Chapter 120: Mock Town! Tatsuya Takes Action!
The going merry slowly sailed into the port of Jaya Island.
This was a "lawless zone" filled with violence, chaos, and the scent of blood.
Various pirate ships flying Jolly Rogers were already docked at the port.
"Listen up!"
On the deck, Nami stood with her hands on her hips, giving orders with a serious face to the trio preparing to disembark:
"To avoid unnecessary trouble, only Luffy, Zoro, and Tatsuya will go ashore to the town to ask about 'Sky Island'. The rest of you stay and guard the ship!"
Nami's gaze finally landed on Tatsuya, her eyes filled with worry and warning:
"Tatsuya, you are the Vice Captain..."
"You must keep an eye on those two! Don't let them cause trouble! Come back immediately after gathering information!"
Tatsuya looked at the excited Luffy and Zoro, who was tying his bandana, and felt an unprecedented headache.
He sighed helplessly and waved his hand: "Yeah, yeah, I'll do my best..."
...
Mock Town, on the main street.
The three walked side by side, most of the gazes directed at them filled with ill intent.
Their goal was a bar, as bars were the places where information circulated most freely.
Soon, they arrived at a bar that seemed to be the rowdiest.
Bang!
The Western-style swinging doors were pushed open.
The bar was filled with smoke and packed with ferocious pirates.
They were guzzling alcohol and loudly boasting about their bounties and kill counts.
Luffy walked straight to the center of the bar counter, took a deep breath, and asked loudly:
"Hey! Old man! Do you know how to get to 'Sky Island'?!"
The moment the words "Sky Island" were heard, the once rowdy and noisy bar seemed to have its mute button pressed.
All movement came to a standstill.
A deathly silence lasted for three seconds.
"Pfft..."
Then, a burst of piercing, raucous laughter erupted.
"Hahahaha!! Sky Island?! What kind of sleep-talking is this kid doing?!"
"Hey, hey, are you a brat who hasn't been weaned yet? No one believes in those kinds of legends anymore!"
The crowd parted, and a man wearing a pink vest with dyed short blonde hair and an arrogant gaze walked out.
Bellamy, Captain of the Bellamy Pirates, bounty 55 million Berries.
He held a bottle of liquor, mocking them to the fullest extent.
He walked up to Luffy and spat a mouthful of liquor in his face:
"Listen up, you fool obsessed with old-era fantasies. The era of pirates dreaming... is over!!"
"The City of Gold? The Emerald City? ONE PIECE? Those are all fantasies made up by a bunch of idiots!"
Bellamy grabbed Luffy's head and slammed it violently against the bar counter.
Bang!
Blood flowed freely.
"Luffy!" Zoro's eyes sharpened, his hand instantly gripping his sword hilt, killing intent overflowing.
However.
"Zoro."
Luffy slowly raised his head, letting the blood flow down his forehead, his gaze calm:
"This fight... we absolutely cannot fight it."
Zoro's hand, which was gripping his sword, froze in mid-air.
He looked into Luffy's eyes, stunned for a moment, and then immediately understood the Captain's meaning.
These people who spat on dreams and were obsessed with realistic gains... didn't even have the qualification to become their enemies.
"...I understand." Zoro let go of his sword.
The next few minutes were a one-sided humiliation.
Bellamy and his subordinates frantically beat the non-resisting Luffy and Zoro; liquor bottles were smashed over their heads, and glass shards flew everywhere.
The two were beaten until they were covered in blood, yet they remained like two statues, not making a sound.
To the side.
Tatsuya sat on a high stool, watching this scene, the glass in his hand developing cracks from his grip.
His fists clenched until they cracked, and the three tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, suppressing the urge to level this place to the ground.
Finally, Bellamy seemed to have grown tired of the beating.
He turned his head and looked at the black-haired youth who had been sitting to the side without acting, letting out a sneer:
"Hey, you, the kid with the sword."
Bellamy pointed at Tatsuya, his face full of disdain:
"Following an idiot Captain who doesn't even dare to fight back after being hit... don't you feel pathetic? Why don't you come to my ship and be a chore boy?"
Tatsuya didn't speak.
He had been waiting for those words.
He simply set down the cracked glass in his hand.
"Phew..."
Tatsuya stood up unhurriedly, elegantly straightened his collar, and then looked at Luffy with a smile:
"Luffy."
Tatsuya's voice was gentle, yet it carried a chill that made one's spine tingle:
"What you just said was... 'Zoro, this fight cannot be fought,' right?"
Luffy, his face covered in blood, was stunned and didn't have time to speak.
The smile on Tatsuya's lips vanished instantly, and his gaze became bone-chillingly cold in a flash:
"That means... you didn't restrict me, right?"
"Wha—"
Bellamy hadn't even reacted to the meaning of those words.
Swish!
Tatsuya's figure vanished from where he stood.
Too fast!
So fast that not even an afterimage could be seen!
The next second.
A large hand wrapped in black currents, like an iron pincer, slammed onto Bellamy's face!
"BOOM!!!!"
A massive explosion of sound.
With one hand, Tatsuya pressed Bellamy's head and slammed him with extreme violence into the thick solid wood bar counter!
Wood splinters flew as the solid wood counter shattered instantly; the entire bar seemed to shake.
"Argh!!!"
Bellamy let out a scream, blood instantly staining the tabletop red.
"You bastard!!"
Bellamy pushed against the ground with both hands, trying to struggle to his feet.
But that hand was like an immovable mountain.
It remained firmly pressed against the back of his head, leaving him unable to move, his face in intimate contact with the wood shards.
"Captain Bellamy!!"
Seeing this, Vice Captain Sarquiss was enraged and pulled out a dagger, attempting to sneak attack Tatsuya from behind.
Tatsuya didn't even turn his head.
"Get lost."
Without even looking, he delivered a backward kick.
"Bang!!"
The kick was as fast as lightning and as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Sarquiss didn't even manage a scream before he was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing through the bar wall and landing on the street outside, his life or death unknown.
The entire room went dead silent.
Tatsuya maintained his posture, one hand pressing down the head.
He lowered his head slightly, looking at the terrified, struggling "rookie" beneath him, his voice terrifyingly calm:
"Luffy has a heart as broad as the sea."
"He doesn't deign to bother with frogs in a well like you; that is his magnanimity."
Tatsuya's fingers tightened slightly, and Bellamy's skull made an overburdened cracking sound:
"But I am different..."
"I'm a narrow-minded person. I can't stand hearing others mock my companions, and I certainly can't stand hearing others spit on dreams."
"Since you think dreams are garbage..."
Tatsuya's gaze was icy:
"Then pray that in your so-called 'reality'... you can keep being this arrogant."
As his voice fell.
Tatsuya tossed him aside like trash.
Thud.
Bellamy, who had already rolled his eyes and fainted, was thrown into the corner like a dead dog.
The bar was silent.
That was the "Hyena" Bellamy with a 55 million bounty!
All the pirates who had been laughing just now looked at the black-haired youth with eyes full of terror.
Everyone held their breath, fearing they would attract the attention of this bringer of calamity.
No one dared to stop them.
Luffy climbed up from the ground and wiped the blood from his face.
He looked at Tatsuya; although his face was battered, his mouth split into his signature grin.
He didn't blame Tatsuya for disobeying orders; in those eyes, there was only a helpless but warm indulgence.
"Ah! Tatsuya..."
"Tch."
Zoro also stood up, untied his bandana, and gave a cold snort, though he couldn't hide the smile at the corner of his mouth:
"If you hadn't stopped me just now... actually, I would have wanted to act long ago too."
...
The three walked out of the deathly silent bar.
On the street outside, a burly man with several missing teeth was sitting on the ground eating a Cherry Pie.
Blackbeard — Marshall D. Teach.
He had witnessed everything that happened inside.
At this moment, holding half a Cherry Pie, his gaze was deep as he looked back and forth between Luffy and Tatsuya.
"Zehahahaha! That liquor really tasted good!"
Blackbeard first shouted at Luffy, his voice as loud as a bell:
"That fight just now, you won it, kid!"
"A man's dreams... will never end!!!!"
Luffy stopped his pace, looked back at this strange man, and didn't say anything.
When Tatsuya passed by Blackbeard's side.
"Hey, young man over there."
Blackbeard suddenly lowered his voice, dangerous light flashing in his eyes, as he let out that unique laugh:
"Zehahahaha... Nicely done."
"If it were me... I would have acted too! Zehahahaha!"
Tatsuya stopped walking.
He turned his head and gave Blackbeard a cold glance.
He didn't speak.
But the auras between the two collided violently in that instant; the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
After a moment, Tatsuya withdrew his gaze and walked straight ahead.
"Heh, I'm not the same as you. Blackbeard."
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