Bege, holding Egerd Riki's wanted poster, appeared before the Riki Pirates with an attitude that clearly screamed "trouble."
The large, portly Riki's eyes sharpened, his expression turning ugly. "You guys really have a death wish."
Riki's entire crew rose to their feet, their faces grim. Weapons were drawn, the metallic clang echoing throughout the room. In an instant, the restaurant was filled with a heavy, tense atmosphere.
The other patrons, mid-meal, quickly scrambled out of the restaurant in a panic. The owner and staff tried to stop them to settle their bills, but to no avail. Watching the two groups facing off, weapons at the ready, the owner could only sigh in frustration and headache, quickly dispatching an employee to fetch the Marines.
"I am Egerd Riki. What do you want?" Riki suppressed his killing intent, holding back from immediate action.
"We're the Masked Bounty Hunter Group. What do you think we want?" Bege replied with a light, mocking chuckle.
The lean, wiry old man sitting next to Riki suddenly turned grim, and in a flash, he threw a punch aimed directly at Bege's heart. The strike was incredibly fast and vicious.
Bege reacted instantly, catching the old man's fist. The old man's pupils constricted.
"Gilon, a martial arts expert, bounty of 105 million Berries," Bege stated calmly, looking directly at the old man. "Your fist is impressive."
"That's enough. You're no match for him!" Gilon's eyes flashed with a chilling intent, preparing to strike again, but Riki interrupted with a cold voice. Gilon retracted his fist.
Riki stood up, his face incredibly dark. His sharp, deadly eyes locked onto Bege. His body slowly started to turn red, and an intense aura began to emanate from him.
"We originally didn't plan on causing trouble in Sabaody, but since you've come knocking, we'll use you as a sacrifice to mark our arrival."
"This isn't the place for a fight. How about we take this somewhere else?" Bege said calmly, completely unfazed by Riki's murderous gaze.
"Who needs all those rules? We're pirates," Riki sneered, and slammed a palm towards Bege.
Bege's expression changed abruptly. He saw that the center of Riki's palm had a metal cover. The cover suddenly opened, and a blast of air erupted from it.
Bege acted instantly, kicking his disciples out of the way. He, however, was too late to escape. The explosive blast of air hit him directly, sending him flying, smashing through tables and chairs, and finally crashing through the wall with a resounding boom.
Riki's explosive air blast was truly terrifying. Most of the restaurant's tables and chairs were shattered by the shockwave, scattering fragments of wood and dishes everywhere.
"Godfather!" His disciples' faces changed drastically. They knew Bege was perfectly capable of dodging Riki's attack, but he had sacrificed his best opportunity to dodge in order to save them, taking the full brunt of the attack.
Bege walked back in from the collapsed wall. His clothes were shredded by the explosive airflow, and the right sleeve of his shirt was completely gone, revealing reddened skin.
"High-pressure air, huh? Terrifying," Bege observed, surveying the devastated restaurant. His gaze locked onto Riki, becoming instantly sharp and cold.
"Riki, are you in such a hurry to die?"
The chilling, icy tone seemed to lower the temperature of the entire restaurant.
"You're really arrogant. I hate arrogant people the most," Riki said, narrowing his eyes.
Bege gripped the hilt of his sword. Then, in a blur, he vanished. Riki's expression changed dramatically, his eyes scanning the surroundings. In a split second, he caught Bege's movement.
A wave of astonishing sword energy followed.
"Break!" Riki thrust both hands towards the sword energy. The metal covers on his palms instantly opened, releasing two jets of high-pressure air that shattered the attack. The powerful jets didn't stop there, blasting two large holes through the restaurant's ceiling.
"Captain, look out!" Gilon shouted, his face contorted with alarm.
Riki quickly ducked. Bege appeared in front of him, his gleaming sword thrusting towards his stomach.
Explosive blasts of air erupted from Riki's legs. His entire body was propelled backward by the force, moving so fast that he left behind only afterimages. Bege's thrust missed.
Bege stopped and looked at Riki's legs. The pants were torn by the blast, revealing metal covers similar to those on his palms, but there were more than one.
The metal covers closed after releasing the high-pressure air. Each leg had at least four rows of these covers, facing in four different directions. Bege deduced that these covers were used for acceleration and directional changes using high-pressure air. His sudden retreat just now was accomplished using this method.
Riki slammed a palm towards Bege, sending a jet of high-pressure air straight at him.
Bege swung his sword, unleashing a powerful wave of sword energy that sliced through the air blast and continued on to slash through the window and wall behind Riki, shattering it.
Riki's pupils contracted. He took a sharp, deep breath, sucking in a massive amount of air. His already obese body became even larger. Then, his skin slowly began to turn red.
Bege's icy expression turned serious. He sensed a hint of danger emanating from Riki.
"I'm going to kill you!" Riki roared. The row of metal covers on the back of his legs suddenly opened, unleashing a series of violent high-pressure blasts. Riki's speed became incredibly fast. He instantly appeared before Bege, slamming a palm down, a high-pressure air blast following closely.
Unfortunately for Riki, Bege was even faster. The air blast shattered the stone floor where Bege had stood moments before.
Just then, Bege appeared behind him, kicking towards his head.
Riki felt the rush of wind against the back of his neck. His clothes instantly burst apart, and a jet of high-pressure air shot out from his back.
Bege instantly coated his hand with Armament Haki, raising his palm to block the air blast. He was in mid-air, unable to gain leverage, and was pushed back five or six meters by the blast. He then flipped in the air and landed, instantly vanishing again upon touching the ground.
"One Sword Style – Octopus Thrust!"
A flurry of piercing sword thrusts rained down on Riki. Riki raised his hand and unleashed a violent blast of high-pressure air from his palm, shattering all the incoming sword energy.
Bege continuously used Soru to circle Riki, attacking with his sword, but the man had high-pressure air vents embedded in various parts of his body, blocking all of his attacks.
Bege looked at the rows of metal covers on Riki's back, his expression extremely displeased. This guy was like a hedgehog, his entire body covered in metal covers that released high-pressure air.
"Your attacks can't hurt me," Riki said haughtily, looking down at Bege.
Bege showed his displeasure. He sheathed his sword, and his arms expanded three times in succession, his aura turning violent.
In an instant, he stepped forward and vanished, appearing directly in front of Riki. The sheathed sword was suddenly drawn, unleashing a terrifying wave of sword energy.
Riki's reaction was no less swift. He pressed both hands towards Bege, and two concentrated blasts of high-pressure air collided head-on with the sword.
"Boom!"
Bege's arms suddenly exerted force, the violent sword energy slicing through the high-pressure air blasts. Riki continued to unleash powerful blasts from his hands, but he still couldn't block the ferocious sword energy, couldn't withstand this power. Riki opened his mouth wide, and then his entire body was sent flying by the force of the blow. He crashed through the wall and rolled for thirty or forty meters on the street outside before finally coming to a stop.
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