The King's Delusions and the Sure-Hit Bow!

The tavern owner's daughter looked at Wude in surprise and stepped out from behind the counter.

"Were you the one watching me dance that day?"

"???"

Wude looked at her and recognized her as yesterday's dancer.

But he had only glanced over while passing by. There had been so many spectators, so how had she remembered him?

This was ridiculous.

"That's right. Do you have any food?" Wude sat down at a nearby table.

"Yes!" Miss Dancer hurriedly nodded and pushed her father to go prepare the food.

"Would you like some wine?" Miss Dancer quickly asked.

"Bring me some." Wude nodded as he cleared the messy table.

Miss Dancer struggled over with a barrel of wine and set it down beside him with a thud.

"..." ×2

Wude and the Dwarf boy stared at each other. This was "some"?

"Drinking causes trouble. You should drink less," the Dwarf said instinctively, recalling how Wude had surrounded a group of drunkards before.

"I'm not one of them." With that, Wude lifted the wooden barrel with one hand and glugged wine into a bowl.

Then he picked up the bowl and gulped it down.

Miss Dancer had already cleared the table at "lightning speed" and sat across from him.

The Dwarf boy sat atop the table and followed the dancer's gaze to Wude's face.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why Miss Dancer was acting so strangely.

That damned face. Damn it!

Please give me an outrageously handsome face too!

Over the past few days, Wude had been hunting bounty criminals across the island, then taking them to the New World Marine branch to collect their bounties.

He had encountered several pirates who knew Haki at sea and fought them.

He now had a clear understanding of how strong opponents who knew Haki were.

When the food arrived, he ate in huge mouthfuls and drank deeply.

"I've heard of you. A rumor's been spreading through Dressrosa's streets lately." The Dwarf boy accepted the fruit Wude handed him and bit into it. "They say that over the past half month, more and more pirates on the island have been captured by a powerful bounty hunter. Anyone who went to challenge him was turned in for a bounty."

"Oh." Wude nodded and kept eating.

"I heard some pirates have banded together to teach you a lesson," the Dwarf boy warned.

"So many pirates joining forces must be terrifying. You should hide for a while," the dancer said worriedly.

"A bunch of rookies who don't even know Haki. I'll just slaughter my way through them." Wude sneered and continued drinking.

Creak~

The tavern's swinging doors opened. A burly man strode in, his sharp gaze fixed on Wude. He walked straight over and stopped beside him.

Behind him stood an entire squad of soldiers.

They were not his subordinates, but his guards.

"Kyros, why did you leave the arena?" the tavern owner asked in surprise.

The soldiers guarding Kyros explained that Kyros had been preoccupied lately and had no heart for fighting.

So Kyros had asked King Riku to let him leave the arena and meet a powerful man he deeply cared about.

"Sit." Wude glanced up at Kyros and pulled out a chair for him.

"Mm." Kyros sat down and stared at him without saying a word.

After a while, Wude was still eating and drinking, while Kyros could no longer sit still.

"I want to challenge you."

Wude glanced at Kyros and snorted.

Kyros forced himself to hold Wude's gaze. "I want to challenge you—!"

Wude took out a fresh wine cup, filled it, and pushed it over.

Kyros frowned, took the cup, tipped his head back, and drained it in one gulp before continuing to stare at him.

"You got drunk from that little wine?"

"You..."

Kyros glared at him, somewhat angry.

"If you're not drunk, are you seeking death in your confusion?"

"I..."

Kyros fell silent, as though Wude had exposed him.

At this point, he had yet to meet Scarlet, the most important woman in his life, and had no daughter.

His friend had died. As a sinner, he had spent his entire life living under the shadow of an inferiority complex born from being a criminal.

"I want to see this world you speak of, where powerful people are everywhere," Kyros said. In truth, even he did not know whether he wanted to grow stronger or seek death.

"Do you know Haki?" Wude asked.

"What?" Kyros looked at him in confusion.

"..."

Wude was speechless. Was this what they meant by "even New World cannon fodder knows Haki"?

Or had Kyros spent too long tucked away in one corner, never seeing the outside world?

"Speedrun your 3,000th victory, and I'll teach you an ability that can make you stronger." Wude said it shamelessly. In truth, Kyros only had to go outside to hear of Haki, since this was the New World.

"Alright!" Kyros poured himself another cup of wine, drained it in one gulp, and rose to leave.

"You're going back already?" one soldier asked in confusion. They had only been out for a short while.

"Mm. I'll win my 3,000th victory as quickly as possible!" Kyros walked out of the tavern, his eyes burning as he stared at the arena.

The soldiers exchanged looks, feeling sorry for the contestants. Anyone competing during this period was probably going to get their heads beaten in.

Over the next few days, aside from catching pirates for bounty money, Wude went to watch Kyros "speedrun the stage," terrifying the contestants with his relentless beatings.

Kyros fought match after match until the contestants developed psychological trauma, and even the spectators who had once jeered and cursed no longer dared to mouth off.

They could clearly feel that this man was becoming more and more ferocious.

People were like that. When they thought they were guilty or ashamed, regardless of whether they truly were, many people liked to bully them. But when they revealed a fierce gaze, those weaker than them all shut their mouths.

In the blink of an eye, the year's end arrived. Kyros stood at the center of the arena, slapped his opponent to the ground, then threw back his head and roared, staring at Wude in the stands with blazing fighting spirit.

His Majesty the King, disguised as Gladiator Ricky, clutched his head and endured the pain as he stared at Kyros in astonishment.

He had originally planned to invite Kyros into the royal army and give him a goal, but suddenly discovered that Kyros had found a new goal.

It felt like a girl he had his eye on had been secretly snatched away by a friend. His mood was inexplicably awful.

[Famous Scene Check-In Three: Legendary Gladiator Kyros's 3,000th Victory!]

[Check-in complete. Obtained Imperial Arm—Sure-Hit Bow: Winged Glory!]

Wude looked at the light screen before him in surprise and suppressed his joy instead of claiming it immediately.

He closed the light screen and nodded at Kyros in the arena with a smile.

"..." King Riku spotted Wude and thought, So it was you!

After the match ended, the contestants' lounge was extremely quiet.

There were only three people inside.

Wude, suspected of poaching someone else's man; Kyros, who looked at him eagerly; and King Riku, wearing a kindly smile.

"Kyros, congratulations on winning your 3,000th victory. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to develop Observation Haki." Wude kept his word. He had taken Kyros's check-in reward, so what was wrong with teaching him some Observation Haki?

At most, he would create a minor inconvenience for the future Doflamingo.

"Thank you," Kyros said.

"Kyros, if this is your choice, then I support you joining the Marines with Wude. I will grant you freedom. From now on, you are no longer a sinner!" King Riku declared magnanimously.

Doing someone a favor and befriending a future Marine powerhouse—now that was foresight!

"Huh?" Wude was startled. He did not remember inviting Kyros.

What the hell had these two imagined!?

[A 360-degree flip landing—please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly passes!]

[Thank you to all the esteemed readers for your tips and monthly passes. Thank you! (Hands pressed together in gratitude (｀?ω?′)!)]