One Piece: It All Started with Turning Down Shanks's Invitation

"Hahaha! A few brats think they can pick a fight with us? You don't know what's good for you."

"Get lost before our boss gets angry!"

"Our boss is the man who'll become King of the Mountain Bandits! If you know what's good for you, stay out of his way!"

Watching Higuma and his gang swagger around, Zoro asked quietly, "Kuina, can we beat them?"

Kuina glanced at Lin Mo, who had not said a word. She took a deep breath. "Even if we can't, we have to fight. We can't let them do whatever they want in Shimotsuki Village!"

"Hey!" Kuina fixed Higuma with a cold stare. "You're nothing but a gang of bullies. King of the Mountain Bandits? All I see is a pack of thugs who pick on the weak. I won't let you run wild here!"

"What?" Higuma frowned.

Sugimoto grew anxious. "Kuina, stop talking. You three need to leave."

Kuina was one of the finest swordsmen at Isshin Dojo, and plenty of adults could not beat her. But she was still a child with a bamboo sword. How could she stand against vicious bandits?

The villagers around them were worried too. They urged Kuina and the others not to provoke Higuma any further.

"Leave?" Higuma drew the sword at his waist and pointed its tip at Kuina's forehead. "Sure. Leave an arm behind."

Kuina gritted her teeth.

Zoro suddenly pulled her behind him and pointed both his bamboo swords at Higuma. "Kuina, stand back. I'll take this guy on!"

Kuina protested, "Idiot! You're weaker than me. I should fight him!"

"Hahaha!" Higuma roared with laughter. "How touching. You're both fighting for the chance to die. Fine, I'll grant your wish and kill you together!"

The moment Higuma finished speaking,

Lin Mo suddenly said, "Are none of you lining up anymore?"

The villagers fell silent. No one dared answer.

Lin Mo took their silence as a yes.

He looked at Higuma. "You got here later. You're behind me."

With that, Lin Mo calmly walked past him.

Gasps rippled through the villagers.

Every eye followed Lin Mo as he reached the cart loaded with Wine.

"How much for a jar?" Lin Mo asked.

Sugimoto froze, then answered on instinct, "Fifty Beli a jar..."

Lin Mo casually pulled out two Beli and handed them to Sugimoto.

Then he took a jar, pulled out the wooden stopper, and drank in front of everyone.

"Not bad." Lin Mo nodded his approval.

Higuma's face darkened as he glared at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo ignored him and looked at Zoro and Kuina, who were just as stunned as everyone else. "Weren't you two buying Wine for me?"

They blinked, immediately lowered their bamboo swords, and jogged over.

Higuma pressed his sword against Lin Mo's neck. "Hey, brat. Who said you could buy Wine?"

Lin Mo glanced at him. "Move your sword."

To everyone's surprise, Higuma actually moved it away.

But the next instant, a vicious gleam flashed in his eyes, and he swung straight for Lin Mo's neck.

"Lin Mo, run!"

"Oh no, that child's going to die!"

"Someone save him! Where's Koshiro? Could we still get him here in time?"

The villagers' worried cries filled the air.

Zoro and Kuina broke out in cold sweats.

As for Lin Mo, he took half a step back just before Higuma's sword reached him.

The tip swept past half a centimeter from his throat.

Higuma's mouth twitched. When had anyone ever made such a fool of him? A brat, no less!

Now he was furious.

"You asked for this, brat!" Higuma raised his sword again, ready to cut Lin Mo down.

Lin Mo still ignored him. He turned to Zoro and Kuina. "Buy the Wine."

"Honestly, how can you still be thinking about drinking Wine at a time like this?"

Despite her complaint, Kuina paid, and she and Zoro each picked up a jar of Wine.

The Price of Arrogance in Shimotsuki Village

Higuma had never suffered such humiliation.

Every slash he unleashed seethed with fury and killing intent.

Even so,

Lin Mo dodged every attack with ease.

When Higuma realized he could not hit Lin Mo,

he turned his attention to Zoro and Kuina, who were holding jars of Wine.

Without a word,

Higuma switched targets and swung at Zoro, the closer of the two.

Zoro instinctively took two steps back, but he was still within Higuma's reach.

Damn it. Zoro's face fell. He wanted to draw his swords, but with both hands around the jar of Wine, he could not defend himself.

"Die!" Higuma surged forward.

Kuina wanted to help Zoro, but she, too, was holding a jar of Wine and could not make a move.

Just as Higuma's sword was about to strike Zoro,

Lin Mo appeared in front of him. He drew Wado Ichimonji and severed Higuma's sword in a single stroke.

Lin Mo did not much care whether Zoro got hurt.

He just did not want his jar of Wine smashed.

But Zoro and Kuina saw it very differently.

"I knew you wouldn't leave me to get hurt!" Zoro said excitedly. "No wonder I look up to you."

Lin Mo: "..."

Higuma stared at Wado Ichimonji, the blade that had cut his sword in two.

There was something extraordinary about it.

His tone changed at once. "Brat, I've changed my mind. Give me your sword, and I'll let you go."

"No!" Kuina objected first. "You can't trust a bandit. Lin Mo, don't give them Wado Ichimonji!"

"So it's Wado Ichimonji." Higuma's eyes lit up. He looked at Lin Mo with open greed. "A brat like you is wasting a sword that good. Hand it over, or I won't be so nice."

With that, Higuma hurled his broken sword at Sugimoto's cart, shattering several jars of Wine.

At the same time, his men surrounded Lin Mo and the others.

Lin Mo frowned slightly.

It pained him to see that good, limited-stock Wine go to waste.

At Isshin Dojo,

Koshiro was drinking tea with a friend in the tearoom.

The two were enjoying their conversation

when a villager hurried in.

"Mr. Koshiro, please come with me. A gang of bandits has come to the village looking for trouble."

"Bandits?" Koshiro set down his teacup and rose at once. "Where are they now?"

"By Sugimoto's cart," the villager answered quickly.

"Sugimoto's?" Koshiro paused. "Are Lin Mo, Kuina, and Zoro there?"

The villager nodded. "They are, but they're only children. They're no match for vicious bandits. Mr. Koshiro, please hurry."

"There's no need." Koshiro sat back down on his heels, smiling. "If Lin Mo is there, we have nothing to worry about."

"What?" The villager stared at him.

Even Koshiro's friend looked worried. "Mr. Koshiro, are you sure you don't need to go?"

"I'm sure." Koshiro picked up the teacup he had only just set down. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

Back at Sugimoto's cart,

Higuma was still threatening Lin Mo.

Lin Mo felt nothing at all.

If anything, he was bored.

The villagers around him felt very differently.

They were frantic.

"Lin Mo, give him the sword! It isn't worth losing your life over."

"That's right. You're still young. You can't beat this many bandits. Hand it over and save your lives."

"Don't hesitate, kid. Bandits aren't good people. They really will kill you."

"Enough!" Zoro grew angrier with every word. He shouted at the villagers, "Stop underestimating Lin Mo! He's strong!"

The bandits burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Dodging a few of our boss's attacks makes him strong? What a joke."

"You only broke our boss's sword because yours is a Famous Sword. Hand it over if you don't want to die, brat."

Lin Mo silently scanned the group. Higuma had brought more than forty men.

It looked as though he could not leave without dealing with them.

What a nuisance... I didn't even want to fight.

Oh well. I've bought the Wine. Better get back to the dojo.

Lin Mo said nothing.

Taking his silence for fear, Higuma said smugly, "You've got some skill. Do as I say, and I might consider letting you join the Higuma Pirates."

Lin Mo could not be bothered to argue.

A glint flashed in his eyes.

A powerful sword aura surged outward from him.

Just as Higuma finished his boast,

Lin Mo flickered into place behind him.

Then he calmly slid Wado Ichimonji back into its sheath.

Higuma turned toward him in disbelief.

The instant Wado Ichimonji was fully sheathed,

two long gashes opened across Higuma's body, and blood gushed out.

The villagers stared, speechless.