Loxi

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"Get him, you bastards! Get him! He's injured! Kill him!"

Staring at the figure standing in the middle of the pile of corpses, Bandejie screamed incoherently.

But the few pirates around him acted as if they hadn't heard, instead taking a step back in unison.

Bai Ina seemed to be roused by Bandejie's shrieks. He turned around unsteadily and looked toward Bandejie.

The moment they saw Bai Ina's expression, all the pirates, Bandejie included, took another step back.

Bai Ina was drenched in blood. Blood trickled down his black hair and onto his pale-as-paper cheeks, and his bloodshot eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty light. Combined with the bloodthirsty grin that never left his lips, he looked like a beast to the terrified pirates—a starving beast that devoured people!

Smack—

Bai Ina took a step forward. The crisp sound of his foot hitting the deck startled every pirate.

"W-wait... D-don't... don't come any closer! You can have the ship. We're leaving right now!"

The instant Bai Ina's foot came down, Bandejie cried out in utter desperation.

The other pirates immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

At Bandejie's words, Bai Ina stopped and didn't take another step. He fixed the remaining pirates with a cold stare, as if accepting Bandejie's plea.

Under Bai Ina's icy gaze, the pirates felt as if they'd fallen into a frozen pit and began trembling uncontrollably. At last, one man standing by the railing broke first. He climbed over it and leaped into the sea, leaving behind only a terrified scream.

"I'm done being a pirate!!!"

His leap seemed to light a fuse. The remaining six pirates exchanged glances, then all ran for the nearest railing.

Splash, splash—

The sound of bodies hitting the water rang out around the ship, one after another.

Seeing this, Bandejie ran for the railing without hesitation. He truly didn't want to face that little boy who looked like a nightmarish demon.

But just as he reached the railing and prepared to climb over, Bai Ina's voice suddenly came from beside him.

"You can't leave!"

"Why—"

Bandejie reflexively asked, but before he could finish, a pain shot through his neck.

Splash—

His headless body toppled into the sea, off balance. Bai Ina held Bandejie's head in one hand and murmured, "Because you're worth money..."

Who knew what Bandejie would have done if he'd heard that? One thing was certain: he'd have hunted down the bastard who'd flaunted his bounty poster and disemboweled him... then ground his bones to dust...

"Whew—"

Bai Ina let out a long breath and slid to the ground, leaning against the railing.

"I'm still too inexperienced in real combat!"

He really was too inexperienced. Even in a situation like that, he hadn't noticed someone lying on the deck, completely unharmed. If he'd been more careful, he would've realized that the person lying there earlier wasn't one of the pirates he'd killed.

Thinking of that, the highly self-critical Bai Ina's face hardened. He lowered his gaze to the head in his hand and murmured, "Then I'll use pirates as practice. That way, I can earn some money, too!"

At this moment, Bai Ina's situation was almost the same as Zoro's in the future. Both had the goal of becoming the World's Strongest swordsman, but neither had a plan for how to achieve it, so they made the same choice. But Zoro met Luffy, who became his guiding light and set him on the path to becoming the strongest swordsman. Where was Bai Ina's guiding light?

After sitting and resting for a long while, he moved the leg that had been pierced by the long sword. His brow furrowed, and a flash of pain crossed his face.

But the next moment, he forced himself to his feet despite the agony and limped toward the small door marked "Storage" in the cabin.

The distance was barely three meters, yet it took him nearly a minute to cover it.

Creak—

Bai Ina slowly pushed the storage-room door open, but the next moment his hand was already gripping the hilt at his waist.

"Ah... Please, don't kill me!"

Just then, a frightened voice came from inside the cabin. From the childlike voice, the speaker couldn't have been very old.

Bai Ina frowned and continued pushing the door open.

The scene inside the storage room came into view. A trembling boy of twelve or thirteen sat huddled in a corner of the cabin, knees pulled to his chest. His delicate face was deathly pale, and when Bai Ina looked at him, tears poured from his eyes.

He looked as if a single word from Bai Ina might make him faint.

Bai Ina paused for a moment, then walked straight into the storage room. The boy shrank desperately farther into the corner. But then he froze, because Bai Ina didn't come toward him. Instead, he headed straight for the food and fresh water. He opened a barrel and gulped down some water, then grabbed a piece of cured meat and stuffed it ravenously into his mouth.

The boy swallowed hard. Bai Ina looked so much like a starving beast that he thought the younger boy might lunge at him the next moment and sink his teeth into his throat.

But it turned out he'd worried too much. After wolfing down the food, Bai Ina simply lay down beside the storage room and fell asleep as if no one else were there.

After who knew how long, Bai Ina suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes. His long sword flashed out of his arms, and he stared coldly at the trembling figure before him.

"N-no... please... Your leg is still bleeding... I... wanted to bandage it!" Seeing Bai Ina's icy gaze, the boy jumped in fright and stammered as he held up the medical kit.

Bai Ina glanced at the medical kit in the boy's hands, then slowly sheathed his sword.

"Why didn't you run?" A voice even more childlike than the boy's asked.

"Huh?"

The childlike voice left the boy stunned. Then he remembered that this terrifying person was younger than he was, though the boy's presence made it easy to forget his age.

"Why didn't you run?"

Bai Ina asked again, this time with a hint of impatience.

The boy was startled and hurriedly replied, "I... I can't swim?"

"You can't swim?"

Bai Ina was taken aback.

Thinking Bai Ina didn't believe him, the boy quickly explained, "I'm a Devil Fruit user, so I can't touch seawater!"

A Devil Fruit user?

Bai Ina looked the boy over with interest and asked coldly, "What power?"

The boy's face flushed. In a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, he said,

"The N-nose-Nose Fruit. It has no combat ability at all. It just makes my sense of smell incredibly sharp—about ten times stronger than a dog's, the dog with the best nose!"

This time, Bai Ina was genuinely stunned. He'd never imagined there could be such a useless Devil Fruit.

"Pfft... Hahahahahaha!"

Then, a long-absent laugh burst from Bai Ina. Only now did he look his age. A pure, childlike smile lit up his delicate face, and none of his earlier coldness remained.

The sudden change left the boy stunned. He couldn't believe Bai Ina could smile like that.

But the smile didn't last long. Bai Ina soon returned to his usual expressionless self, with an air that kept others at a distance.

"Your name—!"

"Loxi!"

Bai Ina nodded, then asked, "How did you become a pirate?"

"Uh, well..."

The boy's face turned awkward. After hesitating for a while, he answered, "I was fishing by the sea when I ran into Bandejie and his crew. They needed a deckhand, so they just grabbed me and brought me aboard."

"..." Bai Ina.

"That's enough. Go out and find yourself a room."

The boy's face lit up. He bowed to Bai Ina again and again. "Thank you, sir. Thank you..." Then he started to leave.

"Wait..."

Bai Ina's voice came again. Loxi tensed and turned around stiffly.

Bai Ina looked at the boy, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face. Then he asked softly, "Do you know how to bandage a wound?"

"Huh...?"

Loxi was taken aback, then nodded vigorously.

"I do!!!"