The leader of the now-deceased bandits was so stunned that he barely felt the pain in his shot leg.
"Me, me, me, me!" Luffy mimicked him. "Surprise, huh! And a complete shocker, huh! I mean, unexpected, right?" As he approached the stunned bandit, the boy poked the heated muzzle of his revolver into Higuma's forehead. "That's why I like to kill the leaders last, to let you experience the absurdity of the situation… Makino doesn't really like it when I do this, and I understand why, but it's so much fun… You see, I like things to be fun and interesting. Too bad not everyone shares my sense of humor… well, actually, no one does." Unlike the previous two times Luffy had interacted with Higuma, his voice now was anything but childish, so it was no surprise that the former bandit leader did not immediately recognize him by voice. "And it also saddens me that I rarely get to save the leader for last," the boy sighed heavily, as if it were truly a matter of regret. "I don't like to take unnecessary risks, and leaders are usually the strongest and most dangerous bastards. And Luffy is small, and Luffy is weak, but Luffy has a nice revolver!" Without further ado, the boy shot Higuma's other leg.
The man howled loudly, clutching his new wound with his free hand.
"Wh-who are you?!!" the former leader of the former bandits croaked, holding his shot legs.
"Monkey D. Luffy! A boy from Foosha Village! Your atypical, unusual, and completely unfriendly neighbor, nice to meet you! And sorry, man, nothing personal, I just need to pay for my ice creams… You know, treats are so expensive these days… Although, wait, hold on!" Holding the revolver in one hand, Luffy pretended to frown and seriously rubbed his chin with the other hand. "Since you intended to harm my Makino, it's now officially personal," he murmured. "So, it's decided!" The boy nodded confidently. "I'm going to kill you not only for the money but also because it's personal! Like I'm some vengeful spirit who's come from the future to get you. Or no, better yet, I'll be the reincarnation of a government assassin… though no, that's not interesting either… Let's see… No, that would sound stupid… Damn, maybe you have some suggestions?" Luffy asked the prostrate Higuma, then poked him in the head with the revolver's muzzle again. "After all, we're going to kill you… Well, technically, I'll be the one doing the killing, but don't you want to contribute to your own death, aside from just dying? You can come up with who I am, give your death some cool meaning, and I'll play along. Though, since you came to me, a suicide story might suit you best, just make sure to add plenty of drama, otherwise, you'll be seen as an idiot. Appreciate it, will you! I'm not this generous every day."
They say that a person can only show their true nature when facing death. And Higuma, facing his death alone and in such a strange form, fully revealed his true nature. The leader of the mountain bandits, with a bounty of eight million on his head, a killer of fifty-six people, when under the muzzle of a revolver held by a small boy, simply wet himself from fear.
"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! I'll definitely change! I promise I will…" Higuma begged, shedding tears and snot, forgetting all pride, but the gunshot that rang out immediately silenced him forever.
Makino was not exaggerating when she said that Luffy was unaffected by other people's deaths. As soon as Higuma ceased to be of interest, he received a bullet to the forehead.
"Not good enough, man, so try to do better in your next life… Damn, for once the leader survived, but he had to turn out to be such a complete loser… What bad luck?" Luffy muttered disappointedly as he approached the last surviving bandit, who had been curled up in a fetal position all this time. The young man, still quite young, visibly trembled with fear. Although the blood droplets around him suggested that he might have been shaking from pain as well. "Hey, do you still want to live?" the boy asked. "Hey, I'm asking you!" he added, kicking the bandit's butt a couple of times to get his attention. "Either you answer me now, or I shoot!" not waiting for a response, he began to lose his patience rapidly.
Not getting an answer a third time, Luffy immediately fulfilled his threat.
"I'll tell everything! I'll tell everything! Don't kill me! I'll tell everything!" the bandit wailed in terror as the bullet struck the ground near his head.
"That's better," the boy nodded in satisfaction. "Now tell me where all your hideouts, caches, main base, and everything else I might be interested in are. If I suspect you're lying, you can blame yourself."
Luffy's words were correct, but due to his age, he looked a bit comical… On the other hand, surrounded by fourteen corpses, it was unlikely anyone would seriously want to laugh at him. So, the wounded bandit didn't find him amusing:
"I'll tell! I'll tell! I'll tell everything!"
True to his word, the terrified and bleeding bandit began to spill all the details of his criminal life to Luffy. The information was vast but mostly useless. However, the boy did not interrupt and continued to listen attentively. It was not always possible to predict in advance which piece of information might prove useful in the future and which would remain entirely useless. In the end, it was uncertain how long the already hoarse bandit would have continued talking without stopping, if Luffy's 'interrogation' had not been interrupted:
"I see you're still in your element."
Conrad Taik was twenty-five years old when he was lucky enough to be born a second time. That day, there were five of them, and their target was just a small boy. Under normal circumstances, no one would have even considered attacking such a little brat - he looked about five or six years old at most. But Conrad's former boss had been tipped off - may that little bird drop dead - with some very intriguing information. According to this information, the boy was acting as a genuine money courier between some marine and an unknown individual or perhaps even a group of individuals. And this money was for the heads of pirates and bandits. In other words, some rather unscrupulous people - probably wanted by the government themselves - were killing various pirates and bandits, and then receiving their rewards through this little boy. Of course, they had to have a mole among the marines - who else would deal with a child? - but it was the boy who carried the money. So it turned out that if someone were to suddenly take the money from the boy, none of the interested parties would raise a fuss - too great a risk of exposing themselves. It was just the perfect setup for a robbery.
In short, as Conrad's former and now deceased boss had assured, they had hit the jackpot. And in a way, he was right. A reward of several million, and the only opponent was a little boy. If that wasn't a jackpot, what else could you call such luck? Maybe suicide. But a year and a half ago, Conrad wasn't as smart as he is now.
"Why did it take so long?" Luffy asked impatiently, getting up from the grass where he had been lying. "I'm tired of waiting for you in this heat."
The sun really was scorching more than usual today.
"You were the one who ordered the carts," Conrad calmly shrugged. "Without them, we would have gotten here much faster."
Two spacious covered carts, each pulled by a pair of horses, with nine people in total, including Conrad himself, were either riding in the carts, sitting on the driver's seat, or on two warhorses acting as an escort. The ages of the people varied from twenty to thirty years old, each had a good physique, and none of them had any distinguishing features - they were average in every way. Very inconspicuous. Except for Conrad. Being a natural blonde with striking blue eyes and refined facial features, he always drew attention wherever he went. Most men couldn't stand him, while most women would hang around his neck at any opportunity, which Conrad used without any qualms. He used it not only for trading and obtaining information but also for his own pleasure.
"Still took too long!" Luffy, dissatisfied, didn't care about any excuses or logic.
Conrad pretended to be an ordinary merchant, a couple of older men posed as his drivers, the guards rode the warhorses, while the remaining four, who were the youngest, pretended to be peasants hired by the wealthy merchant as simple laborers. Moreover, each of them had at some point made the mistake (or stupidity) of opposing Luffy, but they all survived thanks to his mercy. Conrad, for example, was the only survivor of his entire previous group. The young man had no idea why the boy decided to spare him, but as they say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Who did you get this time?" Conrad wisely decided to change the subject, jumping down from his place beside the 'driver.'
Following him, the 'peasants' climbed out of the carts, the 'drivers' got down from the driver's seats, and the 'guards' dismounted their horses, then silently began dragging the bodies of the dead bandits into the carts. The men looked as if they were performing their usual routine, though without habit, few could remain indifferent at the sight of bloody corpses. The smell alone was unbearable.
"This time, I was lucky enough to meet Higuma," the boy pointed to the body of the mentioned bandit.
"Seriously?" Conrad couldn't believe it. "We're near your home... Are you saying he came to you himself?"
"He even waved his wanted poster in front of my face," Luffy nodded.
"No way..."
It wasn't as if they were specifically hunting Higuma and his men, but they had been gathering information on him regularly; it was just that they never had the chance to use the information before. Higuma and his men always left villages too quickly, never staying long. And then this happens. He just walked into Luffy's village. Talk about bad luck. For the mountain bandits, that is.