Other villagers: "....."
He's more heartless than the Village Chief!
Pirates: "......"
We have a rival... Our status is unstable!
Alvida's gaze towards Moke at this moment had transformed from scrutiny to complete satisfaction. Although her subordinates praised her daily, none had ever made her heart flutter as much as this young man.
"Hahaha.."
Alvida laughed heartily once more, but this time, a hint of shyness appeared on her face.
"This..."
Moke's scalp tingled, and he thought to himself, "Did I overdo it...? If this woman takes a liking to me, I won't even have the ability to resist."
Looking at Alvida's freckled face and her barrel-shaped figure, Moke's face twitched. This was no longer a matter of 'turning off the lights.' This was a matter of 'losing his life'...
Fortunately!
What Moke feared did not happen; Alvida quickly recovered.
However, Alvida still asked Moke very kindly, "What weapon are you good at?"
Moke thought for a moment: "I'm good at marksmanship. I can hit a hundred out of a hundred within two hundred meters."
He wasn't just saying that; during his university military training with live ammunition, his shooting score was the highest in the entire school. Later, he was noticed by the instructor and received special training.
A 200-meter rifle shot was effortless for him.
The instructor said he had the potential to be a sharpshooter and once urged him to join the army.
Unfortunately, he was not interested.
The instructor regretted it immensely but respected his choice.
Alvida: "Good, from now on, you are the Captain of the Musket Squad on my Haizhe."
"Huh?"
The pirates' jaws dropped in disbelief.
The Village Chief and the villagers were also dumbfounded.
"Is she that capricious?" Even Moke was extremely shocked. He had originally thought Alvida would at least test his marksmanship.
He never expected her to appoint him directly.
Moke was completely thrown off by her. However, what he felt most keenly was the arbitrary nature of the strong.
As long as you possess absolute strength, your subordinates will obey every command, no matter how capricious or outrageous it may be.
And so, Moke boarded Alvida's Haizhe, becoming a glorious pirate.
....
Watching the Alvida Pirates sail away, the villagers all showed worried expressions.
An old man couldn't hold back and directly expressed his concern to the Village Chief: "Village Chief, Moke won't retaliate against those young men from our village, will he?"
"That's right! My Xiao Hai also boarded the Haizhe. Now Moke is the Musket Captain of the Alvida Pirates. If he targets my Xiao Hai, won't my Xiao Hai be doomed? Woo woo woo..."
A middle-aged woman started crying sorrowfully as she spoke.
Because such a thing was highly likely to happen.
The parents of the other young men also looked towards the Village Chief, with a hint of malice in their eyes.
Then their gaze collectively shifted to a young man beside the Village Chief. This young man was the youngest among the eligible people in the village, and originally, they had a lot of sympathy for him.
But now, because of him, their children were in danger.
Their stance had changed.
It was such an unwise choice to harm several young men in the village for one person. Even if they knew that becoming a pirate usually meant death, without Moke's involvement, there would at least still be hope in their hearts.
But now, there was only despair.
The Village Chief's face also changed at this moment.
Before, he only thought about letting Moke take one spot, so one less person in the village would be sacrificed. But now he realized that this was a no-win situation; no matter what he did, he would be criticized.
If he didn't let Moke take the spot, the villagers would say he couldn't distinguish between close and distant relations.
If he let Moke take the spot, the villagers would also say he was unwise for harming several other young men for one person. But if he had asked Moke to take their own children's spots, they would probably have a completely different attitude.
This is human nature.
Alas!
The Village Chief couldn't help but sigh, his heart heavy. Because he hadn't realized that he had abandoned his inner kindness... and his principles, only to be met with the villagers' incomprehension and accusations.
.......
Alvida, the Captain, was now standing at the bow of the Haizhe, holding half a blueprint, looking forward.
"Straw Hat, you just wait! Once I find Lilaya's treasure, I'll be able to recruit soldiers and expand greatly. Then I'll make sure you get what's coming to you."
"Lilaya's treasure?"
Moke, standing not far from Alvida, immediately caught the key point.
His eyes lit up suddenly, because in his opinion, the Paramecia - Smooth-Smooth Fruit Alvida obtained might have come from this treasure.
As he thought of this possibility, Moke's hands involuntarily clenched. However, he suppressed his restless heart, lest anyone notice anything.
Time passed quickly, and half a month went by in a flash. Alvida had circled the nearby sea countless times, and finally, a small island only a few miles in circumference appeared before them.
Alvida excitedly, subconsciously swung the iron bar in her hand.
"Captain, bad news... A Haizhe has appeared on the left side."
"Huh?"
Alvida was stunned for a moment, then her face changed drastically. She quickly looked to the left.
Moke did the same.
A very peculiar Haizhe was rapidly approaching them. Why peculiar?
Because its bow was very special; at first glance, it looked like an elephant.
Upon closer inspection, the tip of the elephant's long trunk actually had a clown's characteristic red nose on top.
Looking even closer, they discovered that the red nose was actually a giant cannon muzzle.
"Oh my goodness..."
Moke was completely stunned, because this Haizhe was so distinctive that he could recognize it instantly. This should be Buggy's Haizhe... Sure enough, when Moke looked at the other party's pirate flag.
The skull representing the pirate on it also had a red nose.
At this point, it was 100% Buggy.
After all, such a pirate flag had no other branch in Pirate King.
His gaze returned to Alvida. In other words, these two guys met here and then formed an alliance to subjugate Monkey D. Luffy?
So...
Moke's gaze fell on the tiny island nearby, which couldn't be any smaller.
Because, in this case,
The chances of the Paramecia - Smooth-Smooth Fruit being on this small island increased sharply. Moke was so excited that his whole body was trembling. Perhaps many people look down on the Paramecia - Smooth-Smooth Fruit.
But, it must be said.
Some Devil Fruit are truly underestimated.
For example, the Slow-Slow Fruit with its time attribute, what a powerful Devil Fruit, yet it ended up in the hands of Foxy, becoming a mere fodder-like existence.
Another example is the Smooth-Smooth Fruit that Alvida ate, which not only has a beautifying effect but can also deflect attacks. If developed to its extreme... it would definitely be heaven-defying... So, Devil Fruit mainly depend on who eats them....