Chapter 24

"Ahahaha! Are you joking with me?"

Higuma couldn't help but burst into laughter, "You bunch drifting on the sea seem to have lived too comfortably."

He stared intensely at Shanks, his smile gradually replaced by a bloodthirsty ferocity.

"Men, attack, and let these naive fools truly understand the cruelty of this world!"

With his command, the bandits erupted with intense fighting spirit, maliciously waving their weapons with sinister smiles.

The chilling gleam of their blades frightened the villagers, making them retreat continuously.

A slight misstep into the crossfire between the bandits and the pirates could lead to a tragic death!

However, what they and the bandits least expected was that from among the swarming pirates, only one man calmly stepped forward.

"These clueless fools, I can handle them by myself."

Benn Beckman, the first mate of the Red Hair Pirates, stepped forward, tossing his flintlock rifle into the air, then catching it by the barrel like a baseball bat to wield it in his hands.

"Arrogant pirate, meet your end!"

The bandits' fury was completely ignited by this disdainful act, and regardless of the numbers, they charged forward, weapons in hand, screaming their attack.

Benn's expression remained calm as he slowly advanced, wielding his flintlock rifle. Like a wolf among sheep, his movements were unbelievably fast, dodging dense blades while methodically counterattacking.

Nearly every second, a bandit would scream in pain and collapse to the ground.

In just a minute, dozens of sturdy bandits were laid out, lying flat on the ground, their fates unknown!

"Never underestimate us. If you want to stand against us, you'd at least need to bring a warship over, right?"

After successfully dealing with the opponents, Benn casually placed the rifle on his shoulder, lighting a cigarette with an air of cool composure.

"Wow, so amazing..."

Aqua, who had witnessed everything, was dumbfounded.

Her impression of the pirates led by the red-haired man remained 'weak' from their time at the tavern.

Seeing is believing, and now, she had no doubts about Zihark's previous claims of their strength.

Therefore, Aqua found it even more incomprehensible when Shanks had simply laughed off the previous insult.

For a Water Goddess who values face more than life itself, receiving a beating naturally calls for a thorough payback!

Unless one truly cannot fight back...

Zyhark's gaze shifted, landing on the puzzled Aqua, and he immediately guessed her thoughts.

Although he was reluctant to admit sharing the same thoughts as this foolish goddess and understood Shanks's demeanor of not arguing with the weak, if someone dared to smash a bottle on his head or spit at him, he definitely couldn't just laugh it off.

No matter what, I'd knock you down first before talking!

"No, impossible, how could you cowards be so strong?!"

On the other side, Higuma, now reduced to a commander without troops, was sweating profusely and looked at Shanks and Beckman with horror, his arrogance gone.

Realizing he was no match, Higuma waved his long sword in a final act of desperation, feigning a ferocious stance as if to fight to the death.

Then, he threw a smoke bomb to the ground, grabbed the struggling Luffy, and turned to run.

Shanks, still pondering how to deal with Higuma, was caught off guard by the sudden smoke, which quickly enveloped the entire street.

"Eh?! Wasn't he ready to fight us to the death?!"

Shanks exclaimed in shock, hands on his head, his imposing aura vanished.

At this time, he was still just a young man in his twenties, far from the reliable and composed figure he would become a decade later.

"Don't let your guard down just because the enemy is weak, you idiot captain!" 

Rage boiled in Lucky Roo, who couldn't help but criticize Shanks as the pirates around them joined in the complaints.

When the smoke cleared, Higuma and Luffy were nowhere to be seen.

A mere lowly bandit escaping was one thing, but Luffy's safety could not be neglected.

Thus, under Beckman's orders, the pirates, along with the villagers who volunteered, began searching Windmill Village and its vicinity for Higuma and Luffy.

Soon, the once bustling streets were deserted, leaving only Zyhark and Aqua standing at the tavern's entrance, unmoved.

"Zyhark, let's also hurry and look for Luffy. That bandit doesn't seem like a good person at all."

Aqua frowned, looking worriedly at Luffy's abandoned sandals on the ground.

"Your way of putting it, I don't quite agree. That's not 'seeming not like a good person'; that's practically a walking eight million Belly!"

Zyhark chuckled lightly, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic street, then towards the coast at the end of Windmill Village.

Compared to Aqua's anxiety, Zyhark, knowing where Higuma was headed, appeared quite calm.

Finally, the moment to close the net arrived.

Thinking of Higuma's head worth eight million Belly, Zyhark's lips curled into an excited smile.

"Up next, it's the protagonist's moment to shine!"

The incident with Luffy accidentally eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, and today's conflict between the bandits and pirates, had well demonstrated that this world was indeed following the original storyline. The kidnapped Luffy would undoubtedly be saved by Shanks.

At least, until Zyhark arrived in this world, this was an undeniable fact.

Based on this key point, moving forward to the Grand Line and even the New World, the information and intelligence that could be utilized were considerable.

Facing opponents with unique pasts, like Kuma or Empress Hancock, would grant absolute initiative!

So, the remaining question was about Shanks losing an arm in the East Sea.

Was it merely due to carelessness and a rush to save someone, or, as he later told Whitebeard, was it a bet placed on the new era, on Luffy?

Having spent a year in Windmill Village and gotten to know Shanks more thoroughly and realistically than just watching the anime, Zyhark preferred to believe the latter!

Therefore, he was curious, if he saved Luffy from Higuma before he could escape to the sea, what would Shanks do?

"Waiting until everyone has left to talk about the protagonist's grand entrance, that's just shameless."

Aqua scoffed at Zyhark, then asked seriously, "So where exactly was Luffy taken?"

Zyhark didn't respond verbally but slowly raised his arm, pointing towards the sea at the end of the street.

"The beach? You mean to say, that arrogant fool plans to take Luffy and escape Windmill Village by boat?!"

This possibility baffled Aqua.

Logically, a bandit fleeing would likely choose the mountains, where he's more familiar.

Why head to the sea? Isn't that what pirates do?

"So, don't underestimate Higuma. He's a very cunning and sneaky person!" Zyhark indirectly confirmed Aqua's suspicion.

Seeing someone like you, who takes cunning as a compliment, what right do you have to criticize others?

Aqua wanted to sarcastically comment, but given the urgency of the situation, she refrained from her usual banter.

"Then let's hurry over, or we'll be too late to save Luffy!"

Zyhark nodded and started heading towards the coast with Aqua.

(End of Chapter)