Pirates: Building a Pirate Family

Ever since the Bear Pirates invaded the town and were defeated by Charlotte, the townspeople have known that they have a hero in their midst.

"Would Charlotte like an orange?"

As Charlotte walked through the town, all the townspeople looked at him kindly, which made Charlotte feel a little embarrassed.

"No, no, no!" Charlotte quickly waved his hand in refusal.

"Boss! Today, our Wild Wolf Gang collected protection fees, and no one refused. Even the big businessmen were very eager to pay their fees!" Ivan reported, following Charlotte.

"Oh? People are paying protection fees at the door now?" Gong Yifan asked, puzzled.

In the past, when the Wild Wolf Gang collected protection fees, the townspeople would avoid them, but now it was unusual for people to voluntarily pay.

"Boss, it's all thanks to you. Since you saved the entire town by defeating the Bear Pirates and ensuring the town's safety, everyone is eager to seek your protection!" Ivan looked at Charlotte with admiration.

Charlotte smiled upon hearing this. This feeling was quite nice.

Martha's five maids followed Charlotte, curiously observing everything around them. Their previous kingdom was said to be a kingdom, but it was actually a small island with a population of just over 100 people. The island was barren, with no proper port, and thus no merchant ships ever visited. Naturally, there was no prosperity there!

"Mr. Charlotte!"

"Mr. Charlotte!"

As Charlotte entered the port, people around him bowed and greeted him. Charlotte nodded with a smile.

Charlotte walked toward the port, where three pirate ships were anchored. The pirate flags on top had been torn down. Despite the ships being somewhat dilapidated, they were still small, about 50 meters in length.

"Ivan, is there a shipbuilder in our town?" Charlotte asked, turning to Ivan.

"Boss! Our port primarily serves merchant ships, but we do have shipbuilders. However, they're not top-tier—they only build small boats and do repairs," Ivan explained.

Charlotte rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He had planned to set sail at the age of seventeen or eighteen, and he needed a better boat. Sailing in a small wooden barrel like Luffy wasn't the life he envisioned.

"How much money do we have in our account, and how much would it cost to build a ship?" Charlotte asked, still unsure about the prices in the Pirate World.

"Boss, it depends on the size of the ship. For ships under 50 meters, the cost is between 6,000 and 50 million beli. For ships longer than 50 meters, it could cost around 100 million beli. The price also depends on the materials; if the materials are high-quality, the price could double," Ivan explained.

Charlotte listened carefully to Ivan's analysis and rubbed his chin again.

"How much protection fee are we collecting each month?" Charlotte asked, realizing that he was still short on funds.

In just three or four years, he would need to build a ship that could navigate the second half of the Grand Line.

"Based on the protection fees collected this month, the total is about 300 million beli. After deducting phone bills, around 200 million remains. A large portion of that is your food expenses, Boss!" Ivan said.

Charlotte was shocked to hear that nearly 100 million beli was spent on food and asked for an explanation.

Seeing Charlotte's puzzled look, Ivan smiled wryly. "Boss, your daily meals consist of Sea Kings or wild beasts from the mountains. Hunters need to hunt these creatures, and we buy them. This requires a lot of beli, as no one would want to hunt in the sea or mountains for free!"

Charlotte fell silent after hearing this. Spending nearly one million a month on food alone was shocking. If the cost of the equipment used for training was added in, there wouldn't be much money left from this month's protection fees to build a ship.

"How about this: I'll take care of the food from now on. You don't need to buy it," Charlotte decided. He planned to hunt Sea Kings himself, which would also serve as a form of training. Though it would be dangerous, otherwise, he'd end up going broke.

"Yes! Boss!" Ivan replied eagerly.

"Renovate these three pirate ships. From now on, they will be my fishing boats for hunting Sea Kings. Get to work on remodeling them as soon as possible," Charlotte instructed Ivan.

"Yes!" Ivan bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

After overseeing the plans, Charlotte left the port. He needed to train.

Walking to a deserted beach, Charlotte stood in the sea with his sword in hand. He continued to wave his sword in an effort to break through the barrier in his heart.

This training lasted for three months. For the entire period, Charlotte focused solely on swinging his sword at the sea.

Somehow, this relentless practice earned him a reputation.

The sword light flashed.

Charlotte swung a flying slash that extended ten meters.

When Charlotte saw the slash along the beach, he almost cried. After a year and a half of training, he had finally made a name for himself. Had he reached the level of a swordsman?

His strength was nearly on par with an ordinary lieutenant general.

Aside from lacking the knowledge of Haki, Charlotte was confident that even if he encountered a lieutenant general, he could fight back.

His power was formidable. The symbol of a swordsman—the ability to perform flying slashes—was now under his control. His Observation Haki, which allowed him to foresee the future and read minds, was improving, and his Conqueror's Haki, though dormant since the last time it emerged, was still something Charlotte knew he could master in time.

Now that he had mastered Flying Slash, Charlotte was overjoyed. He slashed wildly at the beach with his sword.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Charlotte laughed wildly as the entire beach was carved up by his attacks.

The five maids, standing nearby, watched him with admiration in their eyes.

After another slash, Charlotte sheathed his sword and returned to the beach.

"Master!" the maids greeted him playfully, offering him towels.

Charlotte wiped his sweat with the towel.

"Let's go home," Charlotte said, handing his sword to Gillian.

"Yes, Young Master!" the maids responded in unison.

Once back at his villa, Ivan approached.

"Boss, there aren't many Sea Kings left in the kitchen. I need you to hunt some more," Ivan said.

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