Seeing the figure leave, Vic quickly led the two women to the bar, Shakky's Rip-off Bar, located in 13GR.
That's right! Vic is planning to use Shakky, his informant, to cast another wide net. He believes that eventually, he'll catch the fish he wants.
After entering the bar, the three of them sat at the bar.
" Rebecca, Wendy, there's something I forgot to tell the shift leaders earlier, I need to go and explain it now."
"You two stay here and have something to drink, don't wander off, wait for me to come back!" Vic said to the two women.
"Okay, hurry back, we're going to the amusement Paradise later!"
Vic nodded, then left the bar with a knowing look in Shakky's eyes.
An hour later, Vic returned to the bar, his clothes were somewhat torn, but he was not injured.
Vic sat down at the bar amidst Shakky's surprised expression.
"Boss lady, give me a good drink, money's no object!" Vic said with a smile to Shakky.
Rebecca and Wendy, having finished drinking, were looking at Vic with resentment.
She suddenly abandoned the two of them and left, leaving them to drink their beverages while the proprietress bombarded them with questions.
The two naive young girls had all their information extracted from them, and their identities as new recruits in the navy were also discovered.
Vic knew that Rebecca and Shakky were powerless against Shakky, but he wouldn't harm them.
Vic saw an interesting person, an idea popped into his head, and he hurriedly left the bar.
"Handsome young man, your drink is here. This is the best drink we have here, hehe!" Shakky served Vic a drink with a smile.
Vic picked up the glass and took a sip. His face immediately darkened. Wasn't this the same Nine-Bend liquor that Smoker had brought to the cabin? The cheapest kind.
Vic considered a possibility: Shakky was planning to extort money from him. His expression darkened. Could it be that her Observation Haki had sensed what had just happened? Vic wondered.
"Boss lady, isn't your employee Old Ray here? I heard he's really good at coating!"
Vic regained his composure and inquired about Rayleigh, giving the woman a warning that the Navy already knew Rayleigh was there.
This is actually an unspoken understanding; as long as Rayleigh doesn't cause trouble, the Navy won't interfere.
After all, he is a top-tier expert; a mishap could result in devastating losses.
"Oh, Old Ray, maybe he went gambling, or maybe he went to see some young girls. I'm not really sure, haha!"
Shakky said without changing her expression.
"What a shrewd old fox!" Vic remarked.
"It's like this, ma'am, I heard you also sell information here. I have some information I'd like to inquire about. I wonder if you do this business?"
Vic wasn't angry; he still smiled.
"Why not? It's about making money, tell me why."
Shakky looked calm, as if she had known Vic's purpose all along.
"Here's the thing, I want to know the location of Nagayama Black Gold, and how much it costs?" Vic asked earnestly.
"This message is free; consider it a complimentary drink."
But that drink you just had was the best I have here; it costs 20 million Beli a glass.
Also, the drinks for these two ladies are on me. Please come pick them up in a month.
I don't care if there's any concrete information, haha!
Shakky rested her elbows on the bar, propped her chin on her hands, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and looked at Vic with a smile.
"Alright, this drink is definitely worth the price. I'll come back in a month to collect the intelligence!" Vic replied with a smile.
Vic finished his drink in one gulp, leaving behind 20 million Beli, and then left the bar with Rebecca.
He believed in Shakky's abilities; since she had promised Vic, there was a high chance that the information would come to fruition.
At least she had prior intelligence on this matter, and now all she needed to do was dig deeper. Vic trusted Shakky's credibility.
Vic, leading the way, was accompanied by two newbies with question marks above their heads.
He was heading in the direction of the amusement park in Zone 30. Vic was now going to fulfill his promise to Rebecca, and he didn't want to explain what happened in the bar right now.
Just as Vic reached the bridge connecting areas 20 and 30, Vic two companions were blocked by three people.
The leader was a man with a yellow Straw Hat, red hair, and a wiry appearance.
He was a head shorter Vic, wore a black cloak, had a rapier at his waist, and wore large slippers.
The most noticeable feature is the three thin scars around his left eye.
The scars reveal the battle was extremely dangerous; had one not been able to retreat in time, one might have lost their left eyeball. These three scars are quite striking.
Two men followed behind him. One carried a long gun on his back, had long black hair, a muscular physique, and wise eyes.
The other was a very fat man who didn't even realize he was fat. He was still eating meat, with a round face, wearing goggles, a white and green striped short-sleeved shirt, and a flintlock pistol at his waist. He looked like a glutton.
Before Vic and his two companions even got close to the connecting bridge, they were being stared at by three men, especially the leader, whose eyes were filled with resentment, as if Vic owed him a lot of money.
"I planted this tree, I paved this road; if you want to pass, leave your toll."
Hand over all your money, or we'll have to forcibly take it from you!
The Straw Hat shouted loudly, but his tone was somewhat nonchalant. The two behind him had no expression, except for a twitching at the corner of their mouths.
This scene is common in Sabaody and quickly attracted some onlookers.
"Don't even think about it! If you want my money, you'll have to step over my dead body! Come on!" Vic shouted back, his voice filled with an indomitable spirit.
Rebecca and Wendy were both stunned. This wasn't right; was Vic always this tough?
I don't quite understand. But it doesn't matter that they don't understand; the two have already drawn their swords against each other, and the power is astonishing!
Although only the guy wearing the Straw Hat was making a move on the other side, he had already fought Vic to a draw. He was also Haki and his swordsmanship was not weak either.
The fight really came out of nowhere. They started fighting right after exchanging a few words. It felt a bit abrupt, but since Vic was already fighting someone, the two women couldn't help but worry.
The fight between the two had attracted a large crowd of onlookers; such a duel between swordsmen of this caliber was a rare sight.
Their swordsmanship had far surpassed that of a sword master; the power of each strike was breathtaking and incredibly oppressive.
The massive slashes clashed back and forth, leaving the arena in a terrible state of destruction.
"That guy wearing Straw Hat is Red-Haired Shanks, the captain of the Red Hair Pirates from the New World."
"That's a pirate crew that thrives in the New World, how could they appear in the first half of the Grand Line?"
"I heard that Red-Hair suffered a defeat in the New World recently. Is he fleeing back to the first half of the Grand Line?"
"What are you thinking? He came back after a sword duel with a guy named Hawk-Eye. How could a man like that possibly be defeated!"
"Yes, that's a man with powerful Conqueror's Haki, a potential king!"
"Those two are really strong. They even cut the island in half. Luckily, they were quite restrained, otherwise the island would have sunk."
Vic had no time to pay attention to the astonishment and discussion of those around him; his battle with Red-Hair was already intense.
Their swordsmanship is evenly matched, but in terms of Haki, Vic's Observation Haki is slightly stronger, while his Armament Haki is weaker.
However, Vic has greater speed, strength, and endurance, so the two are evenly matched.
Vic is currently fighting Red-Haired Shanks by imbuing his dual swords with Armament Haki, since his swords are of a very low level.
Shanks is currently fighting him with the Supreme Great Grade Sword Gryphon, which is not yet imbued with Armament Haki.
Vic is now using his incredible speed to launch a furious attack on Shanks.
Vic spun rapidly like a top with black blades, hurtling towards Shanks.
Shanks could only touch Gryphon and move on, leaving behind some sparks; Vic's strength and speed surpassed Shanks'.
After a few attacks, Shanks found a way to counter it, leaping into the air and striking the center of the target.
Vic was prepared for this; a Black Blade was already waiting above.
Shanks' attempt failed again. Vic stopped spinning, and a black Sword Gang flew out, hurtling towards Shanks at high speed.
Shanks dared not be careless; Vic's slashing speed was faster than his own, and Shanks could only use Gryphon to block.
Shanks's slash was an attack imbued with Haki, and Vic dared not be careless, so he could only use immense strength to intercept it.
"Wow, that's amazing! If anyone got close to it, they'd be sliced into pieces in no time!"
"This is truly a life-or-death battle, it's so intense!"
On the battlefield, both of them were very fast, leaping and attacking and counterattacking in various places. People could see the two of them crossing their swords in several places at the same time.
Of course, all of these were afterimages; the two real bodies were constantly moving at high speed with no fixed location. The dense metallic clanging sounds coming from the arena showed just how intense the battle was.