No Need to Keep Promises When Dealing with Pirates

"Change the rules."

Buzz spoke. His voice was a little louder than yesterday's, perhaps because forty men stood behind him.

"Your men stand down, and mine stand down too. Just you and me, one-on-one! Whoever wins gets the gold mine! That way, fewer people die, and we won't have to hire new miners."

Gal looked at him without answering immediately. His gaze shifted from Buzz's face and swept over the forty men behind him.

The weapons in their hands were more uniform than Gal's men's, all long blades. Their eyes gleamed with restless excitement, like dogs that had been caged too long and were finally released. Having caught the scent of blood, they bared their teeth.

"I can't beat you." Gal's tone was calm. "Your Haki is stronger than mine, and your physical skills are better too. I'm old. I'm just a servant watching over this island for someone else."

The corner of Buzz's mouth lifted. Clearly, he was pleased with that answer.

It was not that he was pleased Gal had admitted defeat. He was pleased that his own judgment had been proven correct.

He had seen it at the harbor yesterday. This bald, scar-faced man's Haki was not especially strong. He had probably become Hachinosu's public manager through seniority and loyalty, not strength.

"Then we'll do as I say—"

"But Hachinosu's gold mine isn't mine." Gal interrupted him. "It belongs to Lord Annus."

The slight curve at the corner of Buzz's mouth froze for an instant.

It was brief, almost impossible to notice, but Gal saw it. He had lived on Hachinosu for ten years, and every day, he read the true thoughts written across all kinds of pirates' faces. His eye had long since been sharpened.

That momentary stiffness from Buzz was not fear. It was anger—the