Pirate's Freedom

"what?!"

The lightning-fast kick left the shocked strong man with just enough time to raise his arms in front of him.

Bang! ! !

"Ugh!!"

The right leg of the flying kick hit the strong man's thick arm. The powerful impact made him retreat uncontrollably, plowing a deep ravine on the ground.

"Who are you……?!!"

"It's not over yet..."

Boom! ! !

The golden beard tied into a bundle swung suddenly, kicked him upwards into the air, and jumped up immediately after, appearing above him.

"asshole!!"

In mid-air, the strong man reacted with anger.

"Don't underestimate me, I'm-"

He took out a dark giant ax from behind, and with a fierce roar of wind, he struck the figure above with a powerful blow.

"The big pirate with a bounty of [-] million!!!"

Click! !

boom! ! !

The steel-shattering right foot kicked hard on the chest. The sounds of broken bones and blood spraying were mixed together. The strong man fell to the ground like a meteor, creating a deep pit in the ground.

Step, step, step.

"Pfft!!"

As the name suggests, his right foot was dyed red with blood. [Red Foot] Zhepu stepped on the strong man's chest and turned to ask the figure lying on the ground.

"Have the witnesses confirmed the results?"

"Cough cough cough cough...Boss Zhepu..."

Everything was so dizzying that the contestant who had just been thrown to the ground by the strong man had not had time to stand up. He coughed and laughed.

"It's confirmed, I won."

No longer looking at the strong man who had fainted and woke up in pain, Zhepu picked up his men.

"That's good, let's go."

……

A scene of a duel that ended in a hurry.

He has short black hair, a beard around his mouth, and an [X]-shaped scar on his forehead that extends to his closed eyes. A tall man wearing a lavender kimono stays here.

"There are dice rolling everywhere—"

He picked up a chopstick of soba noodles and put it into his mouth, tasting it carefully.

"The sound of crashing keeps making me want to take a gamble."

Not far away, someone jumped high——

"Rose Dance!!"

A large number of red rose petals spread out, and one of them fell to the front of the eyes, sinking into the table as if it were nothing, leaving a transparent cut.

Everyone around him had already fled. Only this blind man seemed unaware and was still thinking about gambling.

However, that’s before possible friendly fire emerges.

An invisible and colorless wave of momentum swept past, and the petals in the air trembled one after another, and immediately dissipated without a trace.

"We meet again."

The man with short blond hair wore glasses and also had a straight scar on his right eye. He walked over on wooden clogs and sat across from him.

"Thank you for your help when we were at sea."

He raised the bottle of wine in his hand and gave a toast to the other person, then spoke with a smile.

"Otherwise, I'll just have to swim over."

"Your Excellency is serious——"

The blind man put down his chopsticks and sat upright and replied.

"The sad voice is ringing in my ears, how can I ignore it?"

"...You're not a pirate, are you?"

The blond man touched the beard on his chin and then asked.

"Are you ready to take action against the navy and put a bounty on your back?"

"...I really have a headache...! Hehe..."

Although he looks very cold, his smile is unexpectedly cunning.

"After all, I can't see anything, so I can only ask everyone to be more patient."

"Hahahahaha...!!"

The blond man threw his head back and laughed heartily.

"I used to be the vice-captain of the Pirate King——"

After a while, he stopped laughing and said.

"Silbaz Reilly, please give me your advice."

"..."

After a moment of silence, the blind man lowered his head slightly.

"My name is [Life]. It is a blessing to meet you."

Amidst the sounds of fighting not far away, the two people chatted while eating and drinking.

"Why are you here, Your Excellency?"

I went to fill up another bowl of soba noodles and blew on it. Issei asked.

"The person I want to see is here."

Rayleigh's smile contained both nostalgia and anticipation.

"There are still things I have to be concerned about."

After saying that, he looked at the noodles he was eating, and then at the steaming vat beside him.

"You want to eat all of this?"

After finishing the noodles, I picked up the bowl with both hands and drank up the remaining soup.

“The soba noodles here are truly unique and must not be wasted.”

After shaking the wine bottle in his hand, Rayleigh was startled, stood up and said.

"Ah! Oh no! The wine bottle is empty. I'll go get some more wine."

……

A showdown of vegetable dishes.

More and more chefs gathered here, and once they took one look, they could no longer look away.

The expressions of the two boys, one large and one small, who had been staying here had inexplicable changes.

"Did you see it?"

The older boy asked without looking back.

"…Same ingredients…Same cooking…"

The younger boy recalled the scene just now.

This is not an ongoing duel. For real masters, the last one that was stopped midway has allowed them to peek into the icebergs under the water.

"To be precise, it was the guy who appeared later who chose the area where his opponent was strongest."

The older boy made a judgment call.

"Precisely because most places are the same."

The younger boy said calmly.

"The only difference is clearly revealed."

After a pause, he continued.

"That's it - the overwhelming difference in strength between the two."

He muttered to himself, putting himself into his opponent's perspective.

"Without any pretexts or excuses, he makes people completely aware of their own insignificance. He is really a wicked guy."

"...the umami flavor of [Red Sea Bream] is a delicate, subtle and quite difficult to master, and it is quite bland in itself."

Shaking his head to drive unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, the younger boy began to make a detailed analysis.

"The guy who's into using small tricks, albeit inexplicably, does a great job at that."

"He does have his own uniqueness in [fire-free cooking] of fish."

“A complete understanding of ingredients, a clear understanding of how they change characteristics over time, the ability to tell when fish will take on its best flavor and texture, and the ability to select when time and the knife will [cook] the ingredients perfectly The best time to enjoy it——"

He made his final conclusion.

“Umami takes time to simmer, and texture is the result of knife skills.”

"but--"

The final twist is so unpredictable.

"None of this makes any sense."

The two were silent for a while.

"……how do you say……"

"Defeating my opponent where he is most proud of, although I can also do it, but to do it to this extent..."

The older boy took a deep breath.

"It's really exciting."

……

A moment later, in the center of the venue, the center of everyone's attention.

"If you lose, you must lose in a worthwhile way. No matter what, don't come here in vain."

The original slightly glowing skin tone has dimmed, the facial features have also been adjusted, and Tata Tot, whose appearance has been cut in half, is still very handsome.

"How about it?"

He flicked his fingers and ejected a few of the noisy guys from the Flower City. He looked at his opponent seriously.

"Have you learned anything?"