"?"
Question marks popped up in Zans's eyes. He hadn't even had time to put down the newspaper before his vision went black.
A moment later, the weather ship came to a halt.
Ren leapt down from the deck, frowning as he looked at the man sprawled beneath him—tables and chairs that had been sent flying were piled over him like a small hill.
Ren turned his head toward the helm of the weather ship.
"Sas, what are you doing?"
"This really isn't on me," Sas said with an innocent look. "That big thing messed up the inside of the weather ship a bit. Being able to land safely at all is already impressive."
"But at least we've arrived. This is Gran Tesoro."
Nojiko stood at the bow, surveying the surroundings—the terrified wealthy guests and the dazzling, gold-plated city.
"Though this place doesn't seem very welcoming…"
Beep—beep—
A low, grating alarm instantly echoed across the open terrace.
Dense footsteps sounded in the distance as a tide of figures in black suits surged forward.
"Troublesome. But there's no gold dust rain yet, is there?"
Ren glanced at the sky—still a clear blue.
After a moment's thought, he stepped forward, reached out, and dragged the man out from under the scattered furniture.
"Wake up!"
After the second slap, Zans snapped awake.
At first he froze. Then the burning pain hit him—blood streamed down his forehead and into his eyes.
He didn't know what had happened, but he immediately understood the situation.
"Bastard, let go! Do you know who I am? You—"
Smack!
Another slap. Zans stalled, as if his brain had short-circuited.
Then, like a grasshopper after summer, he started shouting again.
"You dare cause trouble on Gran Tesoro?! You're dead, you hear me! This is the Golden Emperor—Gild Tesoro—"
Smack!
Zans instantly fell silent, as still as a corpse.
At that moment, a group of black-suited bodyguards rushed in and surrounded the open terrace.
"Bastard, let go! How dare you lay hands on a guest of Gran Tesoro?!"
"Central security? We have an intruder here!"
Looks like the opening exchange didn't go well. Still, Killing Intent resonating with Conqueror's Haki is a decent gain, Ren thought.
He shook Zans in his grip. Seeing him continue to play dead, Ren tilted his head slightly toward the guards.
They raised their weapons with serious expressions, clearly wary.
"Don't be nervous. I have no hostile intent. That was just an accident."
"And for the record, this guy was the one running his mouth."
Ren shook his head and tossed Zans aside.
The moment he was released, Zans sprang up with astonishing speed, wiped the blood from his forehead, and retreated into the bodyguards, shouting:
"Kill him! If you don't, I'll complain to the Golden Emperor!"
The bodyguards went pale and immediately raised their guns, fingers tightening on the triggers, ready to turn the unknown intruder into a sieve.
But—
Bzz—!
A soundless wave expanded outward as a black-purple specter rose from the ground, baring its fangs.
Three crimson cracks carved out a demonic grin.
Ren's indifferent gaze swept over them, and a hellish pressure crashed down like a mountain.
Thud—thud—
In an instant, every black-suited bodyguard collapsed unconscious.
The chaotic terrace fell silent.
Zans, who had been shouting just seconds earlier, froze as if someone had grabbed his throat. He stumbled backward until he bumped into another merchant's table.
That companion silently lowered his head—somehow even holding the newspaper upside down.
Displayed plainly before Zans's eyes—
Was the face of Demon Ren.
And the unsettling part was—
He'd only just seen that face moments ago.
"Black hair… a youthful appearance… crimson eyes—y-you!"
Zans whipped his head around, staring in terror at the black-haired young man strolling toward him.
This is him—Demon Ren!
"I heard you were looking for me," Ren said, tapping his ear, studying Zans with a playful expression. "Planning to curry favor with the Donquixote Family?"
Zans shuddered. He glanced at the unconscious guards and the silent merchant presidents around him.
Then he suddenly lunged forward and slid on his knees, collapsing before Ren in tears.
"It's a misunderstanding! A total misunderstanding!"
"I—I actually admire you! I just wanted to find you and ask for an autograph!"
"You came down from the sky, maybe you didn't hear clearly—I really didn't—"
Thud—
The abrupt sound cut off Zans's performance. A purple glow spread across the ground.
Then a gloomy man dressed in black rose straight up from the floor, as if clipping through it.
He looked like an oversized doll—massive in build.
He was dragging along a seductive, voluptuous woman.
"Mr. Tanaka! Miss Baccarat!"
The merchant presidents recognized them and hurriedly called out.
"It's an enemy—he broke in from outside!"
"President Zans was attacked too!"
As they shouted, they backed away from the terrace at top speed—self-preservation first.
"I understand. We'll handle it immediately."
The gloomy man—Tanaka—looked at Ren and drew a flintlock pistol, aiming it squarely at him.
"I don't know who you are, but this is Gran Tesoro—Lord Tesoro's territory."
"Release President Zans at once."
"Otherwise, we'll make you regret being born!"
"I'm telling you, this is a misunderstanding."
Ren sighed helplessly and gave a crisp military salute.
Zans tried to inch backward, only to feel an icy chill at his back. He immediately turned a pitiful face toward Tanaka.
Tanaka's mouth twitched, irritation flashing across his features.
"So you're saying… we wronged you?"
He seemed about to continue, but was promptly poked from behind.
"Look at this."
Tanaka turned, and a VIP list was thrust before his eyes.
The page stopped precisely on a photo—
A cold-faced boy identical to the "enemy" standing before him.
.
[Demon Ren]
[Bounty: 400,000,000 Beli (just updated)]
[Threat Level: Extremely High]
.
This—
Tanaka's pupils contracted as he froze in place.
Zans froze too.
The loan shark-turned-president suddenly burst into loud sobs, completely abandoning any pretense of dignity.
"I've been wronged—so wronged!"
Zans knelt on the ground, crying his heart out.
The merchant presidents who had already retreated changed expressions, sharp gazes stabbing into Tanaka like blades.
They had traveled from all four seas to Gran Tesoro for unrivaled luxury.
Now the luxury was gone—and they were watching a pirate being knelt to.
What kind of joke is this?!
This is bad—if this keeps up, we'll be dealt with by Lord Tesoro and turned into gold statues!
Tanaka's scalp tingled. Just as he steeled himself to act, he heard words that left him dumbfounded.
"I'm not the wronged one—Lord Ren is."
Zans cried with utter remorse, tears streaming.
"It was me being blind! I accidentally blocked Lord Ren's ship!"
"Lord Ren was just passing through and stopped briefly—it's absolutely not his fault!"
As he spoke, Zans sprang to his feet and angrily pointed at Tanaka.
"How could you treat an innocent person like this?!"
"Trash! Garbage! Scum!"
"If you were under me, I'd have had you chopped to pieces already!"
"Hurry up and put your weapons away and apologize to Lord Ren!"
The abrupt reversal left the merchant presidents staring in shock.
A few quick-witted ones silently scoffed.
As expected of a loan shark—he's a master at twisting black into white.
"Oh my, so that's how it is."
The woman—Baccarat—stepped forward, casually pushing the pale-faced Tanaka aside.
She wore a black evening dress.
The silk fabric traced seductive curves—full bust and shapely hips—her distinctive style impossible to miss.
Her back was bare and porcelain-white, thin straps running from her collarbones to lift her ample chest.
As she walked, crescent-shaped golden earrings swayed.
Yet even more captivating was the dangerous movement of her cleavage.
The generous display of snowy skin trembled enticingly, making one itch to reach out and lift it—
To knead and toy with it.
Between the twin peaks lay a deep, shadowed valley, magnetically drawing the eye.
As she drew closer, it became clear the dress slit ran all the way to her waist.
Fabric fluttered with the motion of her full, pale thighs, teasing glimpses of what lay between.
Judging purely by looks and figure, she was every bit the mature beauty.
Noticing that Ren showed no hostility at this distance, Baccarat felt a bit more at ease.
She flicked her red hair and stopped before him, offering a sultry smile.
"Since President Zans says it was a misunderstanding, then it must be so."
"Captain—of the Demon Pirates, what do you think?"
"…"
Ren didn't answer. He tilted his head, staring at the fairy-like woman.
"U-Um… is something wrong, Captain?"
"Were you calling me just now?" Ren asked calmly. "I'm not the captain of the Demon Pirates."
"I am a captain—but not of that."
"I see."
A flicker of irritation passed through Baccarat's eyes, but her smile didn't waver.
"You seem like a very principled man."
"So… are we letting this go?"
"Of course—if President Zans has no objections."
Both of them turned to look at Zans, who was sweating profusely.
He wiped his tears and forced a smile.
"Of course not. It was a misunderstanding from the start."
Thud—
A strange sound rang out again.
Ren glanced over—where the black-suited guards had been lying, the ground was now empty.
Only Tanaka remained, wearing a stiff smile—
Mimicking Ren's earlier gesture, both hands raised.
"Looks like we've reached a consensus."
Baccarat covered her mouth with a laugh, subtly leaning forward.
At the same time, her eyes drifted toward the sky—
Or rather, toward the straight chimney that would spew golden water, watching to see when it might erupt.
Ren took a step back, his cool gaze settling on the list in Baccarat's hand.
"That list you're holding…"
"It looks interesting."
(End of Chapter)