Big brother, I want to become the strongest pirate in the world!

"I'm going to activate the Fusion Acceleration skill. I must catch up with that ship!"

After hearing Kazan's words, everyone was puzzled at first, but they all stopped what they were doing and followed the orders.

The Monster Caroso sped toward the ship.

Chapter 131 The Red-Haired Pirates!

Just as the Carroso turned around, the other ship also began to turn around and extended several enormous oars to accelerate manually.

On another ship, the Red Firth.

"How could we run into that guy?! Quick, paddle the boat! Get out of here at full speed!!!"

Shanks, who had lost his left arm, stared wide-eyed at the sails of the approaching ship in the distance.

He gesticulated wildly, directing his men on board to do everything in their power to distance themselves from the approaching Carrosso.

"Hey, Shanks, is it really necessary?"

With his belly bulging and his body spherical, Raki Lu was gnawing on his flesh and bones with one hand, but his other hand was paddling at a surprisingly fast pace.

"Boss! We can't create any distance at all! At this rate, we'll definitely be caught up!"

"Shanks, why don't you just give in?"

Ben Beckman sat on the lookout tower, a cigar dangling from his lips, silently watching Carroso through a telescope as it drew closer. He could already see the people on the ship.

Kazan, standing atop a black dragon's head, was quite conspicuous. Approaching with a sinister grin, he was honestly a little creepy.

"Damn it! How could you possibly catch up with me! Kazan!!! Men! Fire!"

Even without using binoculars, Shanks seemed to vaguely sense Kazan's increasingly amplified and monstrous aura. He drew his 'Griffin' from his waist and roared at his crew.

Without hesitation, the crew members of the Red-Haired Pirates immediately began moving the ship's cannons, aiming them at Carosso, and preparing to fire when he got close enough to be within range.

Based on Shanks' usual descriptions of that 'Red Dog,' such ordinary cannons wouldn't have any effect on the other side. The so-called 'firing cannons' was just one of the ways the Red-Haired Pirates greeted their friends at sea.

Hawkeye Jolac Mihawk has experienced this special 'greeting' quite a bit.

Judging from Shanks' exaggerated tone and actions, the crew members of the Red-Haired Pirates knew that Shanks wasn't serious at all. In fact, Shanks seemed quite happy to see Kazan.

However, this is something that can only be seen through their mutual understanding.

……

"Kazan! The Red-Haired Pirates are firing this way!"

"Humph!"

Swish swish.

Boom boom boom.

Kazan scoffed, drew Darkmoon with one hand, and swung it a few times in mid-air, cleaving the cannonballs in two with several red flying slashes.

The shell was cleaved in two and exploded in mid-air, and then the flying slashes continued to fly towards the Red Furs.

the other side.

"Haha, Shanks, the swordsman, you didn't manage to bring someone of his caliber onto the ship?"

“That kind of guy is definitely more interesting as an opponent, and... I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would submit to someone else.”

Shanks also jumped to the bow of the ship and casually swung his Griffin sword a few times, dispersing several sword energies that were about to strike him.

The two captains of the Monster Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates stood on their respective ship's bows, facing each other across the sea.

The next moment, Kazan instantly entered his peak state, his power approaching Lv6. He drew two swords and held them in front of him, beginning to charge up his power. The blood aura emanating from his body was even more intense and bloody than before.

Shanks on the other side was equally quick, gripping Griffin tightly with one hand and raising it high, ready to strike at any moment.

Seeing their leader's posture, the crew of the Red Furs stopped what they were doing, and the entire ship stayed put.

Meanwhile, the monster Caroso continued to approach, and Kazan and Shanks could already see each other's expressions from afar.

Bang!

"Meow!!!"

Beneath this sea, a small owl-headed sea king, attracted by Kazan's blood aura, leaped out of the water and let out a huge, sharp roar.

At that very moment, Kazan and Shanks struck at the same time!

Flying Cross Slash!

Kazan's arms bulged with veins as he unleashed a powerful cross slash in mid-air. The crimson cross slash remained suspended in the air as it slashed forward, striking Sea Cat together with a blue flying slash from Shanks.

In an instant, a huge 'rice' shaped hole was cleaved in the center of the sea cat's body. The sea king, a nightmare in the four seas, let out a wail and died, floating motionless on the surface of the sea.

Since truly accepting this power, Kazan has become increasingly adept at using these blood-based techniques. The power of his skills seems to have increased slightly, and they are also smoother.

"...Because of the missing arm?"

Kazan smacked his lips. Even though he was at full buff level, he never expected to so easily shatter Shanks' sword aura.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, Shanks doesn't seem to have improved much; in fact, he could be said to have regressed. He seems to be only at the same level as Kazan at Lv5, and perhaps even a little worse.

Kazan considered the reason why Shanks lost his arm, but the reason he was still puzzled was that he didn't consider the timing of Shanks' arm loss.

The Red-Haired Pirates had only recently left Windmill Village, and Shanks had just lost an arm. He hadn't yet adapted to life with only one arm, let alone how to fight.

Having lost an arm and still possessing a level 5 swordsmanship is already quite impressive, perhaps thanks to Mihawk's relentless pursuit for a month and a half.

After this initial probing, the Monster Carroso and the Red Furs approached each other and eventually stopped simultaneously on either side of the sea cat's corpse on the sea surface.

The members of the Monster Family stood on the deck, exchanging glances with the crew of the Red-Haired Pirates; the scene was somewhat serious.

Just three seconds later, Shanks and Kazan exchanged a knowing smile.

"The banquet is starting! Hahaha!"

"I have a sparring partner! Hahaha!"

"..."

"..."

"Turn the ship around! Full speed ahead and leave this area! Back to the Grand Line!"

"Throw the anchor onto the other ship, don't let them get away!"

Chapter 132 Sugar's Three Masters

After watching their captains act like lunatics for a while, the crews of both pirate crews found a nearby uninhabited island to dock and started a banquet.

During the banquet, Kazan's red eyes kept glancing around, secretly choosing sparring partners for his younger siblings.

Hehehe.

We've finally encountered the Red-Haired Pirates, so we must make good use of them, or we'll suffer a huge loss.

Kazan and Shanks sat around the fire drinking and boasting, then went on and on about how bad Mihawk was, having a great time.

Shanks didn't ask about the changes in Kazan's eyes and aura, and Kazan didn't ask about Shanks' severed left arm, injured left eye, or missing straw hat.

The two had their doubts, but they kept it to themselves.

"No rush, hehehe."

"Sigh... Oh well, this time I'm going to head straight for the New World after entering the Grand Line. Before that, let's have one last training session."

Having found his destined one, Shanks felt it was about time to head to the New World and visit those reclusive old men.

……

The following morning, the hellish joint training between the Monster Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates began, with Kazan as the main organizer.

Kazan goes without saying, and Shanks is another example. Shanks also wanted to practice with Kazan and get used to his one-armed state.

Bon Clay's opponent was a guy with dark circles under his eyes comparable to Arkin's, and it was impossible to tell from his appearance what he used to fight.

I only heard Shanks say that if you can't maintain a highly focused mind and a clear head when fighting that guy, you'll be beaten so badly you won't be able to fight back.

As the second son of the monster family, Bon Clay faces the most pressure from Kazan. He not only needs to be strong enough, but also has the ability to manage the situation and the mind to consider everything when Kazan is not around.

To train Bon Clay to maintain a calm mind in battle, Kazan had the man with dark circles under his eyes become Bon Clay's opponent.

Bellamy's opponent was a tall man with a purple buzz cut, whom Kazan guessed was a heavily armed warrior from the Red-Haired Pirates, whose weapon was a sword.

Monet's opponent is a short man with yellow curly hair and a beret. According to Shanks, he is an extremely agile assassin who fights with both a gun and a dagger.

Fighting against such an opponent is a true test of one's Observation Haki level. Monet's Observation Haki is quite high, and Kazan believes that among all the combinations, Monet's group is the only one that can go toe-to-toe with the opponent.

As for Robin, Arkin, Tiga, and Perona's strength... they're neither here nor there, making it difficult to find opponents. In the end, Kazan arranged for them to represent the rest of the crew! It's a good opportunity to train their teamwork.

And then comes the last little bit of sugar!

Sugar vs. Ben Beckman + Raki Lu + Yasopp

Shanks was stunned when he heard about this combination. Based on his previous impression, Kazan had always doted on this little guy the most. Why was he being so cruel this time?

However, considering the commonality among the three of them—they are all skilled with guns.

"Is Sugar your ship's sniper?"

"Hmm! He claims he'll be the only sniper in the monster family, so if that's the case, staying super strong all the time won't do."

"In that case... Beckman, Raki, and Yasopp have become Sugar's mentors."

"Yeah! That's exactly what I was planning, to have Sugar become the apprentice of those three."

"..."

Shanks simply couldn't imagine what kind of gunmen Ben Beckman, a mid-range long-barreled pistol user, Lucky Roux, a close-range short-barreled pistol user, and Yasopp, a long-range sniper rifle user, would train.

After the arrangements were made, the entire island was divided into several areas, which were the training and combat areas for each group.

Kazan and Shanks discussed it. Although neither of them was in a hurry, Shanks had made a promise with a senior on the Grand Line, so they couldn't stay for too long.

The final decision was that the training would last for four months, after which they would gather here again. The entire summer of 1509 in the Sea Calendar would be spent on this small island.

After this training, the Monster Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates will probably become 'brother' pirate crews, similar to the Sun Pirates.

However, in terms of overall strength, the Monster Pirates are the "older brother" compared to the Sun Pirates, but the "younger brother" compared to the Red-Haired Pirates.