Chapter 33: The Savage Scar

"Don't go too far, kid!"

Manban was first stunned, then flew into a rage, grabbing Luffy by the collar.

"You actually dare to say you don't know us! How do you have the nerve to say that? Do you have any idea how much food you've snatched from us these past few days!"

"Food?"

Luffy racked his brains, then suddenly widened his eyes, "Uncle, are you talking about that roasted meat? Was all of that yours?"

"What else could it be!"

Manban grew even more furious, roaring so hard that spittle sprayed all over Luffy's face, "Do you think roasted meat can just grow out of the ground on its own?"

"But I didn't see anyone nearby?" Luffy said blankly, "So I just picked it up, thinking the beasts in the mountains had roasted it."

That sounded a bit absurd.

But Luffy truly wasn't lying.

Gorillas that could fish, monkeys that could brew wine, bears that could knit sweaters, leopards that could build huts in trees...

Mount Colubo produced all kinds of talented beasts, nothing was too strange; he had witnessed all of these with his own eyes.

Compared to that, beasts capable of roasting meat were quite normal; perhaps their craftsmanship was even better than most people's.

Manban had also seen similar scenes, so he was instantly stunned:

"So you're saying this was a misunderstanding? Then why, in the subsequent times when we found our food missing and questioned you, did you not say a word and just start fighting?"

"You were all holding weapons, and from far away you were shouting about being members of the Manban Bandit Group; it was terrifying, Uncle!"

Luffy said with a bitter face, "I have a very bad impression of bandits; even after being adopted by that woman, I still feel this way. Anyway... anyway, I hate people who are bandits the most!"

Manban's eye twitched.

Did us being bandits mean we ate your rice?

Fortunately, it's Laozi standing in front of you; if it were that notorious great bandit Higuma instead, hearing these words, he would have twisted your little head right off!

"Forget it, untie this kid."

Manban sighed, waving his hand disinterestedly.

"Really?" Luffy was overjoyed.

"But there's a condition."

Manban snorted coldly, "You have another companion, don't you? When will he come to save you?"

"He's just like you, stealing our food several times. Aren't you two kids very strong? Once he arrives, both of you will go hunting for me, and make up for the meat we lost—give Laozi five times... no, ten times the amount!"

Ten times?!

Luffy widened his eyes; wasn't this demanding someone's life!

He and Ace had been sent into the mountains by Dadan, according to Garp's request, to undergo training and survive this winter on their own.

Many beasts in the mountains are fierce and not easy to hunt; it's difficult enough just to feed themselves, so how could they suddenly produce so much meat?

"Ten times is too much! Six times!"

"Nine times; I'll reduce it a bit since you're still young."

"Five times!"

"Eight times; absolutely no less."

"Three times!"

"Who bargains like this! You brat! At least go learn some math!"

Manban shouted, nearly fainting from anger, and reached out to stop his subordinate, "Truly impossible to communicate with; don't untie him yet! Wait until his partner arrives; I don't believe that guy is also this brainless."

"Then you'd better untie him first."

A faint voice suddenly came from above, "I'm really afraid that once his partner arrives, you'll be angered to death again."

"Who's speaking!"

Manban's complexion changed drastically; he drew his machete and aimed it at the source of the sound—only to see a black-haired boy squatting on a tree overhead, examining him with a somewhat strange gaze.

"Manban, the great bandit with a three-million-Berry bounty?"

Siano shook the wanted poster he had snatched from Skinny Monkey, comparing the image back and forth for a long while, "No matter how I look at it, they're completely two different people..."

The Manban on the wanted poster had a sinister gaze and was covered in fat.

Whereas this leader before him was only slightly robust; their facial features were completely different.

The only similarity was that both men had a long sword scar on their faces.

"Is this photo you?"

Siano turned the wanted poster around, pointing at the picture above.

"It is me," Manban nodded, "I was very fat back then."

"Then this isn't you!"

Siano sneered, "Before entering the mountains, I had already heard of Manban's reputation; he committed all sorts of vile acts like murder, rape, and arson. The townsfolk feared this name like a tiger. If you were truly Manban, would this kid still be alive and jumping around here spouting nonsense?"

"Furthermore, looking at these subordinates of yours, none of them seem like bandits, do they? Otherwise, there's no way three or four of them together couldn't defeat an eight-year-old child."

Siano looked around.

The dozen or so bandits in this camp were all sallow and emaciated, dressed in ragged clothes, and the weapons in their hands were broken and dilapidated.

Only two people carried old flintlock guns; most people were simply holding sharpened wooden sticks.

Manban fell silent for a moment, muttering in a low voice, "... So it was seen through, was it."

"But strangely enough, one of your subordinates actually has quite accurate marksmanship."

Siano threw down Skinny Monkey, whom he had gagged with a rag, "If I hadn't dodged quickly, he would have shot straight through my brow."

"Accurate marksmanship?"

Manban was dumbfounded; looking at Skinny Monkey lying on the ground whimpering, he yanked the cloth out of his mouth and asked in confusion, "Ah Yin, when did you become a sharpshooter?"

"I didn't! I didn't!"

Skinny Monkey gasped for air, struggling for a long while before he could finally speak, tears nearly streaming down his face, "I was aiming at the branch under this guy's feet, trying to make him fall to the ground; who knew, who knew it would miss by just a tiny bit..."

From under the feet to the center of the forehead—is that missing by a tiny bit?!

Damn it, I'm nearly one meter eighty tall!

Black lines floated across Siano's forehead.

Manba, however, had roughly understood the situation and hurriedly looked up to explain:

"Your Excellency, you may have misunderstood; this fellow Ah Yin would never aim directly at your head right off the bat! He's not that kind of person, and his marksmanship couldn't possibly be that accurate!"

"In fact, his shooting is an absolute mess; everyone who knows us is aware of that, otherwise this guy wouldn't have ended up coming into the mountains with me!"

"He used to be a reserve soldier in the Royal City Guard; during last year's New Year celebration, he was temporarily pulled up to fire the ceremonial salute guns, but although he was supposed to shoot into the sky, he ended up blasting the Queen Your Majesty right in the face... After that, his leg was broken, and he was thrown out to the Uncertain Terminal Station."

He can still be alive after that?

Siano listened, utterly stunned; glancing at Skinny Monkey's aggrieved expression, he slapped his own forehead in speechlessness: "So... you guys aren't actually bandits at all, but all residents from the Uncertain Terminal Station?"

Suddenly thinking of something, his expression grew somewhat complicated: "Your homes were all burned down?"

The Goa Kingdom has always been hailed as "the most beautiful nation in the East Blue."

In reality, only the city interior appears splendid and bright on the surface; behind the high walls, however, a massive garbage incineration disposal station secretly exists.

That is the Uncertain Matter Terminal Station.

All filth, garbage, and the starving populace from the lowest strata were concentrated there, gradually evolving into a vast slum with an environment too horrible to behold.

Yet just at the end of last year, the King of the Goa Kingdom, in order to welcome an inspection by the World Nobles, refused to leave even this last difficult path to survival.

He directly set the Terminal Station ablaze along with its residents, treating the poor as "garbage" and clearing them all away together.

"Yes, gone, all gone."

Manba's expression turned desolate, his eyes revealing reminiscence: "Many people died that night; I heard that a group of kind-hearted people called the Revolutionary Army arrived on large ships to take in refugees at the docks, but some like us ran southward, forced by the flames to break into the Colubo Mountain Range to seek survival."

"On the outer perimeter of the mountain range, I accidentally stumbled upon the corpse of the real Manba, who had been burned to death, so starting a few months ago, I simply began impersonating him to operate within the mountains up until now; this at least scares off many bandits, making them dare not provoke us."

He let out a long sigh, lifted his head, and said with a bitter smile:

"Your Excellency, we don't wish to be like this either; we are even afraid that if we continue this way, we will slowly become real bandits, but alas, what other choice do we have?"

(End of Chapter)