"Kill him!"
The air reeked of blood.
Tera clutched his neck and his side—both pouring red like a busted barrel. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the restaurant entrance, where pirates kept flooding in.
That creeping fear still wouldn't leave his chest.
Too close.
A little closer and he'd be on his way to the afterlife.
"Boss, let me bandage you—"
"I'm not dead yet!" Tera roared, spitting blood as he spoke. "Get in there and butcher that little brat!"
His men hesitated.
When Tera shouted, blood sprayed from his mouth and throat. His side—right where the kidney had been hit—was already soaking through everything. It looked like he could bleed out any second.
But the boss insisted.
So they had no choice but to "obey."
Inside the restaurant, Hermes crouched behind the counter, breathing hard.
He could feel it—pirates were pouring in from all directions. If he showed his head, he'd get turned into a sieve.
Without leaning on the Mini-Mini Fruit, his toolkit was still too limited.
"Running into me is your bad luck."
His normal-sized body snapped down to five millimeters.
Hermes sprinted and hopped across a mess of broken food and debris, then casually slipped through the pirates' encirclement like he owned the place—right back outside.
A man with goals and backbone didn't let prey go.
Once he locked on, he bit down like a rabid dog and didn't release. That was the minimum respect you gave an enemy.
Hermes crept toward Tera without a sound.
Tera had already lost so much blood his vision was swimming—hallucinations creeping in. In his haze, he saw that brat appear in front of him like a ghost.
But that was impossible.
The kid was supposed to be trapped inside the restaurant.
"Heh… heh… heh…"
Hermes flashed a gentle smile—
the kind of smile Death wore.
His Finger Pistol shot out like lightning.
Tera's last scream cut off mid-note.
Even as he died, he never understood how Hermes had gotten outside.
"Boss!"
The pirates inside heard the scream and rushed out—
only to freeze.
How the hell was the kid out here?!
"Bang bang bang—!"
"Kill him!"
"Damn it—he was inside!"
Bullets tore through the air in a dense swarm, whistling straight toward Hermes.
Hermes didn't try to tank it.
With his current durability, one bullet was enough to end him.
He rolled hard, grabbed cover—then shrank to five millimeters again.
He moved like a flea across the chaotic battlefield, weaving between boots and fallen bodies, closing distance—
then suddenly returned to full size and used Finger Pistol to harvest another head.
"Aaaah!!!"
"What the hell?!"
"Bastard!"
One pirate dropped.
Then another.
Then another.
The survivors finally started to panic.
They didn't understand how Hermes appeared and disappeared.
He'd kill someone, vanish like smoke—then pop up right in front of the next target.
Before they could react, they were already on the road to hell.
"He's a user!"
"That kid… he's a Devil Fruit user, like our captain!"
Finally someone connected the dots.
A living man couldn't vanish and reappear for no reason.
A few pirates even caught a glimpse of Hermes at five millimeters—but it was only a flicker. Barely visible.
And when your friends are dropping one after another, you don't have time to stare at the floor and "observe."
Your heart was already screaming:
I'm next.
Gunfire soon stopped.
Every last pirate in that group became a corpse.
Hermes stood in the pool of blood, his body once again speckled with fresh stains.
"That's Dog-Dog Pirates, right?"
"Now this is going to be fun."
"I heard that kid already killed a bunch of Dog-Dog Pirates today."
"A Devil Fruit user… that's rare in this town."
"Probably a Paramecia."
"And isn't Dog-Dog Pirates captain Joya a user too?"
"Yeah—Zoan. Dog-Dog Fruit, Pug Form. 38 million bounty. That's how he's held his ground here. Only Chain Pirates and Twin-Wheel Pirates can really stand against them."
"…Well, looks like there's a third option now."
"And it's a kid."
Spectators—pirates and civilians alike—lined the street. Whispers spread, heads leaning together.
Hermes wasn't killing random nobodies anymore.
This was a serious provocation.
The pirates who loved chaos were practically drooling at what came next.
Some even started running betting pools on the spot—how many days Hermes would survive, or whether the Dog-Dog Pirates would get wiped out completely.
Absurd.
Hermes carved out his trophies and didn't linger.
The grudge was set.
A man with guts didn't sit around waiting to be hunted.
He hunted back.
And Hermes Jormungandr had plenty of guts.
Before leaving, he swept his gaze across the crowd and declared war loudly:
"Dog-Dog Pirates—start digging your graves. I, Hermes Jormungandr, will come for you personally."
He knew that message would reach their ears.
"That brat's arrogant."
"Young and fiery… reminds me of myself."
"People who act that proud usually die ugly."
No doubt about it—
In one day, Dog-Dog Pirates lost a pile of men. And with Hermes's open declaration on top, his name spread even wider.
This accidental stepping stone—Dog-Dog Pirates—was turning out to be shockingly useful.
In this world, getting famous was easy:
Challenge someone with a name.
Survive.
And you'd have fame.
The only problem was the risk.
"What? Even Tera is dead?"
When the news reached Joya, he froze for a beat—
then his face twisted into something vicious.
He'd underestimated the kid.
He'd lost too many men already. The outside world was definitely laughing at him now.
That brat had to die.
No one could save him.
Joya said so.
And that declaration of war?
It lit a fuse in his skull.
"I'll wait for that arrogant little bastard," Joya growled. "I'll crush his head with my own hands."
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Hermes washed up again and started devouring food in a different restaurant.
After every fight, his hunger hit fast. That was a good sign.
A strong man's standard issue.
Once he ate and drank his fill, it was time to hunt again—
but there was no rush.
It would be dark in two or three hours. Plenty of time for a nap.
Over at the Dog-Dog Pirates' base, people were gathering openly and secretly—watchers who came for the show.
Among them were pirates from the Chain Pirates and the Twin-Wheel Pirates—crews that could press Dog-Dog Pirates hard.
And the Dog-Dog Pirates themselves?
They looked relaxed.
To them, as long as Captain Joya was here, a kid showing up would just be delivering himself.
They waited.
And waited.
Hours.
Three… almost four.
Still nothing.
Not a person.
Not a soul.
"That kid won't show, will he?"
"It's already dark!"
"Captain Joya's bounty is 38 million. In this town, other than Chainman and Kokos, nobody can face him head-on."
"That kid talked too big. Once he learned how scary Joya is, he probably ran out of town."
"Waste of time."
"Damn it—my whole stash was on the line. One million Beli!"
"If that kid doesn't come, I'll kill him myself!"
The longer it dragged on, the more irritated the gamblers and violent idiots got.
Their emotions were boiling over.
Hermes didn't care.
After his nap, he walked into a gambling house and put all his money on the table too.
A chance to harvest leeks like this?
Only a fool wouldn't take it.
He hadn't expected his little declaration to create an entire betting industry chain—but hey.
If it made money, he could do it more often.
Especially since the odds were heavily in Joya's favor—
which meant most people thought Hermes would lose.
If he didn't bankrupt these suckers…
then Hermes Jormungandr would write his name backwards.