Jaya was actually composed of two long, strip-shaped sub-islands. Looking at it on a map, it resembled two thick sausages placed side by side.
On the western sub-island sat a very bustling little town called Mock Town. Even though it belonged to the lawless zones ignored by the World Government, the presence of pirates spending money like water kept the town incredibly prosperous.
High-end hotels, shopping streets, food stalls, and so on—coupled with the extremely livable climate of a Spring Island, the level of comfort here was not in the least bit inferior to a legitimate resort.
Of course, the prerequisite for enjoying all of this was: you had to be able to survive here.
"This town is really chaotic. The mess reminds me of Tresis in the East Blue."
"Lawless zones are always like this. Although it looks extremely chaotic, in reality, a unique order is born out of the chaos."
"Oh? It seems you're quite familiar with lawless zones."
"Naturally. After all, to survive, I've had to deal with places like this quite a bit over the last twenty years."
Sherlock and Robin walked side by side down the broad street, chatting casually. Looking at the calm and composed demeanor of the pair, it was as if they were taking an after-dinner stroll in their own backyard, completely ignoring the malicious glares surrounding them.
"Also, Robin, why did you have to drag me along just to buy clothes?"
Sherlock subtly glanced at the restless pirates lining the street, then turned to the charming older sister figure walking beside him and asked in confusion, "With your strength, you wouldn't be in any danger in a place like this."
"Hehe, I just wanted you to accompany me for some shopping."
An elegant smile curved Robin's lips. She certainly wasn't going to tell Sherlock that she needed him as a mobile "wallet" because she had used all her Belly to farm favorability points with a certain money-grubbing navigator.
"What? Are you unwilling?" As she spoke, the gaze Robin directed at the bespectacled man became increasingly "friendly."
Sherlock shook his head, habitually adjusting his glasses frames. "No, it's just been a long time since I've gone shopping with someone else, so I'm a little unaccustomed to it."
The Sorcerer briefly searched his memories. The last time he went shopping with someone was in the dreamscape of the Rainbow Mist, buying clothes for a young Robin. If he went back any further, he'd have to trace it all the way back to his childhood.
"Eh? A long time? Sherlock, back when you were the president of the Goldglint Trading Company, did you never go shopping with girls?"
Robin was greatly surprised. In her mind, someone as popular with the opposite sex as the Sorcerer should be incredibly familiar with things like accompanying women shopping.
"Where would I find the time to do such boring things..."
(!Boring things?!)
Ignoring the suddenly stiffened expression of a certain cunning woman, Sherlock continued as a matter of fact:
"Besides, even if I needed clothes to wear, I used to have the tailors in the trading company custom-make them for me. There was absolutely no need to go shopping."
(Alright, I forgot that rich people like him don't even need to go out of their way to buy clothes. But...)
Robin pondered for a moment, her beautiful blue-black eyes flashing with confusion.
"Say, Sherlock, do you honestly think that when you go shopping with a girl, the main point is [buying clothes]?"
"Yeah, don't you women all really like pretty clothes?" Sherlock nodded solemnly. After all, a huge portion of the Goldglint Trading Company's revenue back then was made up of various types of women's clothing.
"..."
Robin fell silent, momentarily at a loss for words.
Because she suddenly realized that the incredibly high-IQ Sorcerer was actually quite... well, you couldn't say his emotional intelligence was low, but rather, in certain situations, his angle on looking at problems was simply too utilitarian, too literal.
(Could this also be considered one of the occupational hazards of being a merchant?)
Robin suddenly found it somewhat amusing. As she got to know Sherlock on a deeper level, she increasingly felt that the Sorcerer was quite an eccentric guy himself.
Well, in truth, not a single person in the Straw Hat Pirates was normal. Sherlock's "normalcy" was only relative compared to the rest of those goofballs.
However, right as the two were chatting, a gang of vicious-looking pirates suddenly surrounded them with wicked smirks. Seeing this, the nearby pirates all put on expressions like they were ready for a good show, fully entering spectator mode.
"Damn it! Someone beat us to it. That's a fat sheep right there!"
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't that guy Beheading Axe Nock? A great pirate with a bounty of 47 million Belly!"
"I heard that man's favorite thing to do is chop off his enemies' heads. Tsk tsk, this little bro really has bad luck~"
"But, aren't these two a little too calm?" one pirate muttered, feeling a slight sense of unease.
"They're probably just scared silly!"
In the eyes of this gang of pirates, the Sorcerer—with his gorgeous clothing, outstanding temperament, fair skin, and harmless appearance—was probably some noble scion who had snuck out of his family estate to play pirate. All he was missing was holding up a sign that read, [I am very rich, hurry up and rob me!]
"Hey, brat, the Grand Line isn't a place for guys like you to play house!"
A burly man, built as thick as a bear and carrying a giant axe on his shoulder, stepped forward. He looked at Sherlock the way one would look at a fat chicken waiting to be slaughtered.
"Hand over all the money on you. If you cooperate, I might just spare your life and your little girlfriend's!"
"Hahahaha, Captain Nock is joking again~~~" The rest of the pirates broke into unbridled, maniacal laughter upon hearing this.
"Yeah, yeah, since when has the Captain ever left any survivors?"
"But this woman sure is a beauty. It'd be a real shame to just kill her..."
The reason small fry were called small fry was that they never knew what it meant to court death, and even if they eventually found out, it would be far too late.
"It seems that no matter where we go, there is no shortage of people with a death wish..."
Listening to the filthy remarks, Sherlock calmly and gently pushed up his glasses. Then, he turned to the intellectual beauty beside him and asked, "Robin, have you met a lot of guys like this in the past?"
"Quite a few." Robin's reply was very straightforward.
"Is that so." The Sorcerer nodded. "Then I'll leave these people to you to handle. If I do it, the smell of blood will be too strong, and it'll be a hassle to clean up."
"Mm, true enough." As she spoke, Robin had already slowly crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"...."
The spectating pirates around them were all dumbfounded by the casual tone of this man and woman, which sounded as if they were discussing who was going to cook dinner tonight.
"Damn it, you two!"
Feeling underestimated, veins bulged on Nock's forehead. He raised his signature giant beheading axe high into the air, and then viciously chopped it down toward the top of the calm, bespectacled man's head! The swirling gale mixed with an ear-piercing shriek made it clear that this heavy, forceful strike was truly extraordinary.
"Go to hell!"
Seeing that this handsome young man with glasses wasn't dodging or evading, the surrounding pirates all assumed he had been scared silly. They could already foresee the upcoming blood-spattering scene, and their expressions turned ferocious and bloodthirsty.
(Frontal axe chop with the right hand, target: the forehead.)
Utilizing his rather superficial Observation Haki, Sherlock had sensed Nock's next move the moment he raised the beheading axe. Correctly utilizing this near-precognitive ability for the first time made Sherlock feel quite novel. Therefore, instead of using his Mirror Reflection as usual, he impulsively raised his hand to meet the descending direction of the giant axe, simultaneously activating his Devil Fruit ability.
A slender, long-fingered palm made instant contact with the sharp blade of the giant beheading axe...
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze