Carlmand grabbed the nervous Behrens and said, "This is how a man grows. If you never take this step, you'll never know what kind of scenery lies ahead."
"Come on, Behrens. Open the door to a new world with me!"
Seemingly influenced by Carlmand, Behrens looked up at the pink sign again.
Red Romance.
Carlmand said the young ladies inside were all very attentive and would help him relax in both body and mind.
He had never even held a girl's hand. Wouldn't this be moving too fast?
"Come on. You're lucky to have me as your guide."
Seeing that Behrens was still hesitating, Carlmand grabbed his hand and pushed open the doors of the Red Romance with practiced ease.
"Welcome. Right this way, honored guests."
As soon as the doors opened, two young beauties with alluring figures bowed at the entrance to welcome Carlmand and Behrens.
Their pink cheongsams showed off their figures to perfection, yet kept him from getting a clear look, leaving him feeling as though a little kitten were scratching at his heart.
Light makeup complemented their pretty faces, making them look especially captivating under the special lighting.
"Hahaha! Bring all your girls over. We'll each take two ladies and the most expensive package."
Carlmand set about choosing girls with practiced ease, while the girls' eyes lit up.
He had asked for the most expensive package right off the bat. Big spenders like this didn't come along every day. If they served him well, they might even get a generous tip.
Two honored guests, each wanting two beauties to serve them. Only four spots. Looks like I'll have to pull out all the stops.
"C-Carlmand!"
Under the girls' stares, Behrens felt uncomfortable all over. He didn't know whether to stand or sit, and although he wanted to leave, he was itching to stay.
"Leave everything to me."
Carlmand gave him a reassuring look and deliberately chose two experienced beauties to show Behrens the ropes.
"Sweet dreams, my brother."
And so, the two entered separate rooms and began a new round of adventures.
Two days passed in a flash. On the afternoon of the third day, Carlmand and Behrens returned to the harbor with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Clearly, after two and a half days, the two had become firm buddies.
After all, they were brothers who had fought in the same trenches. Behrens had also opened the door to a new world, suddenly discovering that there were so many wonderful things to do in life.
Kazu and the others successfully regrouped at the harbor, while Smoker and his Marines kept watching them from nearby.
"Hmph. Blond Hair Pirates, there's no escaping this time, even if you sprout wings."
Smoker had just personally called Aokiji, who was only a few dozen minutes away from Loguetown.
Kazu and the others were still dawdling at the harbor. Twenty minutes had already passed.
Carlmand and Behrens pulled Kazu aside to tell him about their wonderful experiences.
Makino was tidying things up aboard the ship, so they planned to chat about these things at the harbor.
After all, discussing this sort of thing in front of a married woman wasn't particularly appropriate.
Out at sea, Aokiji leisurely rode his beloved bicycle. The power of the Ice-Ice Fruit allowed him to travel unhindered even across the ocean.
"Well, well, I can finally see Loguetown. Hopefully I'm still in time, or Smoker will start pestering me again."
Ice formed along his route across the sea as Aokiji put in more effort and sped toward Loguetown.
"Hahaha! So Behrens is a man who follows his passions too."
"Exactly, exactly. On the second day, he was the one dragging me along. We'd agreed to visit a weapons shop to look at pistols for him, but instead of finding a pistol he liked, he went into action with his own gun and scored his second double kill."
Carlmand and Kazu's teasing made Behrens feel a little embarrassed.
"That's just a man's true nature. You two aren't any better, are you?"
Behrens argued his case. None of the three was innocent, and for a beginner like him, getting hooked at first was understandable.
"Hahaha! That's right. We should stop calling ourselves the Blond Hair Pirates and change our name to the Yellow Pirates."
While they were still chatting idly, Kazu's Observation Haki suddenly detected a terrifying presence rapidly approaching.
"This isn't good. It seems a monster is heading our way."
Combined with the power of the Space-Space Fruit, Kazu's Observation Haki covered a much larger area.
"A monster?"
Carlmand and Behrens had been fooling around, but Kazu's words immediately brought them to attention.
In their eyes, Kazu was already as strong as a monster. Anyone he called a monster was probably not to be underestimated.
"Hahahaha! Looks like we can't avoid this. Let's go greet our visitor, then."
Kazu was the first to gaze out to sea, where a black dot was rapidly approaching in the distance.
Without another word, Kazu first used the Space-Space Fruit to move his pirate ship to another stretch of sea, keeping the hull and Makino from getting hurt.
Seeing Kazu's unusual behavior, Smoker knew he had already noticed Kuzan's presence.
"Everyone, follow me and surround them!"
Although Smoker was still wrapped in bandages, he was the first to charge to the front.
"Her Kazi, you have nowhere left to run."
Smoker's declaration of victory drew Kazu's attention.
Kazu turned and saw that Smoker had clearly planned this, and knew that the approaching person must be a powerful Marine.
"So you called in reinforcements."
"Traveling across the sea alone to Loguetown, with such a terrifying presence... I'd say it's Marine Admiral Aokiji."
With clear reasoning, Kazu directly deduced the identity of the formidable enemy about to arrive.
"Hmph. Since you know Kuzan is coming, prepare to be arrested."
Smoker was very confident in his friend's strength.
For someone who routinely talked back to his superiors to trust a person so completely was enough to show that Aokiji's formidable strength was not merely for show.
"I originally wanted to let you off, since you're a Marine with a sense of justice. After all, even as a pirate, I hope the world can become a better place."
"But putting my companions in danger is something I cannot tolerate."
This truly was beyond Kazu's expectations. He had never imagined that a Marine Admiral would travel such a long way for a small-time pirate with a bounty of two hundred million.
And he had come so quickly, too. Riding his bicycle alone, Aokiji was faster than a Marine warship.
Still, Kazu's confidence in his own abilities also played a part. He was confident that he could escape safely with his pirate crew no matter how they were surrounded and attacked.
The Space-Space Fruit was simply that unreasonable. If he couldn't win, he could use Space Swap on the entire ship and escape the waters where they were surrounded.
Even so, Smoker's actions had left him no choice but to get serious.
This had already crossed his bottom line.