Pirate: Starting by Turning Down Red-Hair's Invitation

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Come on, everyone, raise a glass to our little hero, Lin Mo!"

The tavern returned to the lively atmosphere it had enjoyed before the Desert Thieves arrived.

Lin Mo silently went back to drinking.

They had just been robbed, and they were still this happy. These people really knew how to take things in stride...

Red-Hair watched Lin Mo with a smile. As soon as he finished one bottle, Red-Hair opened another for him.

"What do you think of the atmosphere?" Red-Hair asked with a grin.

"Not much," Lin Mo said flatly.

"Hahaha!" Red-Hair laughed heartily.

Just then, the tavern door opened again.

A tall young man with long brown hair appeared in the doorway, flanked by a group of fully armed men. He wore an Arabian-style headscarf and a white robe, both patterned with black four-pointed stars. Dark purple four-pointed stars were painted around his eyes, and two orange necklaces hung around his neck.

Everyone in the tavern recognized him at once.

"Huh? Isn't that Vice Captain Pell?"

"Shouldn't Lord Pell be protecting His Majesty the King in the capital? What's he doing in a little town like ours?"

"Could he be here because of those useless Desert Thieves?"

"Lord Pell, the Desert Thieves have already been driven off. Everything's fine here now."

"Driven off?" Pell was mildly surprised. He had been passing through the town on official business when he received a distress signal about a band of Desert Thieves attacking, so he had rushed over.

Those thieves had easily injured even the armed guards protecting the town. And now he was being told they had been driven off?

Pell swept a stern gaze around the tavern. His eyes settled on two figures, one large and one small, sitting at the bar drinking.

Neither of them was dressed like someone from Alabasta.

Had they driven off the Desert Thieves?

With that thought, Pell entered the tavern and walked toward Red-Hair and Lin Mo.

"You two were the ones who drove off the Desert Thieves, weren't you?" Pell asked evenly.

Lin Mo ignored him.

Red-Hair smiled as he drank. "You could say that, though he did it all by himself."

Then, as if he hadn't caused enough trouble, he pointed at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo shot him a speechless glance that said, You just had to open your mouth...

Pell looked at Lin Mo, surprise flashing through his eyes.

Before he could ask anything else, the tavern patrons began singing Lin Mo's praises.

"That's right, the kid did it! Lord Pell, you weren't here to see it. This little guy, Lin Mo, smashed the Desert Thieves' leader's weapon with one punch."

"Exactly! We all saw it. They even fired guns at him, but they couldn't hit him from two meters away."

"And someone swung a sword at Lin Mo, only for the blade to break! Hahaha! I'm starting to wonder if the kid's even human. A sword couldn't cut his skin!"

"Anyway, the kid was incredible. We're all safe thanks to him."

Pell had doubted that a child could drive off so many thieves, but with this many witnesses, it had to be true.

After a moment's silence, Pell said, "I'm Pell, deputy officer of the Alabasta Kingdom Guard. Thank you both for your help with this incident."

He gave a polite bow, then continued, "I'm still on duty, so I can't stay in this town long. As thanks, allow me to pay for your drinks."

"Uh, Lord Pell." The Tavern Owner scratched his head with an awkward laugh. "Everything's on the house today. If you have time, you're welcome to stay for a drink before you go."

Pell: "..."

"Hahaha!" Red-Hair laughed. "No need to be so formal. This kid isn't the sort to care about that. If you really want to thank him, buy him a drink the next time you meet."

"All right." Pell nodded. "In that case, I'll be on my way."

Lin Mo gave him no response, so Pell said nothing more and turned to leave the tavern.

After he left, Lin Mo made a rare complaint to Red-Hair. "Red-Hair, you talk too much..."

"Hahaha..." Red-Hair laughed, utterly unconcerned.

The Tavern Owner brought them more drinks.

Hearing Lin Mo call Shanks Red-Hair suddenly reminded him of someone.

He had thought Red-Hair looked familiar from the moment he first saw him. He just hadn't been able to remember where he had seen him before.

"You... you wouldn't happen to be the captain of the Red Hair Pirates, would you?" the Tavern Owner asked in a low voice.

Red-Hair looked at him and grinned. "Oh, you figured it out."

"So you really are..." Realizing his voice had risen, the Tavern Owner quickly covered his mouth. He leaned closer to Red-Hair and Lin Mo and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I never imagined Pirates would be the ones to save us... So, are you here for that, too?"

"That?" Red-Hair asked, puzzled. "What's that?"

"The Devil Fruit being auctioned at the underground auction house in Yuba two days from now."

"Huh? A Devil Fruit?" Red-Hair put on an exaggerated look of surprise.

Lin Mo couldn't even be bothered to look at him.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" The Tavern Owner gave Red-Hair a frantic signal to stop talking. "You really didn't know?"

Red-Hair scratched his head and grinned. "I do now."

The Tavern Owner sighed helplessly.

Red-Hair turned to Lin Mo with a smile. "You don't see Devil Fruits every day. Want to go take a look, kid?"

Lin Mo took a drink. "Not interested."

Alabasta: The Guy Who Wouldn't Go Away

Lin Mo and Red-Hair didn't stay long at the tavern.

After asking for directions to Alubarna, Lin Mo set off on the camel he had bought in Narohara Town.

Red-Hair followed beside him without a care, muttering the whole way about wanting to see what was happening in Yuba.

Lin Mo ignored him throughout the journey. Then, as they crossed a stretch of rocky desert, they came upon a flock of large white birds sprawled on their backs, twitching and looking badly injured.

They were Deceptive Birds, a species that lived in rocky deserts. They liked to feign injury to win travelers' sympathy, then steal their luggage.

"Huh? What happened to those birds?" Red-Hair asked, looking toward the flock.

Lin Mo chuckled. "Why don't you go see?"

"Good point." Red-Hair ran over, picked one up, and gave it a shake. "Hey, are you all right?"

The bird in his hands twitched again "weakly," as if it were on the verge of death.

Red-Hair turned to Lin Mo, sounding excited. "These birds look like they're done for. How about we make their deaths mean something?"

Lin Mo: "..."

Red-Hair grinned. "They look pretty plump. Bet they'd taste great."

"!" The Deceptive Bird in Red-Hair's hands jolted and began struggling.

"Oh? A last burst of life?" Smiling, Red-Hair gripped the bird by the neck and stood. He looked at Lin Mo again. "How would you like your roast bird seasoned?"

Lin Mo chuckled. "Whatever you like."

"Good. Then you're in for a taste of my cooking today." Red-Hair smiled at the Deceptive Bird before him, which was now sweating profusely.

The other Deceptive Birds sprang up from where they had been playing dead and hastily flapped away...

"Huh? They're all fine now?" Red-Hair exclaimed.

The Deceptive Bird still held by the neck looked ready to cry and began squawking frantically.

"Hahaha!" Red-Hair laughed and released it.

Just as the Deceptive Bird flapped its wings to catch up with its companions, the sand beneath Red-Hair and Lin Mo began to shake.

Countless enormous rootlike Man-Eating Grasses burst from underground, lunging at Lin Mo, Red-Hair, and the bird that had fallen behind.

"Looks like plenty of big ones were hiding under the sand." Red-Hair smiled faintly and drew his sword without hesitation.

When two giant Man-Eating Grasses lunged at Lin Mo at once, his camel panicked just as it had when they encountered the giant lizard. Before Lin Mo could act, it bolted wildly with him on its back, somehow dodging every attack from both plants.

Lin Mo had no intention of stopping the runaway camel.

Maybe this would finally give him a chance to shake off Red-Hair.

Red-Hair saw Lin Mo's camel bolt off in no particular direction, moving fast.

If he didn't hurry after them, he might lose Lin Mo.

Without another thought, Red-Hair slashed horizontally. An invisible blade of force swept outward, slicing every Man-Eating Grass around him in half.

The strike also saved the Deceptive Bird that had nearly been swallowed.

Lin Mo was getting farther away, his figure almost vanishing from sight. Without hesitation, Red-Hair grabbed the leg of the Deceptive Bird that had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Red-Hair grinned. "I saved your life. It's not too much to ask you to help me catch that kid, is it?"

"Squawk!" The Deceptive Bird jolted. The thought of how this man had felled every Man-Eating Grass with a single slash sent a chill down its back. With tears in its eyes and its life on the line, it flapped its wings again and struggled into the air, carrying Red-Hair toward Lin Mo.

After running for more than three hours, Lin Mo's camel finally stopped, utterly exhausted. It collapsed onto the sand, panting hard.

Lin Mo hopped off its back.

He took out his Wine Gourd and had a drink.

Just when he thought he had finally shaken Red-Hair, he sensed him overhead.

"Hey, Lin Mo!" Red-Hair waved to him eagerly from the air.

Lin Mo was at a complete loss for words.

This guy just won't go away...

After landing, Red-Hair patted the back of the Deceptive Bird, which was drenched in sweat from flying. "Thanks for the effort! Hahaha! You can go now."

The Deceptive Bird fled at once, teary-eyed with relief.

Red-Hair looked at the camel sprawled on the sand. "This one scares easily, doesn't it? Hahaha! Good thing I caught up. Lin Mo, which way are we going next?"

"Whatever," Lin Mo said flatly.

"Then let's keep following this route and see where it takes us." Red-Hair grinned.

"Fine," Lin Mo replied.

They rested there for an hour. Once the camel had recovered its strength, the two of them set off again with it.

After nearly two full days crossing the desert, they reached the next large town. A ring of tall trees surrounded it, giving it a lush, green appearance.

"Finally..." Red-Hair was sweltering.

Lin Mo's forehead was covered in sweat too.

They immediately picked up their pace and entered the town.

Compared with the town where they had stopped for drinks, this one was larger and wealthier.

The people on the streets dressed fashionably, and the buildings looked as though they had only recently been renovated.

"Well, this town looks pretty nice." Red-Hair smiled as he looked around.

Lin Mo walked on in silence.

As they passed a stall selling Golden Apples, the stallholder picked one up and gave Lin Mo and Red-Hair a sly smile. "You, the red-haired gentleman, and you, young man—you're from out of town, aren't you? Care to try a Golden Apple? These aren't ordinary apples. They're treasures discovered in ancient ruins! One bite of this legendary Golden Apple will let you live for a thousand years."

"Huh? A Golden Apple?" Red-Hair exclaimed. "One bite really lets you live for a thousand years?"

Seeing Red-Hair's apparent interest, the stallholder grinned slyly. "Of course. I wouldn't lie to you."

Red-Hair's eyes lit up. "That's incredible!"