"Is that him?"
Ain's gaze fell on that roguishly smiling face, and she froze. She had seen Ye Chen three times before: through the window of Shakky's bar on Sabaody, when he was taken away, and at Mary Geoise.
He had been younger then, of course. But even though he had changed, Ain recognized him at once. He was a pirate now, and his wanted posters were everywhere. His first bounty had been eight million Beli.
Ye Chen had killed Higuma inside the Lord of the Coast's stomach, practically handing the Marines an easy bounty to assign. They had set it at eight million Beli, the same as Higuma's.
Ye Chen wore a patterned short-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a fearsome scar across his chest. His powerful muscles were just as hard to miss.
The scar was a shocking sight, left by Kuina's father, Koshiro. Yet it did nothing to diminish Ye Chen's roguish air. If anything, it lent him a more mature, ruthless edge.
He wore casual black trousers and gleaming knee-high leather boots. He looked almost lazy, with a wicked, devil-may-care air. Everything about him was neat and sharp, and he carried himself with a lonely pride that seemed to scorn the whole world. (Ye Chen had met so many powerful people that he didn't even care about the Celestial Dragons. How could he not be proud?)
Ye Chen didn't know Smoker or the others, but he saw their Marine coats and the squad of armed Marines behind them. His eyes lit up. Far from being afraid, he grinned with excitement.
That was Ye Chen for you: so bold he was almost arrogant, and utterly unfamiliar with fear!
That didn't mean he was a brainless brute. If he couldn't win, he would be the first to run—no reminder