The pirates, laughing loudly and drinking, stopped their actions upon hearing the door open and looked up at the entrance.
"Uh..."
As the momentary glare disappeared and they saw the appearance of the figure leading the way, the pirates' bodies froze in place.
Then their eyes widened, pupils shrinking to a pinpoint, as if they had seen someone particularly terrifying. Cold sweat, like a breached dam, continuously poured out.
Soon, their clothes were soaked.
However, at this moment, the pirates paid no attention to their damp clothes.
The moment they saw Kōta, they roared in their hearts.
"How could you possibly be here!"
If before, they had simply considered Silver-Haired Kōta, a lucky rookie pirate, a legend, but since the news, spreading from who knew where, that the Silver-Haired crew had annihilated an alliance of 100 pirate crews outside Water Seven.
These pirates could no longer consider the Silver-Haired crew lucky.
After all, for the pirates at the bottom, a pirate with a bounty in the tens of millions was a great pirate, let alone Silver-Haired, a pirate with a bounty of 2.5 billion!
So, as the news spread further during this time, Kōta's crew gradually became etched in the minds of all pirates.
These were beings they absolutely could not provoke, which was why these pirates had such a strong reaction upon seeing Kōta.
Kōta withdrew his gaze, glanced at this group of pirates, red light flickered in his eyes, and then a killing intent flashed and vanished.
"Slow..."
As if sensing something, the woman behind the bar counter quickly reached out, trying to stop Kōta.
But it was too late.
The calm bar, with Kōta's killing intent, seemed to ripple slightly as if disturbed by someone, and then a ripple spread.
The ripples, like threads, quickly swept across the pirates' heads, passing them silently and disappearing behind them.
"Slow what?"
Withdrawing his gaze, Kōta looked at the woman again.
"..."
Looking at the pirates frozen in place, the woman's eyes filled with admiration, and of course, also shock, helplessness, and speechlessness.
Shaking her head, she brought the cigarette in her right hand to her lips, bit down on the mouthpiece, and took a hard drag, suppressing the trace of fear that had just surfaced in her heart. Then she turned her head and looked at Kōta.
"I say! Kid, if you kill them like this, who's going to pay my drinks?"
*Bang bang bang~*
Only then did those pirates fall to the ground.
For a moment, the sounds of chairs, stools, plates, and cups hitting the floor continued unabated.
A line of blood, woven together, was wrapped around the necks of the fallen pirates. Then the bloodline turned into a blood trail, and blood soon soaked the tables and the floor.
As if finding the smell of blood unpleasant, Kōta frowned, looking at the dripping pirates.
Then he waved his right hand outward.
The bodies of these pirates, as if being grabbed by someone, flew up one by one. Even the blood dripping to the floor seemed to reverse time, gradually floating up from the ground and flying out the window with the pirates.
After doing all this, Kōta's furrowed brow finally smoothed out. He turned to the woman and walked inside.
As he walked, he said, "Drink money?"
"Aren't these pirates' heads the payment for the drinks?"
"If I remember correctly, there's a Marine base on this island, right? You can just take their heads and exchange them, maybe you'll even have some left over!"
Saying this, he plopped down on a stool outside the bar counter and nodded. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Well... not 'maybe,' but definitely there will be some left over. Pirates who can come here all have bounties, more than enough to pay for their drinks!"
Looking at Kōta, seeing that his eyes were not joking, the woman shook her head.
"Kid, you're not kidding, are you?"
"Although my place is called 'Shakky's Rip-off Bar,' I only take what I'm owed. If you ask me to go to the Marines to exchange bounties, how can I do business later!"
After speaking, the woman took a puff of her cigarette and looked at Kōta helplessly.
"You know, my main customers are pirates!"
Kōta shrugged, "If you don't want to exchange them yourself, then just have your old man do it!"
"..."
Upon hearing this, the woman stopped smoking. Her relaxed body instantly tensed. She stared intently at the handsome boy in front of her, who was smiling and had killed those pirates in an instant in a way she couldn't understand. A solemn expression appeared on her face.
"Are you looking for him?"
"You know who I am, you know who he is, and you know he's here?"
The woman's name was "Shakky." She owned a hotel called "Shakky's Rip-off Bar" in Sector 13 of the Sabaody Archipelago, the bar they had just entered. She was also an information broker, nicknamed "Aunt Shakky."
She was once a pirate herself, but she retired 40 years ago.
In the original story, she knew Hatchan, the octopus from Arlong's pirate crew, and had been pursued by Vice Admiral Garp, Monkey D. Luffy's grandfather.
Although her specific strength wasn't shown in the original story, she was definitely not simple.
After all, she was the previous King of Amazon Lily and the captain of the Kuja Pirates.
As for the old man Kōta mentioned, she naturally knew who it was.
And it was precisely because she knew that she was so solemn.
The old man had been living in seclusion with her. She believed that the Marines and the World Government knew about it to some extent, but due to the old man's strength and his retirement, and the fact that he hadn't done anything extra,
So, even though they knew he was here, the Marines and the World Government turned a blind eye and didn't send anyone to bother him.
After all, no matter what, the old man was a world-class powerhouse. Even though he was old, his strength was still there. It wasn't as simple as just talking to arrest such a world-class powerhouse.
Therefore, he had remained undisturbed.
However, the Marines and the World Government were, after all, the most powerful forces in this world. Their knowledge was understandable.
Then, this brat in front of her, if she remembered correctly, they had only been sailing for half a year and had never been to the Sabaody Archipelago. So, where did he get information about the old man?
It was no wonder she was overthinking and nervous.
Others might not know how terrifying the brat in front of them was, but could she, an old timer, not know?
You must know that this smiling brat, without a trace of aura on him, was a true world-class powerhouse capable of killing Shiki the Golden Lion and fighting admirals!
What was he looking for the old man for?
Did he want to spar?
Or something else?
Kōta looked at the suddenly tense Shakky, his eyes thoughtful, and then a flash of understanding appeared in his eyes.
He was a transmigrator, of course he knew Shakky, and he knew that the Pirate King's right-hand man, "The King of Hell" Rayleigh, had been living here ever since the Pirate King died.
But others didn't know!
The fact that he asked so suddenly yet so matter-of-factly would naturally make Shakky nervous.
After all, his current strength, in the eyes of these old pirates, could not be compared to those rookie pirates. Only they would know best what a bounty of 2.5 billion meant.