Just for the Fun of It

"Young man, with strength like yours, and at such a young age, why would you want to open a bar?"

Su Yu smiled faintly. "Just for the fun of it. No need to worry, old man."

Then Su Yu added meaningfully, "Besides, I'm not young anymore..."

For a moment, Rayleigh wasn't sure whether to believe him. People with that kind of strength usually had ambitions to match, or even greater ones. But powerful people always did as they pleased. What if he really was just doing it for fun?

Rayleigh paid little attention to Su Yu's last remark, taking it as a young man being sensitive about his age. He only hoped Su Yu wouldn't stir up any trouble.

Still, he was just an ordinary old man now. None of this had anything to do with him. If trouble really came, he could simply take Shakky and run.

At that thought, Rayleigh suddenly relaxed. He ordered four more glasses, then let out a satisfied breath after finishing them. What good liquor!

Then Rayleigh paid five hundred thousand Beli, got up, and left, making his leisurely way back to Shakky's Rip-off Bar.

Inside, Shakky was smoking as usual. When she saw Rayleigh return, she asked, "Where did you go today? Why are you back so late?"

"I went to check out that new bar."

"How was it? Was the liquor good? Is the owner a man or a woman?"

"The liquor was excellent, but the prices were even more outrageous than yours. A hundred thousand Beli for a glass with barely a mouthful in it! Tsk, tsk!"

Shakky blew a smoke ring and looked Rayleigh in the eye. "Right. So is the owner a man or a woman?"

Rayleigh didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "A man. He's a man. A young fellow, though he seems pretty strong."

"Oh?" Shakky narrowed her eyes. If even Rayleigh called him strong, he probably wasn't some ordinary fellow. It seemed she would have to investigate.

Seeing Shakky's expression, Rayleigh guessed what she was thinking and spoke up. "He's hard to read, and he recognized me. There's also a noticeboard in his bar saying that, as long as the payment is enough, the owner can grant any wish! There's more to him than meets the eye. We're enjoying our retirement now, so let's not provoke someone that dangerous."

"He recognized you?"

"Yes. Don't worry. I could sense that he bore me no hostility."

Hearing that, Shakky felt reassured for the moment. Then she said, "I'll only look into his background. Don't worry, I won't alert him. Besides, granting any wish-aren't you curious?"

Rayleigh nodded helplessly. He trusted Shakky to know where to draw the line, so he left it at that.

After Rayleigh left the little bar, Su Yu was alone again.

Su Yu hadn't been joking when he said he was no longer young. He had lived a very long time; his age was probably best measured in millennia. His answer to Rayleigh had been truthful, too, since he really did like the feel of running a bar. But opening a bar certainly wasn't his only aim. His main purpose was exactly what the noticeboard said: as long as a customer paid a sufficient price, he could help grant their wish.

Of course, completing a transaction would earn him not only payment, but also wish power! That was Su Yu's real goal!

Wish power was the power of all living beings' wishes. It resembled faith power, but faith power arose from belief in a particular deity, whereas wish power consisted of the determination and desire living beings had to accomplish something. In terms of its makeup, it was actually a tier below faith power.

That made sense. Su Yu was gathering wish power to become a god, while faith power could only be sensed and harnessed by an actual god.

The kind of god Su Yu wanted to become wasn't a false god like Zeus or Poseidon, nor an incense god. He wanted to become a true god in every sense: immortal and indestructible, omniscient and omnipotent within the territory controlled by his divine domain.

That required gathering an immense amount of wish power from living beings. The pirate world alone would never be enough. Fortunately, the stronger someone was, the more wish power they produced, which made Su Yu's collection work easier.

Su Yu had opened a bar like this to wait for those destined to find him. As for what made someone destined...

"Boys, we got a good haul today! Come on, let's go drinking!"

"Yeah!"

"..."

A band of pirates walked off into the distance, carrying bags and draping their arms over one another's shoulders. Blood that had yet to dry still stained their bodies.

All around them lay ruins, burning houses and rubble, and villagers bleeding on the ground.

Inside a house with its doorframe and windows smashed apart, a husband and wife lay unconscious in pools of blood. Judging by how much blood they had lost, they were unlikely to survive.

Just then, a faint sound came from beneath the bed, and a teenage boy struggled to crawl out.

His face was pale and streaked with tears. Crimson blood seeped from his lip, which he had bitten to keep himself from making a sound as he watched his parents fall right before his eyes.

Only yesterday, the three of them had been enjoying dinner together. His father had even gone to a seafaring merchant to buy a bottle of wine. He remembered how much his mother liked its sweet, tart taste. He liked it, too.

But these pirates had appeared out of nowhere and destroyed everything. The villagers, with no means of defending themselves, had not dared resist. They had willingly brought out their food and valuables and placed them before the pirates, yet the ruthless pirates had still killed many of them. It was as though they had found a new form of entertainment. They had no reason; they simply wanted to do it.

The pirates had actually discovered him hiding beneath the bed, but they had spared him. There was no reason for that, either, just as they needed no reason to kill. How could a normal person possibly understand what a ruthless pirate was thinking?

He was consumed by grief. He had watched the two people closest to him in the world die right before his eyes. From now on, he would be alone.

Of course, he was furious, too. His heart was already filled with hatred. Why?! Our family was living perfectly well! Why?! My parents had already handed over their valuables willingly! Why?!

After a night to calm down, he washed his parents' bodies, made them a gravestone, and buried them. His emotions had more or less settled, but his eyes were filled with a lifeless stillness that looked utterly out of place at his age.

He wanted revenge, but he was only a frail boy. How could he possibly defeat those vicious pirates?

Still, he wanted to try. He would go to sea and search for every possible way to grow stronger. He had to become strong!

He would always remember those pirates' name and flag: the Fierce Wolf Pirates!

From what they had said, they seemed to be affiliated with someone called a Shichibukai. He had heard of the Shichibukai; they appeared in the newspapers. He didn't understand exactly what they were, but he knew the Navy had established them.

Then I can't go to the Navy...

Where could he go, then? He didn't know, but he wanted to head out to sea and look around first. If he stayed here, he would never have a chance.

The villagers who remained had wanted to persuade him to stay. At least that way he would still be alive, wouldn't he?

But the boy had made up his mind. If he didn't avenge his parents, what meaning would his life have?

Seeing how determined he was, the villagers stopped trying to dissuade him. They simply gave him a boat, along with some food, fresh water, and liquor. This farewell might well be their last.

He didn't refuse. He truly needed those things. He had nothing left now.

He boarded the boat and looked back at the village, at the place where he had lived since childhood. Much of it had been destroyed, but he could still make out its general outline.

He took one final, expressionless look, then turned and cut the rope securing the boat. The little boat slowly drifted away with the wind, farther and farther, until the island gradually vanished from sight...