Not all pirates were like the Straw Hat crew, encountering a vast array of Devil Fruit users along their journey to the point of becoming long accustomed to them.
To the vast majority of other people, Devil Fruit users were exceptionally mysterious and rare. At the same time, these landlubbers possessing all sorts of bizarre superpowers were also synonymous with "terror" and "monsters."
Today, this beautiful blonde youth clad in a noble's long robe once again proved this point to the crowd.
Sizzle—
Without any visible movement from him, several sparks of electricity suddenly crackled across the surface of the bright silver cane in his hand. Following that, the entire cane miraculously transformed into a puddle of liquid metal, shooting toward that tall pirate. Its winding, flexible movement resembled a silver venomous snake!
The tall pirate was still in a state of shock over the opponent actually being an ability user. By the time he recovered his senses, his entire body had already been tightly wound by countless fine metallic threads.
What terrified this pirate even more was that the metallic threads on his body were slowly tightening!
"No... Don't..." the tall pirate wailed in terror.
The dread of death instantly stripped away his entire focus. The desire to survive forced him to struggle violently, but doing so only accelerated the contact between his flesh and the fine metallic threads.
"Hmm, a nice expression."
Gazing at the tall pirate who lay on the ground making a desperate struggle, the blonde youth nodded with satisfaction. An enjoying expression hung upon his face, which closely resembled that of a beautiful girl.
(What a genuinely cruel fellow...) The onlookers in the surrounding crowd silently swallowed their saliva.
Naturally, those capable of surviving on Hannabal's Western Island were no saints, and they had certainly encountered lunatics who enjoyed torturing their enemies before.
However, this youth's expression at this moment resembled a playful child under the sun using a magnifying glass to burn ants. That indifferent attitude of casually playing with life caused even this gang of vicious, brutal pirates to feel a chill rising from the bottom of their hearts!
"M-Monster!"
Realizing that they had provoked a Devil Fruit user, the small fry from the Ursa Pirates couldn't spare any concern for saving their own boss. Their bodies instinctively made the wisest move under the circumstances.
And that was—to run!
"Haha, they really run quite fast."
Gazing at the pirates fleeing in all directions, the blonde youth did not set out to pursue them immediately. Instead, he revealed a malicious smile, looking very much like a cat that had caught a mouse.
After all, he still needed that gang of small fry to lead him to the secret stronghold of the Ursa Pirates.
(But speaking of which, where exactly did their rules-breaking captain run off to?)
The blonde youth revealed a look of confusion. Judging from the intelligence previously provided by Baso Carlo, that white bear—Ursa—should have returned to Hannabal by now. Yet, he hadn't returned.
(Did he abandon his subordinates left on the island and flee to another sea? Or was he defeated by someone else after heading out to sea?)
The blonde youth stopped obsessing over this question. He scanned his surroundings, and all the spectating pirates who met his ice-blue gaze instinctively shuddered.
When his gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Nami and her companions in the distance, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had just discovered a new continent.
"Oh? Could that be..."
The blonde youth let out a soft exclamation. Then, completely ignoring the unlucky pirate on the ground who was being bound tighter and tighter by the metallic threads, he strode over quickly under the astonished gazes of the crowd.
"Eh? What's going on? That terrifying ability user seems to be walking toward us!"
Nami took a small step backward in silence. Clutching the small black cat in her arms tightly, she gazed at the blonde youth approaching at a brisk pace with extreme nervousness.
"However, he doesn't seem to harbor any malice." Robin's expression was grave as she focused her mind to stand on guard.
"This guy..." Placing the items in his hands onto the ground, the curly-browed cook strode in front of the two ladies, blocking the opponent's path.
"Hey, do you want something, kid?" Sanji asked quite rudely, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Although the opponent possessed a beautiful face that closely resembled a gorgeous girl's, he was still male after all, so the love-struck cook naturally had no need to practice any knightly chivalry.
"Kid... Well, I am quite gratified that you didn't mistake my gender."
The blonde youth lifted his head, quietly taking in this curly-browed man who dared block his path, and said in a low tone, "But my name is not kid. My name is Alois, and I hope you can remember it."
"By the way, your eyebrows are really ugly~"
"HUH???!!!"
Upon hearing this, veins instantly bulged on Sanji's forehead, and his rage flared violently.
Aside from a certain marimo, this was the very first time he had heard someone mock his curly eyebrows!
"You bastard! Do you have the guts to say that again?"
Sanji's face darkened completely. Just as he was planning to give this exasperating pretty boy a proper beating, the latter ignored him entirely, shifting to the side to point directly at Nami.
"Can I hold it for a bit?" Alois asked with a face full of anticipation.
Nami, Robin, and Sanji were all stunned at the same time. Only when they followed the direction Alois was pointing did they realize that this fellow's target was actually Bestia in Nami's arms. Looking at his eyes shimmering with tiny stars, this guy seemed to be extremely interested in cats.
Five minutes later...
"So cute, it's really so cute, hehehe..."
"What is this little guy's name? Bestia? Haha, what a cute name."
Alois held the small black cat in his arms, a thoroughly healed smile on his face. As he played with Bestia in his arms, he chattered away to Nami and the others.
Strangely enough, Bestia, who was usually quite aloof, did not mind being held by Alois at all. After being gently stroked, she even let out a comfortable purr, causing Alois to smile even more brilliantly.
But then again, holding a cat in the middle of a murder—is that really alright?
"Did you know? I've always wanted to keep a cat as a pet. But because my father likes birds, and cats eat birds, that old man of mine wouldn't let me keep one even if it killed him..."
Mentioning his father, Alois half-squinted his eyes, as if recalling some unpleasant past memories.
"Ah, then your father is indeed quite strict," Nami said with a forced laugh.
She discovered that this blonde youth seemed to turn into a different person upon seeing a cat, completely unlike his previous somewhat gloomy and cold demeanor. That innocent smile resembled a child who had received a beloved toy.
(He must be one of those "cat slaves" mentioned in books, right? He can't even walk when he sees a cat...) Robin thought to herself, rubbing her chin.
(Why does this guy have to be a guy?) Sanji let out a puff of smoke with a look of disappointment.
Originally, he had wanted to thoroughly teach this insolent fellow a lesson. But looking at Alois's face, which smiled like a little angel, the curly-browed cook despondently discovered that he actually couldn't bring himself to kick him...
(Am I about to awaken some weird, bizarre trait?) Thinking of this, Sanji's body shuddered, startling him so much that the cigarette between his fingers slipped.
"Oh dear, I almost forgot my actual business!"
Alois suddenly snapped back to his senses. He stepped forward and returned Bestia in his arms to Nami with great reluctance, then bowed to the group with a noble's etiquette.
"It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you have a pleasant time in Hannabal. If you ever run into any difficulties, you can look for a man named Baso Carlo at any time."
Following that, the blonde youth quickly walked in the direction where those pirates had fled earlier, disappearing around the street corner.
Watching Alois depart, Robin and the others finally recovered their senses.
"What a strange fellow..."
Nami held the small black cat in her arms tightly, murmuring, "Not only does he look strange, but the things he does are also quite strange. What's even stranger is that he actually likes cats this much?"
"But judging from the meaning of his parting words, could he be the master of Hannabal?"
Sanji lit another cigarette, pointing at the tall pirate not far away who was still wound by the metallic threads, and said:
"Moreover, this guy seems to be a bit forgetful. Look, he left that pirate—"
Splat!!!
The sharp metallic threads suddenly constricted violently. The tall pirate's painful whimpers cut off abruptly, and his entire body was instantly sliced into countless tiny pieces. Blood erupted alongside the remnants of his corpse like a firework, painting a shocking, eye-catching color across the street, causing the surrounding people to scream in unison.
The liquid metal, however, did not catch a single drop of blood. After completing its task, all of it gathered together to form a bright silver snake, quickly pursuing the direction its master had departed in...
Sanji's fingers froze mid-air. The turn of events had unfolded far too suddenly for him to react for a moment.
Nami's face was deathly pale. The bloody stench drifting through the air nearly made her vomit.
Robin, who appeared the most composed among the three, let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice:
"To add one more thing—he is also an extremely dangerous mass murderer."
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