Beast Parade (Three Thousand-Word Chapter, Please Recommend and Bookmark!)

East Blue, Loguetown.

This was the hometown of Pirate King Gol D. Roger. He had been born here, and he had also been executed here.

Before his execution, Roger had said those words atop the scaffold—

"Want my treasure? You can have it if you want it. Go find it! I left everything there!"

And thus, the Great Pirate Era began.

Even after many years had passed, whenever people recalled that scene on the execution platform, they could not help but feel conflicted.

What had Roger been thinking at the time?

Back to the present.

Five weeks after the "Sabaody Arena Riot Incident."

The fishermen of Fishermen's Town were enjoying their holiday.

Loguetown was currently in its annual fishing ban season.

The fishing ban here differed from the usual kind.

Normally, fishing bans existed to prevent overfishing, giving fish time to rest and reproduce. Their purpose was to protect fish stocks.

In Loguetown, however, the fishing ban existed to protect the fishermen.

Beast Parade—Loguetown's annual spectacle. Countless small and medium-sized Sea Kings would follow the currents through the waters near Loguetown, and any ship that approached them would suffer devastating attacks.

In such an environment, simply going out to sea was life-threatening, never mind fishing.

Beast Parade lasted for roughly a month.

Therefore, during that month, Loguetown's fishermen could only stay at home, sort through their fishing gear, and bask in the sun. It was rare leisure time, at least.

Today, however, the peace of Fishermen's Town was shattered by a commotion.

A middle-aged fisherman with a beer belly and an exaggerated brown beard was kicked through the air, crashing into a row of fishing gear he had just arranged.

With a clatter, everything became a mess.

The one who had kicked the fisherman was a tall, skinny thug holding a Spiked Club.

Beside him stood a short, fat thug with a smirking face.

The other fishermen on the street hurried into their homes at the sight. After all, the people backing those two thugs were not someone they could afford to provoke.

The short, fat thug held a dagger and asked in a shrill voice, "Hehehehe, old man, when are you going to pay back the money you owe our boss?"

The fisherman wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and got to his feet. "I already paid back more than double the principal! As for that interest, I had no idea it would be so high when I borrowed the money. This is fraud!"

"Huh? Old man, we're respectable businessmen!"

The short, fat thug pulled out a contract and raised his voice. "It's written here in black and white, clear as day. Your name is even signed on it."

That only made the fisherman angrier. "You scammers! You tricked me into signing it while I was drunk!"

"Enough nonsense, old man!" The short, fat thug pointed at his tall, skinny companion. "My partner's club doesn't have eyes!"

Before his words had even faded, the dim-witted-looking tall thug suddenly swung his Spiked Club and smashed a stone wall to pieces.

"Yes, boss! Okay, boss!"

The short, fat thug ducked beneath the Spiked Club thanks to his height and grinned. "Hehehehe, did you see how strong my partner is?"

The fisherman furrowed his brow. "A full four hundred thousand Beli... You know perfectly well I can't repay that much interest. What do you really want?"

"Hehehehe, well..." The short, fat thug smiled. "Our boss has had his eye on your fish shop for a long time. Such a great location would make a fortune as a casino! So why not..."

"No way!" The fisherman stretched out his arms in front of his fish shop and shouted, "This is where my son grew up. I'll never hand it over to bastards like you!"

"Then..." The short, fat thug suddenly waved a hand.

The tall, skinny thug charged forward and swung his Spiked Club at the fisherman!

"Yes, boss! Okay, boss!"

Bang!

The Spiked Club came crashing down, yet the expected bloody scene never appeared.

An arm shot out from the side and stopped the descending Spiked Club with a bare hand!

Following that arm, everyone saw a muscular young man.

"Lynn!"

The fisherman hurriedly got up. "Don't be reckless! You can't afford to provoke the people behind them!"

The one who had stepped in to save the fisherman was Lynn Barek, who had followed the Log Pose and painstakingly sailed out of the Calm Belt!

Two weeks earlier, Lynn had eaten the last of the food aboard the warship. Then, relying on sheer will, he had struggled onward for another week before finally breaking out of the Calm Belt.

However, after being battered by storms and the Calm Belt, that warship had become completely unusable. It had fallen apart not long after resuming its voyage.

By then, Lynn had been too hungry to muster any strength. He could only cling desperately to a wooden barrel and drift across the sea. The fisherman had found him during his final trip out to sea before the fishing ban and brought him home.

That night, Lynn ate every last bit of stored food in the fisherman's house.

To repay him for saving his life, as well as pay for the meals, Lynn had temporarily begun working at the fisherman's fish shop.

But during Beast Parade, the fish shop had almost no business. So early that morning, Lynn had asked the fisherman for leave, and no one knew where he had gone.

The short, fat thug narrowed his eyes at the man who had suddenly appeared.

His experience as a thug told him not to provoke people whose backgrounds he did not know.

So, the short, fat thug told his partner to stop and said flatly, "Debts must be repaid. That's the law!"

But then, the short, fat thug's eyes went wide.

Following Lynn's other hand, he saw that Lynn was dragging a small Sea King with a body that gleamed golden!

There was no mistaking it. It was an ultra-rare small Sea King worth one million Beli—a Golden Salmon!

Could this guy be planning to use that Sea King to settle the debt?

They might not get the fish shop, but getting a rare Sea King worth one million Beli would still make this deal hugely profitable!

At that thought, the short, fat thug rubbed his hands together. "Hehehehe, at least you know what's good for you. If you use this rare Sea King to settle the debt, we'll call everything between us even!"

"Lynn..."

The fisherman had never expected Lynn to risk going out to sea during Beast Parade just to fish for him. He was overwhelmed with emotion. "Thank you!"

Lynn tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? I wanted to eat fish, so I went out and caught one. Do you want some too?"

"Huh???"

Everyone who heard Lynn's words nearly had their jaws hit the ground.

He had gone out to sea during Beast Parade just because he wanted to eat fish?

"Hey, do you know what kind of fish that is?!" the short, fat thug shouted. "That's an ultra-rare Golden Salmon worth one million Beli!"

"Really? Then it must taste great." Lynn swallowed.

"You brat..."

The short, fat thug gritted his teeth. His irritation had reached its limit, but this mysterious man had managed to go out to sea and catch fish during this season. His strength could not be underestimated.

The best course of action was to retreat for now and report this matter to their boss!

However, the tall, skinny thug whose Spiked Club Lynn had caught suddenly began shouting.

"You... won't... let me smash... bastard!"

The short, fat thug's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, that idiot partner is going berserk! Still, this is a good chance to see what this man can do...

But as he thought that, the short, fat thug suddenly felt something was wrong.

Why were his feet dangling in the air?

Looking again, he realized that the man named Lynn had grabbed his head in one hand!

At the same time, before the tall, skinny thug could even swing his Spiked Club, Lynn had grabbed his head as well.

Lynn looked down at the sheets of paper that had fallen onto the ground, then finally understood. He grinned.

"So you're loan sharks."

Lynn held the two thugs by their heads, one in each hand, as they struggled desperately.

They could not break free. What terrifying strength!

Lynn turned to the fisherman and asked, "Uncle, are you okay?"

"I'm fine... That's not the point!"

The fisherman hurriedly tried to stop him. "Don't be reckless! Their boss is a terrifying man!"

But he was already too late.

As the fisherman answered, Lynn consumed the Energy Value within his body, and veins bulged violently across both arms.

Hero Skill: Skull Crusher!

This was the proper way to use this move:

Grab two people separately, then smash them directly into each other in the most brutal way possible!

Bang!

The two thugs collided with a dull thud.

Lynn released them, and they crumpled to the ground.

"Our... our boss won't let you get away with this..." With his last breath, the short, fat thug pulled a bounty poster from his clothes and issued a final threat. "He's a Great Pirate with a bounty of ten million Beli..."

Lynn looked at the bounty poster, then pointed behind himself.

"You mean him?"

Everyone looked in the direction Lynn indicated and indeed found someone identical to the photo on the bounty poster. Only, that man was now bruised and swollen, lying unconscious at the street corner.

Lynn said casually, "He tried to steal my fish on the road earlier, so I beat him up."

Before his words had faded, Lynn suddenly stomped beside the short, fat thug.

Boom!

The flat ground was instantly crushed into a huge crater!

Steam curled from the corners of Lynn's mouth, and his entire body looked like an immovable war chariot!

"Now then, shall we talk about the interest?"

Feeling the aura of death beside his head, the short, fat thug was so terrified that he could not say a word. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

Seeing this, the people of Fishermen's Town came out of their homes one after another. After a brief silence, deafening cheers erupted.

"Lynn, that was amazing!"

"You just defeated a Great Pirate with a bounty of ten million Beli!"

"Thank you! Thank you for saving Fishermen's Town!"

Looking at the scene before him, Lynn had only one thought—

I want fish soup tonight.