Chapter 798: Chapter 797: The Newcomers Are Even Stranger This Year
A man wearing a skull mask was explaining to Ace and the others about things to watch out for before entering the New World. The Black Spade Pirates now consisted of over a dozen people plus a lynx, making them a small pirate crew with a variety of interesting characters.
Scar was one of those peculiar individuals, always wearing a skull mask and clothing adorned with skull patterns.
He was a collector of skull-related items, and originally wasn’t a pirate.
But during this Great Pirate Era, he became so fascinated with pirates that he frequently sneaked aboard various pirate ships.
Those pirates weren’t fools; Scar was often discovered. However, he had good luck, as not all pirates were as paranoid as Queen, who constantly searched for unknown individuals on board.
Often, pirates would capture people to work as small helpers on the ship, sometimes even absorbing them as underlings. Scar survived his way through these means, reaching port after port and gaining extensive knowledge about the world.
Most pirates seemed to think of him as just a busybody, utterly useless except for doing chores. But Ace didn’t think so, and Scar eventually joined the Black Spade Pirates, aiming to become the world’s top intelligence agent and officially becoming a pirate.
"We’ll be delayed for three days.... I wonder if the food here is any good."
One moment Ace was worried, but the next moment he made a rather peculiar comment, which the Black Spade Pirates found neither strange nor unusual.
There was a formal port in the Shampodi Islands, but it had nothing to do with the Black Spade Pirates. After all, they were pirates, and Scar was warning the crew about what to watch out for.
Considering this was a mixed place full of various people, if the Navy, Bounty Hunters, or ill-intentioned fellow pirates set their sights on them, the coating process might be the least of their worries.
"There are so many troubles here, like the Navy, Bounty Hunters, World Nobility, and even human traffickers... Don’t cause any trouble before the coating is finished, especially you, please Ace."
Scar’s gaze focused on Ace as he solemnly advised him. Although Ace appeared serious, his main concern wasn’t about himself but whether the local delicacies were tasty.
"Teacher, the ship is in your hands."
The crew began to prepare to leave the ship. The man referred to as "Teacher" was Mikhail, who disliked going out and mostly remained on board. He used to be a teacher, but as the place he taught dwindled of children, he stayed there alone.
His dream was to sail across the sea and bring education to children who couldn’t access it. Because only Ace supported this dream, he stepped out of his comfort zone and joined the Black Spade Pirates.
Scar still worried about Ace, but he no longer had the opportunity.
"It’s the captain’s duty to care for the crew after a hard voyage. I’ll handle the task of finding food!"
With that, Ace swiftly jumped off the ship’s railing and headed straight for the Shampodi Islands.
Watching Ace disappear into the mangrove forest, the remaining crew were left staring at each other. In the blink of an eye, Ace had already vanished.
While the captain went to gather food for the crew, Vice Captain Dues undertook some serious work. Dues was his pen name. He was originally a noble’s son and a medical student, but due to various reasons, he began a new life.
While looking for a Coating Craftsman, they encountered an old man with white hair.
"Are you the captain?"
"No, I’m just standing in. The captain got lured away by the smell as soon as we landed."
"Hahaha, indeed, captains are always carefree, no matter the era."
"Yeah, some even talk about fate pulling them into piracy. Are you a pirate too, uncle?"
"It’s been many years. Due to some irrelevant reasons, I found myself on a ship, journeying for so long. I think I’ll get along well with you guys. Need a coat? I could offer a discount."
"Really? Thank you, what should I call you, uncle? I can’t just keep referring to you like this."
"Just call me Rayleigh."
Dues casually secured the ship’s coating arrangements, completely unaware of who this ordinary-looking uncle really was, as intelligence work was never his forte.
Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, Ace encountered some trouble.
...
"Dining and dashing! Stop!!"
"Block him! That kid’s heading that way!"
Several shop workers had joined forces to chase some who were eating without paying, and in front, Ace’s figure was escaping.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay, but he had left without his wallet. It turned into such a situation, and right behind him were people with fruit patterns on their clothes.
"Hey, I’ll pay! Once I find my wallet!"
"Stop with the excuses! This is Shampodi Island! Where will we find you if you run off!"
The escaping Ace and the chasing staff formed a unique scene, attracting a lot of attention.
"Iskariot, it seems like someone we know is ahead, should we help them?"
In front of the senbei shop, Iscariot was purchasing a large quantity of the great senbei as gifts. Every cadre passing through Shampodi had this habit of randomly buying souvenirs.
As the current NO.7, Iscariot had her ship and personal team. Her visit to Shampodi also involved carrying out some religious tasks. The person asking her was Rami.
Due to the recent series of adjustments within the Arceus Sect, some religious members began traveling, with Rami being one such example.
Though her overall strength was ordinary, few could harm her. Alola Muk’s body was like an alternative to the Logia-type, barely affected by ordinary physical attacks.
Those with fruit patterns on their chests were employees of the Hundred Beasts Fruit, naturally among the elite of the "debt collectors."
"Let’s go see... Wait, is that guy... asleep?!"
At that moment, Ace was cornered at a dead end. Yet what followed was unbelievable; he fell asleep on a park bench after being cornered.
This unexpected nap left the debt-collectors perplexed; they’d seen many peculiar people in Shampodi, but never someone this bizarre.
Eventually, Ace was rescued by his crew members. His crew found Ace’s wallet on the deck and understood what was about to happen.
Amidst the crew’s apologies, the store staff took the money and left, while Iscariot led her team towards the Shampodi slums...
