His Battle

Only then did Leo discover the true faces of the captain and first mate of the Cutlass Pirates, hidden beneath their humility and modesty.

They were pirates—brutal when facing the weak, humble when facing the strong.

Their nature had merely been suppressed by the Shichibukai's strength. It had not changed.

Leo had made the petty bourgeois mistake again, but he quickly reined in his contempt and foolishness and resumed observing everything calmly.

He had gotten carried away. Anyone would have, with the Kuja Pirates backing them.

Then he woke up.

In the face of Longarm Wood baring his vicious fangs and revealing his true nature.

His gaze cleared. No longer arrogant or conceited, he stood to the side and calmly watched as Wood picked someone else to come forward.

"Barbaro, don't mess around." Longarm Wood shot a warning look at the man he had chosen. His build was rather lean as well, but his features were gloomy, making him somewhat resemble Longarm Wood. He seemed to be one of Wood's confidants.

Leo made a few judgments based on the information he had noticed before. For instance, the bread Wood gave this man had been better and softer, and even the salted meat Captain William gave him had been more plentiful.

Was he part of the officer class?

No, probably not quite an officer, but above the ordinary crewmen.

Having reached that conclusion, Leo suddenly grew excited. Clearly, this was his real battle.

In truth, battle was the main theme in the world of One Piece. Someone who did not know how to fight would find it very difficult to survive here.

Precisely because he understood that, he was even more willing to hone his fighting ability.

He bounced lightly twice, raising both clenched fists to guard either side of his cheeks.

That movement made Rindou's eyes light up. Even Great Bay Blade William and Longarm Wood showed surprise on their faces. The kid might be a little skinny, but he seemed to know something.

That was the advantage of modern people. They might not truly know how to do anything, but because they had access to so much information, they knew a little about everything.

Anyone with a bit of initiative, spare money, and free time could even go learn it themselves. Leo was incredibly grateful for modern society in that regard. The resources he had enjoyed among the Celestial Dragons were the finest in the entire pirate world, but even if the Celestial Dragons had elevators built by slaves or automated devices, setting aside whether they were humane or not, they could not compare to real automated electrical equipment in terms of comfort.

The direction was wrong. No matter how far they pushed things, that was all they could achieve.

Back in modern society, with free time and spare money, he had learned quite a few things.

For example, flashy, flower-like Korean Taekwondo.

For example, Muay Thai, which looked great in a fight but ruined half your body.

He had tried them all. He only called it trying because after two or three months, he could no longer stand the feeling of paying money to suffer.

Of course, he had ultimately chosen something more practical because, in a certain animated image, a group of guys harassed a boxer's girlfriend, and the boxer knocked every last one of them down with a single punch. It had looked so cool that Leo was hooked.

But like every petty bourgeois, he had not kept it up. Training once a week could not improve much fighting ability, though he had learned the basic stance fairly well.

He had the theoretical stance of boxing, but no real combat experience of his own.

Barbaro wore a tank top. His body was relatively lean, but like Leo's, his muscles were well-proportioned, making him look very capable.

He clicked his tongue disdainfully, then charged forward.

The sight of Leo made his blood boil. Leo had toyed with his companion earlier. While the other trash did not think their companion being bullied was any big deal and had even watched it like a show, he was different.

He was somewhat angry, but his footwork did not become disordered. He even seemed experienced.

Leo carefully observed Barbaro through the gap between his raised arms, only for Barbaro's lifted fist to strike his guard and numb his arm.

He knew Barbaro would not be any better off than he was, but Barbaro was tougher. His expression did not change at all as his other fist came flying over. Fear rose in Leo's heart. Though his guard remained solid, his feet involuntarily retreated.

The pirates began shouting noisily. Leo's retreat was clearly a symbol of cowardice to them, and they practically wanted to shove him into the center of the clearing.

After backing away, Leo knew he had made a mistake. Seizing that opportunity, his opponent planted himself in place, turned his body and twisted his waist, then swept a roundhouse kick straight across. He did not waste effort kicking at Leo's head, where the defense was tight. The difference between a boxing guard and a Sanda guard was that boxing placed more emphasis on protecting the head, leaving the waist comparatively exposed.

The kick landed solidly on his soft abdomen, and Leo immediately collapsed to the ground, vomiting sour liquid.

"Tch..." Barbaro clicked his tongue again. This man really was helpless. The fact that he had beaten Todlin like that earlier was entirely because Todlin had lost his composure. What a useless piece of trash.

He raised his foot, preparing to follow up, but a sensation like being watched by a venomous snake suddenly made every hair on his body stand on end.

He turned his head and saw Rindou, who seemed to have nothing better to do, lighting a cigarette for herself. Her narrowed eyes stared at him through the curling smoke. She had not moved at all, but her killing intent seemed to remind him every moment that if he wanted to die, he could keep attacking.

The gap in strength was far too great.

It was like the pressure Zoro had felt when facing Hawk Eyes at the Baratie—someone from an entirely different level!

He was not someone who failed to recognize what was good for him. Silently, he lowered his foot, turned around, and walked back into the crowd.

Leo spat out two mouthfuls of liquid, climbed to his feet, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and walked toward Rindou with a relaxed expression.

"You're not discouraged?" Rindou crossed her arms and leaned against the railing, watching Leo walk over and pick up his clothes to wipe the sweat from his body and the sour liquid from the back of his hand. He looked incredibly relaxed, with even a hint of a smile between his brows. It made one wonder whether he was an M who enjoyed being beaten.

"What's there to be discouraged about?" He pulled his clothes back on. Though pain showed on his face, he casually rubbed his abdomen. "I said from the beginning that I'm weak. There's nothing wrong with clearly recognizing my own weakness."

"Only by facing your weakness can you become stronger and improve, right?" Leo could still smile, though the pain had twisted his face into a ferocious grimace, making him look rather foolish.

"Lift your shirt. Let me see the injury." Rindou irritably tossed the cigarette from her mouth into the sea behind her and spoke to Leo.

PS: Is four thousand words a day really my limit? I don't believe it!!!

PS1: I'll post one chapter first to ask for votes. Another update will be around midnight.

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