"Grow up fast, Bonney. This world is far darker than you can imagine. Only great strength can protect everything you want to protect!" Ryuuto said to her in a deep voice. His words left Bonney standing there in a daze.
...
And so, Bonney stayed.
Despite a difficult childhood that had left her a bit willful, Bonney was exceptionally kind at heart. That was why Ryuuto felt at ease leaving her in Vivi's care. Besides, Yuyu and Tots were also there.
The next morning...
Ryuuto was enjoying the sea breeze, about to dig into a delicious breakfast, when a large group of people approached, surrounding a burly man.
The man at the center stood about four meters tall. He wore a tall, black captain's hat with gold trim and a seabird's feather tucked into the side. Dressed in a dark, heavy overcoat, he had bronze skin and a thick, full beard that curled up at the ends like a cresting wave. He had the look of a seasoned veteran. In his right hand, he held a long-stemmed pipe.
Beside him stood a giant of a man nearly six meters tall. His muscles bulged under his skin, and his appearance was that of a monk—bald, with no eyebrows. His nose was shaped like an anchor's fluke, and the corners of his mouth were torn all the way to his ears. A heavy chain weapon was slung across his back.
The rest were dressed like bodyguards, burly men in short coats with identical longswords hanging at their waists.
Thump! Thump!
The group stomped toward the auction house with heavy steps, each footfall echoing loudly. Their intimidating presence alone made it clear they were not to be trifled with.
"Captain, who are these people?" Vivi paused what she was doing. Her expression uncertain, she turned to Ryuuto and whispered.
"They look terrifying!" Bonney said with a grim look, sizing up the dozen or so men approaching them. Just standing there, the group exuded an oppressive aura.
Ryuuto gave Vivi and Bonney a reassuring smile. "Leave this to me," he said. "Don't worry."
"Gururururu... You must be Ryuuto." Umit took a few more steps forward, stopping in front of Ryuuto. He spoke in an exceedingly deep voice. "The hotshot rookie making all the noise lately."
Umit raised his long-stemmed pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
Seeing this, Ryuuto also stepped forward, slowly closing the distance until he stood before Umit. A knowing smile touched his lips as he spoke in a low voice. "Umit, the man known as the 'Deep Sea Current.' An Emperor of the Underworld, the Shipping King. You control all the world's maritime trade. From the World Government's food transports to the common folk's supply runs, nothing moves on the sea without you."
Ryuuto laid out everything he knew about Umit.
"I never thought that losing a bit of income from the slave trade would be enough to bring you to the Sabaody Archipelago in person," Ryuuto said, looking at Umit with a light chuckle.
"An Emperor of the Underworld?" Countless questions flashed through Vivi's mind. This was her first encounter with such a major figure.
"I don't care what kind of king you are..." Bonney, however, paid no mind to Umit's titles. She rolled up her sleeves, looking ready to charge in and start a brawl if things went south.
"Gururururu, you don't act like a rookie at all." After hearing Ryuuto's words, Umit glanced at Vivi and Bonney behind him, his face twisting into an expression that was not quite a smile. "I like dealing with smart people. And you seem to be a smart person."
"I understand you're running an auction house here. Whatever you're selling, be it weapons or slaves, you can hand it all over to me," Umit continued. "Otherwise... I wouldn't mind setting up an auction house of my own."
Umit stared intently at Ryuuto, his eyes sharp and menacing, like a ferocious sea beast eyeing its prey. Behind him, the giant took a heavy step forward, leaving a shallow footprint in the ground. The meaning was crystal clear.
"Hahahahahaha... It's been a long time since anyone dared to threaten me!" Ryuuto roared with laughter, his right hand moving to his hip.
"No, no, no. Think of it as a choice," Umit said, seeing Ryuuto's fearless display. His expression instantly shifted to that of a shrewd merchant, the corners of his mouth curling up as he explained his logic. "I only partner with the strong. After all, I'm in this for the long haul, and I'd hate for my business partner to meet an untimely end."
"In that case..." Ryuuto said, drawing out each word. He looked Umit straight in the eye and shouted, "It looks like we'll have to settle this with a fight!"
"Gururururu, my thoughts exactly!" Umit's eyes remained locked on Ryuuto as he called out in a low voice, "Glad!"
As his voice faded, the bald giant named Glad stepped forward from behind him, coming to stand at Umit's side.
"This is Glad, also known as the 'Dark Harbor.' He's a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user with a bounty of 520,000,000 Berries. He'll be your opponent," Umit said, pointing his long-stemmed pipe at Ryuuto.
"What? A 520 million Berry bounty! That's almost the same as the captain's!" Vivi was shocked by Umit's introduction. Her expression turned serious as she stared at Glad. "And what in the world is a Mythical Zoan-type?" Her mind raced with questions.
"500 million Berries? I'm only at 100 million... I think..." Bonney did a quick comparison and concluded she was probably no match for him. She quickly turned her gaze to Ryuuto.
Ryuuto's face was impassive as he silently watched the two men before him.
"Give up!"
"No one can defeat Master Glad!"
"You damn brat, just surrender already!"
Umit's bodyguards began to hurl trash talk at Ryuuto.
"You bastards! How dare you speak to Captain Ryuuto like that!" Buggy, drawn by the commotion, had come running out. Seeing the scene, he immediately flew over to stand beside Ryuuto and roared at the opposing group.
"Bastards, eat my Noro Noro Beam!" Foxy shouted, forming a sign with his hands.
In an instant, the tension between the two sides reached a boiling point.
Creeak...
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening cut through the air. Crocus emerged, yawning, while wearing a pair of Supreme Grade Slippers. Old man Crocus was getting on in years, and he didn't sleep as well as he used to, so he had slept in a little.
"Yohoho, what's all this commotion so early in the morning?"
Crocus rubbed his sleepy eyes, his gaze landing on a familiar figure. A note of pleasant surprise entered his voice as a flood of words poured out. "Umit? It's been a long time! I saw you in the news. Congratulations on becoming the Shipping King. That dream you told us about thirty years ago..."
After all, when you get old, you develop a fondness for reading the newspaper, hoping to find news of old acquaintances.
Crocus's mind drifted back nearly thirty years, to a down-and-out man who had bowed deeply to Roger before turning and walking away without a single look back.
He had sworn that he would make something of himself!
...