"Bonney, huh?" Carnes muttered to himself, then turned to Obito and said, "I understand. I'll take care of the rest. There's no need to call the crew over from afar."
"If you say so Captain," replied Obito, sitting down casually at the counter.
Meanwhile, the patrons in the tavern were still discussing the infamous Gale Emperor Pirates.
Little did they know, the main figure was right beside them.
Every time they spoke ill of the Gale Emperor Pirates, Lydia couldn't help but draw her sword and attack.
How could she tolerate these people defaming the Gale Emperor Pirates?
However, Carnes paid no mind to it and even stopped Lydia from drawing her sword to attack.
"Don't worry about it. As pirates, it's normal for ordinary people to fear and dislike us. Besides, what they're saying is partly true, just a bit exaggerated," Carnes said with a smile, comforting Lydia, who then gave up.
However, when they started discussing Carnes' massacre of the Cloverfleck Pirates and how ruthless and cruel he was, nearly demonizing him, Carnes almost couldn't hold back Inouk and the others.
Fortunately, just as Inouk and the others were about to attack, the tavern's wooden door was pushed open.
"Ring~"
The bell hanging on the door made a pleasant sound.
A woman with long pink hair, dressed in a Western cowboy style, led a group of armed pirates into the tavern.
"Well, Captain Bonney, there's no choice. The restaurants are already closed at this hour."
"Yeah, only taverns like this are open late."
"Enough chatter. I know! That's why we came here, right?" Bonney said vaguely while stuffing food into her mouth.
Upon their arrival, the tavern instantly fell silent.
The intoxicated patrons, upon seeing the weapons they carried, sobered up slightly, retreating silently to the side.
They not only made way for them but also vacated tables and seats.
"Hey, hey, hey, who are they? They don't look like good people."
"Could... could they be pirates?!"
"Oh no, could this be the 'Gale Emperor Pirates' mentioned in the reports?!"
"Definitely! Look how fierce and wicked they look, and they're all armed. Who else could they be?"
The patrons whispered in hushed voices from the corner they had retreated to.
However, even at such a close distance, the crew members of the Bonney Pirates could still hear them, even in hushed tones.
A burly man with a giant axe slung over his back turned his head and glanced at the corner where the patrons were.
Just one glance was enough to frighten the patrons.
Fortunately, the Bonney Pirates paid no attention to them and sat down at the empty table, minding their own business.
"Boss!" a crew member next to Bonney called out.
The tavern owner immediately rushed over upon hearing the call, his voice trembling as he mustered a smile and asked, "G-guests, you..."
Before the tavern owner could finish his sentence, the crew member interrupted and said, "Bring all your drinks and food here!"
"O-okay!" The tavern owner didn't dare to object and quickly went to fulfill their request.
Not far away, Carnes stood up slowly after finishing his drink and walked towards Bonney and her crew.
Seeing this, Obito and the others also stood up one after another.
The Bonney Pirates crew members who sensed someone approaching instinctively turned their heads to look.
When they saw Carnes and the others walking straight towards Bonney, one crew member immediately intercepted them.
He looked at Carnes, who was getting closer, and spoke in a low voice.
"Why are you here..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a large hand suddenly grabbed his face, and Carnes forcefully smashed his head against the nearby wooden wall.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
A loud impact reverberated through the tavern.
The crew member's head directly embedded into the wall, motionless, as if he had been knocked unconscious.
Faced with this sudden scene, both the tavern patrons and the Bonney Pirates crew members present were stunned, wearing expressions of astonishment and disbelief!
Fast!
Too fast! And too sudden!
To the point where no one could react!
Who could have expected that a person they had never met would start a fight as soon as they arrived?!
"What the hell are you doing?!" After recovering from the shock, a crew member drew his weapon from his waist and angrily shouted at Carnes.
It was his angry shout that instantly brought the Bonney Pirates crew members back from their daze.
Accompanied by the sound of unsheathing blades, all the Bonney Pirates members brandished their weapons and aimed them at Carnes and his group.
"You damn bastard! How dare you lay hands on our comrade! You're not going to leave here unscathed today!"
"You will pay the price for your actions."
The crew members clamored angrily.
Even Bonney stood up at this moment, looking at Carnes with anger.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Carnes's face revealed a smile as he calmly explained, "I originally wanted to talk to you, but I thought you wouldn't agree, so... let's just fight directly!"
Bonney was slightly taken aback.
After realizing what was happening, she immediately became angry and lunged at Carnes, shouting in fury.
"You bastard, are you playing with me?!"
Bonney took a quick step and pounced towards Carnes.
Activating her Devil Fruit ability, a faint pink glow appeared on Bonney's palm.
But just as Bonney was about to touch Carnes...
Carnes' attack arrived before hers!
With a muffled thud, Bonney's body flew backward like a broken kite and heavily collided with the tavern's wooden door.
"Thunk!"
"Boom!"
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