- The Reincarnation World Where Only I Know the Storyline
- RWWOKS Chapter 33
**Chapter 33: Promotion to Vice-Captain**
Captain Kuro showed no guilt whatsoever for using Fang Bo as a human shield.
Covered in blood, Kuro pushed up his glasses and, with Silent Step, launched a large-scale slaughter of the remaining Marines.
Before long, the morale of the enemy broke completely, and they laid down their weapons, ready to surrender.
“Disarm them,” Kuro ordered as he sat down to rest, looking surprisingly better than before.
This was, after all, the boss-level toughness of a Pirate World character—his resilience was something to envy.
Even the massive sea king octopus had retreated after taking a few hits, but here was Kuro, acting like nothing happened, directing the crew to clean up the deck.
Just as Fang Bo was about to walk away, he suddenly stopped and quietly moved behind the vice-captain, Jango.
“Just watch,” Jango glanced at him with a meaningful look.
“I understand.”
While answering, Fang Bo’s eyes stayed focused on the remaining pirates, realizing that only about a quarter of them were left.
Although the Marine prisoners were on their knees, the remaining enemy still outnumbered the pirates.
Fang Bo wasn’t concerned about the fate of these Marines, but he did feel some regret. He wished he could have personally taken down the Lieutenant Commander.
The loot from the sniper reincarnator’s chest hadn’t provided a significant power boost. If he didn’t get anything worthwhile from the upcoming hidden mission, it could seriously affect his future plans.
Suddenly, a chorus of angry shouts and cries for mercy pulled Fang Bo’s attention back to reality.
Following Kuro’s orders, the pirates grinned as they raised their weapons, slaughtering the Marine prisoners in a brutal and bloody spectacle. Perhaps this was the real nature of the sea, hidden beneath the façade of adventure and freedom.
In a matter of minutes, all the prisoners were executed, and Jango, now recovered, stepped forward.
Unnoticed by anyone, the vice-captain easily hypnotized all the remaining pirates.
“One, two… Jango!”
“Everyone, you’ve worked hard today. Now it’s time for you to rest… forever.”
Under Jango’s command, the pirates smiled as they raised their weapons and turned them on their comrades.
Kuro had decided to retire, and to do so, the Navy had to lift his bounty.
There were only two ways to achieve that.
First, Kuro would have to “die,” because the Navy wouldn’t keep a bounty on a dead man.
Second, Kuro could become a Warlord of the Sea.
Given the difficulty of the second option, the plan was simple: to “kill” the captain of the Black Cat Pirates.
To ensure no one leaked any information, everyone besides the core crew had to die.
For the next ten minutes, the deck became a gruesome scene of betrayal and murder. Watching Jango revel in the chaos, Fang Bo couldn’t help but wonder how this guy ever became part of the Navy.
Of course, not everyone was destined to die—Fang Bo had no intention of letting Paul fall to the slaughter.
With a slap, Fang Bo broke Paul out of his hypnotic state and pulled him to his side.
In fact, Fang Bo wasn’t the only one doing this. Other senior members also saved their trusted subordinates, unwilling to let them die so needlessly.
Seeing this, Kuro remained indifferent. He might be retiring, but that didn’t mean the Black Cat Pirates were disbanding.
Jango would become the new captain, and the others would continue supporting him as usual.
To survive and thrive on the seas, every pirate crew needed skilled individuals. As long as they kept Kuro’s whereabouts a secret, nothing else mattered.
With the troublesome low-ranking crew dealt with, the main course of the plan was finally served.
Morgan, now missing an arm, was dragged before Jango by Paul.
Jango used his powerful hypnosis to make Morgan believe he had defeated Kuro. He even manipulated the once hot-headed Lieutenant Commander into becoming a different man entirely.
Once Morgan brought the disguised “Kuro” back to his naval base, they’d make sure he “died” under mysterious circumstances. With Kuro presumed dead, no one would ever suspect the truth.
Watching the Navy ship sail away, Kuro turned back to his crew. “Only Jango knows my whereabouts,” he said calmly. “Don’t disturb me unless absolutely necessary.”
“When I’m gone, Jango will take over as the new captain of the Black Cat Pirates.”
After a brief pause, Kuro looked directly at Fang Bo, who had been silently observing. “Jason, you’ll be the new vice-captain.”
[Notification: You have been promoted to Vice-Captain. You’ve gained one forced command authority.]
Fang Bo’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, a rare smile tugging at his lips.
He hadn’t expected to receive something as valuable as forced command authority.
The meaning was simple—he could command the Black Cat Pirates to attack any viable target of his choosing.
The only condition was that the captain had to agree. If Fang Bo suggested attacking Mary Geoise, for instance, Jango would obviously refuse.
“Thank you, Captain,” Fang Bo said, this time with a touch of sincerity.
With this authority, he could adjust his plans accordingly. Even without Kuro, the Black Cat Pirates were still a formidable crew.
As long as they didn’t provoke any of the major powers, they could continue to roam the East Blue freely.
As for Sam and Butchi’s hostile glares, Fang Bo pretended not to notice.
Once he fully took over the role of vice-captain, he’d find a reason to get rid of them. With Paul by his side, eliminating them one by one wouldn’t be too difficult.
After giving a few final orders, Kuro left the ship in a small rowboat.
At the same moment, the mission completion notification appeared.
[Hidden Mission: Kuro’s Retirement (Completed)]
[Calculating results… generating rewards…]
[Based on your contribution, you may choose two of the following rewards:]
[Option 1: 1000 Plot Points]
[Option 2: Cat Claw Gloves]
[Option 3: 5 Merit Points]
[Option 4: Silent Step (Rare)]
[Option 5: 4 Attribute Points (Rare)]
Looking at the list of rewards, Fang Bo sighed in disappointment. If he had managed to personally take down the Lieutenant Commander, his contribution would have earned him three choices.
Now, he had no choice but to give up on the merit points.
The attribute points were a no-brainer—he needed them, rare or not.
As for Captain Kuro’s Silent Step, it was an unexpected bonus. It was a highly practical skill that would certainly give him a significant boost.
After confirming his selections, a skill scroll and 4 valuable attribute points appeared in his inventory.
After a brief hesitation, Fang Bo allocated all of the points to his Spirit attribute, bringing his raw stat to a whopping 21.
Just 2 more points, and he’d break through to the threshold of the first difficulty level, giving him the ability to challenge top-tier reincarnators.
Of course, only in the first difficulty world.
HP: 51/110 (+40)
Status: Injured
Strength: 7 (+1)
Constitution: 7
Agility: 6 (+1)
Spirit: 21 (+4)
Perception: 13 (+3)
Equipment: Upgraded ODM Gear IV, Black Star Pistol (Model 54), Lost Homeland, Elegant Ring, Damaged Police Goggles
“With my gear boosting my Spirit, I’ve already surpassed 20 points.”
Focusing slightly, the objects around him began to shake, reacting to his mental energy.
He snapped his fingers, and the vice-captain’s cloak flew onto his shoulders.
This was an extra use of Spirit power, something Fang Bo had been practicing a lot lately.
As his Spirit attribute grew stronger, tasks that were once difficult were becoming easier, like the hypnosis he had been working on. He could now put ordinary pirates to sleep, though it took too long to be useful in actual combat.
Interestingly, when he successfully hypnotized a pirate, the system gave him a special notification:
[You’ve learned Hypnosis. Would you like to add it to your skill panel?]
Since he only had three skill slots, Fang Bo declined to add it.
He later found out he could still use hypnosis without any restrictions—it just couldn’t be upgraded using plot points.
That had been a pleasant surprise, but Kuro’s Silent Step skill was proving to be a bit of a headache.
Name: Silent Step
Level: 1
Rank: D
Effect: Allows the user to move swiftly toward a target using a special footwork technique.
Requirements: Costs 4 Spirit Points per use.
Learning Conditions: 15 Agility, 10 Constitution, Footwork Level 8
Origin: One Piece
Skill Evaluation: Assassin’s technique, perfect for silently eliminating enemies.
Neither Fang Bo’s Agility nor Constitution met the requirements yet, and it would take at least two or three more story worlds before he could learn it.
By the time he raised his Agility, he might not even need this D-rank skill anymore.
So, its best use was to sell it to other reincarnators in exchange for items or equipment he could actually make use of.
Pushing open the door to the vice-captain’s cabin, Fang Bo gazed out at the pitch-black night sky, his mind already working on the next steps of his plan.
The Black Cat Pirates had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle, with their lower ranks nearly wiped out.
For the next phase of his plan, they would need to replenish their forces, and that likely meant docking at the next island.
“A tavern at night always brings its own surprises and excitement.”
Having faced death multiple times, Fang Bo felt it was time to relax a little and see if there were any advantages to be gained along the way.
Building a crew at sea required more than just brute strength. His subordinates needed to eat and find their own pleasures too.
If he couldn’t pay their wages, they’d likely jump ship the first chance they got. After all, work was work no matter where they did it.
Now that he was vice-captain, Fang Bo had to start thinking about the well-being of the entire crew.
(End of Chapter)