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[Golden Light Spell—Captain-Only Punch!!!]
With Bai Ye shouting loudly and Luffy howling in pain…
Nami, Zoro, and Usopp watched a one-sided beatdown that was downright brutal.
It's not like Luffy was that much weaker than Bai Ye—Bai Ye himself knew that.
Sure, he had trained in Daoist spells and had a power that was technically above Devil Fruits, but he hadn't been practicing for very long yet. If they were really fighting seriously, he probably couldn't completely destroy Luffy.
But the funny thing was, Bai Ye's energy—or Qi—had the same kind of effect as Haki. And Luffy, who usually didn't give a damn about blunt weapons or punches, was totally getting wrecked by Bai Ye. This was a classic "every force has its counter."
Also, Luffy knew this wasn't a real life-or-death battle. When it came to crewmates, he was always incredibly tolerant.
Otherwise, how could someone like Nami beat the crap out of him so many times in the original story?
Are Supernovas supposed to be this lame?Bai Ye thought to himself while punching, wondering just how strong he really was now.
It was actually a pretty easy question to answer—he just needed a proper strong opponent to compare with.
The thing was, East Blue was honestly way too weak. Only a handful of pirates were actually worth mentioning.
In the original story, Luffy and his crew basically steamrolled their way through, even while clowning around and making things harder for themselves half the time.
So if Bai Ye had to evaluate his current power level, he'd probably say something like, "Not quite top-tier, but definitely above average."
Luckily, once the Syrup Village incident wrapped up, he'd have a decent opponent to test himself against.
That thought made Bai Ye realize—he was kinda getting carried away. He'd forgotten to go easy.
He looked down and saw Luffy flattened on the ground like a pancake.
"Huh. I actually managed to squish him evenly."
Seeing Luffy like that, Bai Ye couldn't help feeling a bit smug.
Meanwhile, Nami and Zoro were both thinking the same thing:
He always acts like such a nice guy… Who knew Bai Ye could be this savage in a fight?
Maybe he's got a screw loose?
"Usopp, on the other hand, figured Bai Ye had gone so hard just to prove he wasn't faking his strength. This display of power was hardcore!"
Looking at Luffy all beat-up like that gave Usopp the chills.
Earlier, Nami had given him a quick crash course on Devil Fruits and the basics of abilities.
And now, seeing a Devil Fruit user get clobbered like that, he couldn't help but think:
This Bai Ye guy… might seriously be nuts.
Of course, Bai Ye had no idea what everyone around him was thinking. If he did, he'd definitely jump up and defend himself:
"You guys are slandering me!"
"Well, that should do it," Bai Ye muttered.
He grabbed Luffy, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and popped a healing pill he'd prepped earlier into Luffy's mouth.
A few seconds later, a perfectly fine Luffy—no bruises, not even a bump—stood back up like nothing happened.
And the first thing out of his mouth?
"Tasty! Bai Ye, you got any more?"
Bai Ye: …Huh?
"If you wanna get beat up again, sure."
Hearing Bai Ye say that so casually made Luffy think really hard for a while. In the end, he chose to drop it. That beating had hurt.
There'll be another chance someday, he thought to himself.
Seeing that Luffy had gone quiet, Bai Ye turned to Usopp.
"So, you saw for yourself—the results speak for themselves, right?"
For some reason, hearing Bai Ye speak so calmly, with that deep, piercing look in his eyes…
Usopp suddenly got the feeling that if he didn't agree, he'd be the next one to get wrecked.
"No problem! I'll take you guys to see Kaya right now!"
After a full ninety-degree bow, Usopp shouted loud and clear.
With Usopp leading the way, the crew quickly arrived at the fanciest two-story house in the village.
"Usopp, you're here again!"
As soon as they reached the gate, a joyful voice called out from the garden.
A girl was sitting in a chair, draped in a coat, looking pale but smiling brightly as she waved at Usopp.
"Kaya."
Usopp's voice turned unusually soft when he saw her.
"I came this time because—"
"I told you, didn't I? If you came back here again, I'd report you to the village chief."
Before Usopp could even explain, a man dressed in a classic butler outfit interrupted him.
With graceful movements and a stern tone, Klahadore walked over.
"Looks like you didn't take my warning seriously."
He pushed his glasses up with a hand and stared coldly at Usopp.
"And you even dared to bring strangers here."
His gaze flicked toward Bai Ye and the others. His pupils narrowed.
These people… they're strong.
Klahadore's mind began racing.
Has my true identity been exposed?
Even though he felt suspicious, he didn't let it show on his face.
"Klahadore, don't be like that!
Cough cough Usopp isn't a bad guy."
Kaya's voice came from behind, and she even coughed a little from getting too worked up.
"If a liar isn't considered a bad person, Miss Kaya, then who is?"Klahadore said calmly, though his eyes never left Luffy and the others.
"Besides, the people he brought with him don't look like they're from this village either."
There was something pointed in Klahadore's words:
"This guy who's always yelling about pirates showing up… might've really brought pirates her
"Hey! You guys, they're not..."
Usopp flinched when he heard that, then quickly tried to make something up.
"Huh? How'd Glasses-Old-Guy know we're pirates?"
Before Usopp could even finish, Luffy's voice chimed in loud and clear.
"Damn it, can't you just not be so honest for once?!"
Nami smacked Luffy hard, totally fed up.
"Eh? Was I not supposed to say that?" Luffy asked, rubbing his head with a confused look.
"In a situation like this, of course they'll see us as the bad guys," Zoro said, arms crossed, also looking a bit annoyed.
"Usopp..."
Hearing everyone talk, Kaya covered her mouth in shock and looked at Usopp in disbelief.
"Were you kidnapped by pirates?"
Even now, Kaya didn't want to believe that Usopp had willingly brought pirates to her house.
"No, Kaya, you've got it wrong! They're not bad pirates! I brought them here because—"
Usopp saw the look in her eyes and felt like something stabbed his heart. He rushed to explain, panicking.
But Klahadore cut him off again.
"You seriously think there's such a thing as a good pirate? Ridiculous!"
"Those scumbags sailing the seas are nothing but criminals. How could you bring people like that into the young lady's home? You've betrayed her trust, you bastard!"
Klahadore's voice kept rising, like he was righteously defending Kaya.
Clap, clap, clap...
Suddenly, applause broke the tension. The one who had stayed silent until now, Bai Ye, stepped forward.
With a calm smile, he said, "Uncle, you make a good point. Pirates are bad people."
"But I have a question—if that's true…"
"Then why are you here?"
"Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, 'Hundred Plans' Kuro."
"....."