BOOM!!
"Damn it! Show yourself!"
Another heavy slash slammed into the ground. Kennard watched Goku's disappearing afterimage beneath his blade, his eyes filled with shock and fury, along with a hidden trace of fear he hadn't yet realized himself.
"Hee hee! I'm over here!"
After playing with Kennard for a bit, Goku seemed to find it boring. He suddenly appeared above Kennard's head, leaned down, grabbed his cheeks, and pulled them hard to both sides.
Then, just as Kennard swung a palm toward his own head in a fit of rage and shock, Goku's figure vanished again.
SMACK!!
In an instant, Kennard's anger-filled slap landed squarely on his own head. The impact left him dazed, ears ringing and head spinning, wobbling as if he might collapse at any moment.
"Hahaha! You're so stupid, hitting yourself like that!"
Goku landed on the ground and clutched his stomach, laughing uncontrollably at the sight.
"The gap in their strength is massive," Zeff remarked, his expression shifting as he sat on the ground, supported by others.
"Yeah. Goku... he's no ordinary person." Sanji spoke with a cigarette in his mouth—someone had helped him light it. His blonde bangs swayed gently in the breeze.
On the field, Kennard shook his head, finally recovering from his dizzy state.
Feeling the burning sting on his cheeks, an uncontrollable fear of Goku finally welled up in his heart.
What if Goku hadn't been playing around just now? What if he had drawn a blade across his throat instead?
The thought that such a thing could happen at any moment made his hair stand on end. He couldn't help but take several steps back.
He was no match. He was simply no match for this kid.
Having once boasted of being invincible in the East Blue, he finally had to admit he was no match for Goku.
But was he just supposed to give up and be captured?
No! Absolutely not!
With that thought, his knees suddenly buckled, and he slammed into the ground, prostrating himself before Goku.
"I surrender! I give up! Please, have mercy on me! I have an elderly mother and young children at home. If they weren't all deathly ill, I never would have become a pirate!"
"I beg of you! Please forgive me just this once! I'll never be a pirate again! I'll never do anything bad for the rest of my life!"
He spoke with such profound sorrow that he even wiped a few tears from his eyes.
"Huh?"
Goku was completely baffled by this sudden display. He scratched his cheek and looked toward Nami. "Nami, should we—"
Before he could finish, Nami and Kennard shouted simultaneously:
"Goku! Don't listen to his lies!"
"Heh heh! You fell for it, brat! Die!"
WHOOSH!!
Kennard suddenly leaped high into the air. At the same time, a bomb appeared in his hand out of nowhere.
He looked down at Goku with a cruel, wicked smirk, quickly hurling the bomb toward him.
'A kid is just a kid after all. No matter how strong he is, he's just as naive as any other brat. I tricked him so easily!'
'Hmph! Go ahead and be blown to bits! No matter how strong you are, there's no way you'll survive this explosion!'
"You were lying to me!"
Goku whipped around the moment he heard Kennard's voice, gritting his teeth.
He saw a round black object flying toward him. Though he didn't know exactly what it was, he knew it wasn't anything good.
Before the bomb could reach him, he leaped into the air and kicked it right back.
The triumphant smile was still plastered on Kennard's face when he saw the bomb flying back at him.
He blinked, staring blankly for half a second before his eyes filled with pure terror.
"Noooo!!!"
BOOM!!!
The scream was cut short, completely drowned out by the thunderous roar of the explosion.
Billowing black smoke filled the air as charred remains of unknown objects rained down into the sea.
Goku blinked a few times, then turned back toward Nami, Sanji, and the others, flashing a peace sign. "Hee hee, I won!"
Nami hopped out of the window, clapping her hands and walking over with a bright smile. "You did great, Goku."
Goku scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. "Heh heh, it was nothing."
But what he didn't realize was that the moment Nami reached him, her expression shifted. Her face turned as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot.
WHAM!!
Nami balled her hand into a fist and brought it down hard on Goku's head.
"Like hell you did great! Do you have any idea?! You almost died!!"
"How could you believe a word an enemy says? When are you going to learn to be a bit smarter?!"
Nami was furious. Anyone with eyes could see that Kennard's surrender was a complete fabrication. Only a fool would believe it, and yet Goku was exactly that kind of fool. He had nearly walked right into the trap.
Aside from her anger, she was also terrified.
What if Goku hadn't been able to kick the bomb back? What if the bomb had gone off early?
What would have happened then?
The thought of such a horrific outcome fueled her anger. Thump, thump, thump! She gave Goku a few more knocks on the head, determined to make sure he remembered this lesson.
"Listen to me! From now on, no matter what an enemy says, don't believe a word of it! Do you understand?!" She grabbed Goku's ear and bellowed like a lioness right into it.
Goku, who had just shown such incredible power in defeating Kennard, now simply ducked his head and muttered softly, "I got it, I got it... please stop being mad."
Seeing his pitifully cute expression, Nami's anger instantly evaporated.
She didn't let it show right away, though. She crossed her arms and snorted coldly. "Hmph! You better. If you ever trust an enemy like that again, I'll beat your head into a pulp."
Just then, Zeff slowly approached, supported by several chefs.
"Thank you for your help. You saved our lives."
Nami immediately switched to a beaming smile. "Ah, haha! It was mostly Goku's help, really. I didn't do much."
"Oh, by the way... about the bill for our meal earlier..."
"It's on the house! And from now on, you'll both eat for free at Baratie."
Zeff answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Really?! Oh, thank you so much!" Nami beamed, unable to hide her joy.
Being able to enjoy world-class cuisine at such an expensive establishment for free for life was truly a wonderful thing.
After making the promise, Zeff glanced sideways toward the back before speaking to Goku and Nami. "You're planning on heading to the Grand Line, right? I have a request. Take that fellow Sanji with you."
Through the recent events, he had gained a deeper understanding of Goku and Nami. He felt more at ease, certain that Sanji going to the Grand Line with them would be the right decision.
Goku scratched his head and glanced back at Sanji, who was sitting and staring at the sky. "We invited him, but he didn't want to come with us."
"Don't worry about that. We'll find a way to make him go with you." Zeff smiled faintly.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]