"What kind of ability is that?"
"You can actually change the trajectory of the bullets I fire."
Kazu had no idea whether the young man had never been beaten down by society or whether this was simply how people in this world were.
He actually asked Kazu about his ability to his face, then patiently waited for an explanation.
"Hahaha, want to know?"
"Beat me, and I'll tell you everything."
Kazu extended his right hand and curled his index finger, beckoning the young man to come at him again.
"Tch, an evil pirate, just as I thought."
The young man hadn't gotten the answer he wanted, so he stopped asking.
Since Kazu could change a bullet's trajectory on the fly, he would fight him up close and suddenly fire at point-blank range. He refused to believe Kazu could react in time.
With a plan in mind, the young man charged over, gun in hand.
Kazu stood still, quietly watching the young man rush toward him.
Gripping the barrel, the young man used his gun as a club and swung straight at Kazu's head.
Kazu could tell that the young man didn't know Armament Haki, but his perception was extremely keen. He had most likely awakened Observation Haki. No wonder he had become the best sniper in his hometown.
Still, that little bit of skill wasn't nearly enough.
Relying on his own Observation Haki, Kazu dodged the young man's attacks with ease.
The young man swung his gun in close combat, occasionally managing to pull the trigger and fire a couple of shots. It reminded Kazu of a term.
Gun fu.
Rather than purely pursuing shooting skills, it combined marksmanship with martial arts. It had something of the Ranger class from a game he had played in his previous life.
They exchanged blows for several minutes. Although Kazu never fought back, even an idiot could see the enormous gap between them.
The young man couldn't hurt Kazu at all, and he grew more anxious as the fight went on.
"All right, playtime is over."
As soon as Kazu finished speaking, he used Space Swap to appear behind the young man and slapped him right on the back of the head.
Smack!
With a crisp smack, Kazu knocked the young man straight to the ground. The intense pain made him clutch the back of his head and cry out.
"Can you listen to what I'm saying now?"
Kazu slowly walked back to Makino's side. With tears gathering at the corners of his eyes from the pain, the young man stubbornly raised his head and watched Kazu act as though nothing had happened.
"They all went to take a shit in the sea? How do you expect me to believe that? That's just too absurd."
The young man considered himself to have some brains. He would never believe nonsense like that.
But he was at a disadvantage. He couldn't beat the bastard in front of him, so he could only settle down and listen to his nonsense.
"They were the ones who said they wanted to take a shit in the sea. I simply granted their wish."
"Of course, they might not have been too happy with how I granted it."
"I crushed them into a mass of flesh and blood and tossed them into the sea. You could call it a contribution to the ocean."
In an airy tone, Kazu recounted his great achievements.
Only then did the young man realize that the pirates he had chased all this way were dead. By now, they might well be repenting inside some fish's belly.
"So they're all dead?"
"Damn it. I didn't get to avenge them with my own hands. Those bastards got off easy."
The young man pounded the ground with both hands, his expression filled with frustration. Clearly, he bore a considerable grudge against those pirates. No wonder he had chased them all this way.
The young man didn't suspect Kazu of lying to him, either. Someone so powerful had no need to deceive him.
Besides, now that he had calmed down, he could hear the seriousness in Kazu's voice.
Kazu took three chairs, a small table, two bottles of fine liquor, and a bottle of orange juice out of his separate space.
"My name is Kazu. I've got fine liquor, and you've got a story. Why not tell it? Keeping it bottled up won't do you any good."
Kazu handed the orange juice to Makino, sat down, and poured himself a glass of liquor. He took a sip, savoring its flavor.
The young man looked at Kazu with a complicated expression. This man had killed Silco and the others, avenging his great grudge. He ought to thank him.
But he still felt some regret over not having taken revenge with his own hands.
Forget it. Maybe this is fate. I'm always one step too late.
Judging by the outcome, his great grudge had been avenged. That was a comfort, at least.
The young man got up, sat in one of the chairs, and picked up the liquor, gulping it straight down.
"Hahaha, there's plenty of liquor. No need to rush."
Kazu could tell that the young man seemed to have sorted things out. Getting thoroughly drunk would be good for him.
He still had to face life. He could use a drunken binge to bring the past to a close. After all, people had to look ahead.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
"Hah..."
The young man wiped his mouth and said with a somewhat forlorn expression, "My name is Behrens. My hometown was a village on Kodiros Island in the East Blue. The people there made their living growing fruit trees, fishing, and hunting in the mountains."
"The residents of Kodiros Island had always lived and worked in peace, but a band of evil pirates arrived a little over half a month ago."
"That's right, those beasts led by Silco. When they came across towns, they would plunder them repeatedly rather than kill people in large numbers. But when they came across small villages, where there wasn't much profit to be had, they would burn, kill, and loot everything in one go."
"My hometown was destroyed by those bastards. Hundreds of people were killed, including my parents. Blood soaked the earth, and fire consumed the houses."
"As for me, I happened to be out fishing that day, so I wasn't in the village."
"Some of the other young, able-bodied men had gone with me, while others had gone hunting in the mountains. There weren't many young men left in the village."
"We hated Silco and his men to the bone. Several dozen of us formed three teams and set off in different directions to hunt them down. I was the strongest, so to ensure we could travel quickly, I formed a team of one, while the others split into two teams."
"After chasing them for over half a month, I finally reached this island. Then I met you."
Behrens recounted what had happened to him, explaining the blood feud between him and Silco's men.
Kazu rubbed his chin. No wonder this fellow hated Silco so much. His hometown had been wiped out while he was away, leaving only a few dozen survivors. Anyone in his position would have hunted them down.
"I see. Behrens, you have my condolences for what you've been through."
"But you have to look ahead in life. The most direct and effective way to keep a tragedy from happening again is to grow stronger."
"You might have a wife and children someday. You wouldn't want a tragedy like this to happen again, would you?"
"That's how this awful, chaotic age works. If you aren't strong, all you can do is silently endure the cruelty of fate."
"As for me, my fate is in my own hands. I'll use my strength to protect the people I want to protect."
Kazu's words left Behrens deeply convinced.
"That's right. I still have to look ahead in life."
Behrens abruptly raised his head and looked at Kazu across from him. "Mr. Kazu, you're so strong. Could you help me grow stronger?"
"I want to have enough strength to protect the people I care about in this chaotic age, too."