Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

“…Okay.” Although she answered that way, Robin didn’t agree with Sett—Sett was far too dangerous. This was true both in his behavior and his apparent personality and interests. Staying with Sett all the time, Robin even doubted whether she would live to see this day next year.

However, he now had nowhere to retreat... his identity had been exposed. He was only thirteen years old, and the Walker family's spies were everywhere in this sea area. If he didn't choose a powerful figure to rely on, he had no chance of escaping.

Robin was fed up with being treated like a commodity and traded. Since that was the case, she might as well stay by this man's side... In Robin's eyesight, at least in the West Blue region, Sett was definitely not a weakling.

Don't you see, Nogana, who was utterly powerless against Sett and blasted into mincemeat, also had a bounty of 45 million Berries in the West Blue...

Even though it was only half of her own, Robin knew that her value wasn't due to her strength, but rather what was in her mind...

Should we continue to hide it?

Robin's feelings were complicated. Her identity would be exposed sooner or later; an 80 million Berry bounty was a fortune most people couldn't accumulate in a lifetime… What if Sett found out…

"What are you thinking? Tell me." The sudden voice startled Robin. Looking up, she was met with Sett's eyes, which were devoid of much emotion.

Swallowing hard, Robin nodded after a moment—it might be more valuable for him to speak up now than to become a ticking time bomb that could explode sooner or later!

Robin knew that as the only person in the world capable of deciphering the Poneglyphs, his value was unimaginable to any ambitious person. Rather than hiding it here, it was better to express it directly and make him realize his worth.

Upon realizing this, Robin revealed his true identity.

There was a brief silence. He looked at Robin before him.

"so?"

Looking at Sett who seemed completely indifferent, Robin pursed her lips and prompted, "...I am very valuable."

"So what?" Sett said nonchalantly, "I may never have seen any World Government, but I don't intend to be anyone's dog. Instead of all this nonsense, you should think about how to make money. If you really run out of money, then don't blame me~"

Hearing Sett's nonchalant words, Robin breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, she was certain that Sett was indeed the legendary battle maniac. Although being with him was definitely not as safe as being in other places, at least he could tolerate her.

Taking a deep breath, Robin began to carefully recall the information about Antor Island...

An hour later, the slave ship docked.

“Since we’re going to stay here temporarily, why don’t we go and earn our first pot of gold?” Robin said, as he laboriously pulled Nogana’s body off the ship.

Seeing this, Sett grabbed Nogana's ankle with one hand and dragged him behind her like a straw.

They traversed the bustling city along the way. Only when they reached the gate of the naval branch on Antuo Island did they casually toss it, smashing it against a gatepost.

"Where is he? I'm here to collect my reward!"

He had been dozing off and was getting impatient with the Navy for arriving early. But when he saw the corpses rolling around on the ground, he immediately perked up.

Beside him, wearing a mask and a coat, Robin also had a relaxed expression on her face.

It was assumed that Sett, who refused to be someone else's lackey, would readily reject the suggestion of taking the bounty. But as it turns out, Sett is not a stubborn person at all.

Ultimately, why wouldn't you take money that's been given away for free?

6. Place your bets and leave.

Looking at the corpse lying across the gate of the naval branch, the naval officer carefully compared it to the body, then shook his head helplessly.

"No... I can't be sure he's the wanted criminal Nogana."

Why not?

"Because he has no head, and not even anything to represent his identity."

Upon hearing the Navy's words, Sett raised an eyebrow and looked at Robin behind him: "Where's the boss?"

Upon hearing this, and sensing the gazes of both Sett and the Navy, Robin pursed her lips and then pulled a bag from her clothes.

Open the bag, and inside is a pile of minced meat.

“Here, this is Nogana’s head,” Seti said matter-of-factly. “I wasn’t paying attention and hit it a little too hard, and that’s how it turned out… Why don’t you try to piece it back together?”

Upon hearing Sett's words, the Navy stared at Nogana's head, which was filled with bone fragments, flesh scraps, and bloody paste in the bag in front of them, and fell silent.

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been able to tell that this is a human head."

“Indeed.” Sett nodded in agreement. “There was a lot of rotten flesh on the deck at the time, so we collected some in a basket. If you look carefully, there should be some other wanted criminals’ pieces in there.”

“…No.” The Navy said coldly, “What I mean is that this doesn’t prove that the body is Nogana’s…If you didn’t look so dangerous, I would even have the urge to arrest you on the spot.”

"Why? I'm a perfectly law-abiding citizen." As he spoke, Sett reached for the snacks in front of the Marine. Seeing this, perhaps realizing Sett was someone to be trifled with, the Marine didn't seem to care, simply saying, "To claim a pirate's bounty, you need a token that can prove their identity. Like a head or something... I've heard from some senior Marines that initially, you could claim a bounty even with a pirate's token. But later, a bunch of big pirates got short of money and had their subordinates bring in the tokens to exchange for cash, so now you need a head, a corpse, or something that can prove their identity..."

"I see... then forget it." Being domineering doesn't mean being unreasonable. Just like now, after hearing the Navy's words, Sett didn't argue too much—after all, from the beginning, Sett never intended to be some kind of pirate hunter.

With the strength to be the leader, why should he become the underling? Thinking this, Sett turned and left.

Just as Sergeant left, a pink-haired woman wearing a burgundy uniform with a Justice Coat representing her lieutenant colonel rank entered.

A cigarette dangled from his lips, but it wasn't lit. Tina looked away from Sett—a thoughtful expression crossed her eyes. Although it was their first meeting, Tina could sense the vibrant energy emanating from Sett. Was he here to enlist in the Navy? But his demeanor didn't seem like that of a Navy officer… a bit too flamboyant.

Thinking about this, Tina couldn't help but think of some admirals and vice admirals in the Navy Headquarters... Well, compared to those oddballs, Sett's flamboyance didn't seem so abrupt.

The moment she entered, she smelled blood. After inquiring with the Navy and learning it was the body of a Walker family officer, even Tina couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—a former Navy captain, Tina had heard of the Walker family's infamous reputation before. And now…

She lit the fire and gently exhaled a puff of fragrant steam. Tina said:

"...Call a forensic doctor to do an examination. If it is true, send the money to them."

"Huh? Do we still need to send it over?" The Navy was somewhat surprised. After all, when they encountered bodies whose identities couldn't be confirmed at the scene, the bounty was usually kept at the Navy branch as a perk once the identities were confirmed.

"I'll let go of the small amounts of money on ordinary days... That guy is interesting. When did such a person emerge in Xihai?"

With that, Tina stroked her chin and turned to go inside the branch office to attend to other matters.

Meanwhile, Sett had already arrived at the underground casino on Antwerp Island.

Unlike the bustling outside of Antuo Island, the interior of the underground casino was practically filled with the smell of hormones. All sorts of gambling—dice, roulette, Texas Hold'em, strip mahjong—were available. Everywhere you looked, there were sexy dealers.

But compared to gambling with cards and dice, the most exciting and intense activity was undoubtedly the underground boxing ring in the center of the arena.

At first glance, both men and women seemed to have shed their pretenses at this moment, with hormones and dopamine being released at a rapid pace in this environment. No matter how much humanity evolves, no matter how much it proclaims its civilization, one thing remains undeniable—humanity's desire for violence.

"It looks really good."

Gazing at the testosterone-fueled underground arena, Sett's eyes gleamed with fervor. Robin, anticipating this, nodded in agreement, preparing to escort Sett to register early. However, to Robin's surprise, Sett completely ignored her and walked straight into the arena under everyone's watchful eyes.

Underground boxing is obviously not as strict as a regular full-fledged ring. Apart from the ring, the only thing preventing spectators from entering is a bunch of bare-chested, muscular bodyguards and thugs.

Now, seeing Sett approaching, the thug assumed it was another gambler who had gotten carried away. He raised his hand and went to stop him. But unfortunately, before the thug could react, as if in a daze, a tremendous force fell on his shoulder, forcing him to kneel on one knee to maintain his balance.

Seeing the hand on his shoulder, the enraged thug's hair stood on end. He suddenly turned his gaze behind him and saw Sett's ferocious fighting spirit.

"That's it... I'm here!!"

As he spoke, Sett stepped into the ring. The fighters, who were preparing for battle, were momentarily stunned upon seeing Sett. They glanced at the referee, who in turn glanced at the commentator, who then looked at the boss in the VIP section.

After receiving permission, the commentator nodded and then waved his arm: "Although it happened suddenly, it doesn't dampen our enthusiasm! The battle continues! Intruder—"

"Sett!" He rubbed his fists, making a cracking sound. Sett could feel his body cheering.

"Alright!" The referee nodded. "Sett, the intruder!! Place your bets, viewers! Let's guess who will survive to the end!!"

7. Rules

The two burly men in the ring weren't surprised by Sett's arrival. The underground boxing rings were so poorly maintained, incomparable to proper arenas. So, it was perfectly normal for someone to cause trouble just as the fight was about to begin.

In contrast, the only thing that surprised them was that Sett seemed to genuinely come to fight, unlike the others who were simply gamblers who had lost everything.

But it doesn't matter... it's just one more person, which adds a bit more uncertainty...

Unlike other arenas, the underground boxing on Antuo Island takes cruelty to the extreme. Especially in deathmatch arenas like this, the brutality is dozens of times greater than in ordinary gambling arenas. Like now, someone has to die in the ring—

Rules are rules, but people are flexible. While it's true that people must die in the arena, they didn't specify how many must die… In other words, as long as one out of three dies, that's enough. After all, the deathmatch arena doesn't limit the number of survivors!

"Looks like our Quickblade and Heavy Hammer have already decided on their next tactics!!"

The commentator, watching the situation on the stage, exclaimed excitedly, "So that's how it is?! Both Quick-Blade Eddie and Heavy Hammer Vannosen are star fighters in the deathmatch arena! It seems they've decided to join forces against the intruder!!"

As the referee announced the start of the match, Quick-Knife Eddie lowered his body, moving like a flying serpent close to the ground. In his rapid movements, a pair of short swords appeared in his hands. Meanwhile, Vannosen simply shouldered the massive chain-laden hammer. Each step he took echoed with a dull thud throughout the ring.

Looking at Sett, who was completely unguarded, Eddie's gaze turned cold—that naked body was like pork on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered.

No, he should be grateful. Eddie thought—Vanoson was a formidable enemy; a single blow from his heavy hammer would essentially incapacitate him. Fighting him was like dancing on a knife's edge—though it wasn't the first time he'd danced on such a precarious situation.

In comparison, this unexpected intruder was practically handing over money—and saving them the trouble of fighting!

But Eddie quickly realized his mistake. The instant Eddie approached Sett, Sett also made a move. In the ring, regardless of the number of enemies, everyone immediately enters combat mode. And in this situation, the explosive power of the Hail of Blades is unimaginable.

Before Eddie could react, a vicious left hook left a bruised and bloody fist mark on his head. Relying on his agility, Eddie barely maintained his balance. But a second punch followed immediately—like two consecutive jabs. However, the power of that punch was completely different from the harassment typically associated with jabs. It was about subduing the opponent! Accompanied by the brilliant energy swirling around his right fist, Eddie's soft brain began to sway from side to side within his skull.

The Conquering Blade Flying Technique only consists of the initial three punches; each reset adds an extra strike to the original attack. Within half a second, Eddie felt his vision filled with dazzling fist shadows. Four consecutive punches landed on that not-quite-a-silhouette head before he could even react.

Brain contusion, fractured skull. With the final punch, he shattered into countless fragments. At the same time, Eddie's body didn't stop; propelled by inertia, it sprinted forward before crashing to the ground, rolling five meters off the ring, bleeding profusely!

What happened?!

This left all the gamblers bewildered. In their sight, Eddie charged straight at them, his head exploding in a blur... he died in less than half a second. From a distance, it looked as if a bomb had been planted in his skull and then detonated.

Since they were gamblers, they were obviously not benevolent people. Sure enough, sensing suspicion, the man in red was the first to step forward: "There's something fishy going on! Give us our money back!!!"

"Don't worry! Let's see what exactly happened!"

The commentator reacted incredibly quickly, turning on the big screen before the phrase "fuck your mother, refund my money" could even get out. Unlike ordinary Den Den Mushi (snail phone slugs), the Surian Casino could be simple in other aspects, but it couldn't afford to suffer any loss in terms of reputation—there was more than one casino on Antuo Island.

Therefore, any allegations of wrongdoing must be clarified immediately, regardless of the circumstances. To this end, they are equipped with high-speed Den Den Mushi (snail phone) capable of even tracking bullet trajectories for review and clarification!

In the replay video, even Eddie's ghostly speed was slowed down to a steady pace easily discernible to the naked eye. But even under these conditions, the instant Eddie closed in on Sett, his head was still engulfed by several punches. Almost instantly, four punches landed simultaneously. These were not static attacks; almost every punch landed at a different point. The pressure came from all directions as they landed at once. The exploding head was shown in the high-speed phone replay, and viewers could even see the brain being crushed into a mushy mess by the skull…

People crave violence, but that doesn't mean they are psychologically capable of handling such an impact—in fact, the vast majority of people cannot accept torture and murder.

Especially now, when what should have been a thrilling moment of death is replayed in slow motion, the fear washes over people's nerves many times over.

On the spot, many people with weaker mental resilience vomited.

Looking at the scene before him, even though he was a meter taller than Sett, Vannosen couldn't help but swallow.

While shocked, she also felt somewhat relieved—at least it meant she wouldn't have to face Sett anymore.

This is all thanks to that idiot Eddie for discovering such a monster in advance...

Before Vannosson could say anything more, Sett had already raised his head again, casting a pair of burning eyes at Vannosson.

"...The battle is over. As long as one person dies, that's enough."

"That's your rule."

Sett said calmly, "My rule is—I won't stop even if you admit defeat."