Leo wore a harmless smile, and his heart was utterly calm. Since he had brought up this matter, he had already prepared himself mentally. He was not afraid of the pirates mocking him at all.
It was precisely because he was clear-headed that he had asked the weakest person on the ship to step forward.
Perhaps he might not even be able to defeat that person.
The pirates laughed and shoved one another, and the whole ship was filled with cheerful energy. Yet not a single person was willing to step forward, admit that he was the weakest, and fight Leo.
In the end, Great Bay Blade William could no longer stand it.
He rose from the steps at the bow and gave a loud, low command. "Todlin, you."
A frail young man stood up helplessly. He instinctively reached for the curved blade at his waist, only to realize that it had already been confiscated by the Kuja Pirates.
With some reluctance, he walked over near the mast and looked at Leo, who stood atop a table.
To be honest, he really did not want to stick his neck out. If he defeated Leo, whether the other side would still give him food tomorrow was another matter entirely.
He was already the weakest person on the ship. If he had no food and no strength left, he would probably be bullied to death.
But Leo had not considered so much. He merely wanted to see the gap between his own combat power and that of the "grunts." He was currently at the grunt level himself, and he understood his position very clearly.
Leo took off his clothes and stepped forward. His upper body was bare, his skin so pale it dazzled the eye. He had always been fair-skinned, and he had lived in luxury in the Celestial Dragons' nest without suffering the slightest hardship. It had been the same in the Amazon Lily Kingdom, so even though his body fat was relatively low, he still looked far, far, far paler than the average pirate...
The pirates gathered around. Although they were a little sleepy after eating, now that there was something entertaining to watch, why sleep? Had they not slept enough after sleeping until noon?
The pirates instantly perked up, looking at Leo's body with envy and hungry desire. After being pent up at sea for too long, some people gradually became perverted, while others went farther and farther down another path... That was why Newkama Land had so many people—those were all people who had gone too far...
Those people thought they probably could not get Rindou and the others, but if Leo truly had such interests, they could have some fun too...
"Come on." Leo beckoned to him.
The outline of his six-pack abs was faintly visible, but his stamina and strength could not compare to the humans in One Piece. Some chubby people had terrifying physical qualities, and even some people as skinny as sticks could erupt with astonishing strength at critical moments.
He did not dare underestimate Todlin, who was even frailer than himself.
Todlin was a pirate who had fought on the open sea and had even entered the Grand Line. His experience far surpassed Leo's, and one look at Leo's stance told him that Leo was an amateur.
He did not want to waste too much time with Leo, so he charged forward and threw a punch at Leo's nose.
Most people trained in combat liked to strike the chin, while street fighters preferred the nose. The nose was the cartilage closest to the air; with one punch, blood would burst forth and tears would stream down. Forget fighting back—one would not even be able to see how many people stood in front of him.
He had not held back with that punch. It was straightforward and direct, relying on his physical abilities and fighting experience to overwhelm his opponent. But he had misjudged the difference in their physical conditions.
Between Leo, who had been resting and conserving his strength all this time, and him, who had drifted at sea with irregular meals in the Calm Belt, whose condition was better? Whose reactions were quicker?
Leo dodged his punch and casually hooked his foot. Todlin immediately fell onto the deck.
The pirates burst into merciless laughter. Even though he was their companion, when the weakest companion made a fool of himself, the pirates would treat it as a show—after all, life aboard the ship was far too boring. They laughed loudly, making Todlin's face flush red as he scrambled up from the ground in embarrassment.
He instinctively reached for his waist again. Clearly, he was about to draw a blade again.
Leo saw it and gently shook his head. These pirates were truly impulsive, ready to spill blood at the slightest disagreement.
Yet they also knew neither heaven nor earth, their entire beings filled with arrogance and lottery-like randomness. Pirates who encountered someone they could not defeat had naturally already sunk into the sea, their ashes scattered, while those who had not encountered such people still maintained their unmatched arrogance.
Their arrogance stemmed from having no correct or clear understanding of this world.
And they were not clear-headed or calm. That came from reading too little, of course. Though some people who read books only to stuff them into a dog's belly were no different.
Once anger clouded his mind, his movements became even simpler, more direct, and more careless.
Leo did not even need to use his hands. Todlin's unsteady footing alone gave him countless opportunities. Like teasing a child, he toyed with Todlin, who fell to the deck again and again, nearly exploding with rage.
By this point, Leo had not even used both hands. Todlin had not landed a single hit, and all his injuries, bruises, and swollen face came from himself.
Leo shook his head, turned to William, and said, "This guy won't do. Pick someone else."
"No, I can do it!" If Todlin, who could not learn his lesson, had truly been able to come to his senses, he might at least have earned the role of a supporting character. But he had not. Not everyone was like those named minor characters the protagonist's group encountered—either clear-headed or able to pull back from the brink and awaken in time.
Most people, the vast majority of ordinary people in any world, were mediocre, helplessly furious, and obsessed with dead ends.
Like Todlin before him. Leo had made himself so clear, yet not a single word had gotten through to him. He still stubbornly charged at Leo.
But there were still some relatively clear-headed people present. With a single word from Great Bay Blade William, Longarm Wood had already stepped in front of Todlin.
Todlin, whom Leo had not dared face head-on, was sent flying by a single punch from Longarm Wood. He spun twice in midair before landing on the deck with a bang, his fate unknown.
Longarm Wood, who had acted extremely humble just moments ago, now wore a cold expression filled with killing intent. In a cruel tone, he asked, "Mr. Leo already said to change opponents. Couldn't you hear him?"
Only then did Leo realize that Longarm Wood and the others, who had obediently followed orders out of fear of the Shichibukai's reputation, were still people capable of becoming captains on the Grand Line.
This was what pirates really looked like!!
PS: I'll release two chapters first. I'll go write the third one; I'm not sure whether I can finish it. I took a rather long nap today, so I did not write much this afternoon.
PS1: But I still have to ask for votes. Please give me recommendation votes~!
Before you continue