After the fight, the town square was completely became silent. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only thing moving was Imu's dark cloak in the wind.
All the townspeople stood like statues, too scared and surprised to move. They had just watched one man beat a whole pirate crew in a few seconds.
The people stared at the dead pirates on the ground, then at the strange man who stood among them. He wasn't like a Marine hero or a loud cheerful pirate. He was quiet mysterious.
The first person to move was the old man who sold fruit. He slowly stood up. He looked at Imu, He took a few steps closer to Imu, bowed his head and said, "Thank you."
That quiet "thank you" was all it took to broke the silence of the entire town.
Like a mysterious spell had been broken, everyone started to move. A woman looked out her window and started crying happy tears. The baker who was robbed came out of his shop with wide, amazed eyes. A little boy pointed and said loudly, "He beat the bad guys"
And then the celebration began.
The single "thank you" turned into a huge happy cheer. People ran out of their houses and shops into the square. They weren't scared of the mess anymore. They were crying with relief and shouting with joy.
"We're free from the pirates" a young woman yelled hugging her dad.
"He saved us, He really saved us" the baker cheered.
Everyone started to walk toward Imu. They wanted to thank their hero. An old woman offered him a loaf of fresh bread. A young man offered him a bottle of juice.
Imu just stood there as the happy people gathered around him.
'What is this?' he thought, looking at them with his calm red eyes. 'Why are they thanking me? I didn't save them to be nice. I just killed those pirates because they were annoying and tried to take my sword. Them being free is just what happened after.'
The people called him "savior" and "hero." To Imu, these words meant nothing. A hero helps people on purpose. Imu had just crushed a bug that was annoying him. You don't have thank someone for crushing a bug.
The crowd cheered loudly. They moved even closer and trying to touch Imu's cloak to make sure he was real.
This was too much for Imu. All these happy people were making him uncomfortable. He quickly raised both his hands.
He looked down at his own hands, held up against the people he had just "saved."
And then, a very weird thought popped into Imu's head.
He is the secret king of the entire world, who ruled with fear and control, was being treated like a hero who brings freedom. He made sad people smile. He beat up the bullies. The cheering people looked at him like he was a hero from a storybook.
'They look at me like I am a good guy,' he thought. 'Like I am a hero of the people. How silly.'
He stared at his open hands.
'Maybe I am Luffy?' he thought thinking of the boy in the straw hat. 'or Maybe I am Joyboy?'
The idea was so strange and funny, he almost smiled. He was the exact opposite of a hero like Joyboy.
But then, he remembered who he really was. He is not a hero. Not a saviour He didn't care if these people were happy or free. He just did what he wanted to do.
'No,' he thought, looking at the happy crowd one last time. 'I am not a hero. I am not Joyboy.'
A tiny cold smile appeared on his face.
Without saying another word, Imu lowered his hands. He turned his back on the cheering crowd and started walking toward the port.
Seeing Imu's movement the crowd went quiet again and confused that he was leaving so suddenly without saying anything at all.
People moved out of from his way and making a path for him. They could only watch as their mysterious savior walked away leaving the town free but very confused about who he was.