Chapter 190: The Arrogant Kidd
After wandering the food district for a while, Rhodes arrived at a small, modestly decorated establishment.
It wasn't particularly large, but a unique aroma wafting from inside immediately caught his attention.
Upon entering, Rhodes discovered it was a hot pot restaurant—though given the enormous appetites common in this world, the pots themselves were absolutely massive, resembling small swimming pools.
Gazing at the bubbling, crimson broth with its layer of spicy oil floating on top, Rhodes couldn't help but swallow in anticipation.
"Rhodes-sama, welcome to our establishment."
An elegant woman in her thirties, wearing a sophisticated black dress that displayed tasteful décolletage, approached with a professional smile.
Rhodes, already well aware of his growing fame, waved dismissively.
"Just bring the food. I'm starving."
"Of course, right away."
The woman paused momentarily, seeming surprised by the legendary warrior's casual demeanor, before bowing respectfully and retreating to place his order.
Shortly after, an enormous platter of thinly sliced meats and fresh vegetables arrived at his table.
After consuming what amounted to several entire cows' worth of beef, Rhodes finally breathed a satisfied sigh.
Meanwhile, the waitstaff who'd been surreptitiously observing him nearly had their jaws hit the floor. They felt certain Rhodes alone had eaten more than their entire day's worth of customers combined!
"Rhodes-sama is truly incredible..."
"And so handsome! I wonder who'll be lucky enough to become his wife someday?"
"It definitely won't be us ordinary people."
The waitresses whispered among themselves, stealing glances at Rhodes with stars in their eyes.
The young, powerful, and remarkably handsome Dragon Slayer had accumulated quite the following of admirers across the seas.
Just then—
BOOM! CRASH!
A series of thunderous impacts suddenly erupted from the street outside, as if powerful combatants were clashing. The ground trembled noticeably, and ripples formed in the water glasses on every table.
Rhodes's expression remained completely unchanged, while the waitstaff showed visible worry and fear.
Working in Sabaody's lawless zones meant constantly dreading violent encounters with dangerous pirates.
"I hope they leave quickly and don't come anywhere near here," someone whispered like a prayer.
But today, their luck seemed particularly terrible.
Almost immediately—
CRASH!
A figure suddenly burst through the hot pot restaurant's entrance, slamming into the interior with tremendous force. Tables and chairs were overturned, and scalding soup splashed onto several unfortunate customers.
The customers erupted in angry curses—but upon recognizing the figure sprawled on the floor, they fell immediately silent. Fear replaced anger on their faces, as if they'd encountered a prehistoric predator. They quickly scrambled toward the sides, some even diving through windows to escape.
Meanwhile, the figure who'd been sent flying had already risen to her feet. A tall young woman with long, straight pink hair, she completely ignored the terrified civilians inside the restaurant and angrily shouted toward the entrance:
"Kidd! Don't you think you're going too far?! That little girl barely touched you—you could have just scared her off, but why are you attacking me too?!"
"Do I need a reason to hit you? Jewelry Bonney—let's see if a woman like you actually deserves to be called a Supernova alongside me!"
Hearing these two familiar names, Rhodes turned his head with renewed interest to observe more carefully.
The two combatants were Jewelry Bonney, the Glutton, and Eustass "Captain" Kidd—both fellow Supernovas from this generation.
It appeared the two had gotten into some dispute, and now they were settling it with violence.
Rhodes, eyes half-lidded in amusement, continued casually cutting into his sea king steak with knife and fork while enjoying the free entertainment.
Meanwhile, Jewelry Bonney—hearing Kidd's obvious contempt and dismissal—flew into absolute rage. The two engaged in a fierce exchange of blows.
CRASH! BOOM! CRACK!
As befitting Supernovas, both Kidd and Bonney possessed considerable strength and destructive power. After just a few exchanges, the restaurant interior looked like it had been struck by a typhoon—utter devastation.
"Hey, that kick had the wrong angle. A bit too high."
"Tsk, that punch was way too weak. Didn't even send her flying properly."
Just as Rhodes was casually providing commentary on their technique—
An inexplicable magnetic force suddenly erupted from Kidd, instantly spreading across dozens of meters and affecting every metallic object in range.
"Hmm?"
Rhodes applied gentle downward pressure, keeping his knife and fork stable as rocks despite the magnetic pull.
However, the massive metal hot pot on his table wasn't spared—it was violently yanked away by the magnetic force, spilling its remaining contents across the floor in a steaming mess.
Rhodes's expression darkened immediately. He hadn't finished eating yet!
"Hey. That red-haired bastard over there."
Rhodes's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"You just interrupted my meal. Have you considered the consequences of that?"
The entire restaurant fell deathly silent.
"That's... the Dragon Slayer Swordsman?!"
Jewelry Bonney's eyes widened, revealing genuine fear.
Rhodes had achieved fame in Sea Circle Calendar year 1521—a full year before this Supernova generation—but generally speaking, Rhodes and the current Supernovas could still be considered contemporaries.
However, Bonney understood perfectly well that their respective power levels were absolutely not in the same league.
Kidd turned his head in surprise, then noticed the soup and food spilled across the floor, and Rhodes's darkened expression.
"Did you just call me 'red-haired'? Are you trying to die?"
Of course Kidd recognized this Warlord. But he was a man bold enough to have already planned challenging the Yonko immediately upon reaching the New World. How could he possibly take a mere Warlord seriously?
"Oh? You've got quite the temper."
Rhodes stretched leisurely. He'd only eaten about half his fill anyway—good timing for some post-meal exercise.
Bzzzzt!
Silver lightning crackled across his body as he entered his Thunder God form, arcs of electricity dancing along his frame.
"Is this guy actually going to fight?"
Jewelry Bonney shot Kidd a slightly gloating look, then quickly stepped aside to safely watch the show unfold.
She was deeply annoyed by Kidd's arrogance attitude anyway. Seeing him get knocked down a peg would be satisfying.
Seeing Rhodes's obvious combat readiness, Kidd understood the man intended to fight—but showed absolutely no fear.
He was the user of the Jiki Jiki no Mi—the Magnet-Magnet Fruit. The natural nemesis of swordsmen. Throughout their entire journey from South Blue to here, no swordsman had ever posed a threat to him.
Of course, I won't directly control his sword, Kidd thought strategically. I'll wait for an opening during combat, then surprise him. Taking down a Warlord's head will really make my reputation.
"A Warlord's head! I haven't collected one of those yet!"
As he spoke, Kidd spread his arms wide. Metal structures within a radius of dozens of meters suddenly began trembling violently—then levitated and converged toward him in a metallic swarm.
Under Kidd's precise control, these metal fragments assembled into two absolutely massive mechanical arms extending from his own limbs.
"DIE!"
The next instant, Kidd controlled both enormous metal arms and brought them crashing down toward Rhodes from opposite sides.
WHOOOM!
Each metal arm weighed several tons at minimum. When Kidd swung them with full force, the air itself seemed to explode from the displacement. Hurricane-force winds blasted backward in a terrifying display of raw power.
Bonney watched with secret trepidation. If Kidd had used this level of force earlier, I would've been forced to flee immediately. I couldn't possibly withstand that kind of attack...
"How will he respond?"
Bonney couldn't help but focus intently on Rhodes.
He stood completely motionless, appearing almost bored. Only when the massive metal arms were mere inches from crushing him did he slowly extend a single fist—coated in jet-black Armament Haki—and calmly met the attack.
"Hasshoken."
(End of Chapter)