Chapter 8: Being Targeted

"This is Sabaody? Just like in the anime, so many bubbles!"

Bardock reached out with his finger, poking one of the floating bubbles, finding it to be quite elastic.

The roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees secrete a special natural resin. This resin expands due to the respiration of the roots, causing the air inside to swell and form bubbles that float up into the sky.

These bubbles can only survive within the climatic range of the Yarukiman Mangrove. Once they leave the climate zone of the Sabaody Archipelago, they quickly burst.

Bubble cars, bubble Ferris wheels, even houses built directly on bubbles… The bubble culture permeates every corner of the Sabaody Archipelago!

"Shanks, everyone, thanks for all your help along the way. See you around."

"Kid, safe travels."

"Goodbye, Bardock."

"Bardock, I'll remember you."

"…"

Shanks' ship entered from the entrance at Island 44 and docked in a hidden spot on Island 41. He would probably go to Island 13 to find Rayleigh, the Dark King.

In truth, Bardock also wanted to find Rayleigh to learn Haki. However, after thinking it through, he decided against it. Bardock had chosen not to join the Red-Haired Pirates to maintain his freedom. If Rayleigh agreed to teach him, they would form a master-student relationship, automatically aligning Bardock with the Pirate King Roger's crew, which went against Bardock's goals.

He already owed Shanks a favor. If their connection deepened further, he would inevitably end up protecting the Straw Hat Pirates in the future. The Straw Hats are trouble magnets—be it the Navy, Charlotte Linlin, or Kaido—just thinking about it made Bardock's scalp tingle.

Some say Rayleigh delayed Straw Hat Luffy, that it took two years for Luffy to master Haki. Unlike Katakuri and Kaido, who each managed to help Luffy level up after a single fight.

This is unfair to Rayleigh, though. He was laying the groundwork, teaching Luffy Haki from scratch to proficient use. Luffy's rapid Haki upgrades later on would not have been possible without that solid foundation.

"Island 30 has a shopping center, and Island 35 has inns. I also need to apply at the World Government office to cross the Red Line to the West Blue."

Recalling the map in his mind, Bardock adjusted his pack and set off toward the shopping street. If he wanted to live on Sabaody, he'd need money, and selling these animal pelts would help him solve his immediate needs.

...

"Come on, boss, these are top-quality pelts. Five large, intact pelts and you're only offering 1 million Berries? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"It's really not a low offer, kid. A Fish-Man slave is only worth 1 million Berries. These pelts are nice, but your treatment of them is lacking. Look here, and here, and here—there's fur loss in several places. You can check with other shops, no one will offer a better price than me."

"Is there really no way to increase it?" In truth, Bardock had already been to a few other places, and this shop was offering the best price, but he still wanted to haggle.

"This is really the highest, kid. Business isn't easy for us either. We still need to find designers, pay craftsmen to make things, and even then, they might not sell..."

"How about this, kid: I'll let you choose an item from my shop—shoes, hats, clothes—as a bonus. How does that sound?"

"Alright." Bardock was really missing Nami at this moment. If she were here haggling, the shopkeeper would have ended up bankrupt.

Looks like I need to find a beautiful female companion! Bardock thought as he glanced around the shop, spotting a familiar-looking blue hat. Isn't this the same one Chopper wears later on? He decided to take it.

When Bardock left the shopping street, he had a whole new look. He wore Chopper's signature hat, a pair of sunglasses on his nose, and the trendy local Sabaody clothing. In one hand, he carried a bag of money, and in the other, a few bags of fresh clothes.

"Who are you guys? Planning a robbery?"

As Bardock made his way to Island 35, he passed through a secluded area, where five burly men suddenly blocked him in front of a tree root. These guys looked fierce, each wielding spiked clubs, clearly the villainous type. All of them were about two meters tall, and the tallest one was probably around 2.5 meters.

"Ha ha ha! Kid, you're an outsider, aren't you? My boys saw you! Look at that big bag—you must have made quite a bit of money! Tsk tsk, all brand names from Sabaody too." The 2.5-meter-tall man pointed to the bag of clothes Bardock was holding. "Boys, get him. Be gentle this time, don't beat him so badly like last time that the Human Auction House won't even take him."

"Howl..."

The other four thugs wasted no time, howling and swinging their spiked clubs as they charged toward Bardock.

The moment they appeared, Bardock had already activated his Fiery Eyes, though his sunglasses hid it from them. He could clearly see all their movements, and they didn't seem that strong.

The first thug was the fastest, swinging his club directly at Bardock's head. Bardock stepped left, dodging the downward strike, and landed a punch on the thug's waist. He didn't use his full strength, just about 30%, but it still sent the thug flying and knocked him out cold.

Bardock now had a good sense of their power—these guys were all bark and no bite.

The second thug swung at Bardock's shoulder. This time, Bardock didn't dodge. He aimed for the gaps in the spiked club, caught it with his hand, and kicked the thug, sending him flying as well.

The remaining two attacked simultaneously, targeting Bardock's legs from both sides. Bardock jumped straight up, kicking both of them in the head mid-air, knocking them out cold.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The 2.5-meter man fired a shot into the air before slowly pointing his gun at Bardock. "Didn't expect you to be so tough, huh? But no matter how strong you are, can you beat a bullet? Give up now!"

"Within seven steps… Nah, I'll just go for it." Bardock wasn't sure if he could withstand a bullet, especially since he hadn't transformed into his Great Ape form. But one thing he was certain of was that his reaction speed was faster than the man's ability to pull the trigger. As long as he watched for the telltale signs, he could dodge the bullet. If he fully activated his Fiery Eyes, he could even track the bullet's path.

Bang, bang, bang.

The man fired three shots in quick succession. Bardock merely swayed his head left and right, slowly walking toward the 2.5-meter man. The man was now sweating profusely, his face filled with fear, but he still tried to shoot again. Bardock took a quick leap forward and landed a powerful punch directly to the man's face. The man was sent flying ten meters away, unconscious.

Bardock didn't let his guard down. He carefully scanned the area with his Fiery Eyes and confirmed there were no other ambushers before dragging the five unconscious men into a pile. All of them were knocked out, though how severe their injuries were, Bardock wasn't sure—especially the 2.5-meter man, whose face was a bloody mess.

"Seriously, you guys are broke. Why even bother being bandits? How can the protagonist rob the robbers?"

Bardock looted his spoils, finding only a few Berries. The gun was decent, but there were only twelve bullets. What a downer.

"So, how should I deal with you?"

Looking at the unconscious men, Bardock rubbed his chin, deep in thought.