The tavern was filled with noise.
Pirates shouted over one another, bottles clinked together, and arguments erupted from every corner of the room.
Yet no matter how heated things became, not even the most lawless pirates actually started a fight.
There was one rule in this tavern: customers were forbidden from fighting each other.
And everyone followed it.
“So you went out once and came back with this handsome little guy?” Shakky arched one elegant brow, arms folded beneath her chest as a cigarette rested between her lips.
Naturally, she was talking about Hua Ye.
He sat at the bar, studying the glass of liquor in his hand.
Rocks and the others occupied the seats around him.
“Yeah, and then he turned Rocks down!
How embarrassing!” Shiki laughed loudly.
“Hahahaha!
I’ve been rejected before.
Guess I’m just not very popular!” Rocks laughed right along with him, completely unbothered.
“Of course you’re not.
You’re not Shakky.
Everybody likes Shakky.” Captain John took a huge swig of alcohol, then flashed Shakky what he clearly believed was a charming smile.
“Right, Shakky?”
“Could you please stop drinking like that?
It’s running down your mouth, and now I have to wipe the counter.” Shakky smiled sweetly.
“Yes!
Got it!”
John immediately ripped off his shirt and started wiping the counter himself.
And judging by the effort he was putting into it, he was taking the job very seriously.
“Quit shamelessly sucking up to Shakky, you bastard!” Ganzui shouted.
“You got a problem with it?!” John roared back.
“Stop arguing.
Shakky likes me.
You two could get on the floor and lick it clean and she still wouldn’t look at you.” Ochoku stuck out his long tongue with a sinister grin.
“LIKE HELL, BASTARD!!” the two shouted at once.
“Vulgar men.” Gloriosa looked at them in disgust, only for her expression to turn dreamy a second later.
“Roger is still the best.
Now that’s a real man!”
“Hmph.
Idiots.” Newgate watched the chaos with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.
“Not that I care about any of this.
But if Shakky insisted on liking me, I suppose I wouldn’t object.”
“What did you just say, Newgate?!” Buckingham Stussy slammed both hands on the table and shot to her feet.
“I’m supposed to be your lover!
Don’t even think about betraying my feelings!”
“Mamamama!
Getting dumped, Stussy?” Charlotte Linlin mocked.
“Newgate doesn’t even like her.
She’s just been throwing herself at him the whole time,” Kaido added bluntly.
“That’s not true!
And you two bastards better not act innocent!
You hooked up with each other, didn’t you?!” Stussy suddenly exposed them.
Kaido immediately shrank back and went quiet.
Linlin, on the other hand, wore an expression that plainly said, ‘So what?’
Hua Ye watched this collection of shameless, wildly chaotic monsters and thought to himself that they really did embody the spirit of pirates.
“Well?
Pretty great crew, aren’t we?” Rocks raised his glass beside him.
“At least you don’t look like children playing pirate,” Hua Ye replied, casually clinking his glass against Rocks’.
“That’s what pirates are supposed to be!
You drink while laughing at the top of your lungs!
You live harder than anyone and desire more than anyone!
Power, wealth, status, fame—you want everything this world has to offer!
You can hold a banquet with anyone, friend or enemy!
You fight when you want, argue when you want, do whatever the hell you please, and never let anyone restrain you!
No laws, no rules, nobody telling us what we can or can’t do!
We enjoy true freedom!
That’s what it means to be a pirate!”
Rocks spoke with boundless confidence, draining liquor in great gulps just like everyone around him.
Every word carried an overwhelming sense of self.
Hua Ye turned and studied him.
This was a man whose ambition was to become King of the World.
Hua Ye’s own arrival had been far too sudden.
He had simply appeared on Hachinosu without warning.
He still hadn’t decided what to do with his power, nor how he intended to live in this world.
Everything around him felt real.
He wasn’t afraid of having transmigrated, and strangely enough, taking lives didn’t seem to bother him much either.
The odd thing was that, before all this, he had been completely ordinary.
If there was one word that could describe his old life, it would be ‘withdrawn.’
Whether at school or after he started working, Hua Ye rarely interacted with others.
He existed on the outskirts of every group, never truly joining any of them.
Hobbies?
Did reading manga count?
In that sense, he was the complete opposite of Rocks, a man capable of gathering so many powerful monsters around himself.
“Rocks,” Hua Ye said suddenly, setting down his glass with a light tap against the counter.
“How sharp is your sword?”
Rocks’ mouth stretched into a grin.
Using his greater height, he looked down at Hua Ye as an almost tangible pressure began to gather around him.
“Want to find out?”
“Let me change first.
Go wait outside.”
Hua Ye relaxed and closed his eyes.
“Interesting!”
Rocks immediately stood and headed for the door.
The others nearby exchanged baffled looks.
What the hell had just happened?
Before long, word spread across Hachinosu that someone was challenging Rocks.
Pirates rushed over in droves, eager to witness the sudden spectacle.
Shakky’s tavern emptied out as well.
No—more accurately, two people remained.
“Everyone else already left, yet the guy actually involved is still sitting here.
What are you thinking, little brother?” Shakky teased in her usual playful tone.
But the moment the words left her mouth, her expression froze.
Points of blue light appeared around Hua Ye, visible to the naked eye.
They drifted around his body like countless fireflies.
The clothes he had been wearing began to break apart inch by inch, fading away as though burned from existence.
Naturally, Hua Ye had no intention of walking outside naked.
He was controlling the Reishi in the atmosphere, restructuring matter with it.
The particles took shape like flowing silk and wrapped themselves around his body.
Hua Ye pushed back his stool and rose.
A pure white robe swayed around him.
Tall military boots struck the wooden floor, and three silver medals gleamed on his chest.
“My control isn’t bad.”
He glanced at his palm, then walked out without looking back.
Behind him, Shakky remained frozen in place.
What…
had just happened?
When she finally recovered, she replayed the sight in her mind.
His clothes had changed out of thin air.
A military uniform?
No, the outfit made him look more like some aristocratic holy knight.
Remembering Hua Ye’s challenge to Rocks, the corner of Shakky’s mouth slowly curved upward.
“Interesting.
Just what are you?”
“Not even the slightest change in your eyes when you looked at me…
I’ve never seen a man like that on these seas.”
“This is starting to get fun…”
Her curiosity thoroughly awakened, Shakky finally left the tavern and went to join the spectators.
By then, an enormous open area that had been deliberately cleared for fights was already packed with people.
Pirates crowded together in every direction, their voices rolling across the field like thunder.
“Hey, Rocks.
You’re actually serious about this?” Newgate stood beside him.
“Don’t stop him, Newgate!
I’m interested in that brat.” Shiki laughed.
“He’ll die,” Kyo said flatly.
The strongest members of the Rocks Pirates stood at the very front.
Rocks gave no response to any of their comments.
Then suddenly, the crowd erupted.
The pirates willingly parted, creating a path through the sea of bodies.
And that path led straight toward Rocks.