Icey stood in the crowd, watching the arrogant bandits leave and disappear at the end of the street.
Listening to the discontented clamor from the Makino Bar, he didn’t go in to check the situation but silently turned back to his restaurant.
Without surprise, during the recent chaos, the gluttonous Luffy had probably mistaken the destined fruit for dessert.
At this moment, the gears of destiny silently turned, unsure if his crossing could change this distorted world’s trajectory.
Most likely, it could.
“Those pirates don’t seem as terrifying as you described. Getting hit with a bottle without a word? Pathetic,” Aqua couldn’t help but complain upon returning to the restaurant.
Having witnessed what happened in the tavern clearly, she couldn’t help but doubt whether Icey’s descriptions of the pirates’ strength were just exaggerations to scare herself.
“Aqua, if a passing ant happened to offend you, what would you do?” Icey slowly took his familiar position at the front desk, brewing his fragrant black tea this time instead of trusting Aqua.
The innocent Aqua rested her chin on her hand, pondered seriously for a moment, then waved her fist and replied, “I’d smack that thing daring to offend the goddess into minced meat.”
Icey: “…”
Is she a goddess of water?
She is probably just a petty goddess, isn’t she?
“Anyway, those pirates’ strength definitely exceeds your imagination. If you don’t want to end up as minced meat, it’s better not to provoke them easily.”
When Shanks and the others came for breakfast in the morning, Aqua was still asleep in her room, so they didn’t meet.
“Stop scaring people, Icey. This goddess has seen through it all. This world isn’t as scary as you say!” Aqua seemed convinced of this fact.
Seeing her confidently self-assured about her intelligence, Icey’s worries instantly disappeared.
Even if this one accidentally provoked the Red Hair Pirates without his knowledge, Shanks and his crew would probably ignore him or not bother him.
“I believe before long, you’ll witness their true strength.”
Pouring out the brewed black tea, Icey swirled the cup gently and savored a sip.
The taste was rich and aromatic, much better than the goddess’s hand-washing water!
After casually dealing with Aqua’s comments, he fell silent, his eyes flickering as he began to analyze the current situation.
After the conflict between the mountain bandits and the pirates, the Red Hair Pirates would set sail again.
As a pirate crew capable of standing independently in the New World, they seemed to be searching for something in the supposedly weakest East Blue.
Although the original story didn’t provide a clear reason, there were only two possibilities:
One, to find the most suitable eater for the rubber (Devil) fruit they snatched from the Marines, a role that Luffy stumbled into by chance;
Two, to find and protect Gol D. Roger’s son, to convey Captain Roger’s will.
Perhaps there were other possibilities, or these two could be combined.
Regardless, when the Red Hair Pirates finally returned to Windmill Village after killing the Lord of the Coast, they would completely leave the East Blue, heading to the Grand Line to confront various powerhouses.
Ultimately, they would rise to prominence and, four years later, stand alongside Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom, becoming the “Youngest Emperor of the Sea”!
Of course, this was just the plot development in the original story. In the era Icey crossed into, no one could say what the future held!
And now, Icey’s choice was whether to take down the bandit king Higuma’s head for bounty before the Red Hair Pirates returned from their next voyage or quietly observe from the shadows.
After much hesitation, Icey ultimately chose the latter.
Apart from Higuma not posing a significant threat to him at the moment, he also wanted to see if Shanks, this incredibly powerful future Yonko, would truly be “careless” enough to lose an arm in the East Blue!
What were his true intentions as the one inheriting Roger’s will?
Compared to that, Higuma’s eight million bounty seemed less important.
Of course, if the opportunity arose, Icey would not pass up such an enticing bounty!
Bang!
While contemplating, the restaurant’s door was kicked open once again.
The newcomer was the petite Luffy.
“Icey, I’m so furious! Shanks and the others didn’t fight back because the other side had more people. They’re not real pirates at all!” Upon entering, Luffy complained about Shanks’ inaction with a disgruntled face.
With a childlike mentality, he felt that if you were bullied, you should fight back, which was the true spirit of freedom as a pirate, the true mark of a man.
Shanks and the pirates’ inaction left him quite frustrated and dissatisfied, prompting him to come over here to vent.
Seeing the bandage under Luffy’s left eye, Icey’s pupils slightly contracted, then he smiled and stood up.
“It’s quite remarkable to be able to laugh heartily even after being beaten. You’ve done well,” he said as he poured a glass of juice and handed it to Luffy.
“Thank you.”
Without hesitation, the sulking Luffy gulped down the juice, then responded to Icey:
“Why are you saying the same thing as them? A real man, when bullied, should raise his fist and fight back with all his might!”
Upon hearing this, Aqua, sitting quietly in the corner, nodded in agreement and chimed in with the same view.
“I think Luffy is right. Only those who lack confidence in their own strength would use a smile to cover their inner weakness.”
Casting a glance at her, Icey murmured, “I wonder who was crying in the restaurant after being beaten by bandits and didn’t dare fight back.”
Huh?
The righteous goddess blinked her wise eyes, instantly changing her expression to one of shock, and began to perform her skill of rapid facial transformation.
“Lu Lu Lu Luffy, your shoulder, your shoulder fell off!”
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