Yellow Monkey Arrives, Bar Brawl

A warship sailed across the sea, its destination none other than Maple Island.

Built based on designs by the genius scientist Vegapunk, Marine warships traveled much faster than other three-masted sailing ships. The voyage from Marine Headquarters had not taken much time.

Standing at the very front of the warship was a man in a yellow suit, a Marine coat of justice draped over his shoulders. He wore sunglasses, his lips slightly pursed in an utterly lifeless expression.

He was none other than one of Marine Headquarters' highest-ranking powers, Admiral Yellow Monkey!!

Looking at the neat rows of towering red maple trees on Maple Island in the distance, Yellow Monkey's eyes behind his sunglasses turned dull as a dead fish. He sighed. "What rotten luck. I should've gone out on a mission like Aokiji. I shouldn't have stayed at headquarters and gotten drafted by Fleet Admiral Sengoku again..."

"And this time, I have to deal with a monster who killed Heavenly Yaksha and can apparently cross swords with the World's Greatest Swordsman. I hope that guy is easy to talk to..."

Yellow Monkey sighed repeatedly, feeling as though life itself bore him ill will. Every emergency mission, Fleet Admiral Sengoku called for him. Was it just because he had eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit and was fast enough?

Rotten luck!

I really want to swap powers with Aokiji... Yellow Monkey lamented inwardly, hating that he had eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit rather than some other ability.

Little did he know, Sengoku's "targeting" of him was not because of his Devil Fruit ability, but because of his attitude...

At that moment, a Marine soldier stepped forward from behind him. After saluting Yellow Monkey, he respectfully said, "Admiral Yellow Monkey, we've contacted the Maple Island branch. They've prepared a berth for us at the harbor."

Yellow Monkey reined in his near-death expression. Before his subordinates, he still put on a slightly more serious act. "Move forward."

After a pause, he added, "Is our target already on the island?"

The soldier nodded. "The branch has sent word that the man is currently in a bar on the island. However, to avoid causing a misunderstanding, the branch soldiers did not approach him."

Yellow Monkey nodded. "Mm, I understand. Full speed ahead."

"Yes!" the soldier answered before immediately leaving.

As the island drew nearer and nearer, information about Ian began surfacing in Yellow Monkey's mind—

He looks barely twenty, yet he's powerful, of unknown origin, possesses Three-Color Haki, and his swordsmanship may be enough to fight Hawk-Eye. He destroyed an outlaw island... Where exactly did someone like that come from? Then again, the sea is vast. Unknown powerhouses do appear from time to time...

Forget it. I'll make contact first. Hopefully, he's not the arrogant sort. Otherwise, this could get troublesome...

As he pondered this, the warship slowly approached the harbor and stopped at a berth.

Led by Yellow Monkey, a squad of soldiers disembarked and headed toward the bar where Ian was staying!

Maple Island was controlled by one of the World Government's member nations, and a Marine branch base was stationed on the island. Even so, it could not completely keep out pirates, gangsters, bounty hunters, and other criminals.

After all, navigation in this world was guided by magnetism.

Only after an island's magnetic force had fully accumulated could one begin the next voyage.

Although this island was more peaceful than other lawless islands, that was only relative...

The island was divided into the east and west sides.

The eastern side was the Security Zone, where the kingdom's royal family and nobles resided, as well as where the Marine branch base was stationed. Pirates, gangs, and other forces generally did not dare cause trouble there.

The western side was called the Chaos Zone. As its name implied, it was the most chaotic part of the island, and where pirates, gangsters, and other criminals came ashore.

The island's rulers naturally knew that they could not completely prevent pirates from entering, so they deliberately divided the island in two—one half the Security Zone, the other half the Chaos Zone.

Ian had landed in the Chaos Zone, but to him, the Security Zone and the Chaos Zone were practically no different.

With enough strength, one could walk anywhere as if on level ground!

After coming ashore, Ian wandered around the island. Whenever he saw something interesting, he went over to take a look. After all, this world was somewhat different from his previous one.

Many sights were things Ian had seen for the first time, and he found them quite novel.

After making a full round, he was somewhat tired, so he casually found a bar and went in to rest for a while.

Of course, Ian knew there was a Marine branch base on the island.

His Observation Haki had also sensed Marines secretly watching him, but he did not care. After all, he was not wanted by the Marines and was not a criminal.

If the Marines dared provoke him, he would not hold back either. Those who needed killing would still be killed!

Inside the bar, music and dancing filled the air beneath dazzling lights. Beautiful dancers swayed wildly atop a raised stage, while pot-bellied wealthy men and vicious-looking brutes sat below.

Yet under the influence of the fiery atmosphere, everyone indulged themselves to their hearts' content!

Though he found it somewhat noisy, Ian adapted well to the atmosphere. He had gone to plenty of bars in his previous life and had long grown used to such clamor.

In fact, because it was somewhat different from the bars of his previous life, it gave Ian a fresh experience instead.

At that moment, Ian sat in a relatively quiet corner, calmly drinking the red wine in his hand.

Boom!

But just then, something suddenly slammed through the bar's front doors. The two wooden doors were sent flying, and one landed at Ian's feet, nearly knocking him over. His gaze shifted toward the entrance.

The sudden commotion silenced the previously noisy bar. Everyone inside turned to look toward the door, unsure of what had happened.

At that moment, a group of around seven or eight people walked in from outside. Every one of them looked vicious and ferocious, with guns and swords at their waists. They clearly were not good people!

The leader in particular was a powerful man standing a full two and a half meters tall. He wore a pirate hat and nothing but black pants, exposing his muscular upper body. His bulging muscles looked as though they had been carved from granite.

His bare arms were as thick as an ordinary person's waist, the typical build of a hulking man from the pirate world.

Broad on top and narrow below, with knotted muscles, his scar-covered chest bore a tattoo of a pirate skull bearing a gun and sword.

Judging from their appearance, they were a group of pirates!

"Damn it, we finally found somewhere to rest!" the leading brute cursed as he walked in. He then swept his gaze across everyone in the bar. Seeing that they all seemed intimidated by him, a disdainful sneer appeared on his face.

The others were presumably his subordinates. Seeing this, they too let out contemptuous chuckles.

Ignoring everyone's stares, the leading brute waved at his men. "Come on, find a place to sit. Waiter, bring me some booze already! I'm dying of thirst!"

The brute looked around, then fixed his gaze on a corner occupied by only one person. He pointed at that person and said, "Hey, brat, get lost. I've got my eye on this seat!!"