"Why does that flag look familiar?"
"That's the unique flag of one of the Pirate Emperors!"
"Why did it appear on Sabaody Archipelago?"
"The World Destroyer pirate has appeared! Hurry up and run!"
"What?!"
"Leave Sabaody Archipelago quickly! That guy is a villain who created a super tsunami to destroy two islands and indirectly killed hundreds of thousands of people! If he comes here to fight someone, we might also be indirectly killed!"
When the Pegasus emerged from the water and moored at the port, its unique flag immediately caused a sensation across Sabaody Archipelago.
Although El had made no major moves in the months since reaching the top, the meteor and tsunami remained fresh in everyone's minds.
Even with daily news—big and small—the world had not forgotten the events that shocked it a few months ago. That incident, in addition to elevating El to the summit, had spread his notoriety throughout the world.
People in the New World handled it slightly better, but those in Paradise and the Four Seas directly regarded him as a demon.
Not to mention coveting his 3 billion Belly bounty—almost all pirates and bounty hunters immediately thought of evacuating upon seeing him appear at Sabaody. They didn't even plan to flee to the nearest island, feeling unsafe there. Instead, they aimed for islands three or four away. After all, the super tsunami El had created could completely submerge two nearby islands and nearly drown a third—even more terrifying than Aqua Laguna, the annual high tide that struck Water 7.
Carina and the others never imagined that the Pegasus's appearance would cause such a stir. Shirahoshi, who had just joined the team, was even more puzzled. El, on the other hand, was quite pleased—it was quieter this way.
It was a good thing for the weak to fear them. At least there would be no situations where weaklings plotted to kill him or injure his crew.
However, just in case, El still asked Kuina to protect Shirahoshi and the others before heading to the lawless zone where pirates and bounty hunters ran amok on Sabaody.
On this trip, besides taking Yamato on an adventure, El had many other matters to attend to. Finding the Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire, and recruiting Shirahoshi were just two of them. Now, El was ready for his third business.
—
Island No. 13 belonged to the lawless zone. No one but underworld figures dared do business there—otherwise, their establishments would be ruined by lawless elements.
So the islands in the lawless zone were basically base camps for pirates who didn't plan to go to the New World, along with some bounty hunters and human traffickers.
In this lawless area, there was a Human Auctioning House, black markets, human shops, trades in forbidden weapons, etc. Entertainment venues like hotels, casinos, and parks didn't exist here.
The only exception was on Island 13, where a bar had remained open and established for many years.
Besides newcomers, local forces had long included this bar on their "do not provoke" list. The bar's name was Shakky's Rip-off Bar. From the name, it wasn't hard to deduce that the owner was a woman who used her name for the establishment.
"Excuse me." Descending before the bar, El pushed the door open directly.
It was still far from night, so the bar hadn't yet entered its peak hours. It was deserted—only a woman with a cigarette in her mouth wiping a wine glass.
However, this woman with a youthful appearance was just like Stussy—no one knew her actual age at all. She had already been a pirate thirty-five years ago, even hunted down by Monkey D. Garp, the Naval Hero. So even after retiring to Sabaody Archipelago to become a bar owner while selling intelligence, her information-gathering remained astonishing.
If he wasn't mistaken, she had collected the information that Hatchan had been killed by them and the reason Rayleigh knew who the killer was. So El's goal in returning to Sabaody Archipelago now was this senior of unknown age.
"I didn't expect this small place to have a famous person as a customer one day." Looking at El as he walked in, Shakky's eyes subconsciously flashed with surprise. However, her strong psychological素质 allowed her to calm down quickly, and she spoke with a light smile. "The famous Fourth Emperor of the Sea wouldn't just come here for a drink, would he?"
"Is the senior who wanted to kill me not here at the moment?" El looked around in a pretentious manner, then his eyes fell on Shakky. He grinned as he spoke: "It's fine if he's not here. This way, it'll be less troublesome when I read your memory."
The moment he finished speaking, El vanished in the blink of an eye and appeared right before Shakky, reaching out to grab her neck.
Facing El's attack, Shakky didn't panic at all. On the contrary, she deflected El's attack very skillfully, leaned back slightly, then threw a kick that collided with El's forearm. The shockwave from their clash shattered objects inside the bar—wine bottles, glasses, and more.
"A very good response—but that's it." El praised her, then the arm blocking Shakky's kick was coated with a layer of Armament Haki. He quickly grabbed her calf while raising his other hand, also covered in Armament Haki, and punched toward her.
Just as Shakky was about to react according to her future sight, El—seeing her thoughts through his eyes and utilizing the unreasonable nature of Life Return (Seimei Kikan)—forcibly retracted his already-thrown fist and vanished from Shakky's sight again.
The next second, Shakky, caught off guard by El's sudden change in attack, suddenly felt sharp pain in her abdomen. She saw El reappear in the same spot, the fist he had forcibly retracted thrown again, landing heavily on her belly.
The terrifying power and Haki contained in the blow made Shakky vomit blood. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground in agony from a single punch.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, El produced the Seastone handcuffs he had prepared in advance, grabbed Shakky's wrists, and fastened them.
After sealing Shakky's hands, El reached out to hold her head and consumed some Haki to read her memories. "Found it!!"
It didn't take long for El to find the information he wanted from Shakky's memory.
"Huh? This speed and range of Observation... worthy of being a deputy commander of the Pirate King, standing at the same level as the legends from the previous era!"
Just after reading Shakky's memory, El raised his brows slightly. Then he looked at Shakky, still unconscious on the ground, and said with a smile: "I originally intended this punch to write off our conflict—but it doesn't seem to work now."
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