Strength Crushes Red-Haired Pirates Officer! The Whole Bar Falls Silent as the "Bandit King" Higuma Courts Death!

Luffy was so angry his face puffed up like a bun.

He bounced atop the bar like an enraged monkey.

"Not fair!"

"Kahn is only three years older than me!"

Luffy pointed at the back of Kahn, who was still wolfing down food. Having just eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit, his finger flopped limply back and forth, carrying absolutely no intimidation.

"Why did you invite him onto your ship but call me a brat?!"

"I'm strong too!"

"My fists are as powerful as guns!"

To prove himself, Luffy swung his fist down at the bar.

He put too much force into it, and his arm stretched out like a noodle. His fist wrapped around his neck twice before finally smacking the back of his own head with a slap.

"Ow!"

Tears instantly burst from Luffy's eyes as he clutched his head and crouched on the bar.

The tavern erupted in laughter again.

Lucky Roux laughed so hard he nearly dropped his meat, slapping his thigh as he did.

Yasopp wiped away tears.

"This kid is hilarious. He's a born comedian."

Shanks propped up his chin and watched Luffy with a teasing expression.

"Kahn may only be three years older than you."

"But he can eat ten plates of roasted meat in one minute. Can you?"

Luffy froze.

He looked at the mountain of plates in front of Kahn, then at his own stomach, which had yet to even bulge.

He really could not.

"Besides."

Shanks pointed at Kahn, who was talking to Ben Beckman nearby.

"He sits there like a mountain."

"And you..."

Shanks pushed a glass full of orange juice toward Luffy.

"Wipe off that milk mustache first."

Luffy instinctively picked up the glass and gulped it all down.

"Delicious!"

Luffy grinned, then immediately realized what had happened.

"Ah! Shanks, you tricked me again!"

"I'm not a child! I want alcohol!"

Luffy was so furious he was about to smash the glass.

Ace watched coldly from the side, his face full of impatience.

"Idiot."

"Face reality. You're just a little brat who knows how to scream."

Ace turned to look at Kahn.

Though he was also unhappy that those pirates valued Kahn so highly, he understood Kahn's strength even better.

It had been earned through real fights.

By then, Kahn had finished his twentieth plate of meat.

He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, moving with the elegance of an aristocrat.

"I'm not full."

Kahn looked at Makino.

Makino looked troubled.

"Kahn, the meat in the shop... is gone."

"Even the reserves were eaten up by these pirate uncles."

Kahn sighed.

This was awkward.

Before he could complain, a huge chicken leg extended toward him from the side.

Lucky Roux.

That fat man had actually offered him the meat in his hand.

"Here."

"You're so skinny. You need to eat more."

Lucky Roux smiled amiably, his eyes squeezed into slits.

Kahn did not stand on ceremony.

He took the chicken leg and bit off half of it in one mouthful.

"Thanks."

Watching Kahn chew, Lucky Roux suddenly became interested.

"Hey, kid."

"I heard you're really strong?"

"Want to arm wrestle?"

Lucky Roux planted his greasy arm on the bar, a hint of provocation in his gaze.

He was a combatant of the Red-Haired Pirates, and his strength ranked among the best on the seas.

The tavern's atmosphere instantly turned lively.

The pirates began cheering.

"Oh! The fat guy's going to bully a kid!"

"I bet ten thousand Beli on the fat guy!"

"I bet that kid won't last three seconds!"

Luffy stopped making a fuss and leaned over the edge of the bar to watch.

Ace and Sabo also came over.

They knew Kahn was strong, but that fat man did not look easy to deal with either. Beneath all that fat was solid muscle.

Kahn swallowed his last bite of chicken.

He tossed the bone onto the plate.

"Sure."

"Perfect for some exercise after eating."

Kahn extended his right hand.

It clasped Lucky Roux's huge paw-like hand.

One large, one small.

The visual contrast was immense.

Shanks whistled and acted as referee.

"Ready—"

"Go!"

The instant his words fell.

Lucky Roux's arm suddenly exerted force.

The layers of fat on it instantly tightened, turning as hard as iron.

The explosive strength unleashed in that instant was enough to snap an adult bull's neck.

The bar creaked under the strain.

Yet Kahn's arm did not move in the slightest.

It was as though it had been welded into the air.

Even the thin sleeve of his shirt was not stretched by his muscles.

Lucky Roux's smile froze on his face.

What he held did not feel like a human arm.

It felt like a hydraulic pillar driven into the center of the earth.

No matter how hard he tried, the other side would not budge.

"That's it?"

Kahn lifted his eyelids and glanced at Lucky Roux.

His eyes were calm and still.

Then.

He lightly pressed down with his wrist.

Bang!

A thunderous crash rang out.

Lucky Roux's thick arm was smashed viciously onto the bar.

A crack instantly split the thick oak counter, sending wood chips flying.

The entire tavern fell silent.

The pirates who had just been placing bets spat out their drinks.

Yasopp's gun fell to the floor.

Ben Beckman's usually narrowed eyes opened completely for the first time.

Instant defeat.

An absolute crushing in pure strength.

Lucky Roux looked at the back of his reddened hand, then at Kahn's calm face.

"Mon... monster."

Lucky Roux shook his hand, baring his teeth in pain.

He was a great pirate of the New World.

Yet he had lost in strength to an eight-year-old kid from the East Blue.

Ace clenched his fists.

Though Kahn had won, the competitive fire in his heart had been completely ignited.

The gap was still widening.

Sabo lowered the brim of his hat, the light in his eyes growing brighter.

"Just as expected of you, Kahn."

Luffy's mouth fell open so wide that his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"That's amazing!"

"I want to play too!"

Luffy stretched out his thin arm, wanting to test himself against Kahn.

Just then.

Bang!

The tavern doors were kicked open.

The kick was so powerful that both door panels slammed into the walls with a teeth-grating crash.

Sunlight from outside streamed in.

A man with a brutish face and a long sword at his waist strode inside.

More than a dozen fierce-looking bandits followed behind him.

They carried the earthy stench of dirt and the smell of cheap tobacco.

The leading man swept his gaze around the tavern.

His eyes paused on the pirates for a second, revealing a trace of disdain.

"I'm Higuma."

"The Bandit King with a bounty of eight million Beli."

The man slapped a wanted poster onto the bar.

It bore his disgusting face.

Eight million.

That figure might scare ordinary civilians in the East Blue.

But in this tavern, it did not even amount to a fraction of anyone's bounty.

Shanks did not even raise his head, continuing to drink.

Kahn toyed with the fork in his hand, amusement in his eyes.

He had finally arrived.

This experience pack was about to offer up its first drop of blood.

Seeing that no one paid him any attention, Higuma's face darkened.

He walked to the bar and shoved Luffy aside.

Luffy rolled away like a ball.

"We're here to buy alcohol."

"Ten barrels."

"Bring out your best liquor."

Higuma planted his foot on the bar, his tone unbearably arrogant.

Makino was a little frightened, but she still answered politely.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"We've sold out of all the liquor in the shop."

Higuma frowned.

He pointed at the bottles and jars on the Red-Haired Pirates' table.

"Isn't there some right there?"

"Or are they drinking water?"