Bandits

Although breakfast hadn't tasted very good, they needed the energy to keep traveling, so they gritted their teeth and ate it anyway.

Just as they finished eating and were getting ready to set off, there was a sudden bang. A shield automatically appeared around Shirakawa, and a bullet struck it, sending sparks flying before ricocheting away.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Buggy yelped, clutching his head when he heard the noise and saw the bullet.

They all looked toward the direction the bullet had come from. Shirakawa's expression was grim. Fortunately, he had been the target. If it had been Kaiser Lynn or Buggy, that shot might have been fatal.

"Who's there?" Shirakawa shouted.

"Tsk. I remember being a pretty good shot. How'd I miss?" At Shirakawa's shout, a figure emerged, followed by more than a dozen others.

Just from the way they were dressed, it was clear they were no good. Several had visible scars, some fresh and others old.

"Who are you?" Shirakawa asked them again. Buggy and Shanks had already taken fighting stances.

Buggy might not be very strong right now, but he was still a pirate. These men shouldn't be much of a problem for him.

"We're the bandits around here. If you know what's good for you, hand over all your money. And leave the woman with us so we can have some fun."

"Hahahaha!" When the leader finished speaking, all his men burst out laughing. Their eyes were full of disdain as they looked at Shirakawa and the others, and full of lust as they looked at Kaiser Lynn.

"You bastards, keep staring and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Their leering made Kaiser Lynn feel uncomfortable all over.

"Oho, you're a feisty one. But I like feisty women. Makes it all the more satisfying to tame you. Hahaha!"

As he said this, the leader stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, looking utterly disgusting.

"Brothers, get them! Remember, don't hurt the girl."

"Don't worry, boss. We remember. We're looking forward to having a turn after you've had your fun."

"Haha, there's enough for everyone!"

As Shirakawa listened to them carry on, his expression darkened. They clearly didn't take him or his companions seriously, treating them like ants that could be crushed at any moment.

"You should be grateful." Shirakawa's words drifted slowly from his lips, but everyone who heard them felt the air around them grow a few degrees colder.

"What do you mean?"

"You should be grateful you'll die by my hand."

"Hahaha! You're about to die and you're still putting on a show? I'll save you for last, so you can see what I can do."

The leader had shivered just a moment ago, but now he figured he must have imagined it. The other guy was just a green kid. What could there possibly be to fear?

"Buggy, Shanks, don't hold back this time. Just kill them."

"That's what I was thinking," Shanks replied.

From the way they talked, it was obvious they'd killed plenty of people and had done this sort of thing countless times. Shanks would never show mercy to scum like them.

As for Buggy, he could put up with stronger people looking down on him. But if someone weaker dared to do it, they clearly had no idea what death meant.

The dozen or so bandits charged at them. Kaiser Lynn drew two daggers from behind her waist.

"What? You want to join in, too?" Shirakawa asked, puzzled.

"Of course. No one who's ever insulted me has lived to tell the tale." Kaiser Lynn's gaze was resolute.

"I thought those two daggers were just decorations. I didn't know you could fight."

When they'd first met, Shirakawa had noticed that she always carried two daggers, but he'd never seen her use them.

"Still, I am a princess, and I've had training. Besides, you never gave me a chance to use my skills."

"Right, that's true."

With them around, Kaiser Lynn never had a chance to fight. She only had to stay safely behind them.

"Then be careful. If you get hurt, I won't help you."

"Don't worry. These little nobodies are no match for me."

"I didn't know you were so confident."

"Of course." Kaiser Lynn smiled confidently, readily accepting Shirakawa's praise.

The two sides clashed. Shirakawa didn't join in; instead, he kept his eyes on the small-time leader with the gun. Buggy and Shanks still weren't at the point where they could dodge bullets.

If their opponent tried to launch a sneak attack, any of them could get hurt.

Shirakawa saw the man's expression grow more and more awful as his subordinates turned out to be nothing but chaff—utterly useless.

None of them could last three moves against Buggy or Shanks. Kaiser Lynn had already taken down two of the bandits who'd surrounded her, too.

He'd always been the one doing this to other people. Now that the tables had turned, fear rose in his heart.

"Monsters! You're all monsters! I'll kill you!" he muttered, raising his gun and aiming at Buggy, hoping to kill him with one shot.

But how could Shirakawa give him that chance? The moment the man raised his gun, Shirakawa was already beside him. He drew his sword and sheathed it again in two simple movements.

The man saw a flash of white, and then his gun was cut clean in half, the blade leaving a perfectly smooth cut.

"How is this possible? My gun!" Guns were rare where they lived. The only reason he could throw his weight around might have been this one weapon.

As soon as the gun was destroyed, Shirakawa felt the man's confidence collapse completely. He seemed even weaker than the subordinates he'd just commanded.

"You monsters! Monsters! You're not human!"

The man fell to the ground and spoke in a panic, unable to hide his terror. Even the lower half of his clothes was visibly damp.

"What a pathetic sight." Shirakawa shook his head, but felt no sympathy. Someone like this didn't deserve any.

"No, you can't kill me!" he cried when he saw Shirakawa raise his sword.

"Oh? Why not?"

"If you kill me, our boss won't let you get away with it."

"Won't let us get away with it? I don't plan on letting him get away with it, either." Shirakawa didn't bother listening to any more of his nonsense. He brought his sword down in one clean stroke.

Shanks and the others had finished fighting, too. Not one of the dozen or so bandits had survived.

"I heard him call us monsters just now," Shanks said, coming to Shirakawa's side and looking at the bandit's corpse.

"Mm."

"Monsters? We actually qualify as monsters? He really hasn't seen much of the world."

"That's probably because they're so isolated here. They'll never get to see how vast the world outside is. This island's in the second half of the New World, and hardly anyone can make it here, so it's only natural they'd be like this."

"Then the people on this island really are unfortunate," Shanks sighed. As someone who yearned for freedom, he knew he'd never be able to stand staying on one island for his whole life.