Lina turned his head toward the source of the voice. There, beyond the three familiar figures, sat a tall man.
His thick black curls were unkempt, his appearance rugged and hairy. He grinned broadly, revealing a few missing teeth — a rather vulgar smile, yet beneath it lingered a strange, confident boldness.
It was Marshall D. Teach, the man known as Blackbeard.
Once a nobody hidden among Whitebeard's crew, he had lived in obscurity for decades, telling himself that if he never found the Devil Fruit he sought — the Yami Yami no Mi — he'd live and die as a loyal subordinate of Whitebeard.
But fate… had other plans.
That fateful fruit found its way to him, and history began to turn.
"Let's go."
Luffy looked expressionlessly at Blackbeard, who slowly rose from the ground. Without a word, Luffy pressed down his straw hat and turned away. Blackbeard also turned, wordlessly walking in the opposite direction.
Lina watched the man leave, unmoved. He wondered what expression Blackbeard would make when he returned and found his subordinates beaten half to death. He had no plans to fight Blackbeard just yet — though neither did he fear him.
His wariness of the Yami Yami no Mi was real. Unlike seastone or seawater, which merely suppresses a Devil Fruit user's strength, the darkness fruit nullifies their power entirely. Seastone can weaken you, but it doesn't strip away your fruit's nature — Luffy, for instance, remains rubber even when submerged.
Blackbeard's fruit, however, does the opposite — it doesn't weaken the body; it steals the ability itself.
That made it the only known power that directly counters all Devil Fruit users.
But Lina also knew something else — Blackbeard would be wary of him.
If he heard from his subordinates about the battle that had taken place, Teach would realize just how strong Blue Oni and Red Oni really were.
And Blackbeard wasn't the kind of man to fight blind. For all his madness, he was patient… too patient.
Lina smirked, letting the thought fade. As he approached the Straw Hats, he grinned.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You two look like you just got dragged through the mud."
Luffy and Zoro were both soaked, battered, and bleeding — clearly beaten to a pulp. But neither of them looked angry. Luffy just smiled, his signature grin never faltering.
"It's nothing. Let's just go back."
"What do you mean, nothing!?"
A furious voice broke out from behind — Nami, fuming, stormed up with her hands on her hips.
"Why didn't you fight back!? What stupid 'reason' or 'meaning' is there in letting yourselves get beaten up!? I don't care what your pirate pride says — they mocked us for mentioning Skypiea! Are we supposed to just take that!?"
She grabbed Luffy's ear, yanking it hard while scolding nonstop.
Lina could tell — they'd just run into Bellamy, got mocked to hell and back, then pummeled for good measure.
Luffy didn't care, but Nami was furious.
Even Zoro, though quiet, wasn't pleased. When those bastards had thrown the first punch, Zoro's sword was already out. He didn't need a reason — defending his captain's pride was reason enough.
But when Luffy had told him to stop… he did. Reluctantly.
He didn't blame Luffy, but that didn't make swallowing the humiliation any easier.
Lina walked up and said gently,
"Maybe it's because dreams aren't something you prove with your fists. You don't need to beat someone up to make them believe."
"Lina! Not you too!" Nami shouted, pointing angrily at the tavern.
"I don't care what you say! If those two won't fight, you go beat them up! Call me petty if you want, but I want those idiots taught a lesson!"
Lina smiled faintly. "Of course. An adventure filled with bottled-up frustration isn't fun anyway."
He patted her orange hair lightly, then turned toward the tavern. "You remember our promise, right, Luffy?"
"Yeah," Luffy said quietly, tilting his hat.
"Wait— Lina, are you sure about this?" Nami called.
"Relax," Luffy grinned. "Lina's got this."
Nami blinked. "Now you're not stopping him? Why!?"
Luffy smiled, recalling what Lina had told him before they ever set sail:
"If I can't live by my own will,
Then I won't be a pirate at all."
He finally understood.
"Lina was right," Luffy said softly. "If we set sail while holding grudges, the adventure won't be any fun. I don't care what those guys say about me… but you're all angry, aren't you?"
He turned and gave her a broad grin. "Sorry, this one's on me. Let Lina have his fun."
To have power and not act freely — that's restraint.
But to have power and still let others walk all over you — that's stupidity.
Lina had seen the heights of civilization and read the words of the greatest thinkers. He could maintain his calm after gaining strength…
But he wasn't pretending to be some saint.
He wasn't that noble.
Power meant the right to act. And he was done pretending otherwise.
He walked alone toward the end of the street, where the tavern awaited.
As he strolled, he couldn't help but think — if only Mountain Bandit King Higuma had more bottles back then, maybe even Shanks wouldn't have walked out alive.
Luffy had definitely inherited some of that nonsense, Lina sighed to himself.
For all his potential, this was still the young Luffy — the one who hadn't yet endured the two years of pain and loss that would shape him into the man he was meant to be.
No matter what gift you have, to truly grow, you must live through hardship.
And Luffy still had a long road ahead.
Inside the tavern, the Bellamy Pirates were partying loudly.
"Thirty million! Hahaha! That skinny brat's worth thirty million! What a joke!"
"Seriously, what's the World Government thinking!?"
"Even our guy Sarquiss could handle that clown!"
On a couch, Sarquiss leaned back with a smug grin, an arm around a drunken woman, swirling his wine lazily.
Bang!
"People like them — dreamers from a bygone era — they make me laugh!" he sneered toward the bar. "There's no place for their kind on ships of the new age! Don't you think so, Bellamy?"
At the counter, Bellamy, with short blond hair and a blue cape draped over his shoulders, smirked.
"Cut, yeah. Weaklings who talk about dreams disgust me. I'm just afraid I might've gone too hard and killed them by accident, hahahaha!"
"HA HA HA HA!" The tavern roared with laughter — until—
BOOM!
The double doors exploded open.
Everyone turned. Blinding white light flooded in — and through it walked three silhouettes.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Their boots hit the wooden floor like clockwork, echoing through the suddenly silent tavern.
"Who the hell are you!?" someone barked.
"This place belongs to the Bellamy Pirates!"
The three didn't even glance at them — they just kept walking toward the bar.
"What, are you deaf!?" Sarquiss snarled, hand reaching for his curved kukri. "You got a death wish, huh?"
Lina spotted Bellamy immediately and walked straight toward him. He sat down at the counter right beside him.
Blue Oni and Red Oni took seats at his flanks.
Lina calmly took out a few bills, placed them on the counter, and said,
"Your best drink. One glass is fine."
The bartender glanced nervously at Bellamy, then back at Lina. "Sir, maybe… maybe you should drink somewhere else?"
"No need. I came to this place specifically. Just pour."
The bartender sighed, took down a bottle, and poured. "I tried to warn you," he muttered.
Bellamy chuckled, leaning sideways toward Lina.
"What's this? Another brave idiot? Must be something in the air today — first Roscio, then that Straw Hat kid, and now you. It's exhausting, you know?"
Lina raised the glass and repeated his words exactly, tone flat:
"Who says it isn't tiring? From your little thugs to the Blackbeard Pirates — and now a mangy mutt like you. Three times now. It's exhausting."
Bellamy's grin froze.
Behind Lina, Sarquiss — the long-haired, blue-haired man with the Donquixote Family crest tattooed across his chest — stepped up, twirling his kukri.
"So you're the one who made trouble for our guys, huh? Guess I should apologize on their behalf." He smirked wickedly. "You here for payback? Fine by me. Let me have some fun first."
"Heheheh, whatever."
BANG!
Before Bellamy could finish his chuckle, a thunderous crash echoed through the tavern.
Everyone turned — only to see Sarquiss buried headfirst in the floorboards, blood splattered across the wooden planks.
A massive fist still smoked faintly in the air around him.
Standing there was Red Oni.
The tavern went silent.
Every pirate froze — mouths agape, eyes wide in disbelief.
And Lina?
He calmly took a sip of his drink and set the glass down.Showtime had begun.