The masked man barely had time to think before an irresistible force pushed him aside. Feeling somewhat relieved, he thought, “He didn’t kill me? Seems like this guy is just a good imitation.”
Gaining confidence, the masked man prepared to argue, only to find the surrounding pirates looking at him with terrified eyes. Feeling even more emboldened, he commanded, “You, go kill that imposter for me!”
“Ah!”
To his surprise, the pirates screamed, fleeing the guild in panic or collapsing in fear.
Seeing this, the masked man felt a bit of fear himself. He realised his voice sounded odd, and his vision doubled as if the world were tilting.
“What’s happening to me?” The masked man was stunned and forced himself to look at his reflection in the mirror behind the counter.
In the mirror, his mask was shattered, and a bloodline ran from his forehead down to his crotch, splitting his body in two, held together only by the bloodline.
“I’m… already dead?” The masked man thought in a daze. Realising this, he saw the bloodline break, his body splitting apart and collapsing to the ground.
“No, no, I don’t want to die!” The masked man tried to hold his head together, creating a horrifying scene that made many pirates shiver, feeling a warm, wet sensation in their pants.
Boom!
His body fell to the ground in two halves, lifeless.
Seeing the imposter finally dead, the other pirates breathed a sigh of relief. As pirates who lived by the sword, they were used to death, but such a gruesome half-dead state was beyond their psychological limit.
With that in mind, the pirates turned their fearful gazes to the man sitting at the counter, recognising him as the real Rougishu, the rumored traveler from hell.
Previously, they admired Rougishu for his strength, but now, having witnessed his methods, they feared him deeply.
That was a fear that penetrated their souls!
At this moment, even if the real Rougishu wanted to recruit crew members, no one would dare to approach him like before. They admired strong and ruthless captains, but Rougishu was beyond their definition of cruelty.
“Information,” Rougishu spoke coldly in the tense atmosphere.
“Huh? What?” The bald guild manager was stunned and then, remembering the imposter’s fate, turned pale and hurriedly responded, “Yes, yes, I’ll bring you all the information right away.”
The manager stumbled drunkenly, unable to walk straight, as he hurried to the back. Passing a mirror, he dared to take a peek at his reflection.
“Nose, eyebrows, eyes, mouth… all there, I’m still alive, I’m still alive!” The manager laughed wildly in his heart, feeling lightheaded, and accidentally crashed through a wall.
Seeing the manager’s comical state, the pirates who hadn’t escaped dared not laugh, knowing they would react even worse in his shoes.
They remained frozen, scared to move, fearing any sound might draw Rougishu’s attention.
The reception staff left behind almost cried. They felt stuck, unable to move or stay still, wishing they could disappear.
“Here it is!” the manager, still in the archive room, shouted to show his haste and then emerged with a fawning smile. “Lord Rougishu, according to guild rules, as a four-star hunter, you should only access information of that level or below. But I decided to bring all our information for you. You can look at whatever you need.”
Seeing Rougishu begin reading without any reaction, the manager sighed in relief—anything to get this demon away.
Rougishu had the strength of a five-star hunter, given his defeat of the 92-million bounty cannibal, Balor.
The hunter guild’s ranking was simple. All registered were one-star hunters; those who killed pirates with a bounty of over 10 million were two-star, over 30 million were three-star, and so on. Four stars were over 50 million, five stars over 100 million, six stars over 300 million, and seven stars had to kill government or navy-recognized great pirates.
The hunting method was direct—any way to kill the target was acceptable. This made the guild a way for powerful loners to work for the government without being bound by its rules.
Two main benefits were provided: information and merit.
Information was vital in the pirate world; knowing about dangerous abilities could save a hunter’s life.
Merit could be exchanged for rare items like Devil Fruits, weapons, or old but valuable navy and government equipment.
“Skull-Crusher Buffett.”
Hearing Rougishu’s emotionless voice, the bald manager quickly retrieved the relevant file.
“Skull-Crusher Buffett, once a notorious pirate in the Grand Line with a bounty of 120 million, retired ten years ago to form a mafia in the West Blue, involved in various illegal trades. He’s a pure physical fighter with immense strength, his weapon a three-headed flail, based in the Atvi Kingdom.”
Rougishu took the file and opened a suitcase, revealing a bloody head, the face twisted in terror.
“Cannibal Balor!” The manager exclaimed. As a guild manager, he recognised the infamous pirate known for eating children’s brains. Yet, in death, Balor’s face was twisted in terror.
What horror had he faced?
The manager shivered, quickly saying, “The 92 million bounty, I’ll…”
Before he finished, Rougishu pushed the suitcase forward and left silently.
The manager’s first thought was he was dead.
He checked the mirror, seeing he was intact and relaxed, shouting, “Harry, log the bounty for Lord Rougishu, round it to 100 million…”
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