"Auction house?" Nami frowned slightly, staring at Buck in front of her and asking:
"Have you… sold humans before?"
Sold humans?
Hearing Nami's question, the pirates were momentarily stunned, but then someone burst out laughing.
A nearby pirate joked:
"Sold humans? Don't say it so harshly!"
"We just capture some fine merchandise and hand them over to those noble lords!"
"Hahaha, this little girl didn't even know what she walked into, but she dared to come here!"
"Listen carefully, little girl, we are the Hammer Pirates, under the protection of Duke Gordon of the Hyde Kingdom! We specialize in capturing cute little girls like you!"
"Haha, enough talking, can't you see she's nearly scared stiff?"
"Bwahahahaha!"
The pirates shamelessly introduced themselves.
In the East Blue Sea, while the slave trade might not be illegal, it is widely despised. Even the Navy will take action to stop it.
Upon hearing that the man before her was capturing humans as slaves, Nami's heart filled with fury.
"You scum, you deserve to burn in hell!"
But Buck only laughed wildly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Pffft! KAhahaha…"
"Little girl, the world isn't as simple as you think!"
"Consider yourself unlucky, we were just planning to take it easy today, but now high-quality merchandise has walked right into our hands!"
"It would be a shame not to take this opportunity!"
As he spoke, he raised the enormous hammer, holding it menacingly in front of Nami as if to tease her. He shook it and threatened:
"I suggest you be obedient, so you can suffer less, and we'll have an easier time."
"Don't worry, we won't lay a finger on you before sending you to the auction house. After all, that would reduce your selling price!"
"KAhahahaha…"
Buck laughed loudly along with the other pirates.
However…
They failed to notice the cold expression that darkened Nami's face.
"Of course… pirates are all the same scum!"
Amid the pirates' laughter, Nami's gaze grew increasingly icy.
"Heh… This is actually good."
She muttered, "Now I won't have any guilt about killing you."
"What? Kill us?"
"Oh my, what did I just hear? Am I drunk? Hahahaha…"
"A little girl with some fire, I like that! Boss, why don't we keep this one for ourselves?"
The pirates laughed and teased Nami again, completely unaware of what was about to unfold!
One pirate even reached out his filthy hand to touch Nami's face.
In that instant!
Nami suddenly raised her head, glaring at each pirate with an expression as if she were looking at garbage, and yelled:
"Pichu, use Thunder Shock!"
Crackle!!!
A sharp tearing sound echoed through the air.
A bolt of lightning shot out like an arrow, instantly striking the dirty pirate.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
The pirate hit by the lightning convulsed and let out a pained scream.
The scent of burnt flesh filled the air.
The scream lasted for five seconds.
Then, the golden lightning vanished,
and the pirate, now smoking from his mouth, stiffened and fell backward.
There was no sign of life.
"What!?"
Seeing this, the pirates in the hall were suddenly paralyzed with fear, their drunkenness evaporating in an instant.
The wild laughter ceased.
They stared in disbelief at their comrade, who had been killed by Pichu's attack, their bodies trembling with fear of the unknown.
"What did you do!?"
Hammer Buck, the only one not frightened by the Thunder Shock, roared in anger, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Nami.
Seeing one of his men killed, Buck flew into a rage.
Since he had been given a bounty, no one had dared to challenge him like this!
But Nami paid no attention to his roar. Instead, she curled her lips into a contemptuous smile.
"You bitch!!!"
Hammer Buck suddenly bellowed.
"Daring to provoke the Hammer Pirates—you're dead!"
Realizing something was off about Nami, Buck no longer cared about the slave trade. Using all his strength, his arms bulged with muscle as he raised his massive hammer above his head, aiming it at Nami with a heavy swing.
However…
As the giant hammer whipped through the air, Nami calmly and gracefully jumped back, perfectly avoiding Buck's strike.
For Nami, who had grown up among fish-men and constantly thought about how to defeat them, Buck's movements were far too slow!
Boom!!!
The hammer slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater in the bar floor.
Nami used the opportunity to put some distance between them, then shouted once more:
"Pichu, use Thunder Shock!!!"
"Electrocute these bastards!!!"
Since these were human-trafficking pirates, Nami had no intention of leaving any of them alive to harm others!
In an instant!
The small electric mouse leaped from Nami's shoulder into the air, landing between her and Buck.
Crackle...
The golden lightning appeared once more.
From Pichu's tender face, two red cheek sacs erupted with dazzling light.
"Pichu--!!!"
With a delicate cry, terrifying bolts of lightning burst forth, enveloping all the pirates present.
Thanks to their metal weapons, the electricity surged through them like a dragon weaving among them.
In the blink of an eye, the power of the lightning engulfed all the pirates.
These pirates, who only knew how to bully civilians with swords and pistols, had no more physical strength than ordinary people.
Under the powerful electric shock, they wailed in agony.
"Ahhh!!!"
Screams echoed through the entire bar hall.
At that moment, it was as if Nami had entered a world of lightning, with only golden flashes in sight.
Gazing at the dazzling lightning before her, witnessing Pichu's power for the first time, she couldn't help but exclaim:
"I didn't expect this little guy to be so strong!"
It's no wonder Nami had been concerned before.
After all, who would imagine that a creature born just three days ago could wield such tremendous power!?
And this was the magic of Pokémon.
In a flash, all of the Hammer Pirates' minions were reduced to charcoal-like figures, collapsing to the ground, barely alive.
The only one who could still move normally was Hammer Buck, with a bounty of 3 million berries.
The bar staff had wisely hidden in the kitchen when the conflict began.
For a moment, the scene fell into silence.
At this point, Buck had lost all his arrogance.
Although he hadn't suffered serious injuries from the electric shock, Nami's methods had shaken him to his core.
"Who… who are you?!"
Buck stared in fear at Pichu, then at Nami, unsure of which to fear more.
"Who?"
Seeing Buck frozen in place, Nami mocked him with a laugh and said:
"Didn't I tell you? I'm here to take your head!"
"You…"
After hearing Nami's response, Buck's eyes turned red with rage, and he gritted his teeth:
"So you're a pirate hunter! Damn it!!!"
"Idiot. Did you just figure that out?"
Nami sneered and waved her hand again, commanding Pichu:
"Pichu, don't let him live. Scum like him doesn't deserve to waste air!"
"Go all out and use Volt Tackle!"
"Pichu!"
Eager for battle, Pichu shouted with enthusiasm.
Violent electricity erupted once more, enveloping its small body.
Under the stimulation of lightning, every cell in Pichu's body began to pulsate with energy.
Boom!!!
In an instant, a golden flash shot forward, striking Buck directly!
The air seemed to tear as the golden light roared, making a deafening sound.
The intense light engulfed the giant hammer, shining like a massive searchlight.
Under the blinding light, Buck turned and bolted for the tavern door.
Fight?
Only a fool would fight!
He had just thrown his weapon to distract Nami and Pichu, giving himself a chance to escape.
After witnessing Pichu's power, he didn't dare to confront it.
The terrifying lightning that had only grazed him had left him numb all over.
If it had hit him directly, he couldn't guarantee he would survive.
As long as there's life, there's hope!
At that moment, Buck had only one thought: to escape through that door.
However, what he didn't know was…
Even though the dazzling light had obstructed Nami and Pichu's vision, Butterfree hovered above the tavern, using its compound eyes to observe every corner.
When Butterfree noticed Buck making a run for his life, it quickly signaled to Rotom:
"Pii!"
Rotom instantly translated:
"Nami, the target is heading for the door."
"Hurry, have Pichu use the Charming Voice on the door!"
(End of this chapter)