Bloodied and limping, Jack led the way to the treasure vault, escorted by a few elite officers. After having been thoroughly beaten, he had learned his lesson. Naturally, he was now much more obedient. Shakky was well-experienced in disciplining unruly brats like him.

“When Boss Kaido returns, he’ll definitely avenge me!” Jack thought bitterly.

Bam!

Shakky kicked him into the wall. “Kid, you can think whatever you like, but keep it off your face. Got it?”

Jack dumbly nodded, visibly trembling whenever Shakky even twitched.

“Pull him out and keep moving,” Shakky ordered.

Jack, looking more pitiful than ever, was finally beginning to understand the cruelty of the sea. He couldn’t resist. And with or without him, he knew that the treasure vault was doomed.

As they approached the vault, they suddenly heard a loud crash, followed by a young girl’s cry.

“Page! Page! Are you okay?”

“Intruders in the treasure vault—must be eliminated!” A thunderous voice echoed down the corridor, making the wooden planks creak ominously.

“Unforgivable! You killed Page! I’ll kill you!” the girl screamed, her cries soon drowned out by another booming sound.

Smack…

A figure, bloodied and battered, was thrown in front of Kuke and the crew.

“Die!” roared a giant up ahead, swinging a massive weapon downward.

Ulti, the young girl, shut her eyes in despair.

Clang!

With one swift motion, Shakky blocked the massive weapon with her hand. She looked down at the girl at her feet. “Kaido must be failing miserably if even kids from his own crew are trying to loot the treasure vault. What a disgrace for a captain.”

“Ulti, what are you doing here?” Jack demanded, staring at her in disbelief. She was one of the well-known rookies in their crew.

Jack’s gaze turned even more vicious. “You actually tried to steal treasures from the vault while Boss Kaido isn’t around? You’re as good as dead.”

Ulti opened her eyes, her expression filled with hatred for the giant and grief as she glanced at her brother, Page One, lying lifeless on the ground.

They had almost made it to the vault.

But the noise from outside had woken Number Two, the guardian of the treasure vault.

At only ten years old, Ulti, and her even younger brother Page One, were no match for Number Two. Page One had been instantly defeated, and Ulti herself was gravely injured.

“Ulti?” Kuke studied the girl, recognizing in her the seeds of the fierce woman who would one day become one of the Tobiroppo.

“I’m going to kill you!” Ulti’s eyes were locked onto Number Two.

She picked up a spiked club from beside her and leaped forward, swinging it at Number Two’s head without hesitation.

It had no effect.

Number Two responded by headbutting her weapon, sending Ulti flying back with a scream.

“Intruders in the treasure vault must die!” Number Two declared, raising a massive hand to crush Ulti.

“Page… It’s all my fault,” Ulti whispered, glancing one last time at her fallen brother. She closed her eyes, accepting her fate.

She knew there was no escape.

Jack was here, along with others from the Beast Pirates. She understood the brutality of the crew—if she had succeeded in gaining power, they would’ve overlooked her betrayal. But caught in the act, her fate was sealed.

Thud.

Suddenly, she felt herself crash into a warm embrace.

Who?

It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, they were part of the Beast Pirates, and they’d kill her too.

“Finish it,” Kuke commanded, holding Ulti close.

Lightning erupted from Stussy’s hand, striking Number Two in the head.

With a scream, the giant collapsed, his body charred black, falling lifelessly to the ground before Jack’s horrified eyes.

“You’re safe now,” Kuke said gently, placing the still-shocked Ulti on the ground before walking toward the vault.

“Huh?”

Ulti slowly opened her eyes, seeing Kuke and his crew walking away. Jack, who had been all bluster and fury, was now standing to the side, not daring to make a sound.

When she saw the charred remains of Number Two, her eyes widened.

Dead?

Ulti stared, her gaze fixed on Kuke’s back.

Who are these people?

How could they dare kill one of Kaido’s prized guardians and just brazenly walk into the treasure vault? How could they dare?

Kuke led his crew into the massive treasure vault.

Inside, gold and jewels were piled like mountains, gleaming brilliantly.

Kuke barely spared them a glance.

“Look around. See if there’s anything special—Devil Fruits, Poneglyphs, Road Poneglyphs, anything like that,” Kuke instructed, and they all scattered to search.

“That stingy old man has all this wealth and yet wouldn’t even feed me properly,” Yamato muttered, anger evident as she began kicking things over.

Outside.

Ulti reached out, her trembling hand touching her brother’s body.

Her eyes dimmed.

Tears streamed down her face. He was gone.

“Ulti, what were you two trying to do here at the vault? You’re finished. You got Number Two killed,” Jack snarled, his killing intent palpable.

Ulti lifted her head, her eyes blazing with fury as she stared back at Jack.

“Page is dead. I will never forgive you all for this,” she said, her voice filled with rage.

Jack sneered. “You? You think you can do anything? You’re dead meat. I’m going to cut you both to pieces.”

He drew his scimitar.

Ulti, trembling, stood in front of Page One’s body. “I won’t let you defile Page’s body. Over my dead body.”

“You think you can stop me?” Jack moved to strike, ready to vent his frustration.

Hmph.

Ulti clenched her teeth, standing firm in front of Page One’s body.

Deep down, she knew it was hopeless.

“Boss Jack, maybe we should hold off for now. That guy is still in there. If we act rashly and he gets mad at us, we’re done for,” one of the elite officers advised.

Better to wait until those people left, then they could deal with Ulti.

Jack’s face twitched, his veins bulging in frustration. “I’m…” He paused, recalling the image of Shakky smoking her cigarette. Swallowing his pride, he sheathed his weapon.

“Huh?”

Ulti looked on in shock as Jack, the most unreasonable and hot-headed of them all, seemed to back down.

“Is it because of them?” Ulti glanced back toward the open vault door.

“You’re afraid of them? Who are they?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Jack’s expression darkened further. He didn’t answer.

But his silence was answer enough.

Her brother’s body, her own survival—none of that depended on her. It was all because of him.

Dragging Page One’s body, Ulti slowly made her way toward the treasure vault.

She eyed Jack and his men cautiously.

Jack merely glared, his face turning an ugly shade, but he didn’t dare stop her.

It only solidified her determination.

“Could they be officers higher ranked than Jack? Maybe they’re new members of the Lead Performers?” she wondered.

Compared to Jack, Kuke and his crew—who had killed Number Two and inadvertently saved her—seemed like the better bet.

She had nowhere else to go.

Inside the treasure vault.

Four Devil Fruits lay before them. Kuke surveyed their haul—four Devil Fruits and a Road Poneglyph.

“All Zoan-types. One Mythical, three Ancient. Not bad at all,” Shakky said, checking them against the Devil Fruit encyclopedia.

The Mythical Zoan was the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Okuchi-no-Makami—the one meant for Yamato.

The Ancient Zoans included the powers originally obtained by Ulti and Page One.

“That old bastard even had a Mythical Zoan and wouldn’t give it to me,” Yamato fumed.

She picked up the Mythical Zoan fruit and handed it to Kuke. “Captain, you eat it. Don’t hesitate. Don’t leave anything for that jerk.”

“Yamato, are you hungry?” Kuke asked.

Yamato tilted her head, confused. Her stomach growled in response.

“If you’re hungry, eat,” Kuke said, smiling.

Yamato looked at Kuke, then at the fruit in her hand.

Even someone as dense as Yamato knew that a Mythical Zoan wasn’t meant to be a mere snack.

“Is our captain always this generous?” Yamato asked Gion, holding up the fruit. “This is a Mythical Zoan! A Mythical Zoan, for crying out loud!”

“If he says eat, then eat. It’s just a Mythical Zoan. Our captain has obtained more than one and always given them to us,” Gion said with a chuckle.

Shakky smiled slightly.

Stussy’s gaze lingered on Kuke, her eyes twinkling.

Yamato looked at them, stunned.

Had this happened many times before?

Suddenly, Yamato realized that joining the Sun and Moon Pirates had been the best decision—not just for freedom, but for so much more.

“Hehe, alright, Captain, I’ll eat it. And from now on… when there’s a fight, I’ll be the first to step up,” Yamato said, patting her still-growing chest before taking a big bite out of the Devil Fruit.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

She gagged but finished it, hunger driving her to swallow every last bite.

Truly, she was a tough one.

Kuke watched, monitoring her status on his system, waiting for the changes in Yamato’s power level.

Just then…

Ulti dragged Page One’s body into the room, looking up at Kuke.

“Please, let me join your crew,” she requested, her voice filled with resolve.

________________________________

DONT FORGET POWER STONE

________________________________

P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 175+ at patreon.com/Emik01.

________________________________

Finally, I got past what the previous translator had translated and translated to chapter 175.

________________________________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep