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

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

"Are you the person who watched me dance that day?"

"???"

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

But he had only happened to watch her for a moment. There had been so many spectators—how could she have remembered him?

That's absurd.

"Yeah. Do you have anything to eat?" Wude sat down beside a table.

"Yes!" The dancer quickly nodded and pushed her father to go prepare the food.

"Would you like some wine?" the dancer hurriedly asked.

"Sure, bring me a little." Wude nodded as he tidied up the messy tabletop.

The dancer struggled over with a wine barrel and dropped it beside them with a thud.

"..." ×2

Wude and the Dwarf boy looked at each other. This was "a little"?

"Drinking leads to trouble. You should drink less." The Dwarf recalled how Wude had surrounded a group of drunks before and spoke instinctively.

"I'm not included in that category." With that, Wude lifted the wooden barrel with one hand and poured wine into his bowl, glug after glug.

Then he picked up the bowl and gulped the wine down.

By then, the dancer had already finished tidying the table at "superhuman speed" and sat down opposite him.

The Dwarf boy sat on the table and followed the dancer's gaze toward Wude's face.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why the dancer was acting so strangely.

Damn, that face!

Give me looks that break the scale too!

Over the past few days, Wude had been searching the island for wanted criminals, then taking them to the New World Marine branch to exchange them for money.

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

He had also gained a clear understanding of the strength of opponents who could use Haki.

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

"I've heard of you. Recently, a rumor has been spreading through the streets and alleys of Dressrosa." The Dwarf boy accepted the fruit Wude handed him and gnawed on it. "Apparently, for 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 taken away to be exchanged for a bounty."

"Oh." Wude nodded and continued eating.

"I heard some pirates even banded together and organized themselves to teach you a lesson." The Dwarf boy warned him.

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

"A bunch of rookies who can't even use Haki. I just have to cut through them." Wude sneered and continued drinking.

Squeak—

The tavern's folding door opened. A burly man strode inside, 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 the men assigned to watch him.

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

The soldiers watching Kyros explained the situation. It turned out that Kyros had been preoccupied lately and had no heart for fighting.

So Kyros had asked King Riku for permission to leave the arena and meet a powerful person he cared deeply about.

"Sit." Wude looked 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 braced himself and stared at him intently. "I want to challenge you—!"

Wude took 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. Then he continued watching Wude.

"You got drunk from that little bit of wine?"

"You..."

Kyros glared at him angrily.

"If you're not drunk, then are you seeking death because you're lost?"

"I..."

Kyros fell silent, as though Wude had hit the nail on the head.

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

His friends had died, and 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 for myself the world you said is filled with powerful people," Kyros said. In truth, he did not know whether he wanted to become stronger or seek death.

"Do you know what Haki is?" Wude asked.

"What?" Kyros looked at him in confusion.

"..."

Wude was helpless. Was this the "New World where even cannon fodder knew Haki"?

Or was Kyros simply too isolated for too long and had never seen the outside world?

"Rush through your three-thousandth victory, and I'll teach you an ability that can make you stronger." Wude shamelessly made the promise. In reality, Kyros could hear about Haki just by going outside; after all, this was the New World.

"Good!" Kyros poured himself a cup of wine, downed it in one gulp, and stood to leave.

"You're going back already?" one of the soldiers asked in confusion. He had only just come out.

"Mm. I'm going to win my three-thousandth victory as quickly as possible!" Kyros left the tavern, his eyes burning as he stared at the arena.

The soldiers exchanged glances and felt sorry for the contestants. Anyone who entered the competition during this period would probably have their heads pounded to pieces.

Over the next few days, Wude did nothing but capture pirates for money and watch Kyros "speedrun the stages," hammering the contestants into a state of terror.

Kyros fought one match after another, leaving the contestants with psychological trauma. Even the spectators who had shouted and cursed no longer dared to heckle him.

They could clearly feel that this man was becoming fiercer and fiercer.

People were like that. When you believed yourself guilty and ashamed, regardless of whether you were actually guilty, many people would enjoy bullying you a little. But once you revealed a vicious gaze, those weaker than you would collectively shut their mouths.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the year arrived. Kyros stood in the center of the arena and slapped his opponent to the ground. Then he threw back his head and roared, before staring at Wude in the spectator stands with overflowing fighting spirit.

The king, disguised as Gladiator Ricky, covered his head and endured the pain as he looked at Kyros in surprise.

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

It was like the girl he had taken a fancy to being secretly swept away by a friend. His mood became inexplicably terrible.

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

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

Wude looked at the light screen before him in delight and restrained himself from claiming the reward.

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

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

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

There were only three people inside.

Wude, who was suspected of stealing someone else's subordinate; Kyros, who was looking at him eagerly; and King Riku, who wore a kind and amiable smile.

"Kyros, congratulations on winning your three-thousandth victory. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you how to develop Observation Haki." Wude kept his word. Since he had taken the man's check-in reward, what was wrong with teaching him Observation Haki?

At most, he would cause a little trouble for Doflamingo in the future.

"Thank you," Kyros said.

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

He was earning goodwill and befriending a future Marine powerhouse. That was called foresight!

"Huh?" Wude looked astonished. I don't think I ever invited Kyros.

What the hell did you two imagine?

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