Just as Bai Ye was gleefully teasing Zoro, an obnoxious voice cut through the air.
"Heh-heh… So someone really came to rescue you, huh, arrogant pirate hunter?"
Several figures strode in from the far side of the courtyard.
Leading them was none other than the town's self-proclaimed prince—Captain Morgan's pampered son, Helmeppo.
Greasy slick-back hair.
A smug little smirk hanging off a jaw shaped like—well—another pair of cheeks.
Even by East Blue standards, he looked like a man who'd lost a fight with evolution.
Bai Ye's mouth twitched. People shouldn't be allowed to look like that.
Helmeppo strutted forward in his ridiculous purple suit, scanning the group with his narrow eyes.
He paused at Luffy, who was calmly digging at his nose, and frowned. Is this guy brain-damaged?
Then his gaze landed on Bai Ye—robes neat, posture graceful, expression mild yet unreadable.
For a moment, Helmeppo actually froze. This stranger's looks were dangerously close to threatening his own fragile ego.
If Bai Ye could read minds, he would have applauded that courageous chin with both hands. Whose divine joke carved your face like that, huh?
"Heh… so these are your friends?" Helmeppo sneered. He sized them up and decided he was perfectly safe.
"Yup!" Luffy grinned. "Zoro already agreed to join my crew! He's our friend now!"
Helmeppo blinked, then let out a mocking laugh.
"So they came to save you? You're breaking our agreement, then?"
He shook his head theatrically. "What a shame—just ten more days and you'd have—"
"Could you not?" Bai Ye interrupted, voice calm but laced with irritation.
"Even if Zoro lasted ten more days, you'd never release him. You can't stand the thought of someone who beat you walking free, right? Not when your own father never dared lay a hand on you."
Helmeppo's smirk twitched.
"I mean," Bai Ye went on mildly, "you probably don't even plan to wait ten days, do you? I'd guess you came here today to finish the job."
Helmeppo's face twisted. He felt attacked—but not because Bai Ye was wrong. He'd simply never been insulted so politely before.
"Y-you… why are you talking like I'm not here!? Look at me when I'm talking to you, coward!"
"Sorry," Bai Ye said smoothly, still facing away. "My mother taught me never to stare directly at something dirty. It hurts the eyes."
Luffy perked up innocently. "Dirty? You mean that blond guy?"
"YOU LITTLE—!" Helmeppo's voice cracked.
Before he could explode, Zoro suddenly spoke from the cross, his voice a growl:
"Helmeppo! You bastard—you never planned to keep our deal, did you?!"
Now that he'd eaten, strength had returned to him, and his glare was like a wolf's. The second-generation brat's knees almost gave out under that killing intent.
And fear, for people like Helmeppo, always turned straight into rage.
"Guards! Fire! Shoot these fools dead for daring to defy me!"
The Marines behind him raised their rifles.
Zoro's eyes widened—there was nowhere to dodge. His tied arms strained uselessly against the ropes. Damn it. If I just had my swords…
Helpless fury burned in his chest. He swore then and there he'd never drop his weapons again.
"Looks like we're done for…" he muttered—until he noticed Luffy and Bai Ye both standing calmly, utterly unbothered.
Then the shots rang out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"I'm not scared of you!" Luffy shouted, throwing his hands forward.
Bullets hit his rubber body and sank in—then snapped back, ricocheting skyward.
Bai Ye stepped up beside him, one hand tracing a sigil as golden light surged from his skin.
"Golden Light Mantra!"
A shimmering aura flared, and the remaining bullets struck harmlessly, clinking to the ground one by one.
He was still cradling little Rika in his other arm.
Zoro just gawked.
"W-what the hell…? They stopped bullets…"
"Don't underestimate our captain," Bai Ye said with a chuckle. "He ate the Gum-Gum Fruit—he's made of rubber. Bullets can't hurt him."
Zoro blinked. "Then you… are you one of those Devil Fruit users too?"
"Me?" Bai Ye smiled faintly.
"I'm just an ordinary Daoist priest. Hardly comparable to those ability users."
The relaxed tone only made it clearer—this man wasn't joking. Ordinary, my ass.
"Anyway," Bai Ye went on, "since we'll be crewmates, might as well show you a bit of what I can do."
He untied Zoro with a flick of his fingers, then turned toward the stunned Marines.
"What you're about to see," he said softly, "is a spell of the Dao—the Qimen Dunjia."
Holding Rika in one arm, he formed a sword-seal with his free hand. A faint smile played at his lips.
"Xùn Trigram — Dragon Gale!"
The air itself screamed.
Wind gathered at his feet, spiraling upward until it roared into a tornado.
In an instant it surged forward, sweeping Helmeppo and his men off their feet.
They screamed as they were hurled skyward, vanishing into the distant blue as nothing but twinkling dots.
Bai Ye exhaled, satisfied. "Good. Works as intended."
He murmured to himself, mentally mapping the trigram positions—Qián, Kūn, Zhèn, Xùn, Lí, Kǎn, Gèn, Duì—each tied to an element and force of nature.
The spell drew on the Innate Qi, creating an eight-point field around him and channeling whichever element matched his stance.
That last move, the Xùn Trigram, embodied wind and the wood element.
Judging by the results, he was… very pleased.
"Sugee!!!"
Right on cue, Luffy's eyes sparkled like twin suns.
"That was awesome! You blew them all away! Hey, can you do that to me next? I wanna fly too!"
Bai Ye blinked. "You want to die, Captain?"
"I'm rubber! I can't die from falling!"
Bai Ye sighed. "Right. Forgot about that part… Fine, next time. Maybe."
He turned toward Zoro, ignoring Luffy's pleading grin.
"Oh, right—almost forgot. This belongs to you, doesn't it?"
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