The air in the woods was somewhat stifling.
Beneath the old camphor tree, the uneven muddy ground had been trampled into a quagmire.
“Run, then.
Let’s see you run again.” Bluejam looked down at them, grinning to reveal a mouthful of rotten teeth.
His gravelly voice echoed through the woods.
He nudged the flintlock rifle in his hand forward.
The barrel pressed directly against Luffy’s forehead.
The barrel, having just been fired, was scalding hot, branding a red ring onto Luffy’s forehead.
A few meters away, Ace was held down by two burly men with his arms twisted behind his back.
His face was pressed firmly into the mud.
A low, pained growl emanated from his throat, and he kicked his legs wildly, shattering several pieces of tree bark.
Sabo knelt at the edge of the mud pit.
The iron pipe he had been holding had long since been knocked away.
He stared at the firearm, his eyes so red they looked as if they were bleeding.
“Bluejam!
Come at me!
I’m the target of your contract!” Sabo screamed at the top of his lungs.
He tried to crawl over using his hands and feet, but a pirate slammed a rifle butt hard into his back, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Bluejam didn’t even glance at Sabo.
He hooked his thumb onto the hammer of the firearm.
Click.
The gunpowder was loaded.
“Rest assured, young master Outlook, your father gave orders to spare your life.” Bluejam picked his ear nonchalantly.
“But these two stray dogs, I don’t know where they came from, weren’t in the employment contract.”
He lowered his head again, looking at Luffy, who was being stepped on under his foot.
Luffy was covered in mud.
His straw hat lay to the side, and a large gash had opened on the corner of his mouth.
In such a desperate situation, any ordinary kid would have already wet their pants.
But Luffy did not beg for mercy.
Not only did he not cry, but his hands instead gripped Bluejam’s ankle tightly.
The veins on the back of his hands bulged.
“Facing death, and you still dare to glare at me?” Bluejam felt incredibly agitated by the glare from those clear, bright eyes.
Luffy took a deep breath.
His chest heaved violently against the heavy leather boot.
“You are not allowed—to go to the back mountain—”
The words were squeezed out one by one through his clenched teeth.
Bluejam didn’t hear clearly.
He furrowed his brows and leaned forward.
“Is that all your last words amount to?”
“You bastards are not allowed to go to the back mountain!
You’ll disturb my big brother’s sleep!!!” Luffy suddenly raised his neck and shouted this at the top of his lungs with all his strength.
The earth-shattering sound reverberated through the forest, startling a flock of birds from the tree trunks.
Silence fell for a few seconds.
The pirates holding Ace and Sabo looked at each other in confusion.
Then, they burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.
“Hahahaha!
Is this brat scared out of his wits?”
“Facing death, and he’s still worried about someone else’s sleep?”
“Hey, Boss, hurry up and finish him off.
I’m waiting to go back, collect the bounty, and have some fun at the tavern!”
The pirates laughed so hard they couldn’t straighten their backs, regarding it entirely as a pathetic joke.
The smile on Bluejam’s face vanished completely, replaced by a surge of irritation in his heart.
He had been active in the East Blue for so long, and this was the first time he had been provoked by a mere brat with such an absurd reason.
Big brother?
Sleep?
This is the reason he was risking his life to stand in the way here?
“Alright then.” Bluejam snorted coldly, applying pressure with his foot and pressing down heavily.
“What kind of bullshit big brother?
Since you’re so loyal, let him crawl out and die with you!
I want to see who can protect you!”
He didn’t want to waste any more time.
He slowly placed his index finger on the trigger and began to press down.
…
At the same time.
The hot spring pool at the back mountain.
Warm mist curled over the surface of the water, and the sun was high, baking the bluestone slabs on the shore until they were scorching hot.
Ron sat up straight on the lounge chair in a leisurely manner.
He reached out and patted Uta’s ass, who was diligently pounding his back.
“That’s enough, call it a day.”
Uta obediently stopped her movements and jumped off the small stool.
She took a dry white towel and gently wiped the water droplets from Ron’s neck.
Ron picked up a loose white shirt hanging nearby and draped it casually over himself.
He didn’t button it, leaving his solid chest and abdominal muscles exposed.
He stretched halfway through.
His bones cracked with a few crisp sounds.
“It’s early in the morning; can’t a guy get some peace and rest?”
Ron yawned and casually ruffled his already messy hair.
Makino stood by the clothes rack, clutching a wrung-out shirt in her hand.
The sound of gunfire had stopped.
But this dead silence, devoid of any movement, was more chilling than the sound of guns and cannons.
She was a smart woman and naturally knew what kind of people the Bluejam Pirates were.
“Ron, in the woods…”
Makino bit her lower lip.
Her gentle eyes filled with worry.
Ron walked over, shuffling in his wooden sandals.
He naturally raised his right hand, pinched Makino’s soft cheeks, and gently tugged them to the sides.
“Don’t look so glum; it’ll give you wrinkles.” Ron studied the face in front of him and chuckled.
“Just a few noisy flies, it’s nothing.”
Makino’s cheeks flushed slightly from being pinched, and she took a half-step back.
The panic that had been hanging in her throat dissipated for the most part under Ron’s nonchalant demeanor.
“Finish hanging that shirt, and light the grill.” Ron gave the instruction and turned to walk to the small table.
On the table sat a cold drink filled with ice cubes, a layer of fine water droplets condensing on the outside of the glass.
Ron picked up the glass, bit the straw, and took a big gulp.
The cold, sweet-and-sour liquid slid down his throat, dispelling some of the heat.
He just held the glass like that, shuffling in his wooden sandals.
Clack, clack, clack.
Following the pebble-paved path, he walked step by step, slowly towards the depths of the forest.
…
On the other side.
Bluejam’s finger had already pressed the trigger.
It only needed a tiny bit more pressure, and the firing pin would ignite the gunpowder.
Luffy widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the barrel.
Ace stopped struggling and bit his lip.
His teeth sank into the flesh until he tasted the metallic sweetness of blood.
Just at that second.
A faint sound of something cutting through the air came from the forest.
It carved a white line through the air, barely visible to the naked eye.
Snap!
Bluejam only felt his right hand jolt.
An incredibly overbearing force slammed into his arm.
Crack.
His right palm lost all sensation in an instant.
The firearm flew out of his hand on the spot, spinning seven or eight times in mid-air, tracing an arc, and flying far away to plunge into a mud pit a few meters away.
“Ah—!” A second later, the sharp pain rushed straight to his head.
Bluejam screamed, stumbling back three large steps, clutching his right wrist tightly with his left hand.
The hand that had held the gun was now swollen high.
The skin turning blue and purple.
And the culprit that had struck him fell onto the fallen leaves.
It was actually just a small piece of ice still emitting a cold mist.
The surrounding pirates were all dumbfounded.
They hadn’t even seen who had made the move or from which direction it had come.
“Who!
Which blind bastard is trying to sneak attack me!” Bluejam’s features twisted in pain as he drew the machete from his waist and looked around.
“Quiet down, you’re noisy as hell.”
…
Author’s Note:
One Piece: The Lazy Brother of Luffy —
Dragon Ball: Oolong’s Sex Adventure
2.
Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3.
Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4.
The Naive Me Who Became Someone’s Everyday Secret
5.
High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6.