Two minutes later.
The well-dressed and trendy young men and women walked out of the alleyway, laughing and chatting, ready to head to the pleasure dens of the central city.
"Business is booming for you two, huh? You're almost at 300,000 Berries this month."
"Eh, nothing much. It's mainly that old hag named Kureha from last week who threw down 100,000 all at once. She was really generous, enough for me to have a good time for a while..."
The three people in front, one fat and two thin, were chatting happily. The fat guy, with sharp eyes, suddenly saw a slightly chubby blind swordsman sitting cross-legged under a streetlight at a crossroads. There was a broken bowl in front of him.
He looked quite lonely in the dark of the night.
A fellow beggar?
The fat guy frowned and walked forward, about to ask a question.
But Fujitora suddenly looked up first. He spoke in a weak, low voice: "Please, kind sirs… I just escaped from the casino. Haven't had a full meal in days…"
"Just consider it a good deed. Even if it's just a hundred Berries..."
Why do these lines sound so familiar? Are you copying it? Did you pay for the copyright?
The fat guy felt a wave of disdain in his heart, but when he saw Fujitora's pupil-less white eyes, he was stunned. This guy is a real blind man. How pitiful...
He felt a pang in his heart. His right hand reached into his pocket at some point. He poured all the tens of thousands of Queen Coins he had saved up in the past few days into the broken bowl…
"What are you doing, Fatty? Are you playing a trick on this guy?"
His companions behind him noticed this and followed him, laughing and joking. They thought he was playing a trick on this blind man.
But when they got closer and saw Fujitora, they were also stunned. They then took out their wallets and frantically poured their coins into the broken bowl…
Within just a minute or two—
Under the streetlight, gold and silver coins had piled up into a small mountain. Fujitora was submerged in a sea of money.
This is too much. Fujitora, who was acting, felt a little speechless himself.
—When Nao gave him this broken bowl, he mysteriously told him that it was made by an old witch he had saved, and it was attached with a special magic that would make people feel pity as soon as they saw it, and it would make begging twice as effective.
But this isn't twice as effective, is it? These guys are taking out every single coin they have on them…
"How despicable."
From the dark rooftop, Gion chuckled and nudged Nao. "Since you have such a magical thing, why did you have to let Mr. Issho go? Why didn't you pretend to be a beggar yourself?"
"What can I do about it?"
Nosha spread his hands innocently.
"Uncle Issho doesn't even need to act—just sitting cross-legged gives him the perfect beggar vibe. Me? With these thick brows and clean-cut looks, I'd look like some rich noble kid trying to 'experience commoner life.' No way they'd pity me."
Ugh. Shameless…
The women all rolled their eyes at him at the same time. But as they looked at his profile, they had to admit in their hearts that he was right.
"That should be enough."
Seeing that the scammers' money had been emptied and that the eyes of the guys at the front were starting to regain their clarity,
Nao gave a subtle signal to Fujitora below. The blind swordsman instantly understood, gave a small nod, and in a flash vanished from the street.
The next moment, Fujitora appeared on the roof, with a mountain of coins floating beside him.
Under the streetlight, the area was empty.
"That's… a lot…"
"There's so much..." Gion tilted her head and looked at the pile of gold coins, clicking her tongue. "If you convert it to Berries, it must be at least tens of millions, right?"
"Probably more than double that… Anyway, just wait. Let's watch the show for a bit."
Nao took off his sunglasses, twirling them in his hand as he looked down at the professional beggars snapping back to their senses. A faint smile played on his lips.
"They pretend to be beggars and scam people every day, but today, they were all scammed clean by a beggar. The expressions on their faces must be quite something..."
As expected.
After realizing that Fujitora had disappeared and their wallets were empty, these professional beggars were stunned and looked at each other in confusion.
"What? What just happened to me? Why would I give all my money to that blind man?"
"Where's that blind man? He was just here. Where did he go?"
"This is some damn voodoo shit…"
The scene was so strange that, at first, many of them were furious. But no matter how they searched, the blind man was nowhere to be seen.
Then, as the night wind swept through the street, chills ran down their spines. Doubt began to creep in. Maybe it was retribution—after scamming people for so long, maybe they'd finally been marked by ghosts or spirits…
A few of them looked at each other, on the verge of tears.
They had just lost everything in the casinos over the past few days. Today's payday was supposed to be their chance to win it all back.
But now, they were as poor as beggars themselves…
Fortunately, at this moment, Captain Seven, the fair-faced blue-haired young man, who had received the news, strode out from the depths of the alley.
The group of scammers immediately surrounded him and babbled as they described the terrifying scene that had just happened. The blue-haired young man's brows were furrowed.
"What ghosts? You're all idiots!"
He angrily punched the wall. "It was clearly a bastard who came to rip us off! He must have found out about our den from somewhere and came specifically to block our way and scam... No, this is just robbery!"
"B-but… the way that guy disappeared was too weird…"
The fat guy who'd first donated spoke up timidly, still with fear in his eyes.
"And none of us even knows why… We just… just handed over our money without thinking…"
"What's so weird about that?"
The blue-haired young man said angrily, "He's probably a Devil Fruit user. I've seen this kind of ability that can bewitch people back when I was in the West Blue. Not to mention, this is the Grand Line. Nothing is strange here!"
"A Devil Fruit user?!"
His subordinates were startled. The fat guy stuttered. "Then, what do we do now, Captain Seven... We can't mess with a Devil Fruit user..."
"What are you afraid of? That guy is obviously not very strong. He didn't dare to face so many of us alone, or he wouldn't have used such a sneaky trick and run away in a hurry as soon as he got the money!"
The blue-haired young man's face was grim. He gritted his teeth and said, "We are the only ones who can scam people. No one can take money from us. Not to mention you guys, even I can't stand for this…"
"Go! Call everyone who's resting in the basement! Everyone split up and search the entire city. I don't believe that a blind fat guy can hide anywhere!"
"Yes, Captain Seven!"
His words lit a fire in all of them. They stormed back into their den, and when they returned, they were seething with anger, wielding clubs and bats, ready for blood.
Their numbers had grown too. Some were clearly dragged out of bed, still in their pajamas. A few were even little boys who hadn't yet been restored by the Age-Age Fruit's powers…
"What a united nest of scammers,"
Bellemère chuckled in disbelief.
"But I guess this saves us the trouble of rooting them out one by one in the basement. Now that they're all here, we can wipe them out in one go."
"As I thought… they really are all in this together…"
Nao's voice came low beside her.
"Hm?" Bellemère looked at him, puzzled.
"There—over there."
Nao tilted his chin in that direction. Bellemère followed his gaze and spotted, among the little boys who hadn't been reverted yet, a face that looked all too familiar…
"That little bastard… No, that son of a bitch!"
She recognized him instantly. Fury flared as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to charge.
"Still in pajamas, huh! No wonder I didn't see him during their little 'meeting' earlier—he was hiding in the basement sleeping! Scamming us, of all people? Just watch—I'll beat him till he's on his knees begging for mercy!"
And with that, she was already rushing forward. Noa reflexively reached out to stop her but missed, so he just shrugged and waved to the others, leaping down from the rooftop himself.
—The show was over anyway. Now really was the best time to reveal themselves. Wait too long, and this group would scatter across the city looking for their "blind beggar."
Thud!
Bellemère landed first and charged straight at the black-haired, black-eyed boy she recognized. The commotion immediately drew the attention of several burly men nearby, who rushed over and barked:
"Who the hell are you?!"
"The ones here to take you down!"
Bellemère sneered coldly. Of all things, she hated liars the most. And right now, with all her pent-up anger, she was more than eager to unload. She clenched her fists and rushed in.
Several burly men instinctively tried to fight back, but they didn't even catch sight of her fists before they were struck solidly and sent sprawling to the ground, screaming in pain.
"Stop her!"
From a distance, Captain Seven's face darkened. He waved his right hand and barked an order, and instantly more than two hundred men swarmed forward like a hive, each wielding a club. Their momentum was strong, but the outcome didn't change at all.
Bellemère, after all, was a Marine officer who'd fought her way up the hard path. Even holding back and not using her Rust-Rust Fruit ability, she was far beyond anything these ordinary street scum could handle.
She cut through them like a war goddess, every punch dropping another body in her path. And under the stunned gaze of the black-haired, black-eyed boy, she bulldozed her way straight up to him.
"Hey, little con artist… remember us?"
Bellemère grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up, her expression caught between a smirk and a scowl.
"Oh, no, guess I shouldn't call you that. Considering your real age… you might actually be older than me, huh?"
Just thinking about how she'd once pitied and sympathized with this thing—how Sister Gion had even pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face—made Bellemère's stomach churn in disgust.
"I… I…"
The black-haired boy struggled to say something, but his collar was pulled so tight around his neck that he could barely breathe, let alone speak.
"Hey! You crazy woman! What the hell are you doing?!"
An angry, anxious shout rang out from a distance. Bellemère narrowed her eyes and turned her head, only to see Seven storming over with several of his officers. His face was dark as he roared:
"Put little Messi down! If you want to cause trouble, I, Seven, will gladly take you on. What kind of person bullies a child!"
A child?
Bellemère froze, glancing down at the boy she was holding. His face was already flushed bright red, his breathing ragged and uneven. She hesitated, then her heart softened a little, and she loosened her grip.
The black-haired boy dropped to the ground, gasping desperately for air. Several other little boys and girls immediately rushed to his side, supporting him, patting his back and chest. The looks they shot at Bellemère were full of fear and panic.
This reaction doesn't seem to be an act...
Bell-mère frowned. Just as she was about to ask something, Nao, Fujitora, and the others, who were a step late, arrived beside her.
"It's him! Captain!"
A subordinate noticed Fujitora and his face immediately changed. "It was that blind man who took all our money just now!"
There was no need for the reminder. The blue-haired young man could have guessed it. He first pulled the children behind him and then looked up at Fujitora and Bellmère:
"I wondered why a woman suddenly rushed in. It turns out you're a group. Humph, with so many of you, you must have had a plan all along. Tell me, when did you start setting your sights on us!"
That's a bit ridiculous. Nao bent down slightly and looked down at him. He chuckled, "You don't think we came here because we wanted your money, do you?"
Standing at over three meters tall, Noa's presence pressed down like a weight. The blue-haired young man instinctively stepped back—but quickly realized his slip, and, flushed with embarrassment, stepped forward again, shouting angrily:
"What else then?! That blind man behind you just walked off with t20 million Berries in one go!"
"As if we'd care about that pocket change!"
Bellemère spat contemptuously and sneered:
"We're just tourists visiting the Spring Queen's City. Why would we care about a bunch of scammers like you? It's because you dared to scam us, and not just once, but twice in one night, and with the exact same story! You didn't even bother to change it!"
Twice in one night?
The blue-haired young man was stunned.
That couldn't be right. He always emphasized during "staff training" that they shouldn't keep scamming the same person. After all, there were so many tourists coming and going in this city every day.
What's more, they shouldn't use the same pitiful script in the same area to avoid being exposed…
From last year until now, this system had been so well-established that there had never been a single mistake. Why did such a low-level mistake happen tonight?
Could it be…
He thought back to Bellmère's reaction just now and looked down at the black-haired boy at his feet.
The little guy also happened to look up, his face full of guilt and remorse.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Seven. I was bored alone at night, so I hid from you and secretly went out to play..."