One Piece: Madness of Regret-Chapter 42 - 40.1: The girl with red hair(5)

I could pull out the harpoon.

The wound would close—eventually. I could feel the blood shifting, waiting for the harpoon to be gone. But what then?

Would I leap into the open waters, thrashing against the waves like a desperate fool? Would I turn my hands into paddles, pushing against the waves, trying to outrun a ship that was built for the waters?

No. That wasn't an option. That was suicide dressed up as defiance.

As much as I hated it, as much as the idea clawed at the back of my mind like a caged animal, staying on course was my best option. Getting aboard the pirate ship was the best option.

Turning my back on that ship would be like turning my back on fate itself. It would be an admission—a forfeit. A silent way of saying, You win. I fold.

And I couldn't do that.

Not after everything.

Not after I had already survived things no man should survive.

The world had thrown Leviathans at me. Had drowned me in an ocean of blood, twisted my body into something barely human, stitched me back together with a force I didn't understand. And every time, every single time, I had fought. Kicked. Clawed my way back to my feet. I had deified death itself. And I had won.

If I ran now, what would that say about me?

That I had only been fighting because I had no other choice? That the moment fate gave me one obstacle that would tickle my morality in the wrong way. I would give way. That all my fire, all my defiance, was just the byproduct of desperation?

No. No.

I wasn't running.

Because this wasn't just a ship. It wasn't just a new problem, a new enemy.

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It was a gamble.

A fresh deal laid out before me, cards on the table, the universe staring me down with that familiar, taunting grin.

And I was going to take it.

Because that's what I did. I played. I bet everything, every time, because I refused to let fate think it had me figured out.

I would let them reel me in. I would step onto that deck, meet their stares, face whatever hell they had planned for me. Because that's the kind of game this was. The kind where you didn't win by running.

You won by raising the stakes.

And the winning would net me a ship to tread in the waters.

An acceptable bet. One I am willing to partake in.

For now, lets analyze.

The ship has two towering pillar suggesting it is a double-mast ship. Knowing it is a double mast vessel of the waters, It is confirmed that this vessel is built for speed and control. Though only one sail is open. Maybe they are controlling their speed? Slowing down perhaps.

Who knows.

But the condition if the ship, now that's interesting.

At first few glances, I can say the ship has seen better days. The hull looks intact- mostly. I could see some scratches, big scratches. Marine life would be my guess. Even the smallest Leviathan I had seen would swallow the ship whole and not let out a single barf. Anyway the damage is undeniable.

The railing is shattered in places, some sections looking like it was outright ripped apart. Jagged woods pointing out from places that should have been smooth.

The one single mast sail that was open? Wounded. It had holes large enough to make me question. Would a single strong gust of air just tear the sail wide open?

And there's the cannon hole, three from what I can see. That tells me two important thing.

1. They have artillery but are under-equipped for their size. A ship like this should have at least few times more artillery.

2. They don't have many people capable of maintaining or using artillery. Or they are simply too poor to afford more.

A ship this size should have at the very least thirty men. Maybe more. And that would mean I am up against a full-fledged pirate crew, not some ragtag group of wannabes.

And if I factor in the damages I previously witnessed. It would bring some interesting hypothesis.

1. The crew has come out of a fight. Win or lose? I have no idea. But chances are they have won judging from their happy faces. Dreaming about whores and golds.

2. Most of the crew might not be fighters but they are definitely survivors. And in the waters, survivors are more dangerous than fighters.

3. They are not at full strength. They have numbers but are definitely not at full strength. Judging from the broken railings, the fight must have happened over board.

4. It is a pirate crew. Violence thrives here. Mutiny is common unless the captain has some sort of leverage to control the entire crew. I could use it to my advantage.

5. Human contact is closer than I expected. Aside from the pirate crew. And since there are pirates, there must be merchants and navy's.

It was all I could gather.

These men weren't weak. Weak men don't throw harpoons first and ask questions later

They were fighters and survivors. I could outfight a warrior, but outplaying a survivor? That was a different game.

They are after all pirates. Mercy is a word that is not in their dictionary. Not that they have a dictionary.

But they are human. And human are easier and far more complex than the Leviathans and nature.

Let's hope the people I meet are the easier kind.

But knowing my luck it would be anything but easy.

No choice but to play with the cards dealt. Let's up my chances of either death or survival. Same thing, really. One just takes longer.

I stared at the guy who made a hole in my leg with the harpoon and now was gleaming as he pulled me close and closer to the ship.

I didn't shout in pain. I kept quiet. I maintained a smile as the guy pulled me close and close. I was looking at him dead in the eye. I was looking at his soul. His gleaming look started to falter. The men brandishing their swords and guns began to quiet down.

Was it something they had never noticed? A man who didn't utter a single curse in pain when his leg was pierced by a harpoon while being towed to a den of pirates?

But it worked well in my favor. Should I laugh loudly, maniacally as I near them?

First impression is the most memorable after all.

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So to once again make some things clear. The MC is a overthinker and a over rational being. The previous Chapter couldn't show all that fully because he was going up against things beyond his control and comprehension. But now against humans, his over rational thinking comes to play. And tell me what would a rational mind do if its tainted with madness? The choices becomes increasingly mad.

And yes the pirates are the punching bag designated to him to curb his anger against everything he went through in the previous Chapter. Though he will get beaten out of his life. And for the over explanation of details, its because the story perspective is that of MC 1st pov, thoughts and the author's thought and explanation making it overly detailed and slow.