Before the ship had even come to a stop, Luffy jumped onto the island.
He kept shouting, "Adventure! Adventure!"
"Hey! Luffy!" Seeing this, Ace couldn't help trying to call him back.
"Let him go. There's nothing on this island that poses much danger to him right now." Lott patted Ace's shoulder, signaling for him to relax.
The worry on Ace's face didn't fade.
"Relax. My Observation Haki can cover the whole island."
"Th-then all right." Ace still sounded a little worried.
"Forget it! You should just go with him." Knowing Ace was a gentle older brother, Lott grabbed him and threw him in Luffy's direction.
"Holy shit! Lott, you bastard!!! Couldn't you have picked a better way?!"
With a smile, Lott jumped off the ship too.
After looking around to make sure no one else was nearby, he put the Skybreaker straight into System Space.
He flew toward the few fairly powerful electromagnetic waves on the island.
When Lott arrived, he saw pirates smashing, looting, and robbing all along the street.
[Ding. Choice triggered: A: Find Vice Captain Joseph and kill him. Rewards: Intermediate Observation Haki ×1, 100 million Beli, Senzu Beans ×1,000, indestructible underwear ×1. B: Recruit Joseph as a companion. Reward: "You're Too Beautiful When You Strike" album ×1. C: Tell Joseph: I still want to be a chore boy on the ship. Rewards: Devil Fruit stripped away, Haki stripped away.]
Fuck! Is there even anything to think about? I choose A!
A short man on the street, as fat as a pig, pointed at a girl crouching in a corner and ordered his subordinate:
"Woo hee hee hee. Joseph, bring that beauty over here. I'm going to have a good time relaxing tonight."
The fat man wore a vermilion cloak and a pirate hat. His face was so fat that his features were almost impossible to distinguish, and long nose hairs hung out of his nostrils. He carried a curved sword.
He was Feide Xiangzhu, captain of the Plunder and Seize Pirates, with a bounty of 11 million Beli. A scumbag notorious for his lechery.
"Yes, Captain!"
"Electromagnetic."
With a soft pop, Feide Xiangzhu fell to the ground, a fist-sized hole appearing in his forehead.
That lecherous smile still lingered on his face as he died.
"Who's there?" The pirate with the center-parted hair froze in fright at the sight, and the basketball in his hands dropped to the ground.
"What? It's been just over two years, and you don't recognize me anymore?" Lott walked slowly to the middle of the street.
"You're...? You... you..." Joseph searched his memories, and the face of a young chore boy gradually surfaced in his mind.
"What? Looks like you've recognized me?" With a faint smile on his face, Lott simply watched the man before him.
At that moment, he had reined in all his presence and looked like a harmless young boy.
Yet Joseph began trembling all over. Pointing his right index finger at Lott, his lips turned white. "You... you're Lott, the chore boy? How are you still alive?"
"I hate it when people point at me." With that, Lott raised his hand and unleashed an Electromagnetic Knife.
"Aah!"
Joseph howled, clutching his right hand, which had been severed at the wrist.
"What? Not with that lover of yours this time?" A Beli coin rolled between Lott's fingers.
"Aaaah!"
Joseph kept howling as he clutched his severed hand.
"Tell me, how would you like to die?" Lott continued looking down and playing with the coin in his hand.
"Sir, you... you're a great man. Please overlook a petty man's faults and... spare me." Before Joseph could finish, his legs gave out, and he slumped to the ground.
"Now you know to beg for mercy? Back when I asked you to spare me, Vice Captain, didn't you still try to kill me?" Lott raised his head, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"I... I... I..." Joseph couldn't get a sentence out for the longest time. With a faint reek of urine, a puddle of unidentified liquid soaked the street beneath his crotch.
Lott frowned, a clear trace of disgust in his expression.
"Forget it. Just die." Lott flicked the coin in his hand toward Joseph.
Bang!
The center-parted pirate fell to the ground as well, his expression full of terror mixed with a trace of unwillingness.
Then several more coins shot from Lott's fingertips, like bullets with eyes, taking out every member of the pirate crew on the street one by one.
[Ding. Congratulations, host, on completing the choice. Rewards obtained: Intermediate Observation Haki ×1, 100 million Beli, Senzu Beans ×1,000, indestructible underwear ×1.]
Before Lott could check his rewards, a clear, lively female voice rang out. "Grandpa! Grandpa! Wake up!"
He looked up and discovered it was the very girl the fat man had ordered captured.
He slowly walked over to her.
"D-don't kill me." Seeing Lott walking toward her, the girl grew even paler.
She had seen it clearly. The boy before her was even more terrifying than those pirates had been.
"Miss, don't be afraid. I'm not a pirate. I've already driven all the pirates away." Lott tried to make his expression look a little gentler.
"R-really? You're not with them?" The girl looked at Lott doubtfully.
A little amused, Lott said, "Have you ever seen people on the same side fight each other to the death like that?"
"Please, my savior, save my grandpa." The girl clutched Lott's arm with both hands. No longer able to worry about whether he was good or bad, she begged him to save her grandfather.
Lott said nothing. He simply nodded and crouched down, placing his palm against the old man's forehead and activating his electromagnetic power.
In fact, the old man's brain waves had long since vanished. Lott gave him a new brain wave.
Before long, the old man slowly opened his eyes.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, you're awake?" The girl held the old man, her voice full of excitement.
When the girl turned to kneel and thank Lott, he shook his head at her. "Miss, your grandfather is actually already dead. I only used my ability to revive him briefly. If you have anything to say to him, say it now. At least give him a proper goodbye."
"What?" In an instant, tears filled her eyes again.
Lott nodded at the girl. "There's not much time. You should listen to what your grandfather has to say."
With that, he stepped aside, giving the grandfather and granddaughter some space.
Only a short while later, Lott heard the old man calling him. "Young man, thank you for letting me live again. Though you're the same age as Ling'er, you're very strong. I have a presumptuous request. Once I die, Ling'er won't have any family left, so could I trouble you to look after her for me from now on?"
Glancing at the girl beside him, whose face was drenched in tears, Lott looked at the old man and said, "Sir, how do you know I'm not a bad person? Can you really trust me with your granddaughter?"
The old man looked at Lott and said, "I've lived a long time and met countless people. I know you're not a bad person, young man."
Lott stared at the old man for a long while before nodding helplessly. "All right. Your granddaughter's name is Ling'er, right? Then leave her to me. I won't let anyone bully her."
Having received Lott's assurance, the old man finally closed his eyes in peace.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!" The girl held the old man's body, sobbing so hard she couldn't speak. Lott neither disturbed nor comforted her, simply standing quietly to one side.
It was a long while before the girl stopped crying.
"My savior, thank you for saving me." The girl wiped away her tears and knelt before Lott, her eyes red.
Lott hurriedly used his electromagnetic power to lift her up.
Only then did he get a good look at her. She looked fourteen or fifteen, stood about a meter and a half tall, and wore a somewhat shabby dress. With her red hair and round face, she was very cute. Her large eyes were red now, making her look quite pitiful.
One look was enough to tell she would grow into a beauty.
"Miss, you don't need to do this. I was only getting revenge for myself." Lott waved a hand at her.
"No! My savior, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't dare imagine what would have happened next." As she spoke, the girl tried to kneel again, only to discover that a mysterious force prevented her from bending her knees.
"Hey! Lott, so this is where you were." Just then, Luffy's voice came from one side of the street.
Looking toward the voice, Lott saw Ace and Luffy hurrying over.
"Huh? You already took care of everything here?"
"Yeah! What, did you find pirates on your side too?" Lott more or less asked a question he already knew the answer to.
After all, the moment he had arrived on the island, he had covered the entire place with his Super Mantra. He had "seen" every move Luffy and Ace made.
"Yeah, but I sent them all flying." Luffy rubbed his biceps, looking smug.
"By the way, here's 30 million Beli. Ace, take it and give it to the townspeople. We'll probably be staying in this town for a day or two." With that, Lott took a large bag of money out of his pocket and tossed it to Ace.
"Oh." Ace nodded, a little excited. Just moments ago, he had been worrying about how to help this town.
Lott had produced 30 million Beli at just the right time.
After saying goodbye to Lott, Ace ran toward the center of town with Luffy.
"My savior, I really don't know how to thank you. How about I cook you a meal?"
Hearing the girl's offer, Lott had intended to refuse, but when he saw the hope in her eyes, he finally nodded.
"But before that, I need to bury Grandpa."
"All right. I'll go with you."
Before you continue