The sharp-faced man's expression lit up the moment he heard about money. Ignoring the dirt on the little boy, he grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed him.
"Kid, is that true? You've got a lot of money?"
Only then did the sharp-faced man take a good look at the boy.
One look was all it took to give him a shock!
After examining the fabric of the boy's tattered clothes, which had been torn almost to strips, the sharp-faced man suddenly realized something!
The boy's clothes were made of high-quality fabric that ordinary people couldn't afford.
The disgust and disdain vanished from the sharp-faced man's face. Beaming and rubbing his palms together, he said ingratiatingly,
"Hehe, kid... Oh! Little friend, what's your name?"
The boy still looked anxious, desperate to save his parents, and so he didn't seem to notice the sharp-faced man's change of attitude. He said,
"My name is Ages. Mister, please hurry and save my mom and dad."
That was right. The little boy in ragged clothes, his face full of anxiety, was Ages.
The sharp-faced man smiled broadly and said with concern,
"So your name is Ages. Don't worry, Ages. I'll take you to the leader now. He'll definitely send men to save your mom and dad. Come on, follow me."
The sharp-faced man then led Ages toward a gigantic pirate ship in the distance, with three decks and a black panther figurehead.
As the sharp-faced man headed toward the gigantic pirate ship, Ages narrowed his eyes behind him. He watched the man's back, and a bone-chilling glint flashed in his eyes.
The sharp-faced man kept asking Ages all sorts of questions along the way.
"Ages, where are you from?"
"Ages, what are your mom and dad's names?"
"Ages, ..."
But Ages had already prepared answers for everything and replied without hesitation.
Before they knew it, the two had reached the gigantic pirate ship.
Just as the sharp-faced man was about to ask Ages more questions, a raspy voice rang out.
"Hey, Monkey, why are you back instead of accepting your loss and going on patrol? And you brought a kid with you. What, is he your bastard son? Why's he dressed in such rags? Can't you afford to buy your bastard son some clothes?"
The sharp-faced man looked toward the voice and cursed at the raspy-voiced man.
"Fuck off, Duck! You cheated, and I haven't settled that score with you yet! And quit spewing shit! This ki... Ages is my friend. I'm taking him to see the leader about something important. I'll deal with you later."
Ignoring the raspy-voiced man, who was dumbfounded by the tirade, the sharp-faced man led Ages toward the top deck...
The raspy-voiced man stood there in the wind, completely bewildered, and said,
"What got into Monkey today?"
"Stop! The leader is resting his eyes inside. You can't go in."
A guard at the door stopped the sharp-faced man and shouted.
The sharp-faced man didn't leave. Instead, he leaned close to the guard's ear and whispered a few words...
After listening to him, the guard's eyes flashed with greed. He said softly,
"Go on in."
"Ages, once we're inside, tell the leader what happened. He'll help you. Remember, don't say anything out of turn," the sharp-faced man instructed.
Only after Ages nodded did the sharp-faced man push the door open and lead him inside.
In the room on the third deck, a tall man sat on the sofa in the center. He had light purple hair, a white bandanna tied around his head, golden armor, diamond-studded gauntlets, and a great black cape with white trim.
The tall man was resting his eyes with his left hand propping up his cheek. When he heard the noise at the door, his eyes snapped open. His face filled with anger, and he said in a low voice,
"Didn't I tell you not to disturb me during my afternoon rest? Didn't you hear me?"
Bang!
The tall man slapped the sofa after speaking, showing his mood.
Hearing the leader's angry shout, the sharp-faced man instinctively shrank back, trembling with fear.
But when he thought of the considerable sum of money Ages had mentioned, the sharp-faced man worked up his courage. Wearing an ingratiating expression, he said obsequiously,
"Hehe, boss, it's me, Monkey. I got some good news today and couldn't wait to report it to you. That's why I disturbed you. I deserve to die. I'll slap my own face."
The sharp-faced man slapped himself hard across the face, then put on a thoroughly servile, flattering expression.
The tall man's expression improved a little at the sharp-faced man's obsequiousness, but he still snorted and said coldly,
"Hmph. The good news you brought had better satisfy me, or you know what'll happen."
The sharp-faced man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, nodding repeatedly and rubbing his palms together as he fawned,
"Yes, yes, yes."
The sharp-faced man bowed and scraped before the tall man, leaning close to whisper in his ear.
As he listened to the sharp-faced man's good news, the tall man's displeased frown eased, and a rare look of satisfaction appeared on his face. He patted the sharp-faced man's shoulder and said,
"Hahaha, good, good. You did well. If we really do profit from this, I'll reward you handsomely."
Hearing the leader's words, the sharp-faced man looked thrilled and was beside himself with excitement.
"Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss..."
The tall man ignored the sharp-faced man and looked at Ages instead.
"Kid, come here."
The sharp-faced man hurried over to Ages and said,
"Ages, let me introduce him. The man before you is the overlord of the East Blue, with over five thousand men and fifty pirate ships under his command-the great pirate Leader Don Krieg, with a bounty of seventeen million Beli!"
Krieg clearly enjoyed the sharp-faced man's flattery. He smiled and said,
"That's right, I'm Krieg. Kid, you said your parents are stranded on an uninhabited island, and you went out to sea on your own to ask for help, right?"
Ages looked at the pirate with the highest bounty in the East Blue (Arlong had not yet arrived in the East Blue), his face full of urgency, and said,
"Yes. My mom and dad and I went out to sea for fun, but then we ran into a storm. Thank goodness we survived, but we got stranded on an island. Mister, please hurry and save my parents."