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Chapter 37 is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
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"Heh, just a nobody not worth mentioning. Ronel Shiro!"
Shiro flashed a wide, toothy grin, gesturing for the girl to stay safely behind him.
"Tell you what, fatty. How about you do me a solid and let this slide? That way, nobody gets hurt."
"Hmph, let it slide? Who the hell do you think you are?!" Uris barked, initially ready to reject the demand outright. But as his gaze shifted and locked onto the stunningly beautiful girl hiding behind Shiro, a lecherous smirk twisted his lips. He quickly changed his tune. "Actually, it's not completely off the table. Let that little lady behind you keep us company for the night, and we can talk!"
"Aki, who is this guy? Does he actually stand a chance?"
A middle-aged man suddenly nervously stepped out from the trembling crowd of villagers, whispering frantically to the girl.
"I… I don't know," Aki replied, her voice shaking slightly. "But I think he can! He's the one who saved me just now. The pirate chasing me didn't even last a single strike against him!"
Despite her uncertainty, she chose to put her faith in Shiro.
"You think?! Do you realize you're going to get us all killed!" The middle-aged man exploded in terror and rage, jabbing an accusing finger at Aki's nose. It was as if he had already decided that if Shiro lost, it would be entirely her fault.
"Chill out, old man. Relax," Shiro suddenly interrupted, glancing over his shoulder with a pleasant smile. "I'm going to win. And besides, whether I win or lose has absolutely nothing to do with her."
He seemed completely casual, but the middle-aged man caught a terrifying, icy glint hidden in Shiro's narrowed eyes. A shiver ran down his spine, forcing the villager to take a terrified step back.
"Die!"
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, a savage roar of triumph erupted directly behind Shiro. The color completely drained from Aki's face as she screamed a warning.
The hulking muscle-man who had been standing to Uris's right was already mid-air, bringing a massive ghost-headed broadsword crashing down. The heavy blade was barely two inches from Shiro's head. The brute's face was twisted in manic excitement; it was a guaranteed kill-strike. There was no way he could miss.
It's over!
The grim thought flashed through the minds of every villager watching. They were swallowed by total despair; the fleeting spark of hope Shiro had brought them was instantly snuffed out.
"Over? Are you joking?"
However, just as everyone assumed Shiro was a dead man, a blinding streak of white light suddenly pierced straight through the brute's body, sending his massive frame flying backward.
How is this possible?! The ecstatic grin on the muscle-man's face was instantly replaced by an expression of pure agony and terror. His mind screamed in disbelief as he flew through the air.
THUD!
He slammed heavily into the dirt, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"What?!"
The heavy crash snapped the crowd out of their trance. Opening their eyes, they saw Shiro still standing exactly where he was, completely unharmed.
Meanwhile, the supposedly invincible brute was lying flat in a growing pool of blood. His eyes were blown wide in shock as the last breath rattled out of his lungs.
Who the hell is this guy? Since when did the East Blue have a monster like this?!
Uris's face darkened, his mind racing with suspicion and dread as he stared at the young man. The guy who just got one-shotted was Normanf, the "Brute Blade"—his right-hand man boasting an 8,000,000 Berry bounty. There shouldn't be a single pirate in the entire East Blue capable of killing him so effortlessly.
Could it be... is he from there? No, impossible! Why would a pirate from that place ever come back here?! A terrifying possibility crossed Uris's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Pirates who sailed into the Grand Line didn't just casually wander back to the East Blue.