"I didn't expect to run into Doflamingo's lackey from the original story," Mio muttered as he walked back to the ship, wiping blood from his blade with a cloth.
Bellamy, at this point in the timeline, hadn't eaten the Spring-Spring Fruit yet. He was nothing more than a petty thug with delusions of grandeur. His strength was pitiful—completely lacking any pressure or challenge. In the Four Seas, he might seem like a big deal to locals, but to someone like Mio, he was no more than a clown.
Shaking his head, Mio dismissed the thought.
When he returned to the boat, he was met by an unexpected sight.
Warwick was sitting at the edge of the ship, holding a fishing rod with exaggerated focus. As Mio stepped aboard, the hulking beast turned with sparkling eyes and pointed at a pile of fish near him.
"Master! Fish! Fish!"
"I know, I see them," Mio replied with a sigh and a helpless smile.
After settling in and storing away the supplies he'd bought in town, Mio got the ship moving again. His next destination was the Kingdom of Skanda.
He couldn't afford to waste time—if he was too late and Vegapunk left the island, it would be a huge missed opportunity.
Of course, Mio had no delusions about keeping someone like Vegapunk for himself. Even if by some miracle he convinced Vegapunk to join him, there was no way he could protect such a dangerous genius. Sooner or later, Vegapunk's talents would be noticed by the World Government.
And once that happened, there were only two possibilities: the government would either claim him for their own or eliminate him outright.
Given Vegapunk's intelligence, it was almost certain they'd choose to recruit him—just like in the original story.
So Mio never seriously considered making Vegapunk his crewmate.
At least, not yet.
Still… that didn't mean he didn't have some plans of his own.
With the ingredients he'd purchased, Mio whipped up a plate of egg fried rice for himself and a pile of grilled meat for Warwick. The werewolf had no interest in vegetables or grains—meat was all he cared about. And since Warwick couldn't cook, Mio had no choice but to play chef for now.
He had tried teaching Warwick how to cook recently, but the result had almost burned the kitchen down.
Clearly, Warwick had no talent in that department.
With their bellies full and the sea breeze flowing gently, the ship sailed smoothly into the open ocean.
After dinner, Mio sat beside Warwick at the stern, holding a fishing rod in one hand and a bottle of rum in the other, feeling calm and content.
But his peace was short-lived.
"Master! There's a boat! A boat!" Warwick suddenly shouted, pointing toward the horizon.
Mio opened one eye lazily and looked in the direction his companion pointed.
"Huh. Lucky day. A pirate ship already?"
Sure enough, a ship was quickly approaching from the distance, proudly flying a pirate flag. It seemed they were traveling along the same route, and the gap between the two vessels was closing fast.
Just then, a news seagull swooped down and landed at the bow, holding a rolled-up newspaper in its beak.
It offered the paper to Mio, who reached into his pocket, pulled out a 100 Bailey coin, and handed it over.
"Here. Take it."
Mio unrolled the newspaper, flipped to the bounty pages, and raised his telescope, scanning the pirate flag on the approaching ship.
It didn't take long to match the emblem to one of the names listed.
"Executioner Jerry Keith. Bounty: 4 million Baileys. Weapon: sword."
He smirked.
"A swordsman, huh? Warwick—get ready for a fight."
The moment he said it, Mio turned the ship sharply and sped toward the pirate vessel.
The pirates seemed to notice the sudden approach, but since Mio's ship had no pirate flag, they must've assumed it was a merchant vessel—and one they could easily plunder.
Meanwhile, Warwick's eyes had already started to glow red with excitement.
"Warwick is ready to fight!" he barked, his voice booming with anticipation.
As the ships neared each other, the pirates opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannonballs flew across the sea.
"Warwick! Stop them!"
Without hesitation, Warwick leapt into the air and swung his claws. A flurry of savage slashes met the incoming cannonballs, reducing them to flying shrapnel that scattered harmlessly into the sea.
Mio grinned and grabbed the weapon he'd recently bought. With a powerful leap, he soared through the air and landed on the pirate ship's deck.
There were about ten pirates aboard—not a large crew. The man at the center was bulky, his face ugly with a twisted grin. A long sword hung at his waist.
Jerry Keith.
"Well, well. The brat comes to die before we even board him! Kill him!!" Jerry roared, drawing his blade.
"Get him!"
"Slice him up!"
"Charge!"
The pirates bellowed as they rushed forward, weapons raised.
Jerry, meanwhile, noticed Warwick landing on the opposite side of the deck. His expression twisted with fear. He'd seen the monster slice cannonballs in midair. That thing wasn't human.
Still, he drew his sword and faced Warwick with determination. He was a pirate, and pirates didn't run.
"You hurt Master! Warwick will kill you!" the werewolf roared.
Mio, surrounded by several attackers, met their charge head-on. His blade moved with precision and speed, parrying each strike and breaking their formation.
"Warwick, take down the leader," Mio ordered, even as he blocked another attack. "But don't kill him. Leave him alive—barely."
Warwick hesitated for a moment.
He wanted to protect his master.
But the master had given an order.
Conflicted, Warwick let out a guttural growl before roaring, "Warwick will deal with you fast! Then protect Master!"
The moment he finished, Warwick's figure vanished.
Jerry Keith felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine. The sense of impending death was suffocating. Without thinking, he turned and slashed behind him.
Clang!
Sparks exploded as sword and claw met.
But in the next moment, a hairline fracture split through Jerry's blade—and the entire sword snapped in two.
"What the—?!" Jerry's eyes widened in disbelief.
He didn't even have time to react before Warwick's massive claw gripped his throat and smashed him into the wooden deck.
Crack!
Half of Jerry's face was buried into the planks. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth.
Then Warwick lifted his other claw and raked it across Jerry's stomach.
Slash!
Blood sprayed into the air.
"Don't die! Master said don't die!" Warwick yelled, gripping the barely conscious pirate.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the deck, Mio deflected another pirate's strike and disarmed him in one fluid motion. As the man stumbled back, Mio closed the gap with lightning speed and swung.
Shing!
A head flew.
Blood splashed across the deck.
And in that instant, a prompt appeared before Mio's eyes:
"Congratulations! '(Pirate) Human' gene collected!"