After shouting this declaration, the pirate immediately picked up a sturdy wooden chair from the restaurant floor and raised it high over his head; clearly, he was going to attack Ace. Ace, however, continued to calmly eat his food, seemingly unbothered by the man's challenge and the imminent threat.
As soon as the arrogant man heard Gojo's voice, he turned toward him, his face contorted in annoyance. "Huh, you are talking to me?" he barked. "Do you even know who I am?"
Gojo smoothly turned his body to face the man, the blindfold obscuring his gaze completely. He tilted his head slightly. "Should I know who you are?" he asked with an utterly neutral tone. "Are you someone with a very high bounty? A very big pirate?"
After hearing Gojo's words, the man started laughing again, a booming, self-important sound. "Ha ha ha, I am the captain of the Devil Ox Pirates! Although I don't have any bounty as of now, after I take down the Fire Fist Ace, my bounty will definitely reach higher than his!" He then dropped his gaze back to Gojo, his voice becoming mockingly serious. "But you, boy, had your elders not teach you that when pirates fight, you better start running? Because if you don't, then you might also die." He laughed again, the sound now carrying a sadistic, warning tone.
Gojo didn't reply to any of the words spoken by the man. Rather, he just held his position, facing him as if he could see clearly through the blindfold he was wearing.
(The quiet intensity of the blindfolded boy seemed to momentarily unnerve the loud pirate.)
Seeing that Gojo said nothing, the captain of the Devil Ox Pirates smirked, his eyes running over Gojo's form. "Now that I look at you carefully, you are quite a pretty boy, aren't you? If I capture you and sell you to some noblewoman, then she will definitely be willing to pay a hefty amount just to buy you." The pirate's eyes gleamed with greed. "Today is such a good day; not only will I defeat the Fire Fist Ace, but I'll also be able to capture such a pretty boy. And after selling you, I will be rich too. I will definitely be a famous pirate now!"
Gojo, still facing the Ox Devil Pirates' captain, just shook his head slightly.
(He thought to himself about the incredible arrogance of certain people—how they could encounter someone clearly more powerful than themselves and still genuinely believe they could win and achieve fame by stepping over them.)
Clearly, this man was far from being as powerful as Ace, yet he thought he could defeat Ace, not to mention Gojo himself. Gojo wasn't boasting, but he honestly felt that Ace was simply not an opponent for him.
After his stream of trash-talking, the captain of the Ox Devil Pirates started walking toward Gojo, a menacing look on his face. "Now that you have interfered, trying to act self-righteous for the restaurant, I will just capture you first." Having said that, he slammed the wooden chair he was holding back onto the ground. Fortunately, the chair did not break, as the pirate hadn't used his full force in the gesture. The captain then stopped and shouted toward the restaurant entrance, "Men, immediately come inside! We have found our target!"
As soon as the captain of the Ox Devil Pirates finished speaking, a swarm of pirates began rushing into the restaurant from outside, quickly filling the limited space. Only two of these pirates had guns in their hands; the rest were holding some normal weapons—mostly swords or blunt, pipe-type weapons. The captain of the Ox Devil Pirates, turning toward one of the men holding a gun, pointed sharply at Gojo. "Go and capture that young boy," he commanded. Then, turning his gaze back to Ace and letting out another loud, maniacal laugh, he declared, "I will deal with Ace. And today, we will be rich and famous at the same time. Ha ha ha ha."
(The sudden presence of so many ruffians caused a tangible tension to settle over the previously quiet dining room.)
Gojo, turning back toward Martha, spoke with a casual confidence that seemed utterly misplaced given the chaos unfolding. "The next time I send Seto to sell meat to you, you must give me an even better value because today I am going to save your restaurant from a major destruction. Got it?" Martha did not exactly know how powerful Gojo truly was, but if he was so supremely confident, she could only play along. She offered a slight smile and said, "Very well, that will definitely happen."
As soon as Gojo's words had fallen, he disappeared from his seat with a speed that defied perception. He instantly reappeared beside the man holding the gun who was walking toward him to capture him. Gojo's hand was already near the man's face. He casually clamped his hand onto the side of the man's head and slammed it on the wooden floor. A loud crack and a heavy thud spread throughout the restaurant, followed by a momentary silence. All of this happened so suddenly, in less than a blink, that no one—not the Ox Devil Pirates nor the Spade Pirates—exactly saw what had occurred. The pirates, who had just been laughing loudly like their captain, suddenly saw the 'pretty boy' disappear from his seat and instantly appear beside one of their captain's first crewmates, slamming him into the ground as if the man had no strength or weight at all. All of them immediately became fearful and cautious, their momentum halted, not knowing who would be Gojo's next target.
Gojo kept his blindfold securely in place. He casually placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and then disappeared from his location again just like before. This time, he reappeared behind the largest group of the incoming pirates. The group was quite big, almost twenty people, and a few of them had even reached outside the restaurant's threshold. Gojo appeared just outside the entrance, and in a single, fluid motion, he sheathed his sword as multiple bright crimson blood spurts instantly erupted from the bodies of the surrounding men. With a cascade of falling bodies, all the pirate members of the Ox Devil Pirates collapsed to the ground, incapacitated. Now, only the captain of the Ox Devil Pirates remained standing inside the restaurant, staring in stunned silence. All of the sword strikes Gojo had made to these members of the Ox Devil Pirates were intentionally non-fatal, only enough to instantly incapacitate them, causing grievous but not life-threatening injuries.
(He wanted to make a point without needing to clean up a bloodbath.)
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