Red-haired Youth

Sea Year 1516, North Blue, Grass Town.

Grass Town is a small port town. Since the Great Pirate Era began, people with dreams have rushed to the sea one after another, bringing prosperity to this town while also causing chaos.

"Look over there, there's someone in the sea!"

A sailor unloading cargo inadvertently glanced at the sea and saw a figure emerging from the distant waves.

"Is it a stranded sailor? Hurry and save him!"

"He swims so fast! Wait... he probably doesn't need it anymore..."

As he spoke, a man with short red hair swam to the shore. With a wave, he leaped out of the sea, landed steadily, and water dripped down his sturdy body.

"Phew—that was quite a swim—Kid, could you tell me which way the Old Gun Tavern is?"

Tearing off the towel tied to his arm, he wrung it out forcefully and casually wiped his hair. Notte Rhode turned to the stunned sailor and asked.

The sailor stared blankly at Rhode. This red-haired youth had a pair of sharp blue eyes, and his height of over two meters made him look imposing.

Hearing Rhode's question, the sailor reflexively raised his hand and pointed in a direction.

"Thanks~"

Casually hanging the towel on the arm of the somewhat dazed sailor, Rhode walked in the direction he pointed. As he walked, he untied his shirt from his waist and put it on. His entire body's skin turned slightly red, and mist slowly rose from him, quickly drying his wet clothes.

"This guy... is he a monster!"

Only after Rhode's figure disappeared from sight did the sailor react. He grabbed the towel Rhode had hung on his arm, crumpled it into a ball, and prepared to throw it away.

From the moment he saw the person to the moment they swam ashore, only a few breaths had passed.

"I've never seen anyone swim so fast in the sea!"

A companion nodded, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Maybe this guy will become someone amazing in the future, just like Admiral Akainu!"

Hearing this, the sailor's hand paused. He shook the towel he was about to throw away, folded it, and stuffed it into his waist bag.

"Yeah, maybe he'll become someone amazing like Admiral Kizaru in the future!"

A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the companion beside him as he turned to the sailor.

"I say, Admiral Akainu is the most incredible figure from our North Blue! He upholds absolute justice and eliminates all the detestable pirates on the sea!"

"Admiral Kizaru is the North Blue's greatest pride! His speed, like light, will always be the first to save suffering civilians!"

"Admiral Akainu is stronger!"

"Admiral Kizaru is the fastest!"

"If you ask me, we should just kill all those damn Marines!"

Inside the Old Gun Tavern, a burly man, built like a bear, downed a large mug of beer in one gulp. The alcohol dripped down his thick beard, pooling at his feet.

The previously noisy tavern suddenly fell silent.

Although the Old Gun Tavern was a place with a mixed crowd, including fierce pirates and criminals operating in the underworld, few dared to openly clamor for the killing of Marines in such a setting.

After all, this was the Four Seas, where the Marines' power was strongest. No one knew if there were any Marine informants among the crowd.

"It's [Black Bear] Victor."

People in the tavern exchanged subtle glances and remained silent, even stopping their chewing, for fear of accidentally drawing Victor's attention.

[Black Bear] Victor had become a prominent figure in the nearby waters recently. In his first engagement, he had taken down the Cliff Pirates, who had a bounty of 13.5 million Belly. Five days ago, he had repelled an encirclement by Marine Branch 128. Although no bounty had been issued yet, no one dared to underestimate him.

"Hahaha, that's right, the boss is invincible! If it weren't for the Marines' warships running fast, we would have gotten them all last time!"

"A-la-la-la, as long as we follow Boss Victor, we'll become the strongest pirate crew in the North Blue sooner or later and take down all those detestable Marines!"

"That's right, that's right! Not just the Marines, let's eliminate everyone we don't like!"

"That won't do, we have to keep the women!"

"That's right, that's right, keep the women and the treasure..."

As the pirates surrounding Victor shouted noisily, the tavern gradually regained its lively atmosphere, but everyone remained cautious, fearing they might accidentally provoke these lawless pirates.

"Hey, little girl over there, haven't you seen the great Captain [Black Bear] Victor? Why aren't you pouring wine for Captain Victor yet!"

Suddenly, a pirate subordinate slammed his cutlass onto the table and shouted at a figure in the corner.

Following the pirate's shout, others turned their gaze to that spot. Several pirates from Victor's crew let out loud whistles and banged their cups to stir up excitement.

The person being called was holding a book and reading quietly. Beneath his long red hair was a handsome face, and his emerald green eyes added a touch of mystery. Despite being in the noisy tavern, he exuded a calm aura.

"Sorry, I'm a guy."

Although he was reading, the youth replied immediately, as if he had been mistaken for a girl too many times. There was no hint of annoyance on his face.

"A guy?"

The pirate subordinate paused slightly, then a lecherous smile spread across his face.

"It doesn't matter if you're a guy either..."

As he spoke, the pirate underling walked up to the youth and slammed his greatsword onto the youth's table, the threat implicit. The smile on his face grew more lewd.

"I don't mind~"

With that, the pirate underling reached out to touch the youth's cheek.

Bang--!!

With a gunshot, the pirate's body fell backward. The unpleasant smile remained on his face, but a smoking hole had appeared on his forehead.

People sitting at the surrounding tables quickly retreated, looking with terror at Victor and his group sitting in the center of the tavern.

Arguments and fights breaking out in taverns were common occurrences, but a ruthless character who would shoot without a word, so decisively, was not.

Not to mention, the one who was killed was one of Victor's men, who had been gaining a lot of attention recently.

"It splashed on my book..."

The Red-haired Youth frowned slightly as he looked at the bloodstain on his book.

"You bastard!"

Victor, the Black Bear, suddenly stood up, smashing the table with a punch. A terrifying aura emanated from him, and all his underlings stood up as well, glaring at the youth in the corner.

"What did you do to my subordinate!"

With a roar, Victor's burly body suddenly lunged forward.

"I hate it most when people disturb me while I'm reading!"

The Red-haired Youth gently put down his book, a cold glint flashing across his handsome face.

Bang--!

The gunshot sounded again.

A new book begins, please collect, please recommend, please read!