At the lead was a man with his hair tied in a samurai topknot.
The moment he stepped inside and the lively tavern instantly went quiet, a flash of pride appeared in his eyes. It seemed his name, Sig, had already become well-known.
"Bring me some booze!!"
"S-sir, the… the alcohol is sold out. We won't have any until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Sig's face darkened as he walked step by step toward the bar, staring at Makino. "No booze? Then what are these people drinking—water?"
"Haha, sorry, we drank it all," Shanks said with a smile. "I still have an unopened bottle here. If you don't mind, you can have it."
Sig looked around the room, raising his eyebrows. "Pirates? All of you look like a bunch of idiots. Must be another crew of fools fresh out to sea."
The next second—
Bang—
He smashed Shanks's bottle with a punch, spraying booze and glass shards all over Shanks's face.
"My head's worth 8 million berries, and a single bottle isn't even enough to rinse my mouth."
"Oh dear, the floor's wet now. I'd better clean it up," Shanks said casually, as if nothing had happened, getting up to tidy the mess.
Then came a series of loud crashes as countless bottles and jars were knocked to the floor.
"If you like cleaning so much, then clean to your heart's content," Sig spat. "Tch, a bunch of idiots—what business do you have calling yourselves pirates? Let's go."
Although Creed had seen this scene many times in his past life, actually witnessing it in person made him think this mountain bandit named Sig was seriously something—after all, hitting the Yonko Shanks was something he could brag about for a lifetime.
But—
Creed's pupils suddenly shrank!
Floating above the man's head was a golden treasure chest—visible only to him.
With a thought, the chest's details appeared.
[Mysterious Treasure Chest]: Kill the target or knock them unconscious to obtain the chest. You can extract mysterious items from it.
A mysterious treasure chest…
This was the first time in five years since activating his system that Creed had encountered one.
He didn't know exactly what it contained, but he was certain it was valuable.
"Stop right there. Who said you could leave?"
Sig turned back to see a kid. "Brat, what do you want?"
"You hurt my little brother. You'll have to pay medical expenses," Creed said, pointing at the small cut on Luffy's arm from the flying glass shards earlier.
Sig smirked. "And how much do you want?"
"Medical fees plus the tavern's damages—8 million berries total. I'll just take the bounty on your head instead."
The room fell silent.
Half a second later, the mountain bandits erupted into deafening laughter.
Ignoring them, Creed turned to a man at a nearby table. "Beckman-ojisan, lend me the sword at your waist."
Beckman, first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates, replied, "You can't use my sword. Take this one instead." He tossed over a nearby blade.
The moment Creed caught it, he could tell it was no ordinary weapon—at least a grade blade.
"Go, Creed!"
"Go, little Creed!"
The Red-Haired Pirates found the situation amusing and cheered him on.
With them here, there was no way these petty bandits could hurt Creed.
"Good, brat. You've succeeded in making me angry!"
Seeing the boy point a sword at him, Sig drew his own. "Your life ends here."
He slashed toward Creed, his blade sharp and fast.
Clang—
The strike was blocked.
Creed countered with his own slash—again blocked. Sig's pride took a hit; he was an 8 million berry mountain bandit, yet this little brat was stopping his attacks.
"Let's see how many you can block!"
He swung again and again, blades flashing in front of Creed.
Clang—
Clang—
The sound of metal striking metal echoed again and again.
Creed moved with calm ease, blocking every strike.
"Well now, not bad. Didn't expect Creed to know swordsmanship—he's even a swordsman," Beckman remarked with a raised brow.
After a flurry of strikes, Sig's face twisted in disbelief.
Impossible—every slash blocked by a twelve-year-old kid.
"My turn now, right?" Creed said calmly.
Sig's expression changed instantly as a powerful force traveled through his sword. His body was sent flying, crashing through a table.
"That's some serious strength," one of the Red-Haired Pirates said in surprise. While to them, a mountain bandit was nothing but an ant, an 8 million berry bounty was still far beyond ordinary people's abilities.
Yet this twelve-year-old had just overpowered him in raw strength.
…
"Damn it!!"
Sig stood, disheveled and furious. He pulled out his gun and fired at Creed.
Bang!
The Red-Haired Pirates rose to save Creed, but what happened next shocked them.
Creed's body shifted slightly, dodging in an instant. Like a cheetah, his leg muscles exploded with power, bringing him right in front of Sig. He slashed down.
Sig was stunned—dodging bullets?! He quickly tried to block.
A sharp crack rang out as his sword was split in two, and his body was sent flying, smashing through the tavern doors and landing outside.
"Kill him! Kill him!!" Sig shouted in panic.
The mountain bandit lackeys fumbled with their guns, ready to fire.
But the next moment—
They found themselves completely unable to move, frozen as if facing a prehistoric beast, paralyzed by sheer killing intent.
"One-on-one fights are one-on-one. The rest of you stay out of it," Shanks said, taking a swig from his mug.
Creed stepped outside. A scream rang out, then abruptly ended.
He returned to the tavern.
"Make sure the mess outside gets cleaned up. Otherwise…"
Shanks's calm words made the bandits feel invisible hands tightening around their throats, their breathing labored.
A second later—
They could move again. In panic, they scrambled to drag away their dead leader, cleaning up the road before fleeing in terror.
…
(End of Chapter)
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