"Bastard! You're asking for death!"
"Brothers, get him! Take down the guy who fired the gun!"
The companions of the two men who were shot in the head immediately roared and charged at the man in the headscarf at the door.
"You're the ones seeking death."
The man in the headscarf narrowed his eyes slightly, put away his double-barreled gun, and took out two clubs with ball-shaped ends. In a flash, he moved swiftly through the group.
By the time he stopped in front of the group's leader—the fat man—
The entire tavern had fallen silent.
Behind the headscarfed man, everyone else had collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The fat man, who had been arrogant a moment ago, turned pale instantly. "Damn you! You killed all my men—you'll pay with your life!"
As he shouted, the fat man drew his two axes and swung them fiercely at the headscarfed man.
"Hmph!" The man snorted coldly. With one swing, he easily shattered the fat man's battle axe. With another swing, he struck the fat man's face, sending him flying into the opposite wall with a crash.
"You bastard! What have you done to my tavern?!" the tavern owner shouted, his face twisted in anger.
Lin Mo and Rayleigh both silently stared at the headscarfed man.
Rayleigh didn't know who he was.
But Lin Mo did.
He was Gin, the Man Demon—Commander of the Krieg Pirates.
Krieg was the pirate captain Lin Mo had defeated back at Baratie.
"You little brat, I've been looking for you!" Gin growled, glaring viciously at Lin Mo.
Back when Krieg went to Baratie, Gin had stayed behind due to a mission.
When he heard that Krieg had died, he nearly lost his mind.
You could say Gin was the most loyal of all Krieg's crew.
To avenge Krieg, he had been hunting down Lin Mo's whereabouts ever since—hence why he appeared here.
Lin Mo stared at him with mild annoyance.
Gin was a ruthless but deeply loyal man.
In the original story, he later received kindness from Sanji and even knocked out Krieg in return.
But now, with Krieg dead by Lin Mo's hand and no kindness shown to Gin, it made sense that he'd be out for blood.
"Oh? Seems like there's some deep grudge between you two," Rayleigh chuckled as he watched, taking another drink.
The tavern owner, fuming, shouted, "Even if you've got a grudge, don't make a mess in my tavern! Several tables are already destroyed!"
Gin's expression turned grim as he coldly stared at the tavern owner.
Without hesitation, he raised his double-barreled gun and fired a shot at the owner.
The tavern owner was startled out of his wits.
Rayleigh, one hand holding his drink, drew the sword at his waist with the other.
As the bullet passed by, he flicked it off-course with the blade.
The bullet brushed past the tavern owner's hair and smashed a bottle behind him on the liquor shelf.
Gin frowned slightly.
Rayleigh muttered regretfully, "Tch, what a waste of good booze."
"Hmph!" Gin snorted again and refocused on Lin Mo.
Without a word, he fired several shots at Lin Mo while simultaneously charging with his clubs.
Lin Mo sighed and tilted his head a couple of times, dodging all the bullets effortlessly.
As Gin closed in, Lin Mo drew Toyako.
Time to test out God Avoidance.
His eyes flashed.
In an instant, Lin Mo swung the blade with immense speed, coating the slash with rotating Haki.
The Haki-infused sword energy seemed to have a will of its own—it twisted in midair to evade Gin's clubs and struck him square in the back.
Gin spat out a mouthful of blood.
He collapsed face-first to the ground, his eyes rolling back as he passed out.
"Incredible!" the tavern owner was stunned.
Rayleigh, who had been relaxed and amused, froze the moment Lin Mo unleashed God Avoidance.
"That move… could it be… God Avoidance?" Rayleigh exclaimed.
Lin Mo calmly sheathed Toyako, picked up his bottle, and took another drink.
Rayleigh now looked at Lin Mo differently.
He was certain—what Lin Mo just used was indeed God Avoidance!
That was Roger's sword technique.
Even knowing the principle behind it, most people couldn't pull it off.
Even with talent, it required years of dedicated training.
How had this kid mastered it?
Rayleigh had initially been skeptical of what Shanks said—that Lin Mo might be someone who could shake the world in the future.
But now, he believed it.
Anyone who could so easily learn and wield that man's sword technique…
Was no ordinary person.
"You're not planning to make yourself scarce?" Lin Mo said flatly after taking a sip.
Rayleigh snapped out of it, finally noticing the growing number of Marines gathering in the alley outside, drawn by the noise.
This brat's Observation Haki was impressive too.
Rayleigh gave him a thoughtful look, clearly impressed.
He smiled and stood up, turning to the tavern owner: "Boss, mind if I hide in your storeroom for a bit?"
The tavern owner, confused, nodded.
Rayleigh casually walked toward the back where the liquor was stored.
Not long after he disappeared inside, Smoker arrived with several Marines.
Seeing the bodies on the floor, Smoker's brows furrowed.
His gaze landed on Lin Mo, who was sitting at the bar, drinking like nothing had happened.
That brat again… Could it be he killed all these people?
Smoker turned to his men. "Drag these bodies outside."
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines quickly got to work.
Smoker sat beside Lin Mo and glanced at the empty bottle on the counter.
He narrowed his eyes. "You drank that too?"
Lin Mo lazily glanced at Rayleigh's empty bottle, then took another sip, not bothering to answer.
Seeing Lin Mo ignoring him, Smoker turned to the tavern owner. "Give me a rum."
The tavern owner snorted, "There's no booze for you here."
Smoker wasn't offended at all. Using his smoke, he pulled a bottle from the shelf, popped it open, and took a swig.
"Brat, were you the one who killed all these people?" Smoker asked with a flat expression.
Lin Mo answered coolly, "No."
At that moment, a Marine called out, "Captain Smoker! One of them's still alive!"
Smoker looked at the man the Marine was carrying. When he saw the face, he was surprised.
"This is Gin—the Man Demon, Commander of the Krieg Pirates? I remember Krieg died a few days ago… Gin's been hunting the one who killed Krieg ever since. So… the one who killed Krieg… was you?"
Smoker turned to Lin Mo again, eyes wide with astonishment.
Lin Mo just kept drinking calmly.
As if the entire matter had nothing to do with him.