Chapter 159

I smile as I step foot on the docks at the overwhelming scent of perfume hitting my nose. Though most people would wince at the ridiculous amount of aroma floating around, I found it nostalgic instead.

It smelled like the usual eastern perfumes people would wear back home, despite being a little exaggerated.

That, along with the unsheltered chaos, which was the crowded local marketplace where you couldn't see more than one meter ahead of you due to the ridiculous number of people, selling and buying made me feel right at home.

Unfortunately, feeling at home didn't stop me from standing out, as a guy dressed like an edgy rocker was sure to catch a few eyes while strolling between a horde of people dressed in stereotypical middle eastern wear.

The fact I was a wanted pirate and somewhat famous performer because some bastard saw fit to publicize my work without my approval didn't help either.

I could already see whispering as they stole glances at me, some of them downright hostile and calculative, while others were merely curious.

I merely ignored the people glaring at me while politely smiling at anyone who didn't seem to have any ill will towards me, which might have been a mistake as several people began approaching me.

"Excuse me... Are you Johnny silver hand?" asked one of the people approaching me, a good-looking woman with tanned skin and a pair of big brown eyes.

"The one and only!" I replied with a happy smile, feeling any annoyance I might have had evaporate as I looked at the young woman's beautiful face.

Yes, I'm a SIMP, Super Intense Mofo Pirate.

"Oh! I'm a big fan!" the woman replied with an excited smile, and I nodded at her. "Can you sign a poster for me?" she asked after calming herself down after a second, and I nodded.

The woman's smile grew further as she raised one finger at me, probably asking me to wait for a minute, as she walked to a nearby stall, gave the owner a few berries, and purchased a promotional poster with my picture on it.

"Here!" she said, presenting the posture to me, and I obliged, signing it with a smile on my face, much to the young woman's joy. "Thank you so much!" She squealed, suddenly hugging me and grabbing my hand as she put a piece of paper in it before storming off in a hurry.

"Nice," I said with a grin as I opened the paper, noticing it had an address written on it. However, my smile immediately disappeared, replaced by an annoyed look as I saw several guys approaching me with the same expression the young woman had.

"Nope!" I muttered to myself, immediately using soru to leave the area.

...

I kept exploring the area for several hours, making sure to take a good look at every stall, selling anything that looked interesting, only occasionally stopping to chat with the locals when I needed directions.

I ended up buying two weird-looking daggers as souvenirs, but nothing else. The daggers themselves were surprisingly sharp, but I wasn't lacking a weapon. And when you're swinging around something as magnificent as Triton, then other weapons only pale in comparison, so I had no plans to use them.

At any rate, I was starting to feel slightly hungry after touring Nanohana for a while now, and it just so happens that I found myself stopping in front of a restaurant, radiating a delicious smell that was strong enough to overpower the scent of perfume.

The restaurant looked fancy enough, with clean white walls decorated with several windows and a line of red bricks separating three green, decorative domes at the top from the wall itself.

"Spice Bean," I muttered with a thoughtful expression as I looked at the yellow sign with the words 'Spice Bean,' written on it in orange.

It suddenly hit me, and I remembered this was the same restaurant Smoker met Ace. I chuckled as I remembered the scene where the two were getting ready to fight in the middle of the restaurant, only for Luffy to burst through the door and send them both flying through the wall.

"Well, this settles it..." I murmured with a shrug of my shoulders, walking towards the Spice Bean's entrance.

I stepped through the door and stopped for a second as I looked around. The restaurant looked as tidy and clean on the inside as it was on the outside, with red brick walls, grey stone floors, and wooden tables and chairs littering the place, with just as many people sitting there, enjoying their meals.

The restaurant's patrons all seemed like your average Joes, except for two, one of them being a swarthy-looking middle-aged man, who immediately glared at me as soon as I stepped foot inside. The other was a woman wearing heavy clothes that concealed her face and figure.

I also noticed a long bar table with whom I presumed was the restaurant's owner standing behind it, serving dishes to the people sitting in front of him, so I made my way there.

"Welcome to Spice Bean," the owner said as he saw me sit down from the corner of his eyes without giving me a good look. "What can I get you-" he added, suddenly pausing as his eyes met mine.

"You... You're...?" the owner said while giving me an unsure look, so I just nodded with a shrug of my shoulders. "Oh! So it is you!" he remarked with a smile.

"My daughter is a big fan of yours. A shame she's not here right now," He said after a second's pause, suddenly seeming to remember something, his expression turning severe.

'Real shame indeed.' I cleared my throat, trying to stop myself from chuckling at my own dirty thoughts.

"You should leave this country as quickly as possible," the owner whispered after taking a look around to make sure no one was listening. "This is Crocodile's territory, and he doesn't take kindly to other pirates staying here," he explained in a concerned tone.

"I typically wouldn't care, but my daughter would be sad if you were to be killed by Crocodile or the marines," he added, awkwardly scratching his head.

"Thanks for the advice, but I already know about Crocodile," I replied with a smile, gratefully nodding my head. "And I know what I'm doing, so there's no need to concern yourself with my safety," I added, firmly shaking my head.

However, I paused as the previously mentioned middle-aged man suddenly got up from his table and started slowly approaching me.

The owner looked at the middle-aged man, and I noticed a brief feeling of panic in his eyes as he gave me a meaningful look, to which I carelessly shrugged my shoulders.

"The owner just gave you a valuable piece of advice, brat," the middle-aged said as he stood right behind me, taking out a flintlock pistol and pointing at my head.

"You have several extra juicy bounties on your head," he flatly added as he walked to my side to look me in the eye, his pistol still aiming at my head.

"Oh? And you intend to collect them?" I asked with an amused smile, raising an eyebrow. "Never mind. I'm in a good mood right now, and I don't want to bother the nice owner here with cleaning your blood from the floors," I added as I adjusted myself in my seat to face the man, causing his gun to point at my forehead directly.

"If this miserable bastard's blood staining the floors is the only thing making you hesitate, then allow me..." Came a feminine voice from the side, and I heard a gunshot as the middle-aged man's head burst in blood.

"There, still as clean as it was a second ago," the same feminine voice added as the middle-aged man fell to the floor, the blood leaking from his forehead, flowing back right back where it belonged.