"I'm telling you, you're no match for me yet. It's too early for you to challenge me. I find you easy on the eyes, so I don't want to kill you. Get out of my sight.
"But if you want to spend the night with me, that's another matter."
Laiki had never expected the notorious Thunder Swordsman to say something so outrageous. He was nothing like the cold man she had imagined.
A skilled gunfighter, Laiki had challenged everyone on the Island and had yet to lose.
Born in the East Blue, she had never met her match there or in the first half of the Grand Line. With the hand-to-hand and shooting techniques her father had taught her, she had defeated pirate after pirate.
She had also inherited her father's dying wish: to show everyone that a gunfighter could reach the very top. So she kept growing stronger, defeating one opponent after another.
Today, as usual, she had come to the Flower Language Bar for a drink.
She did not like its signature flower wine. She only liked hard liquor—the stronger, the better.
As soon as she walked in, she noticed a man drinking at the bar. She might not have recognized him before, but after his face had appeared on the Newspaper's front page three days running, she could not forget him.
Werther, the Dragon-Slaying Swordsman. His master was called Longliang, if she remembered right. The reason she thought of his master whenever Werther came up was that ridiculous newspaper: Longliang's name had been printed so large that it stood out from every other word on the page.
A wild thought seized Laiki. I'll challenge the Dragon-Slaying Swordsman. If I can beat him, I'll be that much closer to my dream. His fearsome reputation did not frighten her.