Jiaqi was not only rough-looking; he was just as sleazy at heart. No wonder Qiyuan did not like him.
Hey, whatever you do, don't tell Teacher Zehua or Zhiyuan. Checking things out was a secret between brothers.
Tokikake said to Mu Chen with a righteous look on his face.
But Mu Chen had no interest in any of that. He was only nineteen, and more importantly, he was still a virgin. Forget it. Tokikake could have all the fun himself; Mu Chen was not fortunate enough to enjoy it.
As Mu Chen spoke, he turned to leave. To be honest, he really did not want to stay in a place like this any longer.
Mu Chen, no, no, no. How did that saying go? Good brothers have to sit together, carry guns together—we're carrying guns right now—or go to jail together. We probably won't get the chance for that.
Wasn't the third one visiting prostitutes together?
Screw you! Get lost!
Mu Chen could not even be bothered to respond to Tokikake. What the hell was this? He had even dragged out that line of nonsense. My sister, my sister, my sister?
You mean those little sisters, right? Hehehe.
Uh, fine, fine. Let's go together.
Mu Chen frowned deeply and covered his face. He did not want to say another word. How had Tokikake become the future Marine Admiral Monkey? This was far too unreliable.
Just then, at the bend connecting District 18 to District 19 in the distance, Mu Chen spotted a figure. The figure was not very tall, probably only fifteen or sixteen years old, but the most eye-catching thing was the Straw Hat on his head. Shanks!
That figure had to be Shanks. Mu Chen had not expected to run into Luffy's future godfather and one of the future Four Emperors while slipping out to fool around.
Well, now this was interesting. Who cared about girls? They were nowhere near as important as a future Four Emperor. "Go by yourself. I saw someone I know. Once you're done having fun, come find me." Leaving those words behind, Mu Chen hurried off without the slightest hesitation. He knew how rare it was to encounter Shanks right now. Besides, Shanks was still just a kid. If he did not bully a future Four Emperor now, would that not be a huge loss?
Mu Chen, don't go! What acquaintance? I think you just want to have fun by yourself and not take me along.
Fine, do whatever you want. Just remember to be back at the harbor before six!
After Mu Chen rounded the corner, he saw the Straw Hat walking through the crowd in the distance. It could not be helped—the hat was simply too conspicuous to miss.
Mu Chen quietly followed behind him. He did not know what Shanks intended to do. After all, Pirate King Roger's crew had already disbanded, and every crew member had gone their separate ways. In Mu Chen's memory, Shanks, who had been an apprentice crewman, should have been wandering alone at this point. Then, two years later, he would seek out Yasopp and form the Red-Haired Pirates that same year. Running into him now had to be a coincidence.
Mu Chen followed Shanks all the way to a secluded bar. Mu Chen was only wearing a T-shirt today, with nothing indicating that he was a Marine, so he followed Shanks inside and sat at a table behind him.
Shanks ordered a glass of juice and waited quietly.
Who was he waiting for?
Someone from the Sabaody Archipelago?
Mu Chen suddenly thought of someone, but he was not certain yet.
Better not alert the enemy. He only wanted to see what Shanks had been like as a child and, while he was at it, bully him a little. Just thinking about bullying a future Four Emperor was exciting.
Shanks, you bastard! I already lost. Don't come looking for me!
Suddenly, a boy dressed like a bar attendant appeared. He was about the same age as Shanks, and the most striking feature was his huge red nose. Buggy!
Mu Chen took one look and saw another familiar face. It was actually the clown. "Buggy, Buggy, I've come to see you several times already. Have you thought it over?"
"Come form a pirate crew with me."
The moment Shanks said it, Buggy immediately looked as if he were facing a great enemy. He glanced around in fright and whispered, "Shanks, keep your voice down. Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Don't forget, Captain Roger has already been executed by the Marines. Who knows, the Marines might be looking for us right now so they can execute us too. I don't want to die with you!"
Buggy's cowardly nature was on full display. He was terrified that someone might overhear, but Shanks looked completely unconcerned.
Then Buggy dragged Shanks into the alley behind the tavern. Mu Chen followed close behind and hid in a corner to watch the two of them.
"Buggy, what are you afraid of? You said it yourself—we were Roger's crewmen. We can't disgrace Captain Roger."
"As crewmen of the Pirate King, if we can't even establish our own pirate crew, we'd be letting down his great name."
Shanks spoke proudly. He had always taken pride in being a crewman of Pirate King Roger.
Yet Mu Chen could still tell from Shanks's eyes that, after saying those words, his expression dimmed slightly.
Shanks also unconsciously touched the Straw Hat on his head. Mu Chen knew that Roger had left that hat to him.
It seemed Shanks was still unable to let go of Roger's death.
"Shanks, stop talking nonsense. Right now, I just want to lie low for a while. If you want to die, don't drag me down!"
Buggy only wanted to hide quietly for a while. He had no desire to fool around with Shanks. More importantly, he had been forced to eat a Devil Fruit because of Shanks. He had originally planned to take it off the ship and sell it for money, but Shanks had caused him to swallow it in one go.
He had served aboard Pirate King Roger's ship and had seen what true strength looked like. True powerhouses would not give themselves a weakness, and every powerhouse could use Conqueror's Coating. To become a top-tier powerhouse, one could eat a Devil Fruit, but one could not fail to master Conqueror's Coating. There had only been a few Devil Fruit users aboard the ship, whether Roger or the first mate Rayleigh. So although Buggy had been cowardly back then, he had still possessed the heart of someone who wanted to become strong.
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