Shakky's Rip-off Bar

When Hancock opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a soft leather sofa. Around her was a dimly lit bar, the air thick with the smell of alcohol and tobacco.

There were no attendants in sight, but from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a freshly mixed drink sitting on the round wooden table in front of her.

Fine beads of condensation clung to the glass, with wisps of chill rising from it. It had clearly been mixed not long ago.

Hancock furrowed her delicate brows, her eyes filled with confusion.

She slowly sat up, her fingers instinctively reaching for the back of her neck, where a faint dull ache still lingered.

She only remembered being knocked unconscious by a Marine. Everything after that was a blank.

Where was this?

Supporting herself on the armrest, Hancock slowly rose to her feet, about to inspect her surroundings and make sure this place was safe.

Just then, a faint tremor came from the bar's wooden door, accompanied by the crisp, violent clash of weapons.

The clanging rang through the door and clearly reached her ears.

Hancock's body instantly stiffened, every muscle tensing as her vigilance shot to its peak.

She instinctively raised a hand, a faint pink glow gathering at her fingertips as she prepared to use her ability at any moment.

But the next second, she slowly relaxed.

Though she had no idea what had happened, she did not seem to be in danger at the moment.

After hesitating briefly, Hancock crept toward the old wooden door, placed her fingers on the handle, and gently pushed it open a crack.

Then she simply pushed the door all the way open and stepped outside.

The wooden door let out a soft creak as it swung open.

In the clearing not far away, two young girls were huddled together. Hearing the movement behind them, they abruptly turned around. The instant they saw the figure coming through the door, their eyes lit up and tears flooded their eyes.

"Big Sister!"

The two girls cried out in unison, their voices full of joy as they rushed toward Hancock.

Hancock froze for a moment, then reached out and gently stroked her two younger sisters' heads. Feeling their warm bodies in her arms and confirming that they were safe and sound, the last of the tension in her heart finally melted away.

As she softly comforted them, she raised her eyes toward the other three people in the clearing.

Three people stood in the clearing, two men and one woman, their positions clearly divided.

The two men stood facing each other in the middle of the clearing, long swords in hand as they "sparred" with one another.

Meanwhile, beneath the shade of a tree stood the woman. She was tall and slender with an upright posture, neat short black hair, and a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth. She looked to be in her thirties.

Then Hancock looked at the two men who were sparring.

One had long, wavy silver-white hair draped casually over his shoulders, a white beard on his chin, and thin-framed glasses perched on his nose. Most striking of all was his right eye, beside which a straight scar ran from his brow bone down to his cheek.

And the man fighting him was none other than the Marine who had knocked her unconscious earlier, Beiyuan Heng.

Beiyuan Heng wielded the famed blade Demon Cutter. Every swing carried tremendous force as he charged at the silver-haired man again and again.

His attacks were fierce, yet the silver-haired man casually blocked them all. Several times, a light flick of the other man's sword sent him flying.

After knocking Hancock unconscious, Beiyuan Heng had secretly taken her away and traveled all the way to Area 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago.

There was a bar here called Shakky's Rip-off Bar. It was not particularly famous, but it had been in business for many years.

On the surface, the bar's owner was merely a well-informed intelligence broker who made a living selling information and ripping people off.

She appeared utterly ordinary, but in truth, she was Shakky, the former former Empress of Amazon.

Though Shakky now looked ordinary and had long since lost the dazzling beauty of her youth.

When she was young, however, she had been a peerless beauty, no less stunning than Hancock was now.

She had even been a woman who, in the literal sense, had started a world war.

Even Pirate King Roger had once been madly infatuated with her, personally taking part in the battle of God Valley for her sake.

When Beiyuan Heng brought Hancock to this bar, he had deliberately taken off his Marine cloak.

He did not want unnecessary trouble, or rumors that this rising Marine star was secretly trafficking girls.

When he entered the bar, Shakky was sitting behind the counter, casually swirling a chilled glass in one hand.

Her gaze lazily swept across the patrons in the bar as she enjoyed this peaceful life.

Hearing movement at the entrance, Shakky casually looked up, thinking it was just another drunkard coming to drown his sorrows.

But when she saw Beiyuan Heng's handsome, upright face and Hancock slung over his shoulder, her indifferent eyes immediately brightened and she perked up at once.

"What would the customer like to drink?"

Shakky set down her glass and leaned slightly forward, her gaze settling on Beiyuan Heng's face as she studied his expression.

On the surface, Shakky remained casual and her tone flat, but inwardly, she had already raised her guard.

This man is no ordinary person. He is definitely not simple!

Beiyuan Heng gave a hearty laugh. His smile was gentle, giving off a friendly air.

"You're too kind, Madam. I'm not here for a drink."

He paused and pointed at Hancock on his shoulder. "This child needs some help."

As he spoke, he gently shifted Hancock on his shoulder. "I happened to hear that the owner here is kindhearted, so I thought I might come here and ask for help."

After saying that, he placed Hancock from his shoulder onto the sofa beside the counter, then lowered his voice and said softly:

"She kept mentioning something about 'Amazon'..."

At the word "Amazon," Shakky's pupils suddenly contracted. The casual look vanished from her face without a trace, replaced by a grave expression.

She abruptly set down the glass she had been swirling.

Then she raised her hand, lightly clapped her palms together, and called out to the noisy crowd in the bar:

"We're closed! We're closed! Everyone can leave now. We won't be open today!"

The previously boisterous bar instantly fell silent.

All the drinkers who had been chatting loudly stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Shakky behind the counter.

Seeing everyone standing there in a daze with no intention of leaving, Shakky's brows furrowed slightly.

Seeing this, an old regular who had been drinking here for years immediately caught on. He hurriedly stood up, tugged at his drinking companion, and said in a rush:

"Alright, Boss. We'll leave right away. We won't disturb you!"

Once the first person left, the rest of the patrons came to their senses as well. They hurriedly paid their bills and quickly filed out of the bar.

A few newcomers who were here for the first time still looked baffled, muttering quietly, "She's just a woman."

"Idiot, what do you know?"

As one patron hurried away, he lowered his voice and hastily explained to the newcomers still standing there, "If she can run a bar in the Sabaody Archipelago and keep it going peacefully for so long, do you think the owner could be some nobody?"

Those old drinking companions all knew that the proprietress was far stronger than she appeared and was not someone they could afford to provoke.

They had once personally seen a pirate with a bounty over a hundred million berate Shakky after causing trouble while drunk. Shakky had casually grabbed him like a chick and violently thrown him out of the bar.

The pirate had not even had the strength to resist.

Before long, every customer had left the bar. Shakky got up, walked to the entrance, and hung up a wooden sign that read "Temporarily Closed."

Then she slowly shut the wooden door, completely cutting off the noise outside.

Inside the bar, only the lingering smell of smoke and alcohol remained in the air.

Shakky took out a pack of women's cigarettes from her pocket, lit one, took a deep drag, then looked at Beiyuan Heng and asked:

"Tell me, what happened to this child? And why did you come looking for me?"