New World, Fullalead Island — Hachinosu.
Ever since the formation of the Rocks Pirates and their establishment of this place as their base, Fullalead Island had become an island of pirates.
In the southeast part of the island, inside a pub, a tall man with two horns on his head was sitting at the bar.
He held a giant barrel of wine in one hand and a kanabo in the other. Lying around him were many people. Judging by their wounds and the bloodstains on the kanabo, it was clear that this man was the culprit.
In addition, more than a dozen people, each holding various weapons, had surrounded him. The fight clearly wasn't over yet.
Incidents like this were common on Fullalead Island. Because so many pirates used it as their base, there was a certain order to the place, but fights and killings between pirates were everyday occurrences.
It was more common than not for a disagreement to escalate into a brawl.
The little girl tending the bar seemed used to this, merely wiping the glass in her hand in silence.
Her skin was smooth, and she wore a one-piece swimsuit, but her skin color was unusual—a pale green not found among ordinary people.
Her eyes were red, her ears resembled fins, her elbows also had fin-like structures, and her water-blue hair was tied in a ponytail hanging down her back.
At the moment, she was holding a small notebook, recording the items that had been damaged.
"Kaido, you'll have to compensate for the things you broke."
The horned man was none other than the future Yonko, known as the world's Strongest Creature - Kaido of the Beasts.
Now, he seemed thoroughly drunk, and when he heard the word "compensation," his voice even carried a hint of sorrow.
"Why? They were the ones who started the trouble, why am I the one who has to pay..."
Kaido looked extremely aggrieved, as if tears would fall at any moment. Anyone who knew him would realize, Kaido was drunk.
Drunk Kaido and sober Kaido were like two completely different people. After drinking, his emotions became unusually intense—melancholy, spoiled; he could do anything, making him unpredictable.
"Hmph! If you kill all these guys, the only option left would be to make you pay compensation!"
"Worororo!! That's true! Now that you put it that way, it really does have to be me who pays..."
There was no trace of sadness in Kaido's laugh anymore. On the contrary, he seemed delighted, as if he found the other's words made perfect sense.
He tilted his head back and drained the wine barrel, then casually tossed it aside, smashing it to pieces, while the girl added another line to her bill.
As Kaido stood up again, kanabo in hand, the surrounding pirates gripped their weapons tighter.
But neither Kaido, who'd been asked to pay, nor the pirates, whom the girl had deemed incapable of defeating Kaido, showed any hostility toward her.
"Kaido, you b*stard! If you have the guts, move away from the bar!"
The pirates seemed afraid of something and didn't dare make a move on Kaido while he was at the bar. Kaido didn't say anything either; he simply stood up and assumed a fighting stance.
With the start of the brawl, chaos erupted in the pub.
"Thunder... Bagua!"
Kaido swung his kanabo forward. The nearest pirate flew backward like a rag doll, smashing another table to pieces.
"Damn it, where are you swinging at?!"
"Get him! Kill that guy!"
"Don't lose, Kaido! I bet all my money on you!"
The clash of battle, the sound of things breaking, and the noisy cheers of the onlookers all blended together in a raucous din.
And the little girl remained calmly seated behind the bar, recording her accounts.
"Hey, hey, hey! That table has sentimental value! You'll have to pay extra for that! Seven chairs, twenty-eight cups, the floor..."
But at that moment, the pub's main door suddenly opened, and a man over three meters tall walked in.
He had long black hair, wore a blood-red robe, and looked, overall, no different from a human.
His pupils were also red, tinged with a hint of coldness, but when his eyes fell on certain people, there was a touch of gentleness.
With his arrival, the pub instantly fell silent; only Kaido's fight continued.
"Gulp..."
The pirates who had been watching the commotion no longer cheered. Instead, they swallowed nervously and patted their companions, signaling them not to draw any more attention.
"What's wrong?"
"What are your eyes for? Didn't you see that Nereus has arrived?!"
The look he shot toward the door clearly contained a hint of fear, as if he knew just how terrifying this newcomer was. The companion beside him seemed more like a rookie, not yet familiar with this place.
"Last time he fought with Rocks, the battle lasted seven days and seven nights without a winner. If they hadn't just been testing each other, they might have sunk the entire Fullalead Island. That guy is a bona fide... monster..."
These words made the rookie pirate instantly understand the kind of strength this man possessed, and he obediently retreated, not wanting to get himself in trouble.
"Good afternoon, Boss Nereus."
"Daddy, you're here~"
A burly man at the pub entrance greeted Nereus, and the little girl behind the bar waved her hand toward him as well.
The man known as Nereus was the reason why these pirates didn't dare show any hostility toward the girl.
Nereus, a transmigrator, looked just like an ordinary human. After all, on this sea, a height of over three meters wasn't that unusual.
But he was a Fish-Man, and looking very much like a human was one of the traits of certain Fish-Men.
There was a huge variety in their appearances—some, like Arlong, had obvious fish features.
But they were a demi-human race, and for others, you couldn't tell at all.
In the original timeline, Jack and Sasaki of the Beasts Pirates were examples; both were Fish-Men but had almost no Fish-Man traits. Nereus belonged to this latter type.
"Nanamo, it's right for you to keep track of the value of damaged items, but why didn't you let them take their fight outside?"
Nanamo was the girl behind the bar. Hearing Nereus's question, she quickly hid her little notebook behind her back, as if she hadn't figured out how to explain.
But Nereus didn't press the issue. He shifted his gaze to Kaido, who was still fighting nearby.
The pirates on Fullalead were a mixed bunch. Although Kaido hadn't fully grown into his strength yet, dealing with these guys wasn't difficult for him. By the time Nereus arrived, there weren't many left standing.
During the fight, Kaido seemed to get even more excited, grabbing a wine jug from the shelf and drinking as he went, the drunkenness on his face growing heavier.
"Hiccup~ Nereus... you're here, huh? Want to have a drink together?"
Even as he spoke of drinking, Kaido hurled the jug in his hand at the last pirate still standing. Blood mixed with wine spilled onto the floor, staining the pub's floorboards even more.
"Tsk, have you forgotten what I told you... Don't cause trouble on my turf!"
No one could see Nereus's movement clearly; in a split second, he appeared beside Kaido, resting a hand lightly on him.
Kaido, who had just been rampaging through the place, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and the drunkenness on him seemed to dissipate quite a bit.
"Nereus..."
Boom!
Nereus didn't wait for Kaido to finish speaking, choosing instead to sober him up physically in his own way.
Kaido's massive body was slammed to the ground, his head nearly embedded in the floor.
Nereus then walked over to Nanamo, gesturing for her to hand over the notebook she was holding.
"Nereus... it was those guys... they started it..."
Not long after, Kaido sat up, rubbing his head, and began explaining the situation to Nereus.
"Did you think I'd only help you 'sober up'? Restore the pub to how it was, or else..."
"Daddy, he's too clumsy to do a good job. Just make him pay up instead..."
Nereus lightly tapped Nanamo on the head twice with the notebook, and as he watched Nanamo crouch nearby, clutching her head and pretending she'd been hurt badly, he said sternly:
"Do you think I don't know how much these things actually cost? All these extra charges you added, where exactly are you planning to put that money?"
The prices Nanamo wrote in her notebook were clearly higher than the value of the items. If Kaido really paid according to Nanamo's numbers, there'd obviously be a surplus left over.
Well, if you don't repair things, where does the money come from? Repair the roads a couple more times, and the money will naturally appear.
"It's just that I don't have enough pocket money..."
"If you're short, just tell me. Don't play these little tricks."
Nereus put away the notebook, then tossed a wallet to Nanamo.
"I remember you have plans with Katakuri and the others this afternoon. It's almost time, go have fun."
Nanamo counted the bills in the wallet, made a heart gesture with her hand, then hopped over the bar and left the pub. One of the big guys next to Nereus quietly followed her out.
After all, this is a pirate island. Although certain rules exist for various reasons, it's still not entirely reassuring to let a child wander around on their own.
It was fine on your own turf, but if you went out, it was best to have someone go along.
TN: This is the novel by the same author as Arceus Pirate Journey. I'm also translating APJ.