Why Does That Make Us Sound Like the Villains?

"Look!"

From the air, Merry stared at a giant rock in front of her and said, "There are many people behind that rock."

"Are they companions of those two guys from earlier?"

As she spoke, Merry took a closer look at the people; they were all unusual centaurs!

"They look very similar."

Usopp stared at them intently for a moment and said, "Look, they all have special lower bodies."

"That's really true..."

Zoro looked surprised. Just how many of these Cyborg were there?

Nico Robin chuckled and said, "Looks like the intelligence issue has been resolved."

As she spoke, Nico Robin glanced at Xi Yan, her meaning all too clear.

Xi Yan smiled upon hearing this and said, "That's true."

Then, Xi Yan pointed to the group of people and continued, "Merry, fly over there. Let's see if we can get any information from these guys."

"Profound!"

Upon hearing Xi Yan's words, Merry nodded, and then manipulated the wind to fly towards the direction of Tea Beard and the others.

"Um?"

As if sensing something, Tea Beard subconsciously looked up at the sky, then his pupils contracted and he exclaimed, "Warning! Someone's flying over here!"

Upon hearing the voice of the man with the Tea Beard, his subordinates looked up at the sky, then exclaimed in disbelief, "Why are there people in the sky?"

"An ability user?"

"They must be ability users, otherwise there's no way to explain why they can fly."

As he spoke, Tea Beard drew his broadsword from his waist, his eyes becoming wary.

"Boss, they're the invaders this time, aren't they!"

"That's most likely the case..."

"What about our companions on the other side?" one person asked. "Does their presence here mean...?"

Hearing the other person's words, Tea Beard took a deep breath and said, "They've probably already met with some misfortune..."

After letting out a silent sigh, Tea Beard said, "Alright, everyone, cheer up!"

"Bomb them with cannons!"

The loss of our comrades is certainly heartbreaking, but now is not the time to dwell on those things. The most urgent task is to eliminate these invaders in front of us!

"Clear!"

The subordinates nodded upon receiving the order, then picked up their cannons, aimed them at Xi Yan and the others in the air, and pulled the triggers without hesitation.

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

The next moment, several howitzer shells flew out, heading straight for Xi Yan and the others in the air.

"These things are useless against me!" Merry shouted, "Explode them all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a powerful gust of wind flew from Merry's hand, accurately striking the cannonball in mid-air and detonating it!

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"So it wasn't that simple after all..."

Tea Beard, who had taken in all of this, immediately frowned.

Although we don't know what kind of ability the opponent has, judging from the current situation, the cannonballs don't seem to be very effective.

Just as Tea Beard was pondering what to do next, Merry led Xi Yan and the others down rapidly, landing precisely not far from Tea Beard and his companions.

"Whoosh~"

"Click~"

After regaining his footing, Xi Yan smiled and glanced at the group, saying, "Yo, hello everyone~"

Tea Beard:???

Seriously? That's incredibly arrogant!

"Boy, do you know who I am!" Raising his broadsword and pointing it directly at the Tea Beard from Xi Yan, he declared, "I am Tea Beard!"

"You still dare to be so arrogant in front of me?"

Does this kid not know the meaning of the word "death"?

Xi Yan was taken aback upon hearing this, then stared intently at the Tea Beard, and asked in surprise, "You're that Tea Beard?"

Is this the boss that guy mentioned before?

If that's the case... this guy probably knows something.

Thinking of this, Xi Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Oh ho, so you actually know my name." The man with the Tea Beard mouth smirked. "Looks like I'm quite famous outside~"

After saying that, Tea Beard paused for a moment, then put his hands on his hips and said, "That's right, I am the great pirate with a bounty of 80 million Beli, Tea Beard!"

"Pfft~"

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

An 80 million... Great Pirate?

Then what is he?

Super Pirate?

"You bastard, what are you laughing at!" the Tea Beard roared.

Is this guy looking down on him?

"Looks like this guy doesn't recognize us," said Merry was floating in mid-air.

"That's probably true," Nico Robin nodded in agreement.

Tea Beard:???

What do you mean by not recognizing the other person?

Who are they?

Then, Tea Beard noticed the straw Straw Hat Luffy was wearing.

"Wait... this Straw Hat..."

"Who are you..."

As if he had realized something, the Tea Beard's expression immediately changed.

"You are Luffy Straw Hat with a bounty of 500 million Beli!!"

Damn it, why are the Straw Hat Crew in Punk Hazard?!

ah?

"5...500 million Beli?!"

The other centaurs looked at Luffy in shock. This kid, who looked only about twenty years old, actually had a bounty of 500 million Beli?

Isn't this a bit too scary?

No... that's not the point!

The main problem is that they simply can't defeat this kind of enemy!

Realizing this, the men immediately ran away, shouting, "Everyone, this kind of enemy is no match for us! Run!"

"He's right." The Tea Beard also ran back, saying, "Let's get out of here quickly and tell our master what's going on!"

Ultimately, he's just a pirate with a bounty of less than 100 million, and he's no match for the Straw Hat, so he has to escape!

"What do we do? They're trying to escape," Merry said.

"We can ignore the others, but we must capture that guy called Tea Beard." Xi Yan pointed to Tea Beard in the distance and said, "This guy probably knows a lot of things."

Upon hearing this, the others immediately understood Xi Yan's meaning: he intended to extract information from the other party.

"Let's grab him then," Luffy grinned. "He can carry us to find Nami and the others."

Xi Yan was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then looked at Luffy in surprise and said, "You're treating him like a transport vehicle?"

Hehe~

Don't you think this is funny?

Although he didn't know what the transport vehicle Xi Yan was talking about was, he just thought that the Crocodile Centaur was really cool!

Xi Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this. Use a Crocodile Centaur as a transport vehicle?

It feels a bit awkward.

However, since Luffy had already spoken, he couldn't say anything more.

"I said, if we don't act now, they'll get away," Usopp said.

After saying that, he took out several explosive pellets from his pocket, then raised his slingshot and fired the pellets.

"Ultimate Kill - Tenfold Explosion Star!"

"Whoosh~"

The flying explosive projectile grew longer in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it became a high-explosive shell the size of a cannonball.

The next moment...

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!"

"Ah!"

The enemy hit by the shell immediately screamed in agony, then collapsed to the ground with their Byakugan rolled back.

Seeing this, Usopp smirked and said, "Looks like I'm still pretty awesome."

Hahaha~

Seeing that Usopp had made his move, the others said nothing more and decisively launched an attack on the distant enemy.

In the end, all of them lay on the ground under the attack of Xi Yan and his group.

"Cough cough..."

Tea Beard, who had just been beaten up by Luffy, said with a grim expression, "What a bunch of monsters..."

As expected of the Straw Hat Pirates, their strength is truly terrifying.

Then, Tea Beard gripped his long sword tightly, ready to fight Luffy and his Luffy to the death.

Seeing this, Xi Yan calmly asked, "Tea Beard, are you sure you want to do this?"

"If you make another move, you won't be so lucky."

As he spoke, Xi Yan glanced at the trembling enemies lying on the ground, his meaning clear.

After hearing Xi Yan's words, Tea Beard fell silent.

Is this a threat against him using his subordinates?

"Damn it, you despicable pirate!"

"Boss Tea Beard, don't mind us!"

"That's right, please leave quickly and go find your master!"

"Hurry, boss!"

Tea Beard:...

Does he not want to leave to find his master?

The problem is, he simply can't do it!

These powerful individuals would never give him that opportunity.

But to ask him to give up like this is really...

Just then, Xi Yan punched a nearby boulder, shattering it in one blow!

"Boom!!!"

Tea Beard:!!!

Tea Beard was dumbfounded when he saw this.

A boulder the size of a small mountain, shattered with a single punch?

Is this guy a monster?

After a moment of silence, Tea Beard reluctantly threw the large knife in his hand to the ground.

That appearance clearly showed that they had given up resisting.

He then said, "You can do whatever you want, but please don't continue to harm my men."

Rebellion was pointless, so he chose to follow his heart.

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan was speechless.

How can you say they're like villains?

"Let's go, carry us to the front." Luffy forward and patted the crocodile with the Tea Beard man's thigh, saying, "We're going to the front to find our crew!"

"Partner?"

Tea Beard paused for a moment, then said in surprise, "So those people we captured earlier were members of your Straw Hat Pirates?"

No wonder they came here to cause trouble; it turns out they ended up arresting their people!

This is making a scene...

"That's right, they are our people," Usopp nodded and said.

Tea Beard pursed his lips upon hearing this, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Who would have thought that the pirates they captured would be members of the Straw Hat Pirates?

They really... messed with a bunch of Evil Star!!

Just then, a figure came running from a distance, shouting, "Everyone!!!"

"I've finally found you!"

"Huh?"

Upon hearing the voice, Merry paused for a moment, then looked up at the hilltop in surprise and exclaimed, "It's... it's Brook!"

How did he end up here?

Zoro asked in confusion, "Shouldn't he be facing the front at this moment?"

Weren't we supposed to meet up face-to-face? How did we end up here?

"Maybe it's so they can reunite with us sooner," Usopp guessed.

This time, Zoro simply nodded and said nothing more.

Soon, Brook ran down the mountain and rushed to Luffy and the others.

"You look flustered," Nicole Robin asked curiously. "Is someone chasing you?"

As she spoke, Nicole Robin glanced behind Brook, but didn't see anything suspicious.

"People?"

Thinking back to the strange guy he'd encountered earlier, Brook shook his head and said, "Not really."

That headless, bodyless creature can hardly be considered human.

Then, Brook glanced at the people lying on the ground and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Ah, these guys tried to attack us, so we beat them to a pulp," Luffy grinned.

"Yohohohoho~"

"I see."

As expected of his partner, his strength is truly formidable!

"Alright, get on first." Zoro, having climbed onto the Tea Whiskers Crocodile's body, patted its skin and said, "We can talk as we walk."

They don't have time to waste here, so it's better to talk as they walk.

Upon hearing this, Brook looked at the Tea Beard with some curiosity and asked, "What's going on with him?"

Were they deliberately left behind to be used as transportation?

"Ah, I'm planning to have him carry us up ahead," Luffy said, grinning. "That would be fun, wouldn't it?"

After all... this is a handsome Crocodile Centaur!

Having a guy like that carrying them is pretty cool, right?

"Yohohohoho."

"That's really interesting!"

Brook smiled, then jumped onto the back of the man with the Tea Beard along with the others.

Then, Brook glanced at Merry and said, "Miss Going Merry, could I please have a down coat too?"

Everyone has a cotton-padded coat, so... he needs one too!

Upon hearing this, Merry blinked, then took out a large cotton coat suitable for Brook from her pocket.

Here, that's for you~

Thank you!

Brook smiled and then put on the cotton coat that fit him well.

Seeing this, Usopp looked at Brook curiously and said, "Brook, don't you have no skin? You shouldn't feel the cold, right?"

"Yohohohoho~"

"That's true, but we're partners after all~" Brook said with a smile, "So I want to have the same warmth as everyone else~"

"Yohohohoho~"

He doesn't actually have skin that can feel temperature, but he really enjoys the feeling of wearing the same clothes as his companions.

So... he also needs to wear a cotton-padded coat!

Yohohohoho~

Usopp smiled upon hearing this, "Oh, I see."

Then, as if remembering something, Merry said with a worried expression, "Speaking of which... Nami weren't wearing winter coats when they were captured, were they? Are you sure they're okay?"

Will I get frostbite?

Listening to Merry's words, Nicole Robin said, "I just hope they don't lose their hands and feet to frostbite..."

Merry:???

Usopp:???

Merry looked at Nico Robin with a puzzled expression. Was her idea a little too terrifying?

Usopp then opened his shark-like mouth and said, "Don't say things like that again, Robin!"

This is terrifying!

Nico Robin simply smiled and said nothing more.

Looking at Nico Robin's smiling face, Xi Yan immediately rolled his eyes.

Then he said, "Don't worry, Nami and the others should be fine."

"Real?"

Looking at Merry, who was looking up at him, Xi Yan smiled and ruffled her hair, saying, "The temperature inside that experimental base shouldn't be low, so you'll be fine."

"Right?"

Finally, Xi Yan glanced at the Tea Beard, clearly asking him a question.

"Ah, the temperature is indeed quite high..."

Tea Beard instinctively replied, then his expression changed, and he said, "Damn pirate, you actually tricked me into telling you something!"

Xi Yan rolled his eyes upon hearing this. This guy is stupid himself, and he's blaming him?

Then, Xi Yan muttered to himself, 'Hmm, looks like I won't even need the Sharinggan to get any information out of this guy.'

Fine, considering Luffy seems to like this guy, we won't need to use the Sharinggan to interrogate him; that way, we won't have to kill him.

Then, Xi Yan began to ponder how to get this idiot to talk.

Merry breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then it seems there's nothing to worry about."

"Don't get too excited yet," Usopp said. "If Nami and the others escape, they'll still feel cold."

"They're not stupid either."

Zoro shook his head and said, "If it really comes to that, they'll probably think about stealing a piece of clothing to wear."

Although Nami and her friends aren't particularly strong, Sanji is quite powerful!

So there's absolutely no problem getting some clothes for everyone.

"Stealing clothes?"

Merry glanced at the man with the Tea Beard and cotton-padded coat, then nodded and said, "That's true..."

With Sanji and his crew's strength, stealing these guys' clothes shouldn't be a problem.

Tea Beard, who had overheard their conversation, said with a grim expression, "As expected of barbaric pirates..."

Do you even have the right to say such a thing?

Zoro glanced at the Tea Beard and said, "You're a pirate too, aren't you?"

How can someone who is a pirate despise others as barbaric pirates...?

"I stopped being a pirate a long time ago."

Tea Beard first shook his head, then proudly raised his head and said, "Now I am the proud captain of the Centaur Warrior Patrol!"

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise immediately appeared in everyone's eyes.

Is it really half-human?

"Hahaha, I knew it!" Luffy laughed, patting Tea Beard's body as he said, "There really are centaurs in this world!"

"Hahaha~"

Usopp's lips twitched upon hearing this. "There really is one?"

Wasn't it supposed to be the product of an experiment?

Xi Yan looked at Luffy speechlessly. What on earth was this guy listening to?

This is clearly the product of some kind of experiment.

After shaking his head, Xi Yan was too lazy to bother with this idiot.

Then, Xi Yan looked at Brook and asked, "Brook, have you found any clues?"

No.

Brook shook his head and said, "I haven't been inside that building."

If it weren't for that strange upper-body person, he wouldn't have run all the way here.

"Is that so...?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Then it seems these people really do see you as a skeleton."

As he finished speaking, a hint of emotion appeared on Xi Yan's face.

In a sense, Brook's appearance is quite suitable for lurking.

After all... people who don't know Brook would never imagine that this skeleton could move!

"Yohohohoho~"

"It seems so," Brook said with a smile and a nod.

That's precisely why he had the opportunity to tell Xi Yan and the others about this place.

Then Brook asked, "Have you found anything here?"

Yes, there are.

Xi Yan glanced at the Tea Beard, then smirked and said, "I interrogated a centaur and got some information out of him."

Upon hearing this, the man with the Tea Beard's expression immediately changed.

"Impossible!" said the Tea Beard. "How could a proud centaur warrior betray intelligence?"

"You're not going to lie to me!"

He simply did not believe that his subordinates would betray their master's information.

After all... he was their savior!

"It's no use whether you believe me or not," Xi Yan said calmly, arms crossed. "Because I have indeed obtained enough intelligence."

"Then tell me, what do you know?" the Tea Beard asked, frowning.

Clearly, he didn't believe Xi Yan's words.

"All of them."

Xi Yan said, "For example, you have a master who treats you very well, or that guy is a scientist, or... there's a Shichibukai here!"

The first and second sentences are true, because he did indeed learn this information from that person.

As for the third sentence... the information was obtained from the lower-body people, so saying that isn't wrong either.

Upon hearing Xi Yan's words, Tea Beard's expression immediately turned even more unpleasant.

"So you knew all this...?"

Damn it, which bastard betrayed this information?!

Damn it!

Having observed Tea Beard's reaction, Xi Yan immediately drew a conclusion.

That means... that scientist was indeed their master, and... that Shichibukai is still here!

Thinking of this, Xi Yan nodded to himself.

Then, he glanced at the man with the Tea Beard and said, "Tell me, why do you think that guy who conducted human experiments is a good person?"

"This guy sounds like an evil person."

"What do you know?!"

Upon hearing this, Tea Beard flew into a rage and retorted, "If it weren't for my master, I would have been dead long ago!"

How could these people possibly understand the greatness of their master?

"What's the meaning?"

Merry looked at the Tea Beard curiously. What did he mean by saying that if he wasn't the master, he would have died long ago?

What has this guy been through this time?

"See these legs of mine now?" The Tea Beard pointed to his crocodile lower body and said, "If my master hadn't taken pity on me and brought me back, I wouldn't be able to stand up again!"

At this point, Tea Beard's eyes immediately filled with gratitude.

"What's wrong with your lower body?" Usopp asked curiously.

"This is a long story..."

The man with the Tea Beard expression gradually became complicated as he walked away, saying, "You should know a guy named Hawkins, right?"

"Hawkins?"

Luffy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know him."

He didn't remember ever seeing Hawkins.

Tea Beard:???

How could someone from the same Worst Generation not know Hawkins?

Is this guy playing a trick on him?

"You mean that Supernovas with the title of magician?" Nico Robin asked.

She had some knowledge of these Supernovas.

"That's right, it's him!"

At this point, hatred flashed in the Tea Beard's eyes as he said, "That bastard severed all of our legs during our fight..."

"At that time, we were all in despair and just wanted to die."

"Until we met our master..."

As if recalling some scene, the expression on Tea Beard's face gradually became excited.

If it weren't for his master, he really wouldn't have had the courage to live!

Usopp, observing the Tea Beard's reaction, remarked, "No wonder you guys are so grateful to that guy..."

Giving them hope when they are in despair—isn't that just like being a savior?

"That's right!"

Tea Beard raised his head and said.

To him, his master was no different from a god.

That's right, it's God!

It's Kami!!