The Red-haired Youth

In Sea Year 1516, North Blue, Grass Town.

Grass Town was a small port town. Ever since the Great Pirate Era began, people with dreams had rushed to sea one after another. Along with the chaos they brought, they had also brought prosperity to the town.

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

A sailor unloading cargo glanced out at the ocean and spotted a figure appearing and disappearing among the distant waves.

"Is it a sailor in trouble? Hurry and save him!"

"He's swimming so fast! Wait... I guess he doesn't need saving..."

As they spoke, a red-haired man had already swum to shore. He leaped out of the sea with a wave and landed steadily, water streaming down his muscular frame.

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

Pulling the towel tied around his arm free, he wrung it out and casually dried his hair. Not Rod turned to ask the sailor, who was staring at him in stunned silence.

The young sailor gaped at Rod. The red-haired youth had a pair of sharp green eyes, and at over two meters tall, he radiated an intimidating presence.

At Rod's question, the sailor instinctively raised a hand and pointed in a direction.

"Thanks!"

Rod draped the towel over the somewhat dazed sailor's arm and set off in the direction he'd indicated. As he walked, he untied the shirt from around his waist and put it on. His skin flushed slightly red, and wisps of steam rose from his body as his soaking clothes quickly dried.

"That guy... he's a monster, isn't he?"

Only after Rod disappeared from sight did the sailor snap out of it. He grabbed the towel Rod had hung on his arm, crumpled it up, and prepared to throw it away.

From the moment he'd spotted the man to the moment he'd reached the shore, only a few breaths had passed.

"I've never seen anyone swim that fast!"

His companion nodded, a trace of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Maybe he'll become a great man one day, like Admiral Akainu!"

At that, the sailor paused. He shook out the towel he'd been about to throw away, folded it, and tucked it into the satchel at his waist.

"Yeah, maybe he'll become someone as great as Admiral Kizaru!"

A cold glint flashed in the companion's eyes as he turned to the sailor.

"I'm telling you, Admiral Akainu is the greatest man ever to come from North Blue! He upholds Absolute Justice and wipes out every damn pirate on the seas!"

"Admiral Kizaru is North Blue's greatest source of pride! With speed like light, he'll always be the first to rescue people in danger!"

"Admiral Akainu is stronger!"

"Admiral Kizaru is faster!"

"I say we ought to kill every last one of those damn Marines!"

Inside the Old Gun Tavern, a burly man built like a bear tipped back a huge mug of beer and drained it in one go. The liquor dripped from his thick beard and pooled at his feet.

The noisy tavern fell silent.

The Old Gun Tavern was a den of all sorts, full of vicious pirates and criminals who operated in the underworld. Still, few dared to openly call for killing Marines in a place like this.

After all, this was the strongest of the four seas in terms of Marine forces. Nobody knew whether a Marine spy might be lurking among the crowd.

"That's Black Bear Victor."

The patrons exchanged discreet glances and kept quiet. Some even stopped chewing, afraid they might draw Victor's attention by accident.

Black Bear Victor had become a notable figure in the nearby waters lately. On his first outing, he'd taken down the Cliff Pirates, who had a bounty of 13.5 million Berries. And just five days ago, he'd repelled an encirclement by Marine Branch 128. No bounty poster had been issued yet, but nobody dared underestimate him.

"Hahahaha, that's right! Our captain's invincible! If the Marines' warship hadn't run so fast, we'd have wiped them all out last time!"

"Ahahahaha! As long as we follow Captain Victor, we'll become the strongest pirate crew in North Blue sooner or later and kill every damn Marine!"

"Exactly, exactly! Not just the Marines—we'll wipe out everyone we don't like!"

"We can't do that! The women have to be spared!"

"Right, right! Leave the women and treasure..."

As the pirates surrounding Victor shouted and bellowed, the tavern gradually grew lively again. But everyone stayed on their guard, afraid of accidentally offending this lawless bunch.

"Hey, you chick over there! Didn't you see the great Captain Black Bear Victor? Get over here and pour him a drink, unless you want trouble!"

Suddenly, one of the pirates slammed his cleaver down on the table and shouted at a figure in the corner.

At his call, everyone else turned to look as well. Several of Victor's men whistled loudly and pounded on the tables, making a racket.

The person they'd called out to quietly held a book and read. Beneath long red hair was a handsome face, and green eyes lent him an air of mystery. Despite the noisy tavern, he seemed perfectly calm.

"Sorry, I'm a man."

Though he was reading, the youth answered immediately. He seemed to have been mistaken for a woman too many times; there was no anger on his face.

"A man?"

The pirate paused, then broke into a leering smile.

"A man's fine too..."

As he spoke, the pirate stepped up to the youth and slapped his greatsword down on the table. The threat was unmistakable, and his grin grew more and more lecherous.

"I don't mind~"

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

Bang!!

At the gunshot, the pirate's body toppled backward. The unpleasant smile was still on his face, but a smoking hole had appeared in his forehead.

The patrons at the nearby tables hurriedly cleared out, staring in horror at Victor and his men seated in the center of the tavern.

Arguments and brawls were commonplace in taverns, but people who were so ruthless they'd open fire without a word were rare.

Especially when the person they'd just killed belonged to Black Bear Victor, whose crew had been making waves lately.

"It splattered on my book..."

The red-haired youth looked at the blood on the page and frowned slightly.

"You bastard!"

Black Bear Victor jumped to his feet and smashed the table with one punch. A terrifying presence radiated from him as his men all stood up and glared at the youth in the corner.

"What did you do to my man?!"

With a roar, Victor's massive body lunged forward.

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

The red-haired youth gently set down his book, a chill flashing across his handsome face.

Bang!

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