The Terror of the Pirates

The arrival of the red-haired Shanks was unexpected by Alex.

Although the other party appeared to be very kind from the moment he entered the door, Alex only intended to silently observe from the sidelines until the other party left.

However, after listening to Yasopp's conversation with Sunny, he could no longer calmly observe.

Firearms are the most urgently needed upgrade tool at present.

He had originally planned to get one from Saul, but how could he expect to get a gun from someone who had just arrived?

Then Yasopp came along and threw him a bone.

At a time like this, Alex could no longer remain on the sidelines, and he took the opportunity to ask Yasopp for the aging smoothbore musket.

It was no loss to be rejected.

You have to earn gun blood.

These were his thoughts before he decided to make his presence felt.

"Who is he?"

Shanks asked with interest, glancing over at Sunny, who was frowning slightly behind the counter.

When they had met earlier, the teenager's reaction had made Shanks realize that the other party was aware of him.

But that was not important.

But before that, who would have thought that the teenager, who was consciously reducing his sense of presence, would suddenly take the initiative to ask Yasopp for a gun?

The contrast was so great that it was interesting.

"He is Alex, Saul's new recruit... employee,"

Sunny answered Shanks' question.

Shanks nodded slightly and turned to look at Yasopp.

The latter was examining Alex.

"You can use a gun?"

This was the first question Yasopp threw out.

"Yes!"

Alex answered without any hesitation.

Yasopp's eyes suddenly became sharp.

He was no sniper in a second-rate pirate gang. With his abilities, how could he not see that Alex was a weak teenager who had never touched a gun before?

"But I don't believe it."

Between a smile and a sneer, Yasopp's eyes were like a loaded gun.

Bullying children has always been one of his insignificant interests, and considering that Alex is an employee of Mr. Saul, he doesn't mind wasting time on him.

Alex, however, met Yasopp's gaze, which seemed to burn away the lie, head on, and said seriously, "What will it take for you to believe?"

Yasopp was suddenly a little surprised.

Because Alex didn't seem to be lying in his expression or tone of voice.

But Yasopp would not doubt his own judgment on this account.

He calmly looked into Alex's eyes, then suddenly reached over and picked up the 3.8 million berry revolver on the counter. He then completed the relatively complicated process of loading the gun in the blink of an eye.

"Prove it to me,"

Yasopp said, loading the gun and handing it to Alex.

Alex did not take the gun at once, but pointed at the aging smoothbore musket on the counter and asked, "After you prove it, will you give me that gun?"

"No problem,"

Yasopp laughed.

Alex nodded, took a few strides forward, and took the expensive pistol from Yasopp's hands.

He knew that the next success or failure would depend on a single bullet.

So, what was the proof?

As he pondered, Alex saw the shop door, which he had left ajar earlier.

The idea then occurred to him, and Alex quickly walked to the wall farthest from the shop door, then turned to face it.

Without any prior warning, Alex quickly raised his gun at the door and pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

Bang!

A jet of smoke and flame shot out of the muzzle, and a hot lead bullet flew out, passing through the crack in the door with pinpoint accuracy at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to see.

The smell of gunpowder filled the air as it burned, and Alex still maintained his standard raising-the-gun posture.

In this situation, he had no time to worry about the possibility of accidentally injuring passers-by.

Shanks and Yasopp looked at the crack in the door. With their eyesight, they could see that the wooden door was safe and sound.

Moreover, the crack was not very wide, and at most, only two lead bullets could pass through at the same time.

Regardless of Alex's standard raising of the gun, from raising the gun to pulling the trigger, it could be said to be done in one go, giving the impression that he was not aiming.

Although it was only a dozen meters, there was no doubt that Alex knew how to use a gun.

Inside the counter, Sunny looked at Alex in amazement.

She had never expected Alex to have such good marksmanship.

"Good shooting,"

said Shanks, praising her.

Of course, such marksmanship was nothing on the Grand Line.

But at the moment, it was worth praising.

Yasopp said nothing, but as a man of action, he simply picked up the smoothbore flintlock he called his old friend and walked towards Alex.

"It's yours."

"Thanks,"

Alex said, returning the pistol to Yasopp before taking the smoothbore flintlock.

Finally, a gun...

"Yasopp, even you can make a mistake,"

Shanks gave Yasopp a timely pat on the shoulder from behind, offering his own words of comfort.

Yasopp shrugged, too lazy to bother with the boss's barbed attack.

Had he really made a mistake?

He glanced at Alex, who was fiddling with the gun, and couldn't shake the nagging feeling of ambivalence.

She clearly hadn't touched a gun before, yet she had such a standard gun-holding posture, and the sense of a gunfighter that was so essential...

Forget it.

Yasopp shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

"Boss, the wine is all here,"

said Lucky Roux's voice from the back room.

"Good,"

Shanks answered, then looked at Sunny and smiled, "Sunny, remember to say hello to Saul for me."

"No need!"

Before Sunny could say anything, Saul's voice came from outside.

It sounded like he was still some distance from the shop, and it was unclear how he had heard Shanks' words.

On hearing Saul's words from afar, Shanks sighed, "This is trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of hasty footsteps approaching from outside.

In just a moment, the wooden door was pushed open with force.

Saul rushed into the shop in a hurry and saw Lucky Roux carrying barrels of alcohol out, which made him furious.

"You're a thief, Shanks, stealing alcohol again!"

"What do you mean stealing? We paid for it. You can ask Sunny if you don't believe me."

"Don't blame it on the kid. I'm not selling you the alcohol!"

"Haha, the money and goods have already been exchanged. It's too late for you to change your mind now."

"Get out of here, don't let me see you again!"

"That's not possible, unless you sell me the location of your stash."

Shanks gave him a look that said, "You can't do anything to me," while Saul was so angry that he was red in the face and almost fell to the ground.

Yasopp and Lucky Roux didn't get involved, while Sunny covered her forehead and didn't say a word.

As for Alex, he had retreated to the back room when Saul shouted the first sentence.

However, instead of going upstairs, he stood at the top of the stairs, watching the store for any movement.

Despite it being hard to believe, Saul and Shanks seemed to be old acquaintances.