"With such strength, how could he be a nobody?" Redfield watched as Ren and Matsuri's retreating figures disappeared, along with the terrified expressions of the pirates surrounding the street, and couldn't help but remark.
His Observation Haki was so strong it defied normal conventions, allowing him to even see through a person's innermost thoughts. Thus, he could strongly sense that man's power.
That's right. Although Ren hadn't made a single move, not even releasing a hint of his aura, his presence couldn't be ignored in the eyes of the strong. The strength of the woman who had just acted, while not bad, was nothing in comparison.
However, it might also be that the temptation of Captain John's treasure was simply too great, causing even those who had been unknown in the great seas to emerge one by one.
Redfield never believed that the world's strong were only those on the surface. The world was vast.
His gaze quickly returned from Ren, sweeping across the pirates who had once again gathered on the street like rats in a sewer, and he revealed an expression of disgust.
"Disgusting..."
Meanwhile, Ren was also wondering why the Red Count would appear in a place like this. Based on this man's personality, he should be extremely reclusive, probably not very interested in treasures either. Unexpectedly, he would wade into these murky waters.
"Lord Ren, there seems to be a tavern ahead, probably with lodging too," Matsuri glanced around and spotted a bar where many drunken pirates were lying scattered about the entrance.
Currently, there were countless pirates from outside on the island, yet there were very few taverns. Without some status, one couldn't possibly drink in a tavern.
Seeing Ren and Matsuri dressed so neatly, most of these people didn't dare to harbor any ill intentions and quickly made a path for them. Originally, Matsuri was quite eye-catching. She had a good figure and wasn't wearing a traditional kimono, but a modified one.
The hem of the kimono only reached halfway down her thighs, and her fair yet firm thighs looked like mutton jade.
Yet not a single pirate dared to look up at her.
Bottom-tier pirates like them understood most importantly who they could and couldn't provoke. Those three idiots earlier lacked such judgment, which was why they died leaving only an ugly human skin.
"Creak—"
Matsuri pushed open the tavern door, and the old creaking door let out a piercing sound. This sound broke through the noisy clamor inside the tavern. The pirates shouting loudly inside fell silent all at once, their gazes turning toward Ren in unison.
A moment later, a scar-faced pirate spat on the ground with annoyance, then sneered at Ren, "Another blind fool has come in, has he?"
After this person spoke first, the others came to their senses, one after another starting to roar. At the same time, they kept forcefully slamming their wine glasses on the tables, creating a tremendous noise.
"Kid, this isn't a place for arrogant bastards like you. Get the hell out of here now!"
"Hehehe, but the woman can stay behind!"
"Now this is top-quality stuff!"
These pirates mostly felt that since they could hold their ground in this tavern, they were different from the low-tier pirates outside, so they had instead become rampant.
Matsuri's face showed disgust.
"Lord Ren, are all pirates like this?" She had originally thought being a pirate was a very impressive thing. Before, she had always heard July boasting through the Den Den Mushi about how his bounty had increased again and again, which had made her a little envious.
However, everything she had seen today obviously made Matsuri feel extremely disgusted.
These pirates were all full of dirty talk; their ugly hearts were filthier than their dirty bodies. People like this would be sent to the mines in Kuri.
"Most are," Ren said frankly, "Aren't pirates just criminals?"
He couldn't expect pirates to be particularly elegant or polite. In reality, every single pirate was the kind of scum who got off easy with just death.
"Huh? Then why should we become pirates?" Matsuri retorted.
"That's a question for the World Government and those idiots in the Marines," Ren said. "Don't be influenced by identities others define for us. We just need to be ourselves."
In these few short seconds that Ren and Matsuri were conversing, the people in the tavern felt extremely angered.
"Kid, you dare ignore us?" A tall man stood up, walking toward Ren like a wall while continuously flexing his wrists, as if planning to use his fists, larger than a wok, to smash Ren's head like a watermelon.
"Again..." Matsuri sighed, shaking her head helplessly.
But this time, before she even had a chance to draw her sword, a much taller figure loomed over the man's back.
"Teacher Kaido," who had been drinking alone in a corner, had somehow stood up, grabbed the man's arm, and then casually broke it.
Ren heard a "crack," and the man's arm twisted grotesquely, the broken bone piercing through his muscle and exposed to the air.
"Ahhh—"
The man writhed in pain on the ground but didn't dare to utter a harsh word to Kaido.
Just because he was Kaido!
The pirate with a bounty of over 1.2 billion berries!
"Get out, trash!" Kaido looked down at him and coldly spat out these five words. Instantly, the other man scrambled out of the bar, leaving only a trail of fresh blood on the floor.
Matsuri's hand remained on her sword hilt. Although Kaido had helped them for some reason, she didn't let her guard down.
"Relax, I mean no harm," Kaido waved generously and walked toward the bar. The tavern suddenly became deathly quiet, as if empty. "Want something to drink?"
"Are you the owner here? Get us a room," Matsuri didn't recognize him and thought Kaido was the owner of this tavern.
"Owner? That guy's probably got maggots in his corpse by now. My name is Kaido, and I'm a pirate!" Kaido casually picked up a small bottle of wine and tossed it toward Ren.
"As for a room, one just opened up," Kaido said with a laugh. It was obvious that the room that had just become available belonged to that guy.
[
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