The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

After all, it's not like they ate a Paramecia-type Power-Power Fruit and can lift an entire mountain.

"Hmm, the trap is..."

John rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought as if reminiscing.

"What is a trap...?"

He thought for a long time but couldn't remember, tilting his head with a blank expression.

"Hey! You forgot about it yourself?!"

Pete roared in anger, almost unable to resist slapping John on the head.

This guy is almost dead, how come he has amnesia!

"Oh! I remember now."

John suddenly clenched his fist and realized what was happening.

"I was afraid of accidentally triggering the mechanism, so I didn't set any traps."

"No traps?" Pete asked again to confirm.

"no!"

puff

John had barely finished speaking when a large knife pierced his back, the tip going through his body and exiting from his abdomen.

Crimson blood dripped continuously down the blade.

Pete had somehow appeared behind John on his right, gripping the hilt of a knife and grinning maliciously.

"Since you didn't set any traps, then you can die!"

However, even as the weapon pierced his body, John seemed to feel nothing and continued to strike with his fist.

Even the expression on his face was one of sudden realization, no different from that of a destroyed wax doll.

Reaction Fruit, activate!

Behind them, the pirates, seeing Pete make his move, drew their loaded flintlock pistols and fired bullets coated with Armament Haki.

bang bang

The bullet easily tore through John's black coat, splattering large amounts of blood.

"Die, John!"

"Hahaha, you damn miser!"

"Die! Die! You bastard who's blocking our path to wealth!"

Smoke billowed and gunfire illuminated the cave as bright as day, revealing the hideous faces of the pirates.

"stop!"

Pete suddenly roared, glaring at the group of pirates through gritted teeth.

"Can you guys aim a little better? The bullets are hitting me!"

"Uh……"

The pirates were so frightened that they immediately stopped firing, looked at each other, and then pointed to the people next to them.

The meaning is clear: he did it, it has nothing to do with me.

"A bunch of idiots!"

Pete was furious, but he refrained from confronting the group of foolish pirates.

After all, these guys are all quite strong; they are all proficient in both weaponry and the dual nature of Haki.

Money is a powerful motivator, and taking action against anyone other than John could easily trigger a chaotic brawl, at which point it's hard to say who will survive.

"never mind."

Pete took a deep breath and deactivated John's "Reaction Fruit" ability.

He wanted to take advantage of John's last breath and vent his anger on him.

As the effects of the "reaction fruit" wore off, John, tattered like a rag doll, suddenly let out a pitiful cry.

"what!!!"

"You beasts, how dare you betray me!"

John turned and stared at Pete, his eyes bloodshot, ready to devour him.

Pete met his gaze without flinching, grinning menacingly.

“John, that pirate stuff is so outdated, and we’re fed up with spending all our time adrift at sea.”

"I warned you a long time ago, but you wouldn't listen. You just kept shouting about the 'romance of pirates' with your ass."

"Then take your nonsensical 'romance' and go die!"

With that, Pete yanked the long knife out of John's body and, adjusting the angle, stabbed it towards his heart from behind.

"Die? Even if I die, I'll drag all of you traitors down with me!"

John ducked down abruptly, dodging the blade while pressing his hands onto the black rock ground.

sizzle

Purple arcs of electricity surged from his palms like mad snakes, spreading throughout the entire cave in an instant.

Immediately afterwards...

Rumble

The entire mountain began to tremble violently, and the cave walls revealed a dense array of jagged cracks, exposing iron ore of varying sizes.

"not good!"

Pete instantly realized that this was John's real trap.

Without bothering to finish off John, he quickly turned to give orders to the pirates.

"Quick! Move the gold ship and treasure out, or we'll all be buried alive in here!"

Upon receiving the order, the pirates forgot to even respond and turned around to rush towards the golden ship behind them, either jumping or paddling their small rafts.

All the pirates had their eyes on the enormous golden ship, ignoring the piles of treasure on the shore.

Pete was so angry he wanted to curse again, but he also felt that the pirates' choice was right, and he had to make a decisive decision at this point.

We have to give up some things!

"All the treasure is mine!"

Suddenly, John let out a roar.

With a roar, the cave ceiling suddenly split open from side to side, creating a large opening that allowed sunlight to stream in instantly.

Immediately afterwards, the golden ship and the mountain of treasure floated into the air and, before the pirates' eyes, shot out like a catapult through the crack in the dome.

"Do not!!!"

With a series of desperate roars, the pirates charged frantically toward the rock walls on the left and right, covering their weapons with Armament Haki and plunging them into the hard rock face, climbing upwards like ants, attempting to chase after the lost golden ship and treasure.

"Ugh!"

Pete was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood, raised his hand, and blew the head off a pirate climbing on the rock wall.

"All of you, get back here! Get the boat out of here first!"

"This is a calm zone; without a boat, we'll all be trapped here and die!"

Especially himself!

Other pirates are alright; if they're lucky, they might be able to avoid the Sea Kings and swim all the way back.

But as a Devil Fruit user, he can't swim!

Moreover, there isn't a single tree on this island, so it's impossible to make a raft!

"Come back and set sail!"

Under the threat of Pete's repeated gunfire, the pirates suddenly awoke and hurriedly jumped off the rock wall into the water, desperately swimming towards the "Treasure".

Before leaving, Pete glanced back at John, who lay lifeless on the ground, his eyes bloodshot with rage, wishing he could tear him to pieces.

Chapter 23 Deceiving Fate

"Hehehe."

Then, Pete let out another cryptic chuckle.

"Even if you use the 'Magnetic Fruit' to throw the golden ship and treasure into the sky, they will inevitably fall back down around you when you die."

"I'll find them sooner or later, while you're just making a futile struggle."

"Hahaha! John, may you rest in peace here forever!"

Pete laughed and leaped back onto the deck of the "Treasure," where the pirates rowed frantically towards the cave's exit.

As he was leaving, he took John's life card from his pocket and watched the tattered paper quickly burn to ashes before he was completely at ease.

As the "Treasure Ship" sailed out of the cave and into the vast open sea, a huge boulder crashed down, completely sealing the cave entrance.

"Treasure, my treasure..."

"gold……"

"My wonderful life has been ruined by that damned John!"

The pirates who survived the disaster showed no joy; they all sat or lay on the deck like zombies.

In his cloudy pupils was a deathly silence filled with despair for the future.

"Get your act together, all of you!"

Pete's loud shout drew the attention of the pirates.

"Gold and treasure must have fallen around here. You all dive into the sea and find them!"