Chapter 75: Time for Me to Show Off
Reiner turned his head, looking towards the direction the voice originated from. Besides three familiar figures, a tall man sat cross-legged opposite them.
He had a head of fluffy black curly hair, a rugged appearance with abundant body hair, and laughed heartily, revealing a mouth missing several large teeth. His somewhat sleazy face nonetheless possessed a rather heroic temperament.
Blackbeard Teach. He had patiently hidden himself away on Whitebeard's ship, unknown to the world. He had even thought that if he never encountered the Dark-Dark Fruit he dreamed of, he would simply spend the rest of his life aboard Whitebeard's ship. However...
The gears of fate ultimately allowed this man to encounter that Devil Fruit.
"Let's go."
Luffy watched Blackbeard push himself up from the ground, his expression blank. Without saying another word, he adjusted his straw hat and turned to leave on his own. Blackbeard also silently turned and departed.
Reiner watched Teach leave coolly, unmoved. He wondered what Teach's reaction would be upon returning to find his subordinates beaten senseless. Reiner had no intention of fighting Blackbeard for the time being; of course, neither was he afraid of Teach coming after him.
His wariness of the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability was genuine. Unlike the principles behind seawater or Seastone – which only drained an ability user's stamina, preventing active use of powers but not nullifying them entirely (like Luffy remaining rubber even in the sea) – Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit was the opposite. Being touched by him wouldn't cause weakness, but it would completely nullify one's abilities.
As far as Reiner currently knew, this was the only method that directly targeted the Devil Fruit ability itself.
But Reiner knew Blackbeard would be wary of him too. Once Teach learned the details of the battle from his subordinates, given his knowledge, it wouldn't be difficult to deduce the strength of the Blue and Red Ogres.
If he wanted trouble, Blackbeard would also have to weigh his own chances. Reiner didn't know if Blackbeard was reckless enough, but he knew the man was absolutely insidious, and even more capable of forbearance.
Reining in his thoughts, Reiner's smile returned as he walked up to Luffy and the others.
"Tsk tsk tsk, you two look really roughed up," Reiner teased, looking over the extremely battered pair.
Luffy and Zoro were currently covered in blood and soaked through, looking exactly like they had just received a thorough beating. Yet, there wasn't a trace of anger on their faces; instead, Luffy started grinning cheekily.
"It's nothing! Let's go back."
"What do you mean 'nothing'!?" Nami suddenly yelled from behind, walking up angrily and bursting into curses:
"Why didn't you fight back!? What 'reason for fighting', what 'meaning'? I just don't understand that stuff! Why endure that kind of humiliation!? Just because we mentioned Sky Island, the entire hotel had to laugh at us!"
Nami grabbed Luffy's ear, continuously scolding him. Reiner knew they had run into Bellamy, been mocked, and then beaten up. Compared to Luffy's nonchalance, Nami was clearly furious.
Besides her, Zoro nearby also showed some dissatisfaction on his face. He had drawn his swords when the opponent made a move; no other reason was needed than defending the captain's dignity.
But Luffy had still stopped him. When had Zoro ever endured such humiliation? But since the captain had spoken, he could only sheathe his swords and take the beating along with him.
He didn't blame Luffy; he knew Luffy's reasons for not fighting back. But he inevitably felt a bellyful of suppressed anger, just not expressing it like Nami.
Reiner stepped forward and comforted Nami, "Maybe it's because things like dreams don't need violence to gain others' recognition. And fights aren't always about using fists."
"Reiner! How can even you say things like that!?" Nami yelled at him, pointing a finger towards the pub behind them, puffing her cheeks angrily.
"I don't care! Those two refuse to fight, so you go beat them up! Just say I'm being petty! Quick, go teach them all a harsh lesson!"
"But of course. Adventures filled with resentment aren't fun."
Reaching out, Reiner ruffled Nami's orange hair, then walked straight towards the pub. "You still remember our promise, right, Luffy?"
"Mm. I know," Luffy replied coolly.
"Hey, wait, Reiner! Can you handle it by yourself?"
"Relax. Reiner can take care of them."
Luffy's words puzzled Nami slightly. She couldn't help asking, "Why aren't you stopping him this time?"
Luffy couldn't help but recall the words Reiner had spoken to him before setting sail. He added, "I get it now! Just like Reiner said, setting sail in a bad mood makes the adventure less fun, right? Although I don't care what they did, you guys are really angry."
Luffy turned to look at Nami, grinning widely. "Sorry! My bad this time. Just let Reiner go wild."
"If I cannot act according to my own will—
—then I won't be a pirate."
This was what Reiner had said to Luffy before setting sail.
Having power yet not using it arbitrarily is self-restraint.
Reiner had witnessed higher civilized societies, read greater and deeper philosophies; he could maintain his moral compass even after gaining strength.
But having strength yet still having to endure insults? Unacceptable!
Great ideals are one thing, but he wasn't great.
Reiner walked alone towards the direction Nami pointed. The pub they had just left wasn't far, right at the end of this street.
As he walked, he couldn't help thinking of the rumor that if the Bandit King Higuma had possessed enough sake bottles back then, even Red Hair might not have walked out of that bar.
Why does Luffy keep learning these things from him? Reiner facepalmed inwardly. Compared to the Luffy who would emerge after two years of hardship, the current Luffy still seemed somewhat immature.
Although possessing the ability to directly perceive others' inner emotions, growth in character could still only be achieved through continuous experience, tempered slowly through success and failure.
This applied equally to Luffy and everyone else.
Inside the pub at the end of the street, the arrival of the Bellamy Pirates had turned the establishment into their private party.
A crowd of pirates laughed raucously and drank heartily, still talking about the incident from moments ago.
"Thirty million! Hahaha! That skinny monkey is actually worth thirty million!"
"Hilarious! The World Government must be blind!"
"Forget Bellamy, even Sarquiss could handle trash like that easily!"
At that moment, on a sofa, Sarquiss leaned back, holding a cup in one hand, the other arm around a female pirate. Hearing his subordinates' compliments, Sarquiss couldn't help but smirk.
Bang!
"Nowadays, there are still idiots like this, eliminated by the era! Truly hilarious!"
Sarquiss loudly addressed the figure whose back was turned at the bar counter. "The ship of the New Age! There's no place left for them! Right, Bellamy!? Hahaha!"
At the bar counter, Bellamy, with short blond hair, wearing a black vest, and a sea-blue cape draped over his shoulders, smirked contemptuously. He tilted his head back, drained his drink in one gulp, and slammed the glass heavily onto the counter.
"Tch! Gutless wonders daring to talk loftily about dreams? I was afraid I used too much force just now and killed them! Hahaha!"
"Hahahaha!" Another round of boisterous laughter filled the pub. Just then...
BOOM!!!
A deafening sound erupted as the pub's two wooden doors were violently blasted open. Everyone instinctively turned to look. An intensely bright white light shone from the entrance, making it impossible to see clearly. Three figures slowly walked in.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Footsteps echoed crisply on the wooden floorboards, reaching the ears of everyone in the now quiet pub.
The pirates stared blankly at the three newcomers, stunned by the sudden turn of events. Then, reacting, they started yelling at the three figures.
"Hey! Who are you people!?"
"This place has been booked out by us, the Bellamy Pirates!"
However, the three figures ignored them completely, continuing to walk slowly towards the bar counter.
"Are your ears deaf?" Sarquiss scoffed from the sofa, reaching for the Kukri knife leaning nearby.
"Looks like a few more fearless idiots."
Reiner walked straight up to the bar counter without stopping and sat down right beside Bellamy. The Blue and Red Ogres sat flanking them on either side.
He took out several Beri bills from his wallet, slapped them onto the counter, looked up at the bartender behind the bar, and said, "Get me your signature booze. Just one cup."
"Th-this... Sir... perhaps you gentlemen should drink elsewhere?" the owner suggested, seemingly out of goodwill, even using his eyes to signal him to leave quickly.
"No need. We came here specifically. Just serve the drinks, boss."
"This... ai~." The owner sighed, turned around, took out a bottle of liquor and a cup. He knew good words couldn't persuade a damned ghost; he had done his best by speaking up in front of Bellamy.
Bellamy didn't speak, merely glancing sideways at the blond man beside him. He turned back, picked up his glass from the counter, a strange smile playing on his lips as he bantered:
"Is today some kind of special occasion? How come there are so many fearless guys popping up? From Rosio to that Straw Hat kid, and now another one. That's three times already. It's quite tiring, you know."
"Who said it wasn't? From your little hoodlums to the Blackbeard Pirates, and now a hyena popping up... That's three times already. It's quite tiring, you know."
Reiner took the drink pushed over by the owner and replied coolly, using Bellamy's exact same words. Bellamy's expression instantly turned indignant.
From behind Reiner, a man with light blue long hair walked up, wearing a fluffy overcoat that exposed his chest, revealing the Donquixote Family mark tattooed there – their pirate flag symbol, a round skull with a grinning face, a slanted line cutting through the left eye socket.
Sarquiss held his Kukri knife and stood behind Reiner. "Is that so? Seems our subordinates caused you some trouble? Truly sorry about that."
Sarquiss grinned menacingly. "Hearing your tone, sounds like you came looking for satisfaction? Leave this to me, Bellamy. Hope you can entertain this great Sarquiss."
"Heheheh... Whatever..."
BANG!!
Without any warning, Bellamy hadn't even finished speaking when a loud sound erupted from behind him.
Instinctively turning around, he saw Sarquiss had been heavily slammed onto the ground, his entire head smashed through the wooden floorboards, bloody splinters scattered around.
Sarquiss's face was distorted, eyes rolled white, clearly having lost consciousness. Standing over him was the towering figure of the Red Ogre, the fist it had used still emitting a wisp of white smoke.
The entire place fell silent!
(End of this chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 15 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you