Pirate: I have a Hollow living inside me

It seems she was forced by the Navy to become a member of the Navy.

Suddenly remembering something, Rocks asked, "By the way, you just said that colonel is about to leave Loguetown? Is another navy officer coming to take his place?"

The shop owner instinctively replied, "I don't know why, but a new naval colonel has indeed taken over the position of base commander."

"Is the newly appointed naval base commander named Smoker?"

"I won't..."

The shop owner continued answering, but halfway through, he came to his senses...

Why should I answer the other person's questions?

"You little brat, you tricked me again? You better behave yourself!"

The shop owner felt he had been tricked and was furious.

He raised his large, fan-like hand and slapped it towards Rocks, intending to teach him a lesson...

'Snap!'

Then his hand was forcibly broken off...

After a moment of stunned silence, a sharp pain surged through him like a tidal wave, followed by the shop owner's scream: "Ahhh, my hand? My hand!"

"It's noisy."

Rocks smirked, flicked out a fake bullet with his finger, and the scream immediately stopped...

"Alright, there's no point in teasing you anymore, so I'll just send you on your way..."

Just as he was about to send the others on their way, Lox seemed to sense something and subconsciously shifted his body to the side...

'boom! '

Just as Lox turned to the side, a flame swept past him, striking the wooden dining table in front of him and leaving a charred crater in the surface...

"An ability user? Are there any other companions?"

Lox looked in the direction from which the attack was coming.

A shirtless young man wearing a cowboy hat was seen storming towards them...

"..."

Upon seeing the young man's appearance, Lockes was also stunned for a moment, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He thought to himself, "What a coincidence..."

I ran into that old man Garp not long ago, and now I've run into his grandson here...

"Who are you? Why are you killing people here?"

At this moment, the young man walked out of a private room with an imposing air, his angry gaze fixed on Lockes.

It's like Lox did something to anger him...

In the young man's eyes, Rocks had indeed done something that angered him.

They actually killed the restaurant owner who had politely welcomed him and his companion into the private room, actively recommended the restaurant's signature dishes, and was very friendly to them!

Although the shop owner didn't look like a good person, he treated them so politely.

This has already left an impression on young people—the shop owner could never be a bad person!

But now the shop owner has been killed, and the person who killed him wants to kill others as well.

Although Portgas D. Ace was a ruthless and cruel man, he was not entirely vicious; he also had to be kind and righteous!

At least when faced with something like this... he won't stand idly by!

"Why did they kill? Of course, it's because they offended me."

Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, Lockes simply smiled: "When you encounter people who have offended me, why not kill them instead of keeping them around for the New Year?"

"You're supposed to be a customer here, not one of their accomplices, right? I'd rather ask you, why did you stop me from killing them?"

"Since you know I'm here to eat, you should know one thing: if you kill the owner and the staff, what am I supposed to eat?"

Ace lowered his hat brim and said clearly, "I don't care what grudges you have against them, I'm eating here now, you can't kill them!"

"That reason makes sense. Eating is indeed a very important thing. If it were me, I might also have made a move."

Rocks nodded slightly, which was considered as acknowledging Ace's reasoning.

A full stomach is more important than anything else!

After a pause, Lockes continued, "Unfortunately, they're not a normal restaurant, but a shady establishment that extorts money from its customers. You want to take action against them?"

Chapter 38 Another naval scoundrel!

"Don't slander us!"

Before Ace could speak, a trembling shop assistant spoke up first: "We are a legitimate business, how could we be a shady shop?"

His tone was filled with anger and indignation, and he acted very convincingly: "We don't know you at all, and we've never offended you!"

He had already given up hope and was waiting to die.

Unexpectedly, a hothead jumped out to "protect" them, and he seemed to be quite strong, a person with special abilities.

Then we need to seize this lifeline...

The young man's eyes were clear yet foolish; he was clearly a naive and righteous young man who had just set sail.

These kinds of people are the easiest to fool!

"..."

Ace didn't speak, but instead frowned.

He was indeed a newcomer to the sea, but he wasn't stupid.

They have their own judgment and won't easily believe what others say...

"Ace, don't act rashly. This place is probably a rip-off."

At this moment, another person walked up to Ace and whispered, "Don't be used as a pawn. Things might not be what you think..."

He was Ace's companion Mascud Doughs and Ace's first crew member.

Diuss is calm and collected, unlike Ace who is impulsive.

He vaguely sensed something was wrong, so he reminded Ace...

"I know."

Ace nodded.

Upon closer inspection, he also noticed something amiss.

Especially the food on the table over there: rotten vegetable leaves, bread, burnt pieces of meat... Is this the kind of food that can be served?

In any normal restaurant, there's absolutely no way they would serve this kind of food...

In other words...

Is this place really a shady business?

Was the shop owner's previous polite greeting merely a pretext to extort money from them?

"Although he's a bit impulsive, he's not brainless."

Seeing that Ace had calmed down, Rocks was somewhat surprised.

He still has some sense; he didn't act rashly and attack him.

If it were Rubber Man Nika, he probably would have punched the clerk as soon as he heard what the clerk said...

"..."

Although the other party's words sounded somewhat provocative, Ace didn't take them seriously.

Instead, he said apologetically, "I apologize, Your Excellency. I may have been misled by them and acted rashly against you. I apologize for this..."

Since he misunderstood the other party, he needs to apologize.

He's not an unreasonable person...

"Okay, I accept your apology."

Rocks accepted Ace's apology.

He admits his mistakes and is willing to apologize. Although he acted impulsively, he is still a polite person.

Locke glanced at the trembling shop assistants and said calmly, "You can go and meet up with your boss now."

"Stop it right now!"

Just then, a furious shout came from the shop entrance.

"..."

Rocks heard it, but didn't stop. He gathered a phantom bullet at his fingertips and flicked it casually.

With a hissing sound, bloody holes appeared in the foreheads, hearts, and other vital areas of the shop assistants.

The faces of the group were filled with terror, but their bodies went limp and they collapsed to the ground, seemingly lifeless...

'After beating the young, the old one comes,' a line from a novel by Zhan Huangben.

Lox looked at the person entering through the door and couldn't help but mutter a complaint to himself.

The newcomer was a burly man with short, dark hair, a menacing scar on his face, and most noticeably, a navy cloak draped over his shoulders…

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

The naval giant walked in with a gloomy expression, his gaze sweeping across the room, glancing at the dead shop owner and employees.

It also swept over Ace and Diuss.

Finally, the blame fell on Lox, who sternly shouted, "How dare you kill someone in front of me, Colonel! You're incredibly audacious! You can die now!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the naval giants moved.

In an instant, his right leg slammed into the ground, and his body shot forward as if teleporting, his right hand reaching for Rocks' neck...

Rocks was naturally aware of the opponent's movements and was about to deliver a fatal punch when Ace struck.

"Firearms!"

Ace brought his right index and middle fingers together like a gun, and instantly fireballs shot through the air.

It forcefully stopped the naval captain's movements, compelled him to dodge, and indirectly saved his life...

"Ability user?"

The naval captain stepped back a few paces, frowning as he stared at Ace who had made the move.

He fired fireballs from his fingertips; his opponent was undoubtedly a Devil Fruit user!

Ace questioned in an annoyed tone, "Isn't the Navy supposed to uphold justice? How come you resort to violence at the slightest disagreement?"

"Shouldn't you at least ask about the situation?"

"A disagreement?"

The naval colonel grinned mockingly: "Several vicious naval thugs... shouldn't we have attacked them?"

What do you mean by that?

Upon hearing this, Ace frowned even more deeply.

Although he considered himself a traitor, no bounty was offered for his capture.

In other words, he is still just an ordinary person, and his relationship with the terracotta warriors is still very different.

The navy immediately labeled them as "sea serfs."

"What does it mean? What else could it mean?"

A playful expression appeared on the naval captain's face: "Does the Navy need a reason to capture Haiyue?"

He was about to be transferred away from the Rogge Town branch base, but he was only there to collect one last "protection fee" and to clear some "criminal records".

I never expected to run into this again.