"Creak..."
The tavern door swung inward.
"Lu Yun, looks like we're celebrities," Roya said, eyes scanning the crowded room.
The layout was different now. Tables and chairs had been pushed aside, making room for a single round table right in the center, facing the door. It was conspicuously empty, waiting just for them. A deck of playing cards sat neatly on its surface.
Every other table was crammed with people, and even the balcony above was overflowing. They leaned over the railings, their eyes burning with a palpable hunger for violence.
This wasn't a tavern anymore.
It was a den of wolves!
Near the entrance, the bartender stood behind the counter, looking gloomy. "Hold it right there," he said. "Weapons go at the door. That's the rule."
"Sure thing!"
Roya shrugged, took off his cloak, and then unbuckled Rain Cutter from his belt. "Handle with care," he told the bartender, handing over the sword. "She's a beauty, one in a million."
"Yeah, yeah."
The bartender gave a curt nod and hung Rain Cutter on the wall beside him.
Roya stretched and strolled over to the empty table. He took a seat, looking across at the burly, bearded man already seated there.
"Mind if I join?"
"You've already joined, Black Hair."
The bearded man glared, a cigar clenched between his teeth. His eyes were pools of hate.
Roya was intrigued.
"Oh? You know me?"
"Every pirate on these seas knows your name!"
The losses among pirates entering the New World had been abnormally high lately, slashed in half. And it was all because of Black Hair.
Pirates in nearby waters knew the name Black Hair, feared the name Black Hair. Even deep within the New World, pirates had heard whispers of his fearsome reputation.
Every year, the Supernovas among the pirate rookies stirred excitement, but the Marines' Supernovas were watched even more closely!
"Black Hair" Roya, the Marine's Mad Dog!
The bearded man's words were like icicles, each one sharp and distinct. "A month ago, you killed my little brother."
"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."
Roya spread his hands, a picture of innocence.
"Hmph!"
The bearded man scoffed, but he didn't immediately leap to attack. Instead, he glanced at his companions around the table.
"Deal the cards!"
Four players. Five cards each.
Roya flipped his hand over. The highest card was a measly nine, and not even a pair to be found. The suits were all mismatched, a jumbled mess.
Their cheating is so obvious.
"Show your cards, Black Hair."
The bearded man grinned, a cruel, satisfied expression.
"If you lose, you die!"
"How terrifying."
Roya covered his cards again, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"And if I win?"
"You can't win!"
The bearded man stood up, proudly displaying his hand - a straight flush. At the same time, he threw open his shirt, revealing six pistols tucked into holsters around his waist and inside his jacket.
This card game wasn't just a game. It was an execution, prepared especially for Black Hair!
"That's not necessarily true."
Roya smiled, a playful glint in his eyes, and asked an odd question. "Hey, has anyone ever told you that your beard is ugly?"
"What?"
The bearded man instinctively stroked his thick beard, a point of pride. He realized he was being mocked, and his face flushed with anger. He yanked out a pistol and pointed it at Roya's head.
"Enough talk! Show your cards!"
"Don't get so excited."
Roya waved a hand dismissively and then flipped his cards over, revealing a straight flush, a perfect mirror image of the Bearded Man's, an identical straight flush!
The bearded man froze, his face slack with shock. He looked down at his own cards, and horror washed over him. Somehow, his straight flush had transformed into a garbage hand, the highest card a pathetic nine.
His cards had been switched with Black Hair's!
But when? How?
"What's going on!"
"How did Black Hair win!"
"What just happened?"
The crowd in the tavern was stunned into silence. Only a few had caught a glimpse of Roya's lightning-fast movements.
While everyone's attention was focused on the Bearded Man's boasting, a blur had flashed across the table, and in the blink of an eye, the cards had been switched.
Cold sweat dripped down the bearded man's forehead. He hadn't even seen Black Hair move. If Black Hair had wanted to kill him then, he would have been helpless, caught completely off guard.
Roya's voice turned cold, sharp as a blade. "Looks like I won this game. So, according to the rules, you're the one who dies."
"Shut up! You cheated!"
The bearded man's face turned crimson, and he pulled the trigger without hesitation!
"Bang!"
The shot rang out, and Roya's head snapped back violently. The chair wobbled beneath him, threatening to topple over.
Had Black Hair really died?
The tavern was deathly quiet, everyone staring at the smoking gun, hardly daring to believe that the notorious "Black Hair" had been taken down so easily by a single shot.
"Haha... Hahahahaha!"
The bearded man's face twisted into a crazed grin. He threw his arms wide, addressing the silent patrons.
"Look! I killed Black Hair! Rough Beard killed Black Hair! I'm going to be a legend!"
No one answered.
All eyes were fixed on Rough Beard's back, watching the demonic Marine Black Hair slowly rise, their faces etched with uncontrollable terror.
"Hey, Rough Beard, right?"
Roya straightened up, slowly, deliberately. He spat a smoking bullet from his mouth, his lips stretched into a wide, unsettling smile.
He looked at the bearded man, who turned his head with agonizing slowness.
"The loser... dies!"
Roya puffed out his cheeks and launched the bullet like a projectile!
"Bang!"
A flash of light, gone in an instant.
The bearded man's smile froze on his face. A bloody hole appeared on his forehead, perfectly round, and through it, they could see the dim lights behind him.
Blood splattered across the card table.
"Thud!"
The card game was over.
Roya calmly wiped his mouth, his cold gaze sweeping over the petrified faces of the surrounding pirates. He asked, his voice deceptively mild,
"Anyone else care for a round?"
"..."
Silence.
Even the most hardened pirates, those who had come to this tavern specifically to kill Black Hair, were now shrinking back, their hearts pounding with dread at the sheer power Black Hair had displayed.
"How boring."
Roya shook his head, a look of disappointment on his face.
"Lu Yun."
"Understood."
Lu Yun pulled out a stack of bounty posters and began comparing them to the faces in the crowd. Many of the pirates looked remarkably like the faces on those posters.
""Iron Skin" Manluo, bounty of 140 million Belly."
""Fast Sword" Sikabuluo, bounty of 88 million Belly."
""Long Nose" Huo..."
Lu Yun checked them one by one, her voice clear and crisp. With each pirate's name she announced, the atmosphere in the tavern grew heavier, more suffocating.
They were all here!
Finally, Lu Yun lowered the bounty posters.
"Roya Senior, we've confirmed the identities of 32 pirates. I suggest we just kill them all!"
"Then let's do that."
Roya stood up, walked to the tavern door, and slammed it shut. Then, he grabbed a heavy steel pipe and wedged it into the door frame as a bolt, twisting it into a mangled knot to lock them all inside.
Roya turned back to the room, holding out his hand to the bartender behind the counter.
"Give me the sword."
"Click!"
The bartender grinned, a cold, predatory expression, and leveled a pistol at Roya.
The pirates in the tavern followed suit, drawing their own pistols and swords, each with a grim smile of confidence on their faces.
"Black Hair, you're overestimating yourself if you think you can take us all on at once!"
"Too reckless!"
"Don't think killing Rough Beard means you can do whatever you want. That guy's bounty was only 50 million Belly. He's nothing."
"Gahahaha, if we kill the Marine's Supernova, the Marines will be so sad, right!"
Well, probably not.
Roya thought wryly to himself. Knowing his reputation within the Marines, they wouldn't be sad about his death. They'd probably be celebrating.
Only the G-5 crew actually liked him.
"Lu Yun."
Roya smiled, turning to the girl beside him.
"Go hide somewhere."
"Okay!"
Lu Yun obediently scurried to the door and even pulled out some strange contraption, spitting out shimmering, umbrella-shaped bubbles to create a protective barrier around herself.
Lu Yun clenched her small fist, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Senior, good luck!"
"OK."
Roya waved a hand, turned back to face the vicious pirates, and strode forward, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Give me ten minutes!"
*
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 313 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
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]