Deputy Pillar, Stop Playing~

Abu followed three principles when presiding over justice.

First, never act on impulse!

"I don't care who started it, but I feel like it's not Jogo's fault!"

"He's the youngest historian in history!"

Abu argued quite logically.

He looked completely biased toward Jogo.

"But..."

The next second, his tune changed:

"The bald guy is lying on the ground screaming, look at him, he's so miserable, I don't think it can be the bald guy's fault either!"

Second, never let a single bad deed go unpunished!

"You say the bald guy bumped into you?"

"Haha, if no one saw it, it didn't happen!"

Third, always judge fairly and beautifully!

"What are you arguing about? Who disagrees, step forward?"

A matter where right and wrong were obvious at a glance was forcefully stirred into a mess under Abu's administration of justice.

Even the pirates couldn't stand such a brain-dead judgment, raising their fists in protest.

Abu continued:

"Hmph, since there's really no way to judge whose fault it is, we can only use the Hasshoken Rules to solve the problem!"

Hearing this, the dissatisfaction on the pirates' faces instantly vanished, and they grew excited one by one.

"That's right, the vice-master is right!"

"Such a fair verdict! This is what I want to see!"

"Hurry, hurry, set up the stage!"

Abu turned to look at the bandaged, sickly Jogo, and asked with a chuckle:

"What do you think of my suggestion?"

All the pirates looked at Jogo.

In his Observation Haki perception, everyone's aura was a mixture of gray and white.

Clearly, these guys didn't care about the truth; they just wanted to see Jogo suffer!

Jog asked unhurriedly: "What are the 'Hasshoken Rules'?"

"Haha, I forgot to tell you!"

Abu slapped his head in "self-reproach".

"Everyone who joins the Happo Navy is a disciple of Hasshoken."

"Once you enter this sect, there is no more room for personal affection; we are all martial brothers."

"If an unresolvable conflict arises, according to the rules, we must go up to the ring and have a fight."

"The winner is right, and the loser must accept punishment and is not allowed to pursue the matter further."

"That's how it is. Do you accept?"

Jogo raised an eyebrow at him:

"Does a slave like me count as a Hasshoken disciple?"

Abu smiled brightly:

"Others certainly don't count, but you are Jogo!"

"The youngest in history..."

"Stop!"

Jogo cut Abu off.

Ever since a moment ago, Abu had been buttering him up by using his status as a historian.

At other times it would be fine.

But in this situation, everyone would only grow more and more disgusted with him!

Although he didn't care, he didn't want to listen to nonsense over and over again.

"I accept!"

Jogo looked at the grimacing bald man on the ground and nodded in agreement.

Abu lowered his head, a flash of malice crossing the depths of his eyes.

He's hooked!

He recalled the conversation he had with his big brother at the bow of the ship last night.

"That fellow is quite unsettling!"

In the night, Sai watched the bandaged figure who had been driven onto the deck, looking on the verge of collapse yet still holding a mop and bucket as he cleaned.

Abu didn't understand his big brother's meaning:

"Unsettling? Why unsettling?"

"Isn't that fellow Jogo very obedient?"

"Precisely because he's too obedient!"

Sai furrowed his brow deeply:

"You weren't present during the appraisal that day."

"Do you not know how proud a person he is?"

"Such a person suddenly becomes a captive—how could he accept it so easily?"

The more he spoke, the heavier Sai's expression became:

"No, he must have some trick he hasn't unleashed yet."

"To the extent that he feels... we pose no threat to him anymore!"

Abu was somewhat puzzled:

"Is that so?"

"But after getting off the ship that day, Jogo fled so fast."

"It was obvious he felt he was no match for us!"

"How did the situation change after he was caught back?"

"Could it be that in the span of an afternoon, he gained power that surpasses ours?"

"That's impossible, right!"

Neither of them could figure it out.

Soon, however, Abu scratched his head and came up with a good idea:

"Leave it to me, Big Brother. I'll test his strength for you!"

"You?"

"Don't look down on me, Big Brother. My Hasshoken is second only to yours! Besides, I've had it in for him for a long time. He's a slave now, yet he's still so leisurely! Taking advantage of this opportunity, I'll teach him a lesson in front of everyone and deflate his arrogance, lest he still think he's some kind of 'youngest historian in history'!"

"A slave should look like a slave!"

Back to the present.

Following Jogo's acceptance of the challenge, the pirates cheered and scattered, clearing an open space on the mahogany deck. They called out to passing pirates to form a circle around the perimeter, shoulder to shoulder, sneering at one another, and building an impenetrable human wall.

Jogo leaned his mop and bucket against the ship's rail, braving the hostile gazes all around, and stepped into the dim circle.

The bandaged figure looked somewhat frail in the sea breeze.

Soon, he paused slightly.

Standing in the circle with him was not the expected bald man, but Abu.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah~ I forgot to tell you again!"

Abu patted his head with a self-reproaching expression, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help leaking a trace of malice:

"Although according to the Hasshoken rules, only the two people with the conflict can fight."

"But I am the vice-master of the Happo Navy, and I have an obligation to step up for my subordinates!"

Immediately, the surrounding pirates burst into loud laughter:

"That's right!"

"That's the rule!"

"It's too late to regret now. As a Hasshoken disciple, you can't go back on what you've agreed to! Hahahaha!"

This was what they had been waiting for!

"Beat him hard, Vice-Master!"

The pirates loudly cheered Abu on:

"Don't hold back!"

Naturally, there were also a few pirates who found it uninteresting:

"The vice-master is an expert proficient in Hasshoken. Aside from the master, who else is his match? What's the fun in bullying a patient?"

Amidst the discussion, Jogo also smiled.

So this is what they were waiting for!

His very first reaction wasn't anger; instead, he felt that the pirates of the Happo Navy had a pretty high standard of conduct.

If it were any other pirate crew wanting to beat up a slave, where would they need so much nonsense?

Cutting them down with a blade in a bad mood was commonplace.

The Happo Navy had even gone through the trouble of staging a whole performance for him!

They were actually not bad people!

Lifting his bandaged hand, Jogo crooked a finger at Abu.

"Come!"

It was rare to find a target to test his Observation Haki on, and he didn't want to miss it.

Abu wiped his hair, clenched both fists, and assumed the Hasshoken stance.

His gaze swept over the bandages on Jogo's body, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.

Although given his big brother's temperament, even if he wanted to test him, he would have waited until Jogo's injuries had fully healed.

But was he that stupid?

Just in case, before coming over, he had specifically asked the ship's doctor about Jogo's injuries.

Upon learning that Jogo could only muster at most half his strength, he immediately arranged this morning's show.

His whole purpose was to thoroughly humiliate Jogo!

"Then I'll..."

Before he could finish, Abu had already darted swiftly toward Jogo.

Amidst heavy footsteps, his entire body's strength was mobilized, and special kinetic energy was stimulated from his flesh and blood, converging onto his fists.

"...not be polite! Hahahaha!"

With a single punch thrown!

The air trembled!

Hasshoken!

This punch was fast and fierce!

Hum!

An eerie low whine echoed through the roaring gale of the fist.

In the blink of an eye, it struck the spot where Jogo... had been standing just before.

As Abu threw the punch, Jogo took a slight step back, leisurely strolling away just out of the range of Abu's fist attack.

... Observation Haki (Awakened) Trait Loaded: "Otherworldly Soul (Silver)", "Pirate Hunter (White)" ...

Through the perception of Observation Haki, even without being familiar with Hasshoken, Jogo had already "guessed" Abu's next move.

I hardly need to think; it just connects straight to instinct?

Jogo calmly stretched his wrists and strolled off to the side.

Ahead of him, Abu paused slightly.

He missed?

This near-sneak attack actually failed to hit!

"Quick reflexes!"

He rapidly retracted his punch and pressed forward toward Jogo without stopping a moment.

"Take this move too!"

Whoosh!

Fist winds roared, immensely fierce and violent!

A combo of quick punches, every single strike lethal!

...Yet it still missed.

The first punch struck behind Jogo's strolling back.

The second punch anticipated the movement, but Jogo suddenly stopped and slapped a bald spectator across the face.

The third punch turned from a fist into a palm, slashing horizontally across, but Jogo happened to bend down to dust off his pant leg...

He missed again?

He missed everything?!

"How is that possible?!!"

Abu widened his eyes, staring blankly at Jogo, who didn't look like he was fighting at all, but rather strolling through a garden.

He froze for a moment.

Jogo's relaxed and effortless demeanor made him feel like an adult playing around with a child.

Scattered laughter from the pirates drifted into his ears.

"Vice-captain, stop messing around."

"Yeah, could you take this seriously?"

"Even if you play the fool on purpose, that guy won't believe it!"

I'm not fucking playing around! Abu desperately wanted to scream.

He found, however, that he simply couldn't explain himself.

Because from everyone else's perspective, it looked like Jogo was boredly wandering around in circles, while he was very cooperatively punching "just right" into empty air!

However, he really had already used all his strength!

"I refuse to believe this!"

Clenching his teeth, Abu stomped with heavy footsteps and rapidly closed in on Jogo.

Fists and elbows used in unison, close-quarters combat!

"Let's see where you run now!"