“Kill him for me.”
The pungent smell of blood filled the air. Terra clutched his bleeding neck and side, his eyes red as he watched the restaurant, from which people kept pouring out. The fear in his heart wouldn’t subside.
So close.
He was so close to meeting his end.
“Boss, let me bandage you first.”
“I won’t die just yet. Go kill that brat for me.”
Terra’s anger was burning, almost falling into the hands of a kid. Now, he just wanted to tear him to pieces.
His subordinate hesitated as Terra pushed him away.
While Terra roared, blood spurted from his neck and mouth, and especially from his side, dyeing the ground red. The sight was terrifying, and he might die from blood loss at any moment.
But with the boss insisting, they had to comply.
Inside the restaurant, Hermes was hiding behind the counter, panting. He could clearly sense the pirates entering from all sides. If he showed himself, he’d be riddled with bullets.
Without using his Mini-Mini Fruit, his combat options were still too limited.
“Bad luck for you running into me.”
Shrinking down to five millimeters, Hermes quickly darted and jumped through the debris, brazenly passing through the pirates’ encirclement to get outside.
As a determined man with clear goals, he relentlessly pursued his target like a dog, showing his enemy the utmost respect.
Silently and stealthily, Hermes approached Terra, who was already hallucinating from blood loss.
He saw the kid appear like a ghost before him, despite being surrounded by his men in the restaurant.
“Creeeeeeak.”
Hermes grinned with a gentle smile, like the Grim Reaper’s smile, and delivered a Shigan. The high-pitched scream was abruptly cut off.
Even in his final breath, Terra couldn’t understand how Hermes appeared there.
“Boss.”
Some pirates rushed out of the restaurant at Terra’s scream, stunned to see the kid outside.
Bang bang bang!!!
“Kill him.”
“Damn, that kid was inside.”
Bullets whistled through the air, shooting densely at Hermes.
Hermes didn’t take the bullets head-on. With his current defense, a single bullet could take him down.
Rolling swiftly for cover, Hermes shrank back to five millimeters, moving like a flea through the chaotic scene, quickly approaching the pirates, and then returning to normal size to deliver lethal Shigan strikes.
“Ah!!!”
“What’s going on?”
“Damn it.”
As one pirate after another fell, the remaining ones were terrified.
They had no idea how Hermes appeared, killed someone, and then disappeared, only to reappear before another pirate, sending them to their end before they could react.
“A Devil Fruit user.”
“This kid is a Devil Fruit user like the captain.”
Finally.
Some pirates figured it out.
A person couldn’t disappear and reappear out of nowhere. Some noticed the five-millimeter Hermes, but he was too hard to see with the naked eye, especially with comrades falling left and right, potentially making them next.
Their hearts were pounding; there was no time to calmly observe.
Soon, the gunfire stopped. Every pirate was dead, and Hermes stood in the bloodstains, once again covered in blood.
“These are members of the Dog-Dog Pirates, right?”
“There’s going to be a show.”
“I heard this kid killed many Dog-Dog Pirates members.”
“A Devil Fruit user, not common in this town.”
“Seems like a Paramecia type.”
“If I recall correctly, Captain Joya of the Dog-Dog Pirates is also a Devil Fruit user.”
“Seems to be the Zoan type, Dog-Dog Fruit, Dachshund form, with a bounty of thirty-eight million. That guy established his foothold here with the Devil Fruit. Only the Chain Pirates and the Twin Wheel Pirates can rival them.”
“Now there’s a new contender, a kid.”
Pirates and civilians around the streets whispered, knowing Hermes didn’t kill ordinary pirates.
The pirates who loved chaos looked forward to what would happen next.
Some even started betting on how many days Hermes would survive or if he would wipe out the Dog-Dog Pirates entirely, which seemed absurd.
Hermes didn’t stay long after taking his trophies.
He had made an enemy of the Dog-Dog Pirates.
A courageous man wouldn’t sit and wait; he would strike first. Hermes Jörmungandr was just such a man.
“Dog-Dog Pirates, prepare your graves. I, Hermes Jörmungandr, will come for you.”
Before leaving, Hermes issued a challenge, confident the Dog-Dog Pirates would hear it.
“This kid is arrogant!”
“Young and hot-headed, just like I was.”
“Prideful people usually meet a terrible end.”
Undoubtedly.
The Dog-Dog Pirates were losing so many in one day and the open challenge before leaving made Hermes even more famous.
The Dog-Dog Pirates, an accidental stepping stone, proved quite effective.
In this world, fame was easy to achieve—challenge famous strong individuals, survive, and you’d be known.
But it was risky.
“What? Even Terra is dead?”
The news reached Joya, who first froze, then his face twisted with rage.
He had underestimated his opponent.
Losing so many subordinates consecutively, the outside world must be laughing at him. That kid had to die; no one could protect him, as Joya decreed.
The final challenge had infuriated him.
“I’ll wait for that arrogant brat and crush his skull myself.”
“Yes!”
On the other side.
Hermes cleaned up again and gorged himself in another restaurant. After every fight, he got hungry quickly, a good sign.
A hallmark of the strong.
After eating, it was time for the hunt.
But no rush, there were two or three hours until dark, plenty of time for a nap.
Meanwhile, at the Dog-Dog Pirates’ base, many were eagerly watching, including pirates from the Chain and Twin Wheel Pirates, who overshadowed the Dog-Dog Pirates.
The Dog-Dog Pirates were relaxed, not taking things seriously. With Captain Joya, they thought a mere kid was no threat.
But after waiting from noon till nearly evening, not even a female frog showed up.
“Maybe the kid chickened out.”
“It’s getting dark.”
“Captain Joya’s bounty is thirty-eight million. Besides the Chain Pirates and Twin Wheel Pirates’ captains, no one in this town can face him head-on.”
“The kid was all talk. He probably left town once he learned how strong Joya is.”
“A wasted trip.”
“Damn it, I bet a million Berries, my entire fortune.”
“If that kid doesn’t show, I’ll kill him.”
As time passed, many pirates who had placed bets grew impatient and angry, getting increasingly agitated.
Hermes paid no mind to this. After a nap, he went to a gambling house and bet all his money.
Such opportunities to profit shouldn’t be wasted.
He didn’t expect a challenge to create an industry chain. He could do this more often, a way to get rich.
Especially since the odds were high, meaning most people thought Captain Joya would win.
If he didn’t make these people lose everything, Hermes Jörmungandr wouldn’t live up to his name!
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