Sun Long leaped into the air, launching a long-range slash.
"Three-Sword Style, Ultimate · Tiger Hunt!"
A phantom blue tiger appeared behind him, roaring as it surged forward with the swing of his blade.
Xia Ling unleashed the power of the Ice Fruit, raising her right hand and pointing forward.
"Ice Block, Pheasant Beak!"
An ice bird let out a cry and swiftly shot toward the opposing pirate crew.
Zhao Yan'er's body was engulfed in flames as she threw a punch.
"Fire Fist!"
Instantly, a massive wave of fire surged forth, evaporating the seawater in its path and filling the air with steam.
Sanji took several steps in mid-air, charging toward the enemy. As he closed in on a pirate captain, his right leg ignited with flames as he delivered a series of kicks.
"Devil Wind Leg, First-Class Mincemeat!"
The four pirate captains on the opposing side each launched their full-powered attacks, countering the incoming assaults.
Wang Xiao, Gongsun Long, and the three captains who had transformed into lion-men once again faced Ye Yu, this time with even greater caution.
Against these three, Ye Yu still wielded the Black Blade Night in his right hand, delivering a powerful slash.
The attacks from both sides collided repeatedly, and the three captains were once again sent flying, their injuries worsening.
The tiger unleashed by Sun Long directly inflicted heavy damage on one of the opposing captains.
The ice bird shattered the attack of another pirate captain and, upon contact, quickly froze his body into an ice sculpture.
A scream echoed as another pirate captain was engulfed in flames and fell into the sea.
In an instant, everyone's eyes widened in shock.
The Transvestite Pirates were stunned.
"So powerful."
"Is this the strength of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew?"
"They're too strong. No wonder they're the vice-captain and executives of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew."
"Xia Ling, Zhao Yan'er, Sun Long, and Zhou Xing—each of them could easily become the captain of a formidable pirate crew on their own. Even these pirate captains would be no match for them in a one-on-one fight."
"We can't underestimate Xia Ling and the others just because they're not captains. It's just that Ye Yu is too strong, so strong that even Xia Ling and the others can't become captains."
...
At this moment, Wang Xiao and the others, severely injured, were supported by their crew members, their faces grim and their hearts filled with shock.
"They're actually this powerful."
"As the captain of the Devour Pirates, I'm no match for even one of their executives? And he's a Non-Ability User who only has a Contract."
"This is truly humiliating."
...
Their expressions darkened, and they lost the will to fight, now fully convinced that they couldn't possibly win.
Immediately, they exchanged glances from a distance.
"What should we do?"
"Their strength is beyond what we imagined."
"As long as we survive, there's always a chance. Although I, Gongsun Long, lost to this Sun Long, my Munch-Munch Fruit hasn't been fully developed yet. In the future, I will definitely surpass him. For now, I'll endure the humiliation."
"Damn it, because of them, we didn't get the treasure, and now we have to hand over some of it to leave. This is too humiliating. Maybe we should fight. Even if they can win, they'll pay a heavy price."
"If you want to fight, go ahead. I won't risk the destruction of my pirate crew just for pride. Even if we could take down many of them, what's the point? The only ones who'd be happy are the top pirate crews like the Flying Sky and the Overlord Pirates. It's not worth it for a bit of treasure."
...
In an instant, many of the captains surrendered.
"We're willing to hand over our treasure to you!"
"We do have some!"
"We don't have it, but we've already sent the lower-ranked crew members to bring the secondary ship. Once it arrives, we'll board it, and the main ship will be yours."
...
Most of the captains compromised. Even if one or two were furious, they had no choice but to comply as well.
The crew members breathed a sigh of relief, glad that the fight was over. The combat strength of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew was simply too formidable.
Ye Yu said, "Then hurry up and prepare. Once we finish exchanging, we'll come to collect. Don't think about hiding anything. If the treasure's value isn't enough, you'll have to hand over the main ship as well."
This made Wang Xiao and the others grimace, forcing them to bring out the hidden treasures.
The ship of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew approached the golden piggy bank, which was a towering ten meters tall, floating above the sea.
Ye Yu first took out the treasure chest he had obtained from the island and said to Xia Ling, Zhao Yan'er, Sun Long, and Zhou Xing, "Let's throw it in together so the experience points can be evenly distributed."
However, Xia Ling and the others shook their heads.
"Captain, you should throw it in alone."
"Yeah, Captain, we won't take a share of this one."
Ye Yu shook his head. "That won't do. We fought together to get this. If I had faced the creatures on that island alone, it would have taken me a long time and multiple attempts to defeat them."
Indeed, the creatures on the previous island were no easy feat. Even with Ye Yu's full strength, he couldn't defeat them in one go. He had to fight, exhaust his stamina, retreat to recover, and then fight again.
Zhao Yan'er said, "In twelve days, the Flying Sky and Overlord Pirate Crews will gather their full strength to deal with us. So, it's crucial for the Captain to become even stronger."
Sun Long, Zhou Xing, and all the crew members insisted, "Captain, you should throw it in alone. We'll just split the treasures we just obtained."
"The valuable ones go to the Captain, and the less valuable ones go to us. Since the less valuable ones won't give the Captain much experience anyway. It's much harder for the Captain to level up, especially since he's contracted seven of them. So, Captain, don't refuse. The stronger you become, the more you'll be the anchor of our Dominant Feather Pirate Crew, ensuring we don't fall too far behind those top prodigies."
Xia Ling and the others already knew that Ye Yu's leveling difficulty was greater, requiring more experience points.
Seeing everyone so insistent, Ye Yu didn't hold back. "Alright, I won't refuse then. It would seem pretentious otherwise. After this, I'll lead everyone to obtain more treasures, defeat more powerful Sea Beasts and Ferocious Beasts, and conquer high-difficulty Mystic Realms. Follow me, Ye Yu, and you'll live a life of luxury."
"We believe the Captain can lead us to a better life!" The crew members cheered.
This made the smaller pirate crews envious, and they longed to join the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. But they knew that such a powerful crew had high entry barriers, and most of them couldn't even qualify as lower-ranked crew members.
Ye Yu alone tossed the golden treasure chest into the piggy bank. In the next moment, the treasure was converted into experience points, which Ye Yu absorbed, leveling up to 19.
At this point, this was an extremely high level, as no one had yet reached level 20.
The higher the level, the more experience points were required, and the harder it became to level up. Every ten levels required even more experience. For example, going from 19 to 20, or 29 to 30.
Moreover, Ye Yu needed even more experience points, so reaching level 19 at this stage was already incredibly fast.
Afterwards, Xia Ling, Zhao Yan'er, and the executives divided the spoils from the protection fees and the treasures obtained from Tuoba Jie.
At this time, Wang Xiao and the other pirate crews had already prepared their treasures, not daring to hide anything, because if the value was insufficient, not only would the treasures be confiscated, but their ships would also be taken.
Ye Yu said, "Xia Ling, check if any pirate crew's value is insufficient, and make them leave their ships as well."
"Got it."
Xia Ling quickly arranged for an inspection, and in the end, three pirate crews had to leave their ships behind.
Although they were furious and humiliated, they had no choice but to endure it.
These treasures were then divided among the combat crew members.
Officially, the lower-ranked crew members were not unhappy; they were quite satisfied because during the battle on the island, Ye Yu's Conqueror's Haki had stunned most of the Ferocious Beasts, allowing them to reap the rewards.
(End of Chapter)