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Chapter 54 - Jack's Trump Card
🕑 Added 2025-06-01 05:19:29 +0000 UTCThis chapter has a soundtrack. Play it when its name appears.
I got the name of the music from a video I found on YouTube. If you want to listen to it, search for:
[Jack Sparrow battle music]
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The battle raged on with intensity, as Puss tried to hold back as many pirates as possible—both to prevent them from leaving the cave and from reaching the Aztec gold.
That was also the reason he didn't hold back and chose to fight more aggressively. Of course, there was also the fact that they were evil men who killed without hesitation, something Puss had witnessed with his own eyes.
But if it weren't for those two reasons combined, he never would have struck with such lack of hesitation.
[Jack Sparrow battle music]
While Puss did everything he could to stop as many pirates as possible, there were, after all, hundreds of them—so occasionally some slipped past and ran toward the gold, hoping to regain their immortality and fight back.
Puss's battle had already moved outside the rock, and some pirates who slipped by him had managed to climb up—but that was where they were stopped.
The first one to arrive took a kick from Tornado. The second received a slash to the chest from Will. And the third, who was distracted watching his two companions fall, got a jar of gold smashed into his head—swung by the hands of the beautiful Elizabeth Swann.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Elizabeth ran and picked up the sword the pirate had dropped, jumping back into the fight before more could arrive.
The three worked together, and every pirate who came was driven away, falling from the rock without even touching the chest.
However, at one point, a pirate slipped through Elizabeth's guard and drove a sword into her stomach.
"ELIZABETH!!" Will screamed in terror at the sight of the blade piercing through her belly and emerging from her back.
"Ha ha!" The pirate laughed maliciously as the woman widened her eyes and opened her mouth in shock.
Elizabeth looked down and placed a hand on her abdomen, where the sword had gone through, clearly shaken.
However, just as the pirate was about to move past her, she clenched her fist and punched him square in the face, knocking him backward and off balance—sending him tumbling from the rock.
Splash!
"Elizabeth…" Will was speechless at the sight, only now remembering their current immortality.
"I'm fine," Elizabeth said, pulling the sword from her stomach, revealing an unblemished white area where her dress had been torn.
Though she was breathing a bit more heavily from the shock of having a sword go through her body—and never before having come so close to death—the lack of physical sensation made it easier to overcome the discomfort.
So, without delay, they returned to battle, as more pirates were arriving.
Elsewhere in the cave, Jack and Barbossa clashed swords in a fast-paced duel among the rocks, water, and treasure.
"Jack, I should've known nothing good would come the moment I saw you," Barbossa said with an irritated expression, dodging a stab to his side.
"And I should've known putting you on my ship was a bad idea," Jack replied, dodging a slash and attacking with his own blade.
The two of them didn't stop fighting as they argued.
"In Port Royal, that was you who ruined our ambush, wasn't it?" Barbossa shoved Jack, making him stumble and roll backward—but Jack quickly got up and blocked the blow aimed at his head.
"Guilty!" Jack answered disinterestedly, taking full credit and speeding up his attack.
They fought swiftly, but Jack appeared to be at a disadvantage during the duel.
"How's it feel, Jack? Fighting without instincts, without feeling anything—not such a good sensation, is it?" Barbossa taunted, seeing Jack fighting not quite as well as he remembered.
"Yes, the feeling isn't great. Maybe I should thank you all for the mutiny—ten years like this must not have been fun," Jack said, smiling slightly, which irritated Barbossa.
"HAAAHH!!" Barbossa lost his temper and, with an angry scream, launched a full-force attack.
Jack, unafraid, countered—although he wasn't fighting as well due to the lack of senses, it was balanced out by his fearlessness toward death and the absence of physical exhaustion, benefits of the curse.
The battle raged on, and fewer and fewer pirates remained on the field. Piles of fallen pirates were starting to gather around Puss.
Most were still alive—just unconscious.
Puss looked toward the rock and saw Will and Elizabeth killing some pirates with normal expressions on their faces, and he couldn't help but feel strange.
'Here I am, a cat, struggling with guilt over killing humans, and there you are, acting like it's just another day and not your first time either,' he mentally complained.
He reasoned it was probably due to the mindset of that era—how they didn't see killing, especially criminals, as mentally disturbing, unlike in the modern era where he had lived.
'I guess you can't expect anything different from a time where watching people get hanged while the crowd cheers is normal,' he thought, as he took down the last pirates around him—while the rest fell to their knees, dropped their weapons, and surrendered.
Just as he was about to take down the last of them, a little monkey suddenly leapt out of nowhere, heading straight for Puss.
"Screee!"
The cat calmly raised his boot and kicked it in the face, sending it flying to the side, unconscious.
Puss looked a little puzzled by the monkey's sudden attack, but then he realized something.
'Distraction!' Puss quickly scanned the cave and spotted the culprit.
A few seconds earlier, Barbossa had steered his fight with Jack toward the rock platform. He then shoved Jack back with all his strength and jumped onto the rock.
"Tch, tch!" He clicked his tongue quickly, giving the signal to his monkey to distract the cat—who had proven capable of long-range attacks, as he had seen earlier—and who was currently the greatest threat to him.
"Bloody pirate!" Elizabeth shouted when she saw Barbossa, her kidnapper, climbing onto the rock, and ran at him in anger.
But the pirate captain wasn't in the mood to play.
"Out of my way, insolent girl!" Barbossa yelled, and with two strikes, he knocked Elizabeth off the rock.
"Ah!!" she screamed before falling into the water.
Splash!
"Elizabeth!!" Will shouted and rushed toward Barbossa in anger, but his lack of attention allowed the remaining pirates on the rock to catch him off guard and trap him in a difficult position.
Tornado was also busy with the pirates, but he kicked one of them directly, sending the body flying toward Barbossa in an attempt to stop him.
Puss had also noticed what was happening on the rock. Wrapping the hilt of a sword with his tail, he leapt and spun his body before hurling the sword directly at Barbossa.
'Sorry, Jack, but let's avoid problems,' he mentally apologized to Jack for killing his target.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Barbossa saw the flying pirate coming his way and dodged moments before — but Puss's sword followed, locked onto him as the target. Just as it was about to strike, the thrown pirate's body ended up in its path, taking the sword to the stomach instead.
Puss stared wordlessly for a moment, wondering if Barbossa had some kind of luck-related talent as well.
Unbothered by his man dying in his place, and with time running out, Barbossa kicked open the lid of the chest, revealing the gleam of the cursed gold. With a malicious grin on his face, he reached for it.
But then, a shout echoed.
"BARBOSSA!"
It was Jack, just below the rock, where a shaft of light from outside shone into the cave. For some reason, he had taken off his hat and was holding his bandana with his fingers.
Barbossa didn't stop his action, but in that moment, he instinctively looked down.
From that moment, everything moved in slow motion.
As Barbossa's eyes blinked slowly, Jack slowly lifted the red bandana from his forehead.
More and more of his forehead began to appear.
'Why is his forehead so long?' Puss's eyes filled with confusion at the scene.
But soon, the confusion disappeared, and his eyes began to twitch…
…because Jack's forehead extended all the way to the back of his head—and that was the last thing anyone saw.
The beam of light from the top of the cave hit Jack's bald head, and a flash of blinding light erupted, blinding everyone in the cave.
"Argh!" Barbossa instinctively pulled his hand back to shield his eyes from the glare—but that was exactly what Jack wanted.
Jack raised his sword with a reversed grip, aimed, and threw it. The blade flew and struck Barbossa directly in the chest. Seeing the target hit, Jack lowered the bandana again, hiding his bald head and the powerful light it emitted.
"Guh!"
At the same time, Barbossa clutched his chest where the sword had lodged, and with his other hand, reached toward the gold chest—but no matter how much he tried, his body failed him at that moment. He stumbled back two steps, but on the steep rock surface, he lost his balance, slipped, and fell.
Puss finished knocking the remaining pirates unconscious and ran toward the rock.
Will and Tornado had also finished off the pirates on their side, officially ending the battle.
Running to the rock, Puss had just started to climb when he heard a splash in the water. He turned, ready to deal with any pirate that might surface—but the one who emerged wasn't a pirate, but a soaked Elizabeth.
He ran over to her and helped pull her up.
"Cough! Cough!" she coughed, spitting out some water—but her face showed no discomfort, as she couldn't feel anything.
Puss helped her to her feet and was met with a grateful smile.
He simply nodded at her, his expression serious now, and turned back to climb the rock—with her following behind.
Jack had also climbed up, and soon they were all gathered, surrounding Barbossa, who lay sprawled on the rock.
