"Oh? Hero? Him?"
Ye Chen snorted. "That's the funniest joke I've ever heard. A pirate becoming a kingdom's Hero? Now that's something."
"Bastards! Who are you? I won't let you badmouth Lord Crocodile behind his back."
Ye Chen and Lucci's conversation had angered someone bathing nearby. The Bathhouse was large and filled with all sorts of people, from every walk of life.
"You are?"
Ye Chen was a little surprised. The speaker was a young man in his twenties, glaring resentfully at him and Lucci. "I'm a local. My name is Melo. I don't care who you are. I won't let you speak ill of Lord Crocodile. He's Alabasta's Hero."
"Heh. Hero? Him?"
Before Ye Chen could reply, Mason's face darkened, and his lips curled in contempt. "That man just captured one of my companions. I'm in a foul mood, and now someone's singing that bastard's praises right next to me? You're asking for it."
Mason slammed his fist into the wall. Crack! A distinct fracture appeared in the solid masonry.
Melo jumped, his face turning pale. But though he trembled, he still muttered, "I'm not lying. Crocodile is a Hero. He even saved my daughter's life."
"Harry..."
Mason's expression grew darker, his eyes flashing viciously as he called to one of his men. A gaunt man of about twenty-five or twenty-six leaped out of the pool. His face was sallow, and he was so tall and thin he looked like a bamboo pole.
Melo wanted to leave at once. These men looked vicious, their eyes full of menace. Some had tattoos, others scars. None of them looked friendly.
But he had taken only a few steps when Harry darted in front of him.
Harry crossed more than ten meters in the blink of an eye. Melo jolted, and an