I'm Not Interested in Devil Fruits

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Liam's words sent the pirates into a frenzy.

"Who is this brat?!"

"What the hell did you drink before coming here, kid?!"

"This little bastard, where the hell did he come from?" One pirate yelled angrily.

Another, bleary-eyed from drink, slurred, "Hey, wasn't that kid the one who fell into the sea earlier...?"

Click! 

A burly pirate, face cold as ice, drew a dirty, grime-covered handgun, pointing its black barrel straight at Liam.

"Go ahead, shoot. If you pull that trigger, I'll kill you first," Liam said calmly before taking another bite of his apple, his gaze unwavering as he looked at the pirate with the gun and the others brandishing swords and knives with hostile expressions.

"Bastard..." The burly pirate broke into a cold sweat, his face paling, and his arm began to tremble. "My body... I can't move..."

Shanks got up, dusted himself off, and walked past the burly pirate. He placed a hand on the man's arm, holding the gun.

Shanks glanced at the trigger of the dirty handgun. Suspended there was a ghostly hand, preventing the pirate from pulling the trigger.

『B.I.B.』's other hand was already embedded in the pirate's chest, ready to stop him from shooting and kill him instantly if necessary.

Shanks spoke calmly to the pirate, "Could you please... not point your gun at my friend?"

Thud...

Foam trickled from the burly pirate's mouth as his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the deck.

Thud, Thud... 

Several other pirates, who had drawn their swords and were charging Shanks, fell to the deck at the same time, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

"What's going on?!"

"Wh.. Wha.. what have you done?!"

The pirate captain roared in anger, but as he took a step forward, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the deck with a thud, as if bowing to Shanks.

The other pirates were also paralyzed with fear.

"Seriously, why save them?" Liam asked while still chewing on his apple as he walked over.

If Shanks hadn't used his Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) to disarm and subdue the pirates, Liam would have used the B.I.B. to kill them all.

Shanks sighed, "You're so young, why the bloodlust?"

Liam scratched his head, "Really? Well, if you say so."

He laughed heartily and decided to follow Shanks' advice. Even if these pirates were walking bellies, it wasn't worth killing them at once.

The pirates couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Even though their heads were still spinning and they couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened, they seemed to have narrowly escaped death.

"What did you just do to make them foam at the mouth, roll their eyes and collapse like that?" Liam asked casually as he watched the pirates' dazed expressions.

Shanks handed Liam his backpack and replied, "It's a different kind of haki called Haoshoku. It's not like Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) or Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki). It is something you are born with and cannot be taught."

Liam slung his backpack over his shoulder and pouted, "You weren't going to teach me Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki) or Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) either, were you?"

Shanks laughed heartily and said, "Haki is something you learn when you need it. It's common in the Grand Line, but do you think the martial arts masters in the Four Seas are necessarily weaker than those who know Haki? No. Haki, especially Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), is just a technique for dealing with certain enemies. In an environment where most masters don't use haki, it's not something you absolutely have to master.

Liam nodded thoughtfully and suddenly asked, "So if I get the chance to go to the Grand Line, I'll have the opportunity to learn Haki?"

Shanks smiled and nodded.

"Don't think you can get away with that!" Liam laughed heartily and pointed at the Shanks. "One day I'll come to the Grand Line to settle the score!"

Shanks laughed too. "If you haven't learned Haki by then."

The pirates exchanged puzzled glances as these two began to banter. The burly captain, who had been so frightened he could barely stand, burned with shame and anger. 

He repeatedly considered drawing his sword to slash at Shanks' seemingly delicate neck, but the memory of that terrifying moment when his heart had been gripped by fear kept him in check.

"They seemed to be completely terrified of your Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki)," Liam observed.

Shanks shrugged nonchalantly. "They will recover. The effects of Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) don't last that long."

"Hey, are you going to attack him again?" Liam asked the pirates, pointing at Red Hair.

The pirates thought it was a stupid question. If they could get the redhead, they would have torn him to pieces. But could they? One terrifying look from him had made them all weak in the knees!

Pointing at himself, Liam said, "He scared you into submission. But I still feel you don't respect me enough."

"Fuck you, you brat! If it wasn't for Red Hair-"

"Who do you think you are?"

Some of the pirates couldn't contain themselves and began to curse.

"Fine," Liam raised an eyebrow, not surprised by their reaction.

"Since that's the case, let me do something which will make you respect me."

He tossed the half-eaten apple in his hand, tore off a small piece and fed it to a green Den Den Mushi that poked its head out of his backpack.

"Let's look at this apple..." Liam held up the half-apple, pointing at the pirates before placing it in the scowling captain's hand. "...as your heart, okay?"

The burly captain, confused, took the apple in his big hand with a big question mark in his eyes.

Liam took a few steps back and raised his hands. "Protect your heart, okay?"

"What are you playing at, you little brat?" The burly captain growled, "Stop pretending..."

Liam said, "Just so you know, I ate the Detonation Fruit. I'm a Detonation Man. I can make your heart explode with a single point."

His finger pointed at the pirate captain holding the half-apple.

Detonation Fruit? Shanks watched with a dark expression as Liam's black "Ghost" walked over to the captain, crouched down, and without resistance, reached into the captain's broad, rough hand and crushed the half-apple to mush.

"..." The burly pirate captain opened his hands to see the crushed apple, stunned. "How is that possible...?" He could swear he hadn't applied any pressure!

The other pirates watching gasped in shock.

What had just happened?

Could this kid really have such a terrifying ability to make someone's heart explode?!

"I don't want to get stabbed in the back when I'm off guard," Liam said, spreading his hands innocently. "So - anyone here who has killed before, raise your hands!"

The pirates' faces changed as they looked at each other, but no one moved.

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch... 

The apple mush in the burly captain's hands was further crushed by an invisible force.

The pirate captain was the first to raise his apple juice-covered hands.

Swoosh, Swoosh, Swoosh... 

All the pirates on deck raised their hands.

"..." Shanks just watched this scene silently.

"Huh!" Liam leaned back slightly, his hands still up. "Anyone without a bounty, put your hands down."

Swoosh, 

Several hands immediately dropped.

"Anyone who hasn't killed a woman, put your hands down."

Swoosh, more hands went down.

"Anyone who has not killed an old man, put your hands down."

No hands went down.

"Anyone who has not killed a child, put your hands down."

Several hands hesitated, but eventually they went down.

Liam looked down at the deck, where a single trembling hand remained raised. It belonged to a pale, sinister-looking middle-aged man.

"Sorry," Liam said.

"You little brat!" The sinister pirate, full of malice, stood up and growled, "Who do you think you are? How dare you..."

Liam pointed at him and said, "Bang.

The sinister pirate took two steps, then, under the horrified gazes of the other pirates, shuddered, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

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