Chapter 46: The Scammers and the Meddlers
♂ "Ah, that big sister has such beautiful long legs! I bet they'd look great in fishnet stockings!"
"Wow! That sister's outfit is so hot, from the side I can already see half her chest!"
"Huh? This restaurant has so many people, it looks like it might be delicious. Should I come try it after I get the money?"
"Oh, what kind of fish is that uncle selling? It looks so weird, is that an elephant's trunk?"
Walking along the streets of Loguetown, Ian looked around in every direction, feeling like he could never see enough. This place was a world completely opposite to the peaceful and tranquil Shimotsuki Village. It could be said that in all the years since Ian had come to this world, this was the first time he had seen so many people on a single street, and he couldn't help but feel excited.
He not only looked at the beautiful women on the streets but also at all sorts of strange and curious things. Since the Marine base was right in town and wouldn't run away, he wasn't in a hurry to get there. Instead, he just kept taking in the sights and marveling at the novelty.
What he didn't know, however, was that his behavior made him look like a country bumpkin who had never been to a city before. Some fashionable men and women passing by couldn't help but glance at him a few extra times, and only after walking away did they quietly cover their mouths to snicker.
Ian naturally heard some of this, but he couldn't be bothered to care. Those who mocked others were nothing but shallow people, and Ian had no time to get angry at them.
As he was walking, two people appeared ahead of him: a fat man and a thin man. The fat man wore a small leather jacket, leaving his entire upper body and big belly exposed, while the thin man had a Mohawk hairstyle and was covered in shiny trinkets from head to toe. Both carried weapons, each with a machete slung at their side. It was obvious at a glance that they weren't good people.
As they approached, the two walked in a crooked, stumbling manner, causing passersby to quickly dodge out of their way, afraid of getting into trouble.
Ian naturally saw them too but didn't pay much attention. His path was already set to avoid them.
However, unexpectedly, just as the fat man and thin man were about to reach Ian, the fat one suddenly took a step toward Ian and deliberately bumped into him with his shoulder.
Ian had already sensed something was off the moment the fat man moved to collide with him, so he tensed his shoulder and met the impact.
The fat man looked sturdy and bulky, but he couldn't withstand the collision. With a loud thud, the fat man was knocked to the ground as they passed each other.
"Ah! How are you walking!?" Before Ian could speak, the thin man spoke first, his face full of excitement as he said to Ian, "Look at what you did, you injured my friend!? No way, you have to pay compensation!"
As he spoke, the thin man was secretly puzzled, wondering why the fat man was acting so convincingly. That fall looked completely real.
Little did he know, the fat man had genuinely been knocked over—it wasn't acting at all...
Ian looked at these two speechlessly, thinking to himself, what's going on? I just arrived in Loguetown and I'm already running into scammers?
He thought about ignoring them and just walking away, but as soon as he lifted his leg, the thin man suddenly grabbed Ian's shoulder and shouted shrilly, "Someone come quick! This guy hurt someone and is trying to run!"
At his shout, the surrounding pedestrians hurriedly scattered, leaving a large open space. The residents of Loguetown were used to this; they knew someone was causing trouble, and to avoid getting caught up in it, the best thing was to stay away.
Normally, such a shout wouldn't bring anyone, but strangely enough, as the pedestrians cleared the way, a large group of people came pouring out from street corners and various hiding spots. Every single one of them was armed, and they immediately gathered around the fat man and thin man, surrounding Ian in the middle.
"What's going on?" Among the newcomers, a burly man with a small mustache said in a fake tone, "You hurt someone, how can you try to run away?"
"That's right, you should pay proper compensation!" others chimed in.
Watching this group trying so hard to act like "righteous bystanders" but failing miserably at the performance, Ian found it quite amusing. He finally realized that not only had he run into scammers, but they were part of an organized gang.
In fact, when Ian had first come ashore, he had vaguely felt like someone was following him. At the time, he thought it might be the town's peace officers or something, and he didn't pay it much mind. After all, he was carrying a weapon, and it was normal for the peace officers to keep an eye on pirates causing trouble. But when this group appeared, Ian realized he had been wrong. The ones tailing him weren't the town's peace officers—they were these scammers!
Were these people local thugs from Loguetown, or pirates from some crew? Ian was just puzzled: why did they pick him out of everyone? No matter how he looked at it, he didn't seem like someone with money, did he?
Just as Ian was still wondering, the thin man said, "You hurt someone and want to leave? Nothing's that easy! That sword of yours looks pretty good—leave it behind as compensation for my friend's medical expenses!"
Ian was surprised. So they had their eyes on the longsword strapped to his back?
Was his sword really that valuable?
What Ian didn't know was that while this group of scammers might not have much skill at judging people, they were top-notch at judging items. The style and design of Ian's longsword were completely different from the weapons commonly used in this world, giving it a unique aesthetic appeal. Moreover, just from the quality of the blade, it was indeed a fine sword. To make a comparison, this longsword was at least on the level of a Good Grade Sword, with a starting price in the millions of Berries!
A young man who looked seventeen or eighteen, carrying a weapon worth millions of Berries, and acting like a naive country bumpkin, gawking at everything on the street—of course this group would target him!
Ian wasn't stupid. As soon as he heard they wanted his weapon, he understood immediately. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Bustling cities were like this: though prosperous, they were also full of all kinds of shady characters. Compared to the peaceful life in Shimotsuki Village, running into this kind of trouble was just annoying.
So, he lowered the brim of his hat, looked up at the group, his eyes hidden in the shadow of the hat, and said coldly, "Small fry, go cool off somewhere else!"
As soon as he said this, the group surrounding Ian was stunned. In their eyes, this naive country bumpkin should be panicking and flustered when faced with this situation, right? With so many of them here, anyone with a bit of sense would just hand over the weapon and beg to leave!
This script was all wrong! Why was this kid talking so arrogantly instead?
At that moment, the fat man who had been knocked over by Ian's shoulder earlier spoke up through gritted teeth, "Be careful, this kid is really strong! Ouch, that hurt like hell!"
"Hmph, so what if he's strong!" the thin man said disdainfully after recovering. "I don't believe he can take on twenty or thirty of us alone!"
The burly man with the mustache seemed tired of pretending too, and directly said to Ian, "Kid, hand over your weapon, and this is over! Otherwise, we'll beat you to death!"
When the scam failed, they switched to outright robbery? Ian couldn't help but feel sorry for their intelligence. Some people always thought that strength came in numbers...
These guys were nothing but low-level thugs. Dealing with them was a waste of time, so Ian decided to skip the nonsense and drew his sword, ready to cut them down.
But just then, a voice suddenly rang out from behind, saying, "So many people bullying one person, we can't just stand by and watch! Joseph, what do you think?"
Then another voice replied, "When we see such evil deeds, of course we can't turn a blind eye. Don't you agree, Johnny?"
Someone actually dared to meddle? The group of scammers immediately turned to look.
Ian did the same. Although these small-time thugs were no problem for him, the fact that someone was willing to step up when all the passersby had fled, and that he heard two familiar names, made him curious.
Turning around, he saw two people standing behind him. On the left was one wearing cool black sunglasses, with the character "Sea" tattooed on his cheek. His right arm was crossed, while his left hand was clenched into a fist propped under his chin.
On the right was one wearing a bandana, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a long coat, and a pair of baggy shorts that revealed hairy legs. Both had longswords at their waists, one on the left and one on the right.
Ian looked at these two speechlessly as they struck their overly cool poses, thinking to himself, isn't this Johnny and Joseph, that pair of bros?
These two still looked a bit young and inexperienced, but their strong sense of showing off was already on point. Even the group of scammers was momentarily intimidated by them, watching warily and saying, "Who are you? We advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong!"
"Who are we? Hmph!" Johnny pushed up his sunglasses, drew the longsword from his waist, and pointed it at the group. "I'm Johnny!"
"I'm Joseph!" Joseph mimicked Johnny's action and announced his name.
Then they said together, "We are pirate hunters!"
"Pirate hunters?" The scammers looked at each other, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Haha, pirate hunters? The last thing we're afraid of is pirate hunters!" the burly man with the mustache said, still laughing. "Especially nobodies like you who we've never even heard of!"
"Hey!!" Johnny shouted angrily at them. "Don't underestimate us! We may have just started out, but we're really strong!"
"It looks like we have to teach them a lesson!" Joseph said to Johnny.
"Fine!" Johnny nodded. "Perfect timing—we'll catch this bunch and make a name for ourselves!"
After saying that, Johnny even gave Ian a warning: "Don't worry, we'll handle this. But you'd better step back a bit. If blood splatters on you, it might scare you!"
Ian remained silent and stepped aside. Then he watched as Johnny and Joseph charged at the group with their swords drawn, and amid the screams of the passersby, they clashed with the enemy.
After a chaotic clatter of sounds, Johnny and Joseph were quickly... taken down by the other side!!