[59] In Search of a Ginger (3)
Chapter 59: In Search of a Ginger (3)
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Loyd had nearly choked when he heard that name before it registered in his head that it wasn’t ‘Whitebeard’ but instead some random guy named ‘Brownbeard’.
Ripping off the four Emperors’ titles wasn’t actually that rare in the Grandline. There were Blue Headed Pirates, the Insect Pirates, and the recently popular, Mid Mom Pirates.
Among the three, only the Mid Mom Pirates were not a corrupted crew. In truth, their crew was called The Crux, and it was just the people who dubbed it the ‘Mid Mom Pirates’ due to the Captain’s motherly nature. They were a crew that valued music and adventure.
So it wasn’t that surprising that there was a Brownbeard in the town. What was surprising, and outright shocking even, was that there was a Brownbeard in Loyd’s town. Why was a Grandline Pirate here?
Loyd walked with his executives toward the west coast. He could see the fire and smoke of destruction from here, they were closing upon the enemy.
The girl, Nami, was right with them, too. Loyd wouldn’t usually bring a weak person like her to a dangerous battlefield, but he was confident that he could keep her safe. The reason he was bringing her was that he wanted her to see that he was strong. That’d help her trust him with the issue she was facing.
Loyd was confident in taking down Brownbeard.
‘I recall he had 50 million berries of a bounty… That should be within my reach.’
Loyd knew bounty wasn’t the best way to evaluate a person’s strength, a lesson taught by Dragon to all his subordinates, but it helped.
“Ah…”
The group finally reached the area. Everyone stopped at their feet seeing the destruction caused. Buildings were upturned, walls were broken, and a fire was caught on multiple rides. People were hurt, bleeding even, and some might have died too.
Nami shook and flinched at the sight. She seemed scared to be here and was confused about why she was bought here. Did they plan to use her as a meat shield if things went rough?
While she contemplated, Loyd found the culprit. His Observation Haki had run over the area to find the bastards who caused the people pain.
Although Loyd didn’t have Armament Haki, he had Observation. There was no point in mentioning Conqueror’s Haki, after all, how many people had it?
“Guard, stay here with the girl. The other four follow me, we are taking them out.”
Loyd said in a serious voice and rushed forward. Four executives followed him while the guard stayed back to watch over Nami.
* * *
Brownbeard is a very large, overweight man who was 22’8” feet in height. As his name suggested, he possessed a long brown beard that was kept in three distinct braids, as well as a mustache.
He wore a large coat and a cape, and he wielded a large sword. He had come to this side of the sea after being chased by the Whitebeard Pirates due to a random encounter. Naturally, they didn’t take his name peacefully and began attacking him.
It was purely luck that allowed Brownbeard to flee from there, with his crew intact too. He would enter the Grandline again, but later. He planned to take a vacation for now, on the weakest sea, the East Blue.
Luckily, he happened to find this very rich and flourishing island. Filled with riches rare even in Grandline, he planned to take over the place and make it his own.
‘Who knows, if I feel like it, I might just spend the rest of my life here like a king. Hehe.’
Brownbeard planned as he butchered the people of this place, destroying the buildings with a simple wave of his hand.
Brownbeard didn’t have any Haki. He knew its existence, but he didn’t have it. But that didn’t mean he was weak, though. His mother was a giant, while his father was a human, and so he was half a giant. That was the secret behind his height. That made him physically very strong. He could destroy buildings quite effortlessly.
“You criminals!”
So, when a shout that sounded stronger than others entered Brownbeard’s ears, he didn’t panic. He grinned widely and turned to the burly man who was running towards him along with a group.
If he wasn’t wrong, that must be the leader of this place. There wasn’t any picture of him, but the rumors matched his description.
Brownbeard could tell that man was quite strong physically. Those muscles didn’t lie. However, he was still a human.
That man was small.
The gigantic Brownbeard was confident in defeating him.
* * *
Loyd was confident but… he was lacking.
He lost.
Loyd was defeated, he had let down Dragon and was defeated by a criminal.
The result of the 12-minute fight was Loyd’s kiss.
The match was surprisingly close, and Brownbeard was shocked out of his soul at first. However, as the match progressed, Loyd learned the limits of his body and had to give in against the superior power.
He wished that was all, but it wasn’t.
“Oh wow~ Isn’t this a pretty one?”
While his subordinates lay on the ground, defeated and injured, Loyd was on his knees. He saw the scene unfold clearly as the mini-giant picked up the ginger head, Nami, and rubbed her cheeks with his fingers. He wore a nasty grin as he did so.
The girl looked horrified, disgusted, and on the verge of puking.
“Aw… but she is too small for me. Then again, mother was a giant, and father was a normal human. So maybe it can work out between us?”
There wasn’t enough context, but Loyd was witty enough to understand the implications. His eyes widened as he looked at the poor girl. He shouldn’t have brought her here…! He was too confident, overconfident that he would win! Now she would pay for his foolishness-
“Oh wow.”
“…?!”
Loyd’s monologues came to an end and his head snapped to the side hearing a new voice. Why were more civilians coming here?! Did they not hear about the pirate attack happening here?
Then, Loyd’s eyes widened at the sight he saw.
It was evening. The sun was huge as it set halfway into the sea. A huge duck was walking towards them, with the sun setting behind it, being ridden by a young man whose eyes were hidden by a hat.
The young man was wearing an expensive leather jacket, pants, a cowboy hat, and lastly, cowboy boots. He was wearing clothes that were sold in the park, Loyd recognized, but at the same time, Loyd hadn't seen anybody pull off the look as good as he did.
The duck stopped a few meters from Brownbeard and stopped the song he was humming.
“Sheesh- isn’t this too fucked up? When I thought it’d be a cool stroll while I sang the ‘Old Town Road’. But I wasn’t expecting this scene. A perverted giant harassing a little girl? Wow- Ah, wait, it’s Nami! What a coincidence.”
Loyd was shocked seeing this lad knew Nami, and it seemed the Nami girl was surprised herself. Loyd opened his mouth to shout to the young man, to ask him to leave, but Brownbeard spoke first.
“Another puny human? Ugh, annoying. Oi, you lots, take care of him.”
Brownbeard ordered his minions. While Loyd fought Brownbeard, his executives fought the minions. The minions won. So it was clear to Loyd that those minions were strong.
That civilian young man was in danger!
Sadly, based on his aloof expression, the little bit that was visible thanks to his getup, the young man didn’t realize the danger he was in. He could die…!
“Damn, it’s a bunch of mobs.”
The young man rubbed the back of his head.
“Mhm, it activated on its own back then with Wapol… How do I activate it on my own?”
As the minions approached, the young man continued to act aloof. Loyd did his best to push himself to his legs. Though he got up, Brownbeard used a finger to push him down to his feet. With a peal of cruel laughter, Brownbeard kept Loyd held down and forced him to watch the airheaded young man who was about to die.
“Let’s try this… since it’s pressure, this should theoretically work. I’ll have to close my nostrils from the inside… and then try to release my breath. Here we go...”
– !..!..!..!
A wave of authority washed over Loyd.
No, his Observation Haki told him it washed over the entire island.
Loyd was familiar with this feeling. He had seen it at work before.
The continuous wave of green splattered through the island, causing the wind to fasten up, and the people to drop to their faces. The enemies approaching the young man staggered in their spots and also fell to their faces.
The aloof expression on the young man had vanished, replaced by the fierce eyes of a hungry king.
– !..!..!..!
It was the Color of the Supreme King.
The wave gently vanished soon, and Brownbeard’s eyes went white with foam coming out of his mouth. His body too fell face at last. In the area, only Nami and Loyd were spared.
The duck gently walked closer to them, as Loyd continued staring at the young man whose expression returned to his amicable one again.
Now that he came closer… Loyd recognized him. This was the young man he had seen in the recent bounty report. He was from a line of legendary pirates.
Hashirama Senju.
“Ahh, it’s not fun to be such an overkill genius. I got it on my first go. At least I also managed to control it enough to spare Nami, thankfully. I am sure the Main’s Will would have been too large to control.”
Hashirama was whispering sadly as he approached Nami. Nami was sitting on the belly of the unconscious Brownbeard, shocked as she looked around in confusion.
The young man gave Loyd a look, a little surprised. He probably didn’t think Loyd would survive the wave. Thankfully, Loyd’s mind was stronger than his body. The young man didn’t say anything and continued approaching Nami.
“Hey, love, hop on. Your, uh, older sister sent me.”
Hashirama said, reaching out a hand to the shaken Nami. The girl looked shocked, but hearing the word ‘sister’, she blinked. Slowly nodding, she stood up on shaky legs.
It didn’t seem she had the strength to walk to him.
Hashirama shrugged and his… hand elongated. Turning into a green vine, it stretched to grab the girl and yanked her at him. She was surprised, and the surprise only grew when he put her in front of him, wrapping hands around her waist.
“W-wha-what’s this?!”
“Safety measures. Now hold on tight, we are leaving.”
Before Nami could say anything, Hashirama patted the duck with his leg and the huge thing started to move… at bullet speed.
In the entire island, only Loyd remained conscious of the scene as the duck vanished into the setting sun from where it had come from.
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