Night fell.
Loguetown's residents had no shortage of nightlife, and all kinds of markets on the streets were brightly lit.
This harmonious, peaceful atmosphere was like the calm before a storm.
Amid the crowd, some members of the Revolutionary Army drew the residents' attention in various ways, subtly guiding the flow of people away from Loguetown's backstreets.
The Revolutionary Army member who had met Lynn gazed toward the backstreets, unable to keep from feeling worried.
Meanwhile.
Lynn had already arrived at Number Five Backstreet, but the situation here was vastly different from what he had imagined.
This was not an abandoned street, but quite a lively marketplace.
Once night fell, the lights of every stall came on, and cries of vendors hawking their wares rang out without end.
Trying to find traces of Kuro's group in such a chaotic market would undoubtedly be extremely difficult.
But now, Lynn had discovered an even more serious problem—
He was a little hungry.
Since landing in Loguetown, he had fought more than a dozen battles. Though every one of them had been a one-sided instant defeat.
Still, because he had remained on guard against that dangerous aura, the Energy Value in Lynn's body had been depleted much faster than expected.
Chewing on jerky he had brought from the Uninhabited Island, Lynn entered Number Five Backstreet. As he observed Kuro's group's movements, he also wanted to find more food at the market in case of emergencies.
Suddenly, Lynn's nose twitched.
It was a familiar scent.
Lynn walked over to a grilled fish stall. The owner was a young man in a headscarf with faint dark circles under his eyes.
Seeing Lynn, the young man smiled warmly. "Hey, brother, want some grilled fish?"
Lynn looked at the fish on the stall and grinned. "Golden Salmon?"
The young stall owner nodded and added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier in front of him. "Yeah. Caught fresh this afternoon. It's very fresh."
"Give me two skewers of grilled fish."
Lynn smiled, but his eyes never left the grilled fish stall owner. "Golden Salmon is an incredibly rare small Sea King. Usually, only nobles get to eat it!"
"Yeah." The young stall owner nodded.
"Boss, how long have you been running this stall?" Lynn suddenly asked.
The owner froze for a moment before answering, "I've been selling grilled fish in Loguetown with my father since I was little. I took over the stall nearly ten years ago, I guess. He taught me all my grilling skills too."
"What a coincidence. I know a fisherman too. He's been fishing for over twenty years, and his grilled fish is exceptional." Lynn watched the young stall owner's technique.
The owner deftly placed the fish on the grill, cooking both sides for a while before brushing on sauce. Fat dripped onto the charcoal, and the aroma immediately spilled out.
Yet when the owner handed the grilled fish to Lynn, Lynn did not take it. Instead, he suddenly grinned.
"That fisherman once told me that Golden Salmon is a very delicate ingredient. When grilling it, only the side with the skin can be cooked, or it ruins the flavor of the fish itself. That's common knowledge for any fish vendor, yet you don't know it."
The young stall owner's eyes shifted before he replied, "Sorry, I... may not have learned the craft well enough."
"You really haven't learned it well enough. And your mind was never on grilling fish to begin with."
Lynn suddenly stepped half a pace closer. "Looking at the muscles in your arms and the calluses on your hands, you probably rarely use fishing nets, right?"
"Mm..." The owner silently bent down and said in a low voice, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
Lynn watched his movement and grinned. "Who are you?"
The young stall owner's expression became completely calm.
"Brother, you shouldn't be asking that."
He took two crutches with ball-shaped ends from a box beneath the stall and said grimly, "You should be asking, 'Who are we?'"
Hearing that, Lynn's pupils suddenly contracted.
All around Lynn, the previously bustling street suddenly fell silent.
Every person in the market, whether stall owner or visitor, simultaneously fixed their gaze on Lynn!
"So that's how it is..."
Lynn finally understood why Number Five Street alone was so lively when the backstreets should have been a remote place with few people—
Everyone here was a member of a pirate crew!
Lynn was now standing at the entrance to Number Five Backstreet.
Before him, on Number Five Street that stretched beyond sight, over a thousand pirates wielded Seastone weapons, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
And that was not all. In the abandoned houses lining both sides of the street, countless pirates had also drawn their blades!
The young man wielding the twin crutches stepped out from behind the stall and came before Lynn.
"The two pirate crews have a total of four thousand men. Don't run away, Lynn!"
The young man smiled grimly. "After all, the person you're looking for is at the end of the street."
Lynn looked at the young man and grinned. "Thanks, Hachi!"
Hachi froze. "You know me?"
"I saw you on a Bounty Poster," Lynn answered.
Hachi had not yet been moved by Sanji's meal. He was still a Demon who obeyed Krieg through and through, so Lynn had no intention of trying to persuade him with words.
Besides, the killing intent pouring in from the street ahead crashed toward him like a tide.
In this situation, there was only one answer—fight!
Lynn slammed his fists together.
Bang!
The dull impact echoed through the silent street like an invitation to war.
Hachi froze at the sight, asking in disbelief, "You want to challenge all four thousand of us by yourself?!"
But Lynn smiled and said to Hachi:
"Do you know my nickname?"
Hachi nodded. "BOSS."
Lynn slightly raised his chin.
"Do you know what BOSS really means?"
"..."
Bang!
Suddenly, a heavy punch struck Hachi squarely in the chest. He barely managed to react in time, blocking it with his twin crutches, yet he felt the force penetrate through them and slam directly into his body!
"Ughaa!"
Hachi let out a pained howl. Before he could react, he caught a flash of frost from the corner of his eye.
Then an uppercut smashed into Hachi's chin, sending his entire body flying into the air!
Hero Skill: Subdue with Might.
After two consecutive heavy punches, frost had already begun spreading beneath Lynn's feet.
Hero Skill: Icebound Domain!
Lynn's speed and perception were greatly enhanced.
Before Hachi had even fallen back down, Lynn slammed his fists together once more.
Bang!
White mist produced by the frost coiled around Lynn's body. He grinned broadly at the four thousand pirates on the street.
"Come on, let's fight!"
Then he stepped forward and charged straight ahead!
Number Five Backstreet was long, but it was not wide on either side.
Therefore, the pirates in the rear could not see what was happening up ahead.
Some were even shouting for the men in front to hold back a little and let them have a chance to fight the Great Wanted Criminal with a bounty of 100 million Beli.
But suddenly, the pirates in the rear saw an incomprehensible "spectacle"—
People were flying.
They rubbed their eyes. They had not seen wrong—their companions were flying through the air in all sorts of poses!
Even more baffling and terrifying was that the place where those people were being launched seemed to be steadily moving deeper into the street!
What was happening?
Perhaps only Demon Hachi, who had fallen to the ground and was barely conscious due to his physical toughness, could answer that question.
Before losing consciousness, Hachi's mind kept replaying what Lynn had just said to him.
"Do you know what BOSS really means?"
"A BOSS is the ultimate objective of a game, so a BOSS is always the one being challenged."
"So, you said one thing wrong."
A dark golden light glowed in Lynn's eyes as he said excitedly:
"It's not me challenging the four thousand of you."
"It should be the four thousand of you challenging me, the BOSS!"
That day.
Loguetown.
Number Five Backstreet.
Wherever BOSS Lynn Barek passed—
People flew!
Everyone in the comments is so talented and speaks so nicely. These past few days, I've been grinning foolishly at the comments every day. I'm so happy!
Please send some recommendation votes! Thanks!
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