“Sir, take a look. Are you satisfied with your new hairstyle?”
Rook slowly opened his eyes.
Rook stared at Tony in disbelief.
“Do you seriously think a short crew cut requires some kind of profound technical skill?”
Yes.
After buying new clothes and taking a bath, Rook had found a barbershop and gotten rid of his messy hair.
Looking at himself in the mirror now, the hair along the sides and back had been clipped short, while the top was only around three centimeters long.
The new hairstyle made him look sharp, clean, and energetic.
Tony rolled his eyes and raised one hand delicately.
“How could there be no skill involved? Your hairstyle was carefully crafted by yours truly, Lily—”
“Stop. Don’t talk anymore.”
Rook cut him off.
“How much?”
“One thousand Berries, please.”
“That’s expensive.”
“It’s really not, sir.”
After having his hair washed, Rook paid and left.
Out on the street, he ran one hand from the back of his head over the short hair on top.
Rook grinned.
“Clothes make the man, just as a saddle makes the horse.”
“A head can be cut off and blood can be spilled, but the hairstyle must never be ruined.”
“A new life, a new beginning.”
“Might as well start by fixing up my appearance.”
After going through the entire process, Rook was starting to feel hungry again.
He planned to grab something to eat, then find an inn and get a proper night’s sleep.
He stopped at a roadside food stall.
Looking at the neatly arranged grilled skewers, Rook waved grandly.
“Boss, give me twenty.”
While waiting, he inhaled the aroma of cumin, pepper, chili, and grilled meat drifting through the air.
His mouth immediately began watering.
The rich smell of street food surrounded him.
Rook rather enjoyed the wait.
Even though it was already close to eleven at night, the bustling street remained crowded.
All kinds of pedestrians continuously passed behind him.
Suddenly—
Rook felt the faintest movement against his trouser pocket.
His hand shot down.
He grabbed—
Nothing.
His wallet was already gone.
Rook whipped around.
His gaze instantly locked onto a small orange-haired figure running away on his left.
The thief slipped through the crowd.
In the blink of an eye, they were already more than ten meters away.
Rook’s eye twitched violently.
His entire expression twisted.
“STOP!!!”
With an explosive roar, Rook spun around in half a second and kicked off the ground.
He charged after the thief.
“Eh?! Sir?! What about your skewers?!”
“You haven’t paid yet!”
There was no time to care about skewers.
If Rook failed to recover that wallet, he’d have no choice but to return to that foul-smelling pirate ship to sleep tonight.
His roar startled pedestrians all along the street.
At the same time, the orange-haired figure moved through the crowd like a slippery eel.
One chased.
One fled.
Rook relentlessly pursued, constantly pushing pedestrians out of the way.
But the thief ahead repeatedly grabbed nearby people and dragged them into Rook’s path as obstacles.
Startled pedestrians screamed and cursed.
Rook shoved aside another person who had stumbled into him.
His teeth clenched in frustration.
Yet he could only watch the distance between himself and the thief continue to widen.
“I refuse to believe I can’t even catch you!”
Rook became genuinely furious.
His eyes reddened slightly as he stared fixedly at the fleeing figure.
He dodged and shoved his way through the crowd.
Before long, however, the thief darted into an alley.
By the time Rook reached the entrance—
There was no one in sight.
The alley was pitch-black.
The surrounding buildings formed a twisting maze of passages and turns.
Rook walked deeper inside.
Countless different smells filled the air.
His nose twitched.
His expression turned completely dark.
Finally, he cursed.
“Fuck!”
“I’m not a damn dog! What the hell am I supposed to smell?!”
His chest rose and fell heavily.
Rook grabbed his collar and repeatedly pulled it away from his body as though trying to cool himself down.
He wandered aimlessly through the maze-like alleys.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“When I was dressed like a filthy bum, not a single thief bothered with me.”
“The moment I clean myself up, someone comes shopping?”
“You think I look easy to bully?”
“Just wait until I find you.”
“I’ll break your legs.”
In the dark alleys, Rook occasionally encountered groups of beggars huddled together.
As he passed another intersection—
A dark figure suddenly slammed toward him.
Rook sidestepped.
But the other person deliberately adjusted his path and tried to crash into him again.
Under the moonlight, Rook saw a middle-aged man wearing ragged clothes.
Rook frowned.
“Looking for trouble?”
Rook moved aside again.
The moment the man charged toward him for a third time, Rook raised his leg and kicked directly at his chest.
But the man quickly raised his left arm to block.
Rook’s powerful kick landed against his forearm.
Even so, the impact forced the man several steps backward.
The beggar suddenly bared his teeth in a cold grin.
“Hehehe…”
“Outsider, don’t you know?”
“These alleys of Barbarian Island belong to our Rat Gang after dark.”
“Even a bird flying overhead leaves behind feathers. Even a rat passing through leaves behind its skin.”
“If you want to leave this place, hand over everything valuable on you.”
“Otherwise…”
“Tomorrow morning, there might be one more naked corpse floating in the gutter.”
As he spoke, the man pulled a dagger from inside his clothes.
At the same time—
Figures began rising from around the intersection.
They grinned and chuckled sinisterly, holding wooden clubs and bricks.
Seeing them, Rook’s gaze turned completely cold.
Were these people seriously rushing over to offer him tribute?
As expected of a lawless zone.
Just as the first mate had said, gangs were everywhere here.
Rook simply hadn’t expected even a gang of beggars to show up.
From that brief exchange earlier, Rook could tell that the middle-aged beggar had some ability.
Not much—
But some.
His right hand closed around the hilt at his waist.
Shing!
The sword left its sheath.
Seeing that Rook actually intended to fight back, the middle-aged beggar roared angrily.
“Ungrateful bastard!”
“We gave you a chance and you refused it!”
“Get him!”
Rapid footsteps erupted.
Rook inhaled deeply.
The surrounding beggars immediately rushed him.
The middle-aged man charged as well, dagger in hand, his eyes vicious.
He was the closest.
Naturally, he reached Rook first.
Rook stepped forward and thrust his sword.
The beggar snorted and dodged sharply to the left.
At the same time, he closed the distance and slashed his dagger toward Rook’s throat.
Too many openings.
At that moment, Rook could see flaws everywhere in the man’s movements.
He was relying entirely on aggression and ruthlessness.
Rook rotated his wrist.
His sword intercepted the dagger.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
The attack was blocked with ease.
Rook suddenly exerted force through his right arm.
With a sharp snapping motion of the blade, he knocked the dagger aside.
His left foot stepped forward.
He moved past the man’s body.
At the same time, Rook raised his right foot and stomped brutally into the back of the man’s right knee.
The beggar’s body immediately dropped.
He fell to one knee.
In that instant—
Rook’s sword, already raised before his chest, slashed diagonally downward.
Puchi!
The sharp sword tip flashed across the back of the beggar’s neck.
A faint scent of blood spread through the air.
Suddenly—
Something whistled toward him.
Rook flipped his wrist and raised the sword hilt.
Bang!
It collided with a flying brick.
Rook immediately moved away.
Behind him, the middle-aged beggar collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Motionless.
“Bastard!”
“How dare you?!”
“Damn you! I’ll make you pay!”
The beggars flew into a rage.
Rook’s gaze remained cold.
His foot slammed against the ground.
He charged directly toward them.
In the blink of an eye, he closed in on one man.
His sword swept upward from below.
Puchi!
A severed arm flew into the air.
Rook didn’t stop.
As he passed the man, the pommel of his sword slammed into the back of his skull.
The beggar crashed to the ground.
Another attacker reached him.
Rook’s sword collided with the man’s iron rod.
Then—
Bang!
Rook kicked him squarely in the lower abdomen.
The man folded and fell forward.
As Rook moved past him, his sword thrust backward.
The tip pierced directly into the back of the man’s neck.
Rook spoke coldly.
“Three.”
His figure moved again.
In moments, he closed in on another man.
One horizontal slash—
The wooden club raised to block him snapped apart.
The sword continued through.
Its tip flashed across the man’s throat, bringing a spray of blood with it. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Four.”
Rook’s brutality finally frightened the remaining five.
They swallowed nervously and began backing away.
Rook stepped forward.
Then burst toward them.
He reached one man first.
A powerful kick slammed into his chest.
The beggar flew backward and crashed into two others behind him, knocking all three to the ground.
Rook immediately pivoted on the ball of his foot.
His body shot toward the remaining two, who had already turned and started running.
Two flashes of steel followed.
Both men fell.
Rook turned back toward the three lying on the ground.
Slash.
Slash.
Two more were finished off.
“Don’t!”
“Don’t kill me!”
“I was wrong!”
The last man remained.
His trousers were wet.
A foul smell immediately spread through the alley.
Rook took half a step backward.
He looked down at him coldly.
“You people working with that orange-haired thief?”
The beggar clearly froze.
Then he cautiously looked up at Rook.
“Y-You…”
“You got robbed by that little Cat Burglar too?”
A vein bulged on Rook’s forehead.
“Just answer the question.”
“Understand?”
The beggar immediately panicked.
“Y-Yes! Sorry!”
“I know that little Cat Burglar.”
“She’s an outsider too, but she came here and started stealing business from us.”
“We’ve almost cornered her several times, but she always manages to escape.”
“We’re definitely not working with her!”
“That damn girl is way too cunning.”
“She messes with us all the time, and she’s even stolen our money before!”
“Can you believe that?”
“She steals from beggars!”
“A girl…”
Rook’s attention sharpened.
“Do you know where she is?”
The beggar suddenly stopped speaking.
He carefully looked at Rook.
His eyes darted around.
Rook noticed.
He nodded slightly.
“All right.”
“I already know.”
“So…”
“Goodbye.”
A cold flash.
A burst of blood.
The beggar clutched his throat.
His eyes bulged.
Wet, choking breaths escaped him.
A few seconds later, his leg twitched once.
Then he stopped moving.
Rook slowly exhaled.
Looking at the nine bodies around him, complicated emotions appeared in his eyes.
“I’ve gotten stronger.”
These nine men were no weaker than the ordinary pirates aboard Norton’s ship.
And Rook believed that even if another ten men like them appeared, as long as none carried firearms, he could wipe them all out given enough time.
He crouched and began searching the bodies.
Unfortunately, after going through several of them, their combined wealth didn’t even reach fifty thousand Berries.
As he passed the beggar whose arm he had severed earlier, Rook finished him off as well.
Finally, he reached the middle-aged beggar who had clearly been the leader.
Unexpectedly, Rook found a wallet on him.
He opened it.
His eyebrows rose.
There were at least four hundred thousand Berries inside.
“Are beggar gangs this rich these days?”
Then Rook chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“No.”
“I’m just too poor.”
The translucent system panel appeared.
Rook looked toward Swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship — Beginner: 64 → 73/100
“Nine points of proficiency.”
“Almost there.”
“I should be able to break through within three days.”
Anticipation rose in Rook’s heart.
At the same time—
On the rooftop of a four-story building not far away, a small orange-haired figure was crouched in the darkness.
She quietly stared toward the alley below.
“Hiss…”
“He’s brutal.”
“Still, I guess that’s convenient.”
“Now I don’t have to go down there and save him.”
“The Rat Gang is finished too.”
“That means it’ll be safer for me to come through this part of town from now on.”
“Those bastards really picked the wrong person to mess with tonight.”