The giant ship, a true conqueror of the seas, slowly docked, and its massive gangplank dropped with a heavy thud.
Takuro, walking casually with Tiger and Robin, stepped down onto the port. Seeing the dense crowd that surrounded them so tightly that they couldn't possibly move, Takuro stopped, startled.
"Holy cow! Why are there so many people? Are the people here just super welcoming? Are they here to say hi to us?" he asked.
Tiger's eyes narrowed instantly, his body tensing with caution. He quickly scanned the surroundings, taking in the undisguised greed and malice on every single face. He spoke in a deep, serious voice.
"Mr. Takuro, I don't think they're here to welcome us. It seems like these people... are here for us."
Robin, in contrast, showed no tension at all. She followed leisurely next to Takuro, her small sunglasses making her look like she was enjoying a holiday.
"Let's go," Takuro told Tiger, giving a small gesture to tell him not to worry. "They're just small-fry. They wouldn't even make a good appetizer."
With that, he took the lead and walked straight toward the crowd. Tiger and Robin exchanged a quick look and hurried to follow him.
The moment they reached the port, a group of clearly ill-intentioned people surrounded the trio, making it impossible to move forward. Takuro, however, acted as if he didn't even notice them. Instead, he looked around, taking in the unique environment with great curiosity.
Giant, translucent soap bubbles, like fantastical balloons, shimmered with dazzling, colorful light under the bright sun. But the buildings around them were run-down and messy. Sticking to his simple rule of "ask if you don't know," Takuro turned to Tiger.
"Hey, Tiger. You said the Sabaody Archipelago was super successful and fancy, right? Why is it... like this? It looks less developed than even the small islands near my Ambri Island."
"Uh... well..." Tiger was completely lost for words, stammering out a reply. "Perhaps... perhaps I remembered wrong."
In truth, he had only ever heard stories about how prosperous the Sabaody Archipelago was. Ever since he had escaped his life as a slave to the Celestial Dragons, Tiger had always felt a deep, unconscious need to stay far away from the Holy Land Mary Geoise. Since the Sabaody Archipelago was right next to it, he naturally avoided the place.
It was Robin who answered the question instead.
"Master, that's because this is Area 1."
"What does that mean?" Takuro asked.
"The Sabaody Archipelago is divided into seventy-nine different zones," Robin explained with a calm smile. "And from Area 1 to Area 29, the zones are mostly filled with human trafficking shops, human auctions, and various... lawless areas. That's why it looks so chaotic here."
"The shipyards and the coating craftsmen you're looking for are all gathered together in Areas 50 to 59," she finished.
Takuro scratched his ear. "So, if our ship needs to be coated so we can dive, we have to go to another zone?"
"That's correct, Master," Robin replied, her smile widening.
Takuro nodded, then looked at Robin with curiosity. "Speaking of which, how do you know all this? You've never been here before, have you?"
For the past few years, Robin had been by his side every single day; she had never left. How could she possibly know so much about a faraway place like this?
"By reading books, of course," Robin said, proudly puffing out her chest.
After all this time, she had finally gotten one over on him! Now let's see if he still dared to say she only read "useless old books" all day!
Takuro found her proud little expression amusing, but he didn't want to argue about it. "Let's go," he said. "Since that's the case, let's go find that... coating craftsman first."
Just as they were about to leave the loud and crowded port, the group of ill-intentioned people who had been waiting for them immediately closed in.
A huge, muscular man with an arrogant expression and a horrible scar across his face led his subordinates and directly blocked Takuro's way.
"Hey, kid, where are you... going?"
As he spoke, he arrogantly pulled out a pistol and fired two loud shots into the sky, "Bang! Bang!", trying to look threatening.
"I'm 'Scar' Jack! My brothers and I are a little short on Berry lately, so we want to 'borrow' some money from you guys to spend, how about it?!"
Takuro glanced at the man, then simply muttered to himself.
"...It seems I'm still not famous enough in this world."
Then, he looked at the man strangely and asked, "You're called 'Scar' Jack? Then why... do you use a gun instead of a knife?"
"Huh?"
The man named "Scar Jack" was momentarily confused. Then, he automatically began to explain himself.
"I'm called 'Scar' Jack because I have a big scar on my face! That's why I have this nickname, not because I use a knife!"
"Oh, I see, that makes sense," Takuro nodded. Then, he suggested in a very "sincere" tone, "Since that's the case, why don't you get a new nickname? Something like... 'Pistol' Jack?"
"Your current nickname doesn't match the weapon in your hand at all. Wouldn't that hurt your reputation as a big boss?"
"..."
Scar Jack was totally dumbfounded.
He felt... what the other person said seemed... quite reasonable?
Imagine, in the future, when he fights with someone, he would proudly declare his name— "Scar" Jack! But then... he'd pull out a small pistol?
Wouldn't that... wouldn't that completely destroy his fearsome reputation as a "great pirate"?!
So Scar Jack, surprisingly humbly, asked Takuro for advice. "Then... then what kind of new nickname do you think I should take?"
"Hmm..." Takuro stroked his chin, pretending to think deeply.
At this moment, one of Scar Jack's subordinates, who couldn't stand it anymore, spoke up to remind his boss. "Boss! Boss! He... he looks like he's tricking you!"
Hearing this, and then seeing Takuro's half-smiling face, Scar Jack immediately understood!
He became furious in an instant!
"You motherf***er! You dare to trick me, kid!"
"Yes," Takuro smiled, easily admitting it. "So what?"
"Darn it! I'm going to kill you!"
Scar Jack couldn't hold back anymore. He immediately raised the gun in his hand, intending to simply blow the brains out of this ignorant kid in front of him!
But, the very next moment... his head suddenly vanished from his neck.
His subordinates behind him hadn't even had time to react, their vicious smiles still fixed on their faces.
It wasn't until Scar Jack's headless, burly body fell to the ground with a loud "boom," and bright crimson blood started flowing everywhere... that they finally understood what had happened.
"B-Boss... is dead?!"
All the subordinates immediately burst into chaotic panic!
And some of the other ill-intentioned individuals who were hidden in the crowd, upon seeing this sudden, bloody scene, had their eyes widen in shock!
They had completely underestimated how quickly things could change!
They realized they hadn't even clearly seen how the black-haired young man had made his move!
Instantly, they all understood.
'This kid... is not someone you mess with!'
For a moment, these people all started to consider running away.
However... "So noisy!"
A tyrannical, overwhelming aura, like a physical tsunami, suddenly erupted from Takuro's body! It wildly swept out in every direction! Continuously spreading far into the distance!
Even the calm sea surface began to churn with layers of waves under the pressure of this terrifying aura!
In an instant, everyone at the entire port who was surrounding Takuro with bad intentions fell down like cut wheat, their eyes rolling back, foam bubbling from their mouths, all collapsing onto the ground.
Suddenly, everything was silent...
Meanwhile, in Area 13, at Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
A white-haired old man, wearing round-rimmed spectacles, was holding a wine glass and leisurely taking a sip, when he suddenly put his glass down.
He slowly raised his head and looked toward the direction of Port 1.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Oh my... it seems an extraordinary fellow has arrived at Sabaody today..."
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