Three days had thoroughly exhausted Shirakawa's patience. He decided to simply take the tree and be done with it.
The moment the thought struck, he acted. Shirakawa descended directly beside Adam, and in that instant, a crowd surged forward, surrounding him—every pair of hands gripping a spear leveled straight at him.
"You again?"
A voice rang out beside Shirakawa. The speaker was none other than the man who had attacked him three days prior.
"I left, thought it over for a long while, and in the end decided—I'm taking this tree with me."
"Impossible." "In your dreams."
The instant Shirakawa finished speaking, the crowd encircling him erupted with protests and furious shouts.
"Are you courting death?" The bow-wielding man directed his anger at Shirakawa as well. From the very first glance three days ago, he had known this stranger harbored ill intentions.
And now it turned out his instincts had been dead-on—this man had his thieving eyes on their sacred tree.
Just then, a figure came scrambling over in a frantic rush, voice shaking as he shouted, "Everyone, trouble! Pirates are coming!"
"What? Pirates?" At that single word, every face in the crowd paled.
They had repelled many pirate raids lately, but every victory had come at no small cost.
"How many of them?"
It was the bowman who asked the question, turning to the messenger. By all appearances, he was this group's captain—someone with a fair degree of authority.
"O-One."
"Just one man? Don't tell me you can't even stop a single person?"
Hearing it was only one, he nearly laughed, feeling as though the messenger was mocking them. Their entire village, unable to stop one man?
"That man is overwhelmingly strong. Even your father has fallen at his hands."
"What?" At those words, he was plunged into utter shock. His father was the village's previous generation's champion, a warrior of formidable strength.
And yet his father—along with the other villagers—had been defeated by a single person. It was practically inconceivable.
Right then, a concussive blast erupted somewhere behind them. If Shirakawa's ears didn't deceive him, that sound was born from the friction between a fist and the very air.
Sure enough, within their line of sight, dozens of trees went rocketing skyward—some snapped clean at the trunk, others ripped out roots and all.
"Looks like a real powerhouse has arrived."
Shirakawa murmured under his breath. Even without deploying his Observation Haki to scan, he could already feel the pressure radiating from the newcomer's presence.
By now, every eye in the group was fixed on the distance, as though they had completely forgotten about Shirakawa—after all, he hadn't yet made a move against them.
Soon enough, Shirakawa spotted a familiar silhouette.
"Didn't expect to run into him here."
Seeing who it was, Shirakawa spoke with a note of surprise.
"You know him?" The young captain standing beside Shirakawa had caught his words.
"You could say he's an acquaintance. But take my advice—you're no match for him. If you're willing to entrust your sacred tree to me, I'll help you out of this predicament."
"Keep dreaming. The sacred tree will never be handed over to anyone." He felt the pressure too, but he didn't believe he would lose.
"So this is the Treasure Tree Adam?"
The newcomer drawled unhurriedly. Hearing those words, Shirakawa understood at once—the two of them were here for exactly the same thing. Adam.
"You're the last line of resistance, then?"
By now, the man had taken in the defenders stationed before the Treasure Tree Adam—and spotted Shirakawa standing behind them.
When his gaze landed on Shirakawa, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes. Something about this person felt familiar, but with a mask concealing the face, he couldn't confirm their true identity.
"Who are you?"
The young captain had already drawn his bow, arrow nocked and aimed squarely at the intruder.
A wicked grin spread across the man's face. "Me? I'm the one who's come to take your treasure."
While passing through the village moments ago, he had already gleaned just how precious the Treasure Tree Adam was to these people.
No sooner had the man finished speaking than the captain released his grip on the bowstring. With a sharp whistle, the arrow tore through the air, streaking straight for the intruder's skull.
But just as the arrow was about to pierce his head, it was caught from behind—stopped dead less than a centimeter from his temple.
Clearly, he had done this on purpose, a bit of theater to flex on the crowd. Then, with a hard squeeze of his hand, the arrow crumbled into powder.
At this sight, the captain's expression grew several shades grimmer. This was the second time someone had caught his arrow barehanded.
And the first man to catch his arrow was standing right behind him at this very moment—apparently another enemy, one whose strength could not be underestimated either.
"Captain, what do we do?"
One of his men asked.
"Attack! Do not let him anywhere near the sacred tree."
"Yes!"
At once, the same group that had encircled Shirakawa moments before now charged at the newcomer. Watching them rush forward, the man's face curled into a sinister smirk.
He clenched both fists, and when the first villager reached him, he threw a single punch—sending the man flying dozens of meters back. By the looks of it, he wasn't getting up again.
"Kotaro!" His comrade screamed his name, then charged forward in a blind fury.
"Easy now. There's plenty to go around for everyone."
With those words, the man leaned back, and from his body erupted a shockwave of force that blasted every single charging villager off their feet and sent them hurtling away.
Having witnessed this, he decided it was time to go on the offensive himself.
"As expected of him. His personality hasn't changed one bit."
Watching the man take the initiative, Shirakawa wore an expression that said I knew it all along.
"By my count, it's been quite a long time since we last saw each other."
Before long, every last defender lay sprawled on the ground, beaten down. The only people still standing now were Shirakawa and the intruder.
"Damn it..."
The captain pounded the ground in unwilling frustration. He had been taken down in just two punches.
"Well then, is it your turn now?" The man addressed Shirakawa, that same mocking expression still plastered across his face.
"Bullet. After all this time, you really haven't changed one bit."
Hearing his own name spoken, Bullet froze for a moment.
Then Shirakawa removed his mask, revealing a smiling face.
"It's been a while, Bullet." Shirakawa offered the greeting first. That's right—the man who had come to seize Adam was none other than Bullet, the one who had disembarked from the ship before Shirakawa.
"Hahahaha!" At the sight of Shirakawa's familiar grin, Bullet burst into roaring laughter.
"Never thought you'd still be alive."
/-\
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