but never a reporter.
"A reporter, huh…"
Steel Blade murmured, his face caught between contemplation and cruelty.
Then his expression snapped back into something twisted and fierce:
"Doesn't matter. Reporter or not—you die all the same!"
"If that tin-can knight moves an inch, your brains are gonna splatter!"
After all, if he was going to die, what use was fame or a high bounty?
With that bitter thought, Steel Blade's grip on the reporter's arm tightened.
"So basically…"
Garen now fully grasped the situation and looked at him with utter indifference.
"You just grabbed some random bystander to threaten me?"
"Uh…"
Steel Blade froze. Now that Garen pointed it out, yeah… that logic didn't really hold up.
"Heh…"
Garen took a slow step forward, his eyes locking onto Steel Blade's with a mocking, dangerous gleam.
Cold sweat rolled down Steel Blade's forehead. He couldn't find a single word to say.
"Don't move!"
Suddenly, another deep voice rang out behind Garen:
"We've got your girl!"
"…What?"
Garen's relaxed, amused expression instantly froze on his face.
Two burly pirate grunts appeared, each gripping one of Nami's shoulders tightly as they dragged her forward.
They held a gleaming steel blade to her smooth, pale neck—the sharp edge nearly slicing into her faintly visible blue veins.
Garen didn't say a word. He just turned to look at Nami, now captured, with a gaze filled with silent frustration.
The look in his eyes was full of grievance:
Why are you here too?
More useless teammates, one after another—this was getting absurd. They were ruining the game and cranking up the difficulty level for no reason.
Even Garen was starting to feel overwhelmed.
Nami, meanwhile, looked down in embarrassment.
Her combat strength was never that great. She couldn't possibly go toe-to-toe with these burly pirates, especially when outnumbered.
Earlier, she had recklessly charged into the fray to save a wounded middle-aged sheriff.
She did manage to rescue him, but she'd exhausted herself and ended up getting caught.
"Hahaha!"
Steel Blade was overjoyed and laughed loudly. "Nice work!"
He tossed the reporter to the ground like garbage and personally took the blade threatening Nami from one of the grunts.
One random reporter wasn't enough leverage. But with the girl as a hostage too?
Now that was a guaranteed win!
Now fully embracing his new role as a kidnapper, Steel Blade grew bold and arrogant. He raised the stakes, turning his earlier demand of "Don't move" into something far more brutal:
"You tin-can knight bastard!"
"You want your girl to live?"
Steel Blade tossed the flintlock at Garen's feet and shouted wildly:
"Kill yourself right now in front of me—and I'll let her walk out of here alive!"
The battlefield instantly fell silent.
Everyone—Steel Blade, the reporter, Nami, the grunts—had their eyes fixed on Garen, waiting to see what he would do.
In the stillness, all kinds of thoughts stirred quietly in their hearts.
The reporter was already in despair—he was clearly the weakest player in the whole scenario.
The remaining grunts were all on edge, worried Garen might go berserk and slice through everyone, hostages included.
Steel Blade, however, was calm. As a egoist, he didn't actually think Garen would be stupid enough to commit suicide for his "girl."
He only threw out that demand to drive the price up—he'd settle for less.
If everything went smoothly, he might just walk away alive and ransom the woman for a fat sum.
That thought made his ugly face even smugger with anticipation.
As for Nami, her feelings were… complicated. Hard to put into words.
Her first thoughts were of the money she hadn't yet saved, the villagers still suffering under Arlong, and her beloved sister.
Then, her unfulfilled dream.
And after that—honestly?—she realized there wasn't much left in this world worth clinging to.
No friends, no freedom, no joy. Only pain and betrayal.
By the time she finished thinking, she didn't even bother hoping she'd survive.
Because unrealistic hope only brings deeper regret.
The pirates had it wrong—she wasn't actually the knight's girl.
And she seriously doubted that the walking tin can would sacrifice himself for a thieving stranger who'd once tried to steal his prized sword.
This time, she was probably dead for sure.
Everyone stood there, deep in thought, waiting quietly for Garen's decision.
After a long silence—
"Well?"
Steel Blade finally lost his patience. "Say something, damn it!"
"Shut up."
Garen snapped without a hint of politeness, and the sheer force of his tone made Steel Blade instinctively shrink back.
Thankfully, Garen's next words were much calmer:
"Give me a moment to think."
Give me a moment to think…
and my health bar will be full again.
(End of Chapter)