Pirate's Freedom

In front of you is soft and flat grass, and in the distance are the swollen roots of mangroves.

Looking from a distance, among the greenery, there are a bunch of buildings in the west and a bunch in the east, forming a small scattered street.

His eyes then moved upward——

Rows of circular buildings are hung high on giant supports, with beautiful patterns painted on them to attract guests. As part of the local characteristics, they have become a cultural landscape of the Shampoo Islands.

This is the hotel street of the Shampoo Islands, and most of the crew members who are waiting for the passage permission of Mariejoia live here.

——Crossing the Red Earth Continent through the official route of the World Government. Although this route to the New World is expensive and has cumbersome procedures, it is still safer than the Fish-Man Island route, except for pirates and other illegal gangs. In addition, those formal trades with high enough profits and the mainstream choices of people with strong financial resources.

……

The street was bustling with people, but after walking around the entrance, a coffee shop on the corner was empty.

In this deserted coffee shop——

Melodious music floats in the air;

Tables and chairs made of chestnut wood exude an almost inaudible aroma;

The overall decoration is light brown, and the sunlight outside the window casts a soft yellowish color...

"..."

The music is soothing and elegant, and the environment is peaceful and tranquil.

On the seat in front of the window, the young man put down his raised hand, retracted his gaze, picked up the coffee and took a sip.

Ok……

Still bitter and astringent, the coffee is redundant.

Not far away from him were several rows of tables and chairs.

The short flaxen hair was fluffy and soft, and there were a few freckles on his cheeks. The young waiter was lying on the table, his arms lazily supporting his chin, and muttering quietly in his mouth.

"...What kind of coffee shop should I open? It would be great to open a bar. Look, the hotel street is so busy now, but we only have one customer here..."

Behind the large counter facing the door.

The burly boss took a piece of dry cloth and slowly wiped the shiny glass in his hand. Hearing the waiter's muttering, he didn't even bother to raise his eyelids.

"A guest...a cup of coffee...a guest...a cup of coffee..."

"..."

The sound reached his ears softly, and the young man sipped his coffee.

"..."

In recent times, the difficulty of obtaining the originally cumbersome passage permit has suddenly increased exponentially, resulting in a large number of crew members having to be stranded here.

The only consolation is that due to the environmental characteristics of the Shampoo Islands, guest rooms can be easily constructed by coating giant bubbles with alloy. So far, there has never been a situation where the supply of rooms exceeds demand.

However... this also leads to...

Letting his thoughts wander, the black-haired boy raised his head and looked out the window.

At first glance, the bare hanging spheres take up a large area in the field of vision - these buildings are obviously completed in a hurry and have not had time to paint patterns.

"Jingle bell—"

A tall man in a hood pushed open the door and came in, rang the wind chime.

"...!"

The waiter stood up suddenly and rushed to the door in three steps at a time, his voice impatient.

"Welcome~!"

"..."

The man who walked in looked around, and his eyes paused on the coffee shop owner.

"..."

The boss also paused in wiping the glass.

the next moment.

"here!"

The young man who had recovered his thoughts waved his hand and said loudly.

After a pause, the tall man raised his steps and walked straight towards him.

"Are the two together?"

The enthusiastic waiter hurriedly took a few steps and pulled out a chair for him.

"What would the guest want?"

"..."

Sitting opposite the young man, the man was silent for a while and then said.

"a cup of coffee."

"Okay! Is there any more?"

The waiter nodded quickly and glanced expectantly back and forth.

"..."

The tall man said nothing, and looked at the young man with serious eyes under his hood, and the young man looked at him with clear eyes.

"..."

The atmosphere is somewhat quiet.

"Would you like to try the cheesecake and croissant?"

For the sake of sales, the waiters showed their contagious sunny smiles.

"This is the latest special new product launched in our store. The current special price is only half price! If you match it with..."

“Let’s have some seafood fried rice.”

Turning his eyes away, the young man interrupted his sales pitch.

"...?"

The waiter looked surprised.

"Guest, have you been here before?"

“Seafood fried rice at the coffee shop…”

The young man smiled, showing an indescribable temperament, which made the waiter stunned.

"I've had it before, it's the specialty here."

"Ah, that's right."

He looked at the man who was still wearing the hood.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"not yet."

The hooded man cherishes words like gold.

Snapped!

The young man snapped his fingers.

"Then one more, two in total."

The waiter came to his senses.

"OK, just a second."

"boss--"

He shouted over his shoulder.

“Seafood fried rice for two!”

the other side.

The boss is checking the glass against the light.

"..."

Hearing the waiter's voice, he put down his glass, stood up from behind the counter with his burly body, glanced here, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

And this side.

"The coffee will be here soon, and the fried rice will be ready in a moment."

Turning around, the waiter had some doubts.

"Have you been here? Did I really remember it wrong?"

He patted his head gently and echoed vigorously.

"It's strange, it's impossible not to have an impression..."

"Wait a moment!"

Under the gaze of the hooded man, looking at the waiter's back, the young man suddenly spoke out, driven by some kind of emotion.

"guest?"

The waiter turned around and showed a sunny and friendly smile.

"...I see you...are so enthusiastic..."

Hesitating, the young man chose his words carefully.

"I would like to ask, how is the treatment here?"

"..."

Visibly, his smile disappeared for a moment.

"Food, food and housing are taken care of, and there is also a commission."

That is zero salary.

For a moment, the boy was both relieved and sympathetic.

"Is there anything else, guest?"

The waiter's voice was a little stiff, and his sympathetic look deeply hurt his young heart.

"It's okay...Thank you for the hard work, go and do your work."

"..."

……

After a moment.

On the table, the aroma of hot coffee is rising.

The wounded waiter hid out of sight.

"..."

After taking a sip of coffee, he put the cup down and the hooded man took off his hood.

The red square tattoo on the left cheek, from the corner of the forehead to the chin, is not smooth at all. The short black hair is combed back, with a ferocious expression and no eyebrows.

Exactly—

The man behind the world's revolutionaries, the world's most vicious criminal, and the leader of the revolutionary army - Monkey D. Long.