All That Mattered Was Being Cute

Dull footsteps echoed across the dock.

Soon, a large group of people emerged from the shadows.

The pirate flag fluttering in the wind struck a nerve in Kozuki Hiyori.

It bore a skull with a white mustache curved like a crescent moon.

"Th-That's Whitebeard's flag. Why are they here?"

"And Doma is with them too!"

Kozuki Hiyori's expression changed.

She knew that Qin Yu had offended quite a few powerful forces in the tavern.

However, she had never imagined that they would come knocking so quickly.

If Kozuki Hiyori remembered correctly, the burly man leading them, nearly five meters tall and filled with rage, was the Whitebeard Pirates' Third Division Commander.

Diamond Jozu, with a bounty of 800 million Beli.

The sudden appearance of someone of that caliber left Kozuki Hiyori unable to stay calm.

"Are you Saitama?" Jozu spoke first.

"I heard about you from Doma."

"A strange man traveling with an exceptionally beautiful woman—on these seas, that's a major taboo. It's very easy to invite trouble."

At this point, Jozu said gravely, "This is still only the first half of the Grand Line. If you set foot in the latter half, she may even bring you a fatal disaster."

"Pirates with bounties worth hundreds of millions, hidden old monsters, various forces, and so on."

"They have a pathological obsession with power, money, and women. You should understand the saying that a beautiful woman brings disaster."

His deep voice carried an inexplicably oppressive weight.

Kozuki Hiyori's expression changed at once upon hearing that.

It would have been one thing if he had not said it, but now that he had bluntly laid out the stakes—

Kozuki Hiyori instantly recalled the attacks by pirate crews of all sizes over the past three days.

Whenever she showed herself and the pirates