York was leisurely embracing Gunko as he walked towards Vice Admiral Tsuru's location. Suddenly, a young woman with long, sea-blue wavy hair jumped out from a side alley, blocking his path.
"Hi, handsome!"
This girl was also dressed very coolly for the festival, but compared to Tsuru's mature generosity, she was a bit more playfully conservative. Her upper body featured a sea-blue swimsuit—the exact same color as her hair—layered with a short-sleeved, cropped jacket. Her lower body was clad in a pair of tight jeans that stopped just below her knees. It perfectly showcased her youthful yet ample assets without appearing vulgar or deliberately provocative.
She brushed a long strand of blue hair behind her ear and winked her left eye at York, laying on the flirtation thick.
"Can I get to know you?"
York, still keeping his arm securely wrapped around Gunko, stopped in his tracks. He looked the girl up and down, asking with a highly amused smile, "You don't know who I am?"
"Huh? Are you supposed to be famous?" the girl countered, tilting her head and seemingly genuinely unaware.
York chuckled, no longer dwelling on it, and instead played along.
"What's your name? How old are you? And what exactly do you hope to accomplish by getting to know me?"
The girl took a confident step forward, leaning closely towards York's side. Her body didn't actually touch him, but she displayed an actively intimate, suggestive posture.
"My name is Whitey Bay. I'm 16 this year, and as for knowing you..."
Whitey Bay's beautiful eyes flicked briefly toward Gunko beside York. She showed absolutely no reaction, acting as if she hadn't seen a single thing, silently eating the yakisoba in her hand.
Seeing no resistance from the partner, Whitey Bay boldly placed her hand on York's shoulder—specifically the one furthest away from Gunko.
"Knowing you... of course, I want to have some pleasant pirate activities with you!"
As she spoke, her hand on York's shoulder ventured further, sliding daringly down towards his chest, her suggestive meaning seemingly very obvious.
York turned his head and silently watched her little movements, responding with a wicked smile. "Is that so? Then I'm really looking forward to it!"
As an experienced Emperor who had conquered four exceptional women, he could tell at a single glance from her rigid micro-expressions that this little girl was entirely inexperienced. This meant that either this girl had only recently set sail, or she harbored deeply ill intentions from the absolute start.
And then, she even freely offered her real name: Whitey Bay.
York wasn't exactly sure when Whitey Bay officially joined Whitebeard's core crew, but as a female pirate who would eventually earn the terrifying New World title of "Ice Witch," even if she was currently in her naive youth, she shouldn't be a dissolute, easily bought woman.
So, in summary: this little girl was deliberately using her beauty to fish. Although her specific ultimate purpose was unclear, she was, in short, playing with absolute fire.
And York, currently acting as Whitebeard's geopolitical rival and 'old acquaintance,' felt it entirely necessary to personally teach this future niece what it truly meant to play with fire and get burned!
At sixteen, she was legally and practically an adult in the brutal world of pirates.
Whitey Bay's delicate hand slowly roamed over York's chest, while her mind was rapidly contemplating her devious plan.
'Let's see how much treasure I can squeeze out of this arrogant fool before leaving him high and dry,' she thought to herself.
As an "old pirate" who had embarked on the treacherous pirate path at a very young age, she knew very well how to weaponize her beauty to achieve her goals. And her purpose in approaching York was very simple from the beginning. It wasn't what she said about wanting to have "fun" with him; it was pure, unadulterated mischief!
She once knew a close female friend who had been viciously bullied by a scumbag pirate captain. To get revenge, she used a honey trap to deceive the scumbag in return. She not only tricked him into revealing his buried treasure coordinates but also teamed up with her friend to give him a brutal beating.
From then on, she developed this particular, dangerous pleasure. She specialized in seducing arrogant male pirates who flaunted female companions, toying with their fragile egos, scamming their hard-earned treasures, and amusing herself.
This journey, of course, wasn't always smooth sailing. For example, she had recently crashed and burned spectacularly when trying a scheme on Whitebeard, ultimately being forced to become his daughter to survive.
However, before that monumental failure, although there were occasional close calls, she always managed to turn danger into safety and successfully achieved her goal of teaching scumbags a harsh lesson. This absolute thrill of dancing on a tightrope gave her the greatest mental high, just like someone addicted to a dangerous drug. She knew it wasn't good, she knew it was lethal, but she just couldn't stop herself.
"Hey~ handsome," Whitey Bay purred, "how about we change places to chat somewhere a bit more... private?"
She gestured subtly in a certain direction with her eyes. That was the direction of the upper hot spring street, specifically where the high-end hot spring inns were located.
"Alright~!" York responded with a blinding smile. With a swift backhand, he effortlessly caught the small hand that was playing on his chest.
A flicker of instinctive disgust passed through Whitey Bay's eyes, but at the exact same time, a massive thrill of a successful scheme surged within her.
York didn't rush to use his abilities; he simply held Whitey Bay's small hand, caressing it gently. It was fair, smooth, and softer than any of his combat-hardened women. However, this was merely a biological advantage brought by her youth, and it certainly didn't mean that Whitey Bay was truly more beautiful or captivating than his Queens.
Of course, Whitey Bay's looks weren't bad in the slightest; at her peak, she reached a level that could indeed make York's heart stir.
And so, the Flame Emperor—with his right arm firmly around Gunko's waist and his left hand holding Whitey Bay's hand—allowed himself to be led by the Ice Witch toward the hot spring inn street...
"YOSH! The Pirate Triathlon is about to officially begin!!"
After Buena Festa finished his various emotion-stirring, bloodthirsty speeches over the transponder snails, he had the backstage crew switch the camera feeds. The massive screens around the castle immediately displayed the chaotic starting line of the upcoming competition.
"Fighting! Swimming! Escaping! Or you could just say... absolute slaughter!" Festa cackled into the microphone. "This is our Pirates' Triathlon!!"
Buena Festa enthusiastically began to introduce the brutal rules of the competition to the roaring crowds.
"This competition starts right here at the Water Park! You will head south along the primary river waterway! Swim all the way to the open sea, then navigate around the eastern volcano, and land on the far east side of the island! From there, run one complete lap around the central lake!"
"During this entire process... NO weapons or combat methods are prohibited! Competitors can ruthlessly attack other competitors at any given time! Killing your rivals is perfectly fine and highly encouraged!!"
"Finally! Only the first three survivors to return to the Water Park will receive the grand rewards of this competition!!"
"First place! The Paramecia-type Horu Horu no Mi!! (Horm-Horm Fruit)"
"Second place! 30 Million Berries in cold, hard cash!!"
"Third place! A legendary blade ranked among the Ryo Wazamono (Fifty Skillful Grade Swords)!!"
The incredibly high-value rewards further ignited the absolute fanaticism of the participating pirates, and the fervent, bloodthirsty cheers never stopped echoing from the starting line.
Emporio Ivankov stood tall in the middle of the crowded starting blocks, his eyes filled with absolute longing for first place.
'The Paramecia-type Horu Horu no Mi! Oh, I will definitely make you mine!!' Ivankov thought, striking a dynamic pose.
Not far from him, a tall, lanky young man wearing a yellow shirt and a knit beanie sighed leisurely, licking an ice cream cone.
"The Horu Horu no Mi, huh? I don't really want it~~" the undercover Borsalino drawled lazily out loud. "Maybe I'll just take the 30 Million Berries for second place and call it a day."
The knit-cap youth's arrogant, lazy words were easily heard by the surrounding, heavily armed pirates, who immediately shot him deeply annoyed, murderous glares.
"Big talk for a string bean! Just taking second place is enough?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" a massive pirate roared, drawing his cutlass.
Borsalino raised his free hand, silently pressing down the brim of his knit cap, simultaneously obscuring his face from the cameras.
"I can't help it," Borsalino sighed lazily. "As a lowly newcomer, my monthly salary is really just too low. The second-place cash reward is what I want most right now to pay off my tabs."
The pirate who had mocked him let out a vicious scoff.
"Don't worry about your tabs, kid! Someone as scrawny as you, let alone second place, definitely won't even secure third place! Because the man who will violently conquer the top three... will definitely be me, 'Steel Fist' Valentine!!"
Borsalino no longer bothered to retort. He only sighed deeply, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Kowai ne~~" (How scary~~)
BANG!!
With the deafening sound of a flintlock starting gun, the hundreds of pirates participating in the Pirate Triathlon violently leaped from the platform into the water.
Before even hitting the surface of the pool, they had already begun to ruthlessly slaughter each other in mid-air.
For a time, punches, kicks, gunshots, and lethal sword slashes filled the air. Crimson blood spilled violently into the pool connecting the water park and the river channel, rapidly dyeing the crystal-clear water a horrifying, muddy red.
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