Chapter 41 – Baratie 04.

[Chapter Size: 2146 Words.]

Third Person POV

Baratie, East Blue.

...

...

Somewhere on the sea, East Blue.

"Hey, why is my cook wasting food on a dead man?" Luffy casually inquired as he appeared at his side, unnoticed by anyone, without anyone having time to react.

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"..."

"..."

"..."

A heavy silence hung in the atmosphere, echoing like a verdict after the spoken words.

The most dumbfounded person was Don Krieg, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Hm? What did you say?" The pirate in question squinted at Luffy.

"You didn't hear?" Luffy mocked before continuing.

"I said there's no reason to waste food on a dead man. Am I not right?" Luffy calmly looked at the pirate, his words laden with disdain.

"Are you insane?" Reiju couldn't help but speak, finding the man's behavior quite reckless. Uttering such words only served to escalate the already tense situation.

"Hm? Do you know who I am? Who are you to speak like this to the strongest man in the world?" Krieg spoke angrily, as if his reputation meant little to this unknown figure with a straw hat on his back.

Unfazed by the tension in the air, Luffy, with a mocking smile, responded:

"His name is Monkey D. Luffy, a rookie pirate with a bounty of 10 million Berries..." Gin, still on the ground after being punched by his own captain, intervened, providing information that could further stir the tense atmosphere.

"10 million? Hahaha, he must be quite ruthless then!" Krieg replied, showing a disdainful smile.

"Hm?" Luffy was intrigued by the pirate's reaction.

"I have a proposal that can save your life after those bold words. If you join me in the Grand Line under my command, I'll forgive you for everything you said and let you live." Krieg offered, with a greedy smile, hoping to attract a new recruit to his crew.

"Let me live? Are you kidding me?" Luffy looked at the pirate as if he were staring at a fool clad in armor.

"Let me tell you something, Don Krieg. Do you think you have qualifications to subjugate me? You can't even fight in the Grand Line, just a failure who ran away after being kicked... The strongest man in the world? You have ambitions you'll never achieve..." Luffy said calmly as he began to walk towards the man at a slow pace, a challenging smile on his face.

Don Krieg, still recovering from the shock of hearing Luffy's mockery, responded with a mix of anger and disbelief:

"You, you damn rookie, think you can belittle the great Don Krieg? I have a fleet! Men! Weapons! Nothing can surpass my power!"

Luffy, maintaining his serene expression, retorted:

"A fleet, men, and weapons, is that all you think you need to be the strongest? The Grand Line is not so forgiving, my dear. Here, real strength means more than a number of followers or an arsenal. It means facing challenges that make others tremble. Are you ready for that, Don Krieg?"

Enraged, Krieg tried to maintain a confident pose:

"You're just an insolent kid with a bounty of 10 million! I'll show you what happens when you dare to challenge the great Don Krieg!"

Luffy, now just a few steps away, responded with an ironic smile:

"Show me, then. I'm looking forward to seeing if there's any real substance behind all these empty threats."

"YOU! I'VE MADE UP MY MIND, I'LL KILL YOU HERE AND NOW!" Don Krieg roared, fueled by fury. Luffy's comments about his failure in the Grand Line hit him like a direct blow to his already wounded pride. He completely ignored the recruitment idea, focusing only on annihilating the challenger.

No longer caring about any possibility of recruitment, Luffy continued his approach, triggering an impulsive reaction from Don Krieg, who threw a powerful punch towards the man in the straw hat.

"Dodge that!" Reiju, closer to the scene, expressed disapproval urgently.

BOOM

Luffy showed no interest in evading, absorbing the impact directly, without retreating an inch. Silence settled for a moment, interrupted by Luffy's calm and mocking voice.

"Is that all? The strength of the strongest man in the world? What a joke..." His words hung in the air, echoing the apparent inadequacy of Krieg's attack.

"WHAT?" Krieg instinctively stepped back a few meters, surprised by Luffy's seemingly unyielding resistance to the blow. The proud self-proclaimed "strongest man in the world" now found himself perplexed in the face of the rookie pirate's audacity and confidence.

"Even facing my blows without showing any reaction, this punch wasn't a joke. He didn't even move an inch..." Reiju exclaimed, impressed and incredulous at what she had just witnessed.

"This man doesn't seem to be joking..." Zeff was stunned by Luffy's apparent impassiveness in the face of the received blow. Even in his days as a pirate, few could afford to resist such a ruthless strike as if it were nothing, and most of them would be composed of monsters from the Grand Line, not by a seemingly random man who had emerged out of nowhere in this unknown sea.

"Let me show you what you didn't learn in the Grand Line..." Luffy smiled and said calmly, completely ignoring the bewilderment around him.

*SHIII*

With a cutting sound of wind, similar to the use of Soru, Luffy tilted his heels and appeared in front of Krieg. The pirate, realizing the proximity of danger, quickly raised a cape with iron spikes to protect himself.

Luffy, however, didn't stop, launching another punch towards his opponent. Krieg, who had initially sported a confident smile, watched in surprise as Luffy's fist pierced through his spikes, effortlessly destroying them as it advanced through his defense.

*BOOM*

The punch went through the spikes and hit Krieg's armor, cracking and denting it easily with Luffy's impressive strength and speed. The pirate captain was thrown, stunned and yelling, towards the opposite wall.

*COLLISION*

The wall near the door exploded as Don Krieg flew like a projectile in that direction.

"DON KRIEG!" Gin shouted alarmed on the ground, witnessing his captain, whom he considered invincible, being thrown so easily.

"That was fast..." Yamato commented at the table, as they, the only present customers, watched the scene as if it were a spectacle. They knew Luffy's style and anticipated his action.

"Luffy is truly a monster..." Usopp couldn't help but express his admiration.

"Is that the bad guy? But Luffy-Sama defeated him so easily..." Shirahoshi tried to understand the complexity of the situation.

"Why am I surprised..." Kuina murmured, observing a scene that, since coming back to life, had repeated itself many times.

"He didn't even break a sweat..." Nami commented, lost in her own thoughts.

"Brother Luffy is so amazing!" Jhonny and Yosaku exclaimed in unison.

"HAHAHAHAHA. Interesting!" Zeff laughed as he looked at Luffy's back.

"I'll charge you for the damages to the restaurant, heard?" Zeff warned Luffy, not forgetting to emphasize his concern for the establishment.

"..." Reiju, in turn, couldn't articulate any comments in the face of what she had witnessed.

"Do you... do you think you can defeat me?" Krieg's voice emerged from the wreckage of the destroyed wall, and he appeared again in front of Luffy.

*Boom*

Everything in the broken place rose as Krieg reappeared. His forehead was bleeding, and one hand supported the spot where he had taken the blow. The armor was sunk into his chest, and the expression of pain was evident. Krieg looked at Luffy with hatred, gritting his teeth tightly.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Krieg declared, while Luffy just stared at him indifferently, waiting for the next act of this unlikely spectacle.

"Okay, I heard you. But can you wait a bit? There's an event about to happen right now..." Luffy said calmly, diverting his attention from Krieg and turning to the pirate ship visible through the entrance of the place.

"You! YOU DARE IGNORE ME! I WILL KILL EVERYONE HERE!" A furious Don Krieg roared, raising his hands and preparing to release poisonous gas into the restaurant through a pipe in his armor.

Luffy, however, completely ignored the threat. His attention was still focused outside the restaurant, and he continued, saying, "ZORO, KUINA, LOOK AT THE SHIP. YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN IN THE WORLD IN ACTION, DRACULA MIHAWK!" He shouted to his companions at the table.

"WHAT?!" Both Zoro and Kuina were surprised by the revelation and immediately turned their gaze to the ship, trying to identify who Luffy was mentioning.

"What?!" Don Krieg also couldn't help but exclaim, recognizing the name with anger and fear, his worst nightmare since entering the Grand Line, had he followed him to this sea?

"The strongest swordsman in the world?" It was the general amazement, both from Krieg's companions and the restaurant patrons. It wasn't something you saw every day, and even Zeff was astonished; everyone turned to observe Don Krieg's battleship.

The expectation in the air was palpable, and it didn't take long for the action to begin.

*CUT!*

Suddenly, lines appeared in the air, moving with agility and precision across the pirate ship. A second passed, and under the astonished gaze of everyone, the lines opened, cutting through the ship as if it were butter, tracing impressive straight lines.

*BOOM*

"WHAT?!" A collective exclamation escaped from everyone present, surprised by the incredible demonstration of skill and mastery. The almost instantaneous destruction of the pirate ship left a lasting impression, spreading shock and admiration throughout the area.

Don Krieg couldn't help but express his astonishment in front of Luffy, realizing that the man who had destroyed his fleet days ago was also present.

"He really followed me here?!" He murmured again, fearing the presence of Mihawk.

"Anyway, you're no longer needed, so die." Luffy, seeing the spectacle before him, turned his attention back to Krieg, aware that he was no longer useful there.

"Hm?!"

Luffy took a coin from his pocket and flicked it towards Don Krieg.

[Moa Moa no Mi: Speed, apply 30 times!]

*SHII*

The coin flew towards the pirate before he could react, piercing through his head and making him fall backward immediately. No one noticed when he died, as attention was focused on the small raft with green sails. A lone man was in the middle of it, with a massive sword on his back, one of the Twelve Supreme, the black blade known as Yoru.

"CAPTAIN!!!" Luffy heard Zoro suddenly.

"Hm?" Luffy diverted his attention from Don Krieg's lifeless body and turned to Zoro.

"Let me challenge this man. I want to prove that I'm the strongest swordsman in the world!" He said with determination.

"You..." Kuina expressed surprise at his side. She also wanted to challenge Mihawk, but she knew she was 11 years behind and recognized that Zoro was stronger than her currently.

Luffy watched the scene and let out a deep sigh.

"You can challenge him, and even if I say you're not ready now, I know you would defy my orders anyway. The only thing I'll ask is... just don't die..." Luffy expressed calmly, understanding Zoro's ambitions and aware that the swordsman could find death there.

Without wasting time, Zoro hurriedly stood up from the table and headed determinedly towards the restaurant's entrance.

Mihawk, navigating among the wreckage of ships towards the restaurant, paid no attention to the countless low-level pirates in despair around him, clinging to the few parts of the battleship that were still intact.

"Hm?" Mihawk, who had been watching Don Krieg the whole time, was surprised when the pirate was killed by a small object flying towards his head amidst the chaos.

He immediately captured some familiar element.

"That hat..." He immediately recognized Shanks' hat being worn by the man who had just eliminated his target.

"DRACULA MIHAWK!"

Suddenly, he heard his name being shouted with determination, diverting his attention from Luffy. He looked to the side, Zoro emerged from the restaurant with determination and shouted, Mihawk saw where a green-haired man on the restaurant's deck was staring at him as if he had found a treasure. The determined expression on Zoro's face revealed his intention to face the legendary Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world.

"A child...?" Mihawk murmured, surprised.

"DRACULA MIHAWK! I'M HERE TO FACE YOU!" Exclaimed Zoro, jumping from the restaurant to the wreckage and running towards Mihawk.

Mihawk observed in silence.

"I'M HERE TO FACE YOU!" Shouted Zoro again, continuing his charge.

"Your title of the strongest swordsman in the world will soon belong to me!" He declared with determination, displaying a confident smile.

"What a naive child..." Commented Mihawk, seeing before him a fool full of determination.

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