Hearing the first half of Reno's statement, Rayleigh sighed in relief. But as the second half reached his ears, the corners of his mouth began to twitch uncontrollably.
In that moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to grab the little brat and give him a good spanking. He had never encountered someone so sharp-tongued, let alone a five-year-old child.
What kind of milk did this kid drink?
Every word out of his mouth was either venomous or cutting.
Rayleigh barely suppressed his frustration. Now wasn't the time to discipline Reno if the boy threw a tantrum, it would only make things worse for everyone.
He silently resolved: After this battle, I'll find a reason to teach him a lesson. Since he's been clamoring for training, I might as well use that as an excuse to knock some sense into him.
Meanwhile, Reno felt a chilling gaze behind him. He turned around to see Rayleigh staring at him with an unsettling expression, as if plotting something sinister.
Reno immediately became suspicious. He knew his earlier remarks must have annoyed the old man, and now Rayleigh was probably scheming some sort of retaliation.
"Rayleigh-ossan,"
Reno asked warily,
"why are you looking at me like that? Are you thinking about something bad?"
Rayleigh snapped out of his thoughts and laughed awkwardly.
"Haha… Little Reno, I was just thinking about how to get us out of here safely. Nothing bad, I swear!"
Reno didn't buy it for a second. He narrowed his eyes and pressed,
"We already planned our escape before coming here. Do you really think I'd believe that?"
Rayleigh's carefree demeanor turned serious as he replied,
"I'm not lying. Some tricky Marines have shown up. If they rush us when we try to take off, even with your flying ability, we might not escape unscathed."
His concerns were valid. Many Marines were skilled in Geppo, capable of short bursts of incredible speed. While they couldn't sustain it for long, they could pose a significant threat during the critical moments of their escape.
Reno pondered for a moment and then came up with a solution. Turning to Rayleigh, he said,
"Before we take off, let's create some chaos for the Marines. Keep them too busy to focus on us. Problem solved."
Rayleigh's eyes lit up with hope. "Do you have a way to cause that kind of chaos?"
Reno smirked mischievously.
"Oh, I do. I have a special attack that can 'hover' for a while before hitting its target. When we're ready to leave, the attack will land, forcing the Marines to deal with the aftermath."
His grin widened as he added darkly,
"I'll toss this attack into the fleet. They'll have two choices: save their men or let tens of thousands of Marine elites perish with us."
The ship fell into a stunned silence. Everyone stared at Reno as if he were a monster.
A five-year-old kid, calmly talking about annihilating tens of thousands of Marines—what kind of demon is this?
After what felt like an eternity, Rayleigh finally broke the silence.
"Little Reno… do you have some kind of grudge against the Marines?"
Reno feigned innocence, blinking his wide eyes.
"Nope! I've never even seen Marines before today!"
Rayleigh's mouth twitched uncontrollably. This kid is saying the most ruthless things with the most innocent face…
He took a deep breath and began lecturing Reno in the gentlest tone he could muster.
"Listen, little Reno. You shouldn't say things like that so casually. Those are tens of thousands of lives we're talking about. Promise me you won't say such things again, okay?"
Reno rolled his eyes, giving Rayleigh a look that said, Figure it out yourself. Without another word, he returned to the railing, watching the ongoing battle with indifference.
The truth was, Reno had only been joking.
Even if he did throw an attack at the Marine fleet, their strong fighters would undoubtedly save the day. He wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac he'd never even killed anyone before.
As a traveler from Earth, Reno wasn't about to become the cold-blooded villain the others imagined.
But his silence only deepened the misunderstanding among the crew.
Even Rayleigh believed him, while the rest of the crew exchanged uneasy glances.
Buggy nervously sidled up to Shanks and whispered,
"Shanks, that kid is terrifying. Are we sure he's only five?"
Shanks glanced at Reno, his expression thoughtful.
"He's just a child. Are you really taking his words at face value?"
Shanks couldn't tell whether Reno had been joking or not, but one thing was clear: this kid was no ordinary child.
Buggy shivered at the memory of Reno's calm demeanor and chilling words. He muttered to himself,
"That brat's too spooky. I'm staying far away from him."
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