"Right! L-Lord Lott, d-don't kill me! I have some information! Please don't kill me!"
"Oh? What information?" Lott stood before the pirate and said expressionlessly, "If this information isn't worth anything..."
"Y-yes, Lord Lott. We heard that some people called the Celestial Dragons will be coming to the East Blue in the next few days."
Lott's eyes flashed. Most people in the East Blue might not know what these so-called Celestial Dragons were. He knew perfectly well.
The nobles the pirate before him mentioned had to be the Celestial Dragons.
He knew the Celestial Dragons were like emperors in this world, accompanied by large numbers of bodyguards wherever they went.
Sometimes, they would get the urge to amuse themselves and head out to sea for fun. Of course, their purpose was probably to collect tribute and buy slaves.
He just didn't know what this Celestial Dragon was coming to the East Blue for this time. Presumably, it wasn't as simple as having fun.
Lott suddenly felt that things had become interesting. Still, no expression showed on his face.
"How is that valuable information?"
Watching the electromagnetic sphere in Lott's hand grow brighter, the pirate dropped straight to his knees.
"My lord, hear me out! To welcome those Celestial Dragons or whatever they're called, the Tribacana Kingdom offered them twenty beautiful young girls as tribute. And..."
"And what?"
"And they're all little girls!" The pirate bowed his head low, not daring to look at Lott.
How could Lott fail to understand what the pirate's expression meant? He felt like coughing up blood. Who the hell started the rumor that I like little girls? Sure, I really do like... ahem, ahem, but I'm definitely not a lolicon, okay?
A rumor circulated in the East Blue that the bounty hunter Lott was a lolicon.
So this pirate pinned his hopes on that rumor being true.
That way, this murderous fiend might just spare him.
"That's what you call valuable information?"
"Ah! Don't kill me! I have more information! They say this tribute includes not only little girls, but something people all over the world would scramble to get their hands on!"
"Oh? What is it?"
Lott's gaze swept over the pirate before him. He knew this pirate might exaggerate to stay alive.
His claim that the whole world would scramble for it could very well be nothing but a fabrication, an excuse to make Lott spare him.
"I don't know the details, but I heard this thing would cause a sensation even on the Grand Line."
Gulp.
The pirate swallowed, his face deathly pale. That was everything he knew. He just didn't know whether he still had a chance of surviving.
"Forget it. I'm not bloodthirsty. You can go." With that, the electromagnetic sphere in Lott's hand gradually faded.
"Thank you! Thank you for sparing my life, my lord!" The pirate before him kowtowed on the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Then he turned and ran, his steps frantic.
"Fire Fist!"
This punch was far more powerful than the previous one.
"Didn't you say..." The pirate's last thought was, Didn't you say you wouldn't kill me?
"I'm not killing you, but I have no authority to interfere with what my cook does."
Lott had never intended to spare these villains who had committed every sort of evil.
Ling'er had already been furious with these pirates, and when the pirate mentioned little girls, she couldn't hold herself back any longer. That expression of his looked as though he were saying their captain liked little girls, didn't it?
Or was he saying her captain would definitely like those slaves?
"Let's go, Ling'er. We'll set off after getting some supplies."
"Okay, Captain."
Just then, a figure suddenly darted out of the woods nearby.
"Where is this? Where did those pirates go?"
Sensing a presence behind him, Lott turned and studied the figure before him.
The man had a familiar head of moss-green hair and three swords at his waist. "Roronoa Zoro?"
"Hey, you know me? And have you seen a bunch of pirates?" Zoro paused briefly, then asked another question.
"You're Three-Sword Style Zoro, a Pirate Hunter renowned throughout the East Blue. Plenty of people must know you."
Looking at the Moss Head before him, Lott began making plans for him.
Zoro had already been on his recruitment list. Originally, he had planned to swoop in when Zoro was tied up at the Marine Base.
But now that he had run into him first, it could only mean they had quite a bit of fate between them.
"Those pirates just now? We already took care of them."
Hearing Lott's words, Zoro finally had time to size up this pairing of a handsome man and a little girl. Both were exceptionally powerful, especially the man, whose strength was simply unfathomable.
"You're Lott?"
"Oh? You know me?" Lott looked at Zoro with interest.
"Of course. You're the strongest bounty hunter in the East Blue. Obviously, I know you."
Lott looked at the Moss Head before him with interest, considering how to get him aboard.
"Um... you have a ship, right?" Zoro's face reddened a little as soon as he said it.
"We do. Why?" Lott couldn't help feeling curious.
"Um... could you give me a ride?" Saying those words seemed to take all of Zoro's strength.
Lott had been struggling to find an excuse to trick Zoro aboard. This was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
He nodded, signaling for Zoro to come along. Though inwardly ecstatic, his expression remained exceptionally calm.
"Sure. Let's go. We happen to be heading into town for supplies. Want to come?"
Zoro raised his head, looking a little embarrassed. "S-sure."
"Let's go."
They had barely taken two steps when Lott and Ling'er went straight ahead while Zoro turned left.
Ling'er was speechless. It was her first time meeting someone with such a terrible sense of direction. "Hey! Are you hopeless with directions? How can you go the wrong way when you're following us?"
Lott burst out laughing. Truly hopeless with directions, exactly like in the manga.
Zoro blushed a little and turned again.
"Hey! You turned the wrong way! This way! This way!"
"Hey, there's got to be a limit to how bad your sense of direction is!"
"Can't you tell left from right?"
"Straight ahead! Can't you walk straight ahead?"
"Forget it! Flame-Rising Net!"
Along the way, Ling'er was utterly speechless at Three-Sword Style Zoro, a bounty hunter just like them. She had never met anyone so hopeless with directions, so idiotic.
After several twists and turns and wasting quite a bit of time, the three finally reached the shore.
"Don't tell me you wanted to hitch a ride because you lost your boat?"
Zoro nodded and said, "Those pirates wrecked my boat, and I cut theirs apart."
"All right, get aboard." With that, Lott jumped onto the ship, and Ling'er transformed into a streak of flame and boarded as well.
Zoro also leaped aboard in a few bounds.
Looking over the ship before him, which could only be described as luxurious, he froze for several seconds. He had never encountered such a luxurious ship.
Rather than a ship, it was more like a lavish traveling palace.
"I'm only riding part of the way. Just let me off at the next island."
Lott slowly settled into a chair on deck, holding a cup of goji berry water in his right hand that he had produced from who knew where, and sipped it happily.
"As you can see, this ship of mine is far from ordinarily luxurious. Are you sure you can afford the fare?"
"What? There's a fare?"
At the mention of money, Zoro's expression changed at once. He was flat broke, unable even to afford two swords that suited him a little better.
How could he have any money left to pay the fare?
But on second thought, Lott could hardly be blamed for doing this. After all, they were neither relatives nor friends.
He asked tentatively, "Then how much do you want?"
Lott slowly held up one finger.
Zoro was shocked. "What? A million Beli for just one stretch of the trip?"
Lott shook his head slightly. "Too low."
Zoro gritted his teeth, his voice emerging through the gaps. "Ten million?"
Lott looked up at Zoro and said mildly, "A hundred million Beli."
Zoro felt like coughing up blood. "What? A hundred million Beli? Why don't you just rob someone?"
"Exactly. You didn't think just anyone could ride on my ship, did you? This proves we're fated to meet. Other people don't even get the chance."
"Then I'll get off now."
Zoro frowned. A hundred million Beli? Where would he get that kind of money? He had spent everything he earned as a bounty hunter on booze.
"Once you're aboard, you owe a hundred million Beli!" With that, Lott activated his electromagnetic power and sent the ship speeding forward.
"Shit! This is a scam ship! You're ripping me off on purpose, aren't you?" Zoro felt as though he was about to cough up blood.
"If you say so. What do you plan to do about it?" Lott casually swirled his stemmed glass full of goji berry water.
Just then, a flame appeared before Zoro, gradually taking the form of a beautiful red-haired girl.
It was none other than Imela Ling'er.
She sized up the Moss Head before her. "Hey, Captain! Don't tell me this guy is going to be our next crewmate?"
"Yep, that's him!" Lott nodded.
"Him? A guy who can't find his way?" Ling'er looked at Zoro in amusement.
Lott waved a hand. "He may be hopeless with directions and a Moss Head, but his potential is pretty good."
"Hey, hey, hey! Who said I wanted to join your crew? Don't just stand there making things up about someone right in front of him! And who are you calling Moss Head?" Zoro stamped his feet and shouted.
Lott stood and walked up to Zoro. "Hey, Zoro! Our meeting here was arranged by fate. What do you say? Join my crew."
Before you continue