Chapter Eight: Annihilation! The Alrita Pirate Crew

Fat hag...

Shu Mingyuan’s voice was not loud, yet it silenced everyone aboard the ship.

That single insult struck Alvida’s sore spot. She considered herself the most beautiful woman on the ocean, intolerant of any criticism of her appearance—let alone such direct and brutal words.

Her corpulent body quivered; the sting in that phrase drove her into a frenzy, far more than seeing her subordinate killed before her.

“Brat, I’ll smash your skull in!”

Alvida’s face darkened as she hefted her massive iron club and leapt from the cruise ship, swinging it at Shu Mingyuan’s head. Her bloated form resembled an iron pancake falling from the sky, the shadow beneath her enveloping Shu Mingyuan completely.

A tremendous pressure descended from above, but Shu Mingyuan dodged easily, and Alvida’s figure crashed down. Her monstrous strength pulverized the entire prow of the pirate ship.

Shu Mingyuan watched the devastation, unable to suppress a twitch at the corner of his mouth. The Alvida from the anime hadn’t seemed nearly so terrifying—of course, her opponent then was Luffy, the rubber man, immune to all physical attacks, so in a sense, her brute force was perfectly countered by Luffy’s abilities.

Now, facing her himself, he lacked Luffy’s immunity to physical damage, so Alvida seemed even stronger to him.

“This fat hag’s strength is no joke,” Shu Mingyuan muttered under his breath, but Alvida caught his words. Her already hideous face contorted further, the fat on her cheeks twisting in a way that made her even more grotesque.

“Kid, I don’t care if you’re a pirate or a pirate hunter. You’ve crossed me—now you’ll taste my iron club!”

Alvida charged forward, iron club in hand, her flabby flesh quivering as she ran. The wooden deck groaned beneath her weight. She swung her club, but Shu Mingyuan somersaulted away, then drove his right fist fiercely toward Alvida.

His skill in taijutsu was at 18 points, his strength equal to nine grown men, but when his fist met Alvida’s layers of fat, it was like striking a sponge—most of the force was absorbed. Her body merely shuddered, sustaining no real harm.

The female pirate grinned, swinging her iron club once more. Shu Mingyuan narrowly dodged, and the club smashed another crater in the deck.

“No wonder she’s got a five million Berri bounty. She’s leagues above those ordinary riffraff. I underestimated her,” Shu Mingyuan grumbled. He’d thought he could defeat her like Luffy did, knocking her out with a single punch and winning Nami’s heart with flair and ease. Clearly, he had overestimated himself.

He was no match for her in raw power, so he’d have to compensate elsewhere. Alvida’s enormous size and strength were offset by her lack of speed—Shu Mingyuan could easily evade her attacks.

“Kid, is dodging all you can do?”

Alvida brought her iron club down again in a mighty blow, but Shu Mingyuan leapt high. Sparks of lightning burst from his left hand, and the familiar chirping of the Thousand Birds echoed all around.

“Chidori!”

The power of the A-rank ninjutsu Chidori surged, accelerating him instantly. His fist crashed down from above, leaving Alvida no time to react at such close range. Chidori exploded against her skull; her head split open, and her eyeballs were forced from their sockets.

With thunder and wind, Shu Mingyuan’s momentum carried him until his fist struck the deck, the impact only ceasing then. A massive crack spread quickly, nearly splitting the deck in two.

The battle was over—Alvida died miserably. The surviving pirates trembled, terrified that this butcher might turn his wrath on them next.

Shu Mingyuan found a clean cloth on the deck, wiped the blood from his fist, then turned his gaze upon the remaining pirates.

“Get out.”

At his command, all the pirates leapt into the vast sea without hesitation.

“Congratulations, host! You have slain the pirate with a five million Berri bounty and several others, gaining 150 Justice Points. Considering you wiped out the entire Alvida Pirates, you are awarded an additional 150 Justice Points and 300 Chakra. You need only 170 more Chakra to become a Genin,” the system’s voice sounded in Shu Mingyuan’s mind. The extra reward made his eyes light up. He wondered if he should wipe out every pirate crew he encountered in the future, since those bonus rewards were too tempting.

He tapped to open his attribute panel; the translucent window appeared with the following information:

Character: Monkey D. Shu Mingyuan

Chakra: (330/500)

Rank: Apprentice Ninja

Justice Points: 345

Ninjutsu acquired: Thunder Shield: Chidori (Evolution conditions not met), Clone Technique

Ninjutsu value: 55

Taijutsu value: 19

His Justice Points and Chakra increased predictably, but the gains in ninjutsu and taijutsu seemed more random. After a battle, his ninjutsu value grew by five, while taijutsu increased by only one. Was it because he used Chidori frequently? Did repeated use of ninjutsu boost that stat faster?

He stopped pondering for now, deciding to test all possibilities later—only by fully understanding the system could he level up more quickly.

The deck was littered with pirate corpses; blood had nearly stained it red, and the stench was so strong that even the sea breeze could not dispel it.

“Wow, you’re amazing! You took down all the pirates by yourself!” Luffy jumped down from the cruise ship and spoke to Shu Mingyuan.

Looking at the slightly awkward young man with the small scar below his eye, Shu Mingyuan smiled. Since arriving in this world, he’d imagined many scenarios for meeting Luffy, but never expected it would happen so soon.

“Even if it wasn’t me, you could have dealt with them easily,” Shu Mingyuan shrugged.

“I’m Luffy. You’re so strong—I want to invite you to be my crewmate!” Luffy said with a broad, sincere smile.

“Hey, a future Pirate King’s crewmate, huh?” Shu Mingyuan chuckled. “I know you, Luffy. But I’m a pirate hunter, and you’re a pirate—we’re destined not to be crewmates. Of course, if you ever decide to become a pirate hunter, we could get along just fine.”

“Being a pirate is my dream. I’ll never give it up. I’m going to be Pirate King! I’ve decided—you’ll be my crewmate,” Luffy replied carelessly with a laugh.

Shu Mingyuan’s mouth twitched; he had no desire to argue further with this simpleton—if he continued, he might end up fighting Luffy outright.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several cannonballs exploded around the pirate ship, sending water spraying skyward. From the distance, several navy warships, symbols of justice, approached.

Shu Mingyuan whistled, and after a few breaths, a massive shadow emerged beneath the surface—the enormous Sea King slowly surfaced.