After the young man had run far away, the residents who had previously stayed clear for fear of trouble finally crowded around, speaking with urgency.
"Zeff, how could you demand that money back? You're going to bring a mountain of trouble down on yourself!"
"He's right. We could have found a way to scrape together the money for your daughter's treatment, but by refusing to pay the protection fee, you've crossed a line you shouldn't have."
The middle-aged man named Zeff carefully tucked the money against his chest before looking around at his neighbors with a bitter, hollow smile.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but we're all in the same boat. You all have to pay a massive share every month as well. I know most of you are barely getting by as it is; there's no way you could have found extra for my daughter's bills."
His words cast a shadow over the crowd, and heavy sighs filled the air.
Someone asked, "So what do you do now? That kid definitely went back to snitch."
Zeff gritted his teeth, appearing to have reached a grim resolution. "I'll go personally to apologize to that man. I'll beg for his mercy."
Then, remembering the boy who had helped him, he crouched down to Goku's level. "Little guy, thank you for helping me just now. I haven't seen you around town before; you must be from somewhere else."
"Don't stay here any longer. You need to leave immediately—the further away, the better."
Goku, who had been listening to the conversation with a growing sense of confusion, asked, "Do you really have to give that guy money every single month?"
The crowd fell silent.
After a few seconds, Zeff nodded numbly. "That's right. We pay every month. But it's not to that boy—it's to the man behind him, Boss Gato."
"Boss Gato?"
Goku blinked, feeling as though he had heard that name somewhere before.
Zeff sighed, his expression filled with grief. "Ever since this Boss Gato arrived with his subordinates, every household in our town has been forced to pay him a fortune every month."
"Hmph. To put it bluntly, it's just plain robbery."
"If we don't pay, at best we're beaten bloody; at worst, we're left paralyzed for life. No one who resists ever comes out of it well."
His face was the picture of misery as if he could already see his own fate unfolding.
Even though he planned to go and beg for forgiveness, he knew a brutal beating was inevitable. He only hoped he wouldn't be beaten into a permanent invalid.
Hearing this, Goku's brow furrowed. "So that means they're just a bunch of bad guys, right?"
"If that's the case, why don't you ask the Marines for help?"
He remembered Garp telling him that the Marines were the guardians of justice who helped the people defeat villains.
"The Marines? Heh, we're in such a remote area that they never come here of their own accord. The former town head once tried to sneak away to report them, but Gato's men caught him before he could leave. They beat him to death."
Zeff and the others wore expressions of wretched, mocking despair.
"They beat him to death?"
Anger suddenly flared in Goku's eyes.
"Hey! Where can I find this Boss Gato and his men?"
"In the center of town, in that extravagant mansion. That man stole our money and spent it all on his own luxury! It's absolutely detestable!" someone answered instinctively.
"Where is the center of town?"
"Right by the fountain."
"The fountain?"
Goku thought for a few seconds, oriented himself, and then vanished with a whoosh, leaving only his voice ringing in the residents' ears.
"Leave it to me! I'll knock those bad guys down for you!"
...
In the center of Lotus Town, a luxurious estate stood in stark contrast to the humble, ordinary houses surrounding it.
Whenever residents passed by, they would lower their heads and scurry past in silence, terrified of provoking the dangerous people inside.
At this moment, a young man came running down the street, gasping for breath. Reaching the gate of the mansion, he banged on the iron bars and shouted, "Brothers! It's... it's bad!"
Before long, a burly man in a suit came to the gate, swung it open, and delivered a sharp slap to the youth's face. "What is it? Stop that racket! You're going to disturb us!"
The youth scrambled up from the ground, clutching his instantly swollen cheek, and bowed repeatedly with a fawning smile. "I'm sorry, big brother! My mistake, my mistake!"
The man in the suit glanced at him and asked impatiently, "What's the problem? Speak up!"
The youth spoke with feigned indignation. "Big brother! I went to collect the fees as usual, but someone refused to pay! He said he's never giving us another cent!"
"I was furious, big brother! I was going to teach him a lesson and bring him here for judgment, but then someone else jumped in. That guy was incredibly strong—I couldn't lay a finger on him!"
"Big brother, those two are clearly trying to pick a fight with all of you!"
The man in the suit's face darkened as he listened. Without a second thought, he shouted toward the interior of the estate, "Boys! Get out here! We've got work to do!"
Shortly after, six or seven similarly dressed thugs filed out of the house, cracking their necks and knuckles.
"I was already pissed off because that woman got away earlier. I didn't expect someone else to come looking for trouble so soon."
"Exactly. I want to see who's feeling so brave that they think they can cross us!"
They marched out of the gate, intending to have the youth lead the way.
At that moment, Goku arrived at the nearby fountain and looked around.
"This must be the place. They said it was a luxury house; which one is it?"
He scanned the area, and before he could identify the mansion, he spotted the thug who had been bullying Zeff.
He rushed over and demanded, "Hey! Where do Boss Gato and his goons live?"
In front of the gate, the youth was busy sucking up to the thugs, preparing to lead them out to reclaim their honor.
He never expected that when he turned around, one of his targets would be standing right in front of him. His expression turned ecstatic as he pointed at Goku and yelled, "Big brothers! That's him! He's the one who stopped me from doing your business!"
The thugs behind him narrowed their eyes. "A kid? Are you joking with us?"
A few others gasped in surprise. "It's this little guy? How can it be him?"
They recognized Goku as the child who had helped their boss retrieve his money not long ago.
At the same time, Goku recognized them by their suits and said in surprise, "Oh? It's you guys."
The youth caught in the middle looked back and forth, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "B-b-big brothers... you... you know each other?"
His heart sank. He worried he might have picked a fight with someone protected by the gang.
The thugs who recognized Goku shook their heads. "'Know' isn't the right word. We've just met once."
Then they asked, "You said he's the one who stopped you? He didn't let you collect the money?"
The youth nodded frantically. "Yes! Don't let his looks fool you; he's incredibly strong! I was no match for him!"
"I see. If this brat is interfering with our profits, he must be tired of living!" The thugs who hadn't met Goku rubbed their hands together, wearing cruel grins.
Hearing their conversation, the realization finally dawned on Goku. He frowned and asked, "So you guys are Boss Gato's men?"
One of the thugs replied, "We are indeed Gato's subordinates. What's it to you? I can't believe you didn't know who we were."
Goku's expression shifted instantly, his teeth gritted in anger. "So you really are the bullies!"
"Bad guys?"
The thugs looked at each other and let out mocking laughs.
"We might be bad guys in the eyes of others, but so what? Don't they still have to hand over their money? Don't they still have to listen to whatever we say?"
With that, one of them stepped forward, reaching out with a massive, tree-trunk of an arm to grab Goku.
"You might have helped us out recently, but if you're against us now, you're an enemy. Come quietly to see the boss and let him deal with you."
"I can't believe you're that kind of person. I'm really angry now!" Goku's eyes burned with fury.
Seeing the thug reaching for him with ill intent, Goku launched a kick that slammed squarely into the man's abdomen.
In an instant, the thug's eyes bulged. He clutched his stomach and collapsed to his knees.
The other thugs turned pale at the sight.
"This kid is a handful! Get the weapons! Everyone together!"
Whoosh!!
They immediately pulled out iron bars and daggers, surrounding Goku in a coordinated assault.
Seeing this, Goku pulled the Power Pole from his back and shouted, "Grow, Power Pole!"
He swung the staff in a wide arc, hitting them all with a single sweep. The force bent their bodies into C-shapes as they were sent flying, crashing into the outer wall of the luxury estate with a thunderous boom, foam leaking from their mouths.
After finishing them off, Goku retracted the Power Pole and confirmed with the youth—who was now paralyzed with fear on the ground—that this mansion was indeed where the gang lived.
He walked inside with a stern face, shouting at the top of his lungs, "You bad guys! Give the townspeople their money back!"
The people inside had already heard the commotion, and twenty or thirty men came pouring out of the house.
They glared at Goku with murder in their eyes but made no move to attack.
A few seconds later, Gato stepped out of the house with a darkened face. The crowd parted to make a path for him as he approached Goku.
"We meet again, little guy."
——
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