The man in front came first.
Ling watched his shoulders shift, but before he could move, Chuck rushed in from the left at almost the same moment. Neither charged blindly this time. The first man forced Ling to step aside while Chuck moved to cut off the direction he was retreating toward.
Ling twisted away before Chuck could catch him.
A third bandit was already waiting.
'They're trying to push me into each other.'
Ling ducked beneath the man's arm and slipped through the gap before it closed. As the bandit turned after him, Ling struck him sharply in the side and sent him stumbling into Chuck.
"Watch it!"
"He's behind you!"
A warning came from Ling's right. He shifted just as the wooden bat swept through the space beside his head.
They were coordinating now.
'Good.'
The man with the bat attacked again, and this time Ling moved toward him. He stepped inside the swing, turned the man's arm aside, and drove his palm into his chest with just enough force to knock him backward.
The bandit crashed into one of his companions, opening a path between them. Ling immediately moved through it.
"Don't let him through!"
Two men shifted to block him.
Ling activated his Time Skip.
For one second, he disappeared.
The two bandits continued forward, both apparently expecting him to appear somewhere beyond them. Instead, Ling returned to the same spot after they had already passed.
He turned immediately, striking one man in the back before stepping around him and driving his palm into the other's side.
Both stumbled away.
Chuck stared.
"Stop rushing him!"
"I wasn't!"
"You walked right past him!"
"He disappeared!"
Ling listened without taking his eyes off them.
'They're thinking about the wrong thing.'
They still hadn't figured out what his ability actually did.
Chuck pointed toward him.
"Don't chase him! Wait for him to come back!"
Ling's eyes shifted toward him.
'...There it is.'
Chuck hadn't completely figured it out, but he was getting closer.
The men spread farther apart. One remained directly in front of Ling while another moved around his right. Chuck circled to the left, and the others kept enough distance between themselves that Ling couldn't easily send one crashing into another again.
Ling breathed out slowly.
Then he moved first.
The nearest bandit raised his arms as Ling approached, expecting a direct attack. Ling changed direction before reaching him and turned toward the man on the right instead.
The bandit jerked backward and swung too early.
Ling let the attack pass and stepped inside.
His palm caught the man cleanly in the side, folding him forward with a grunt. Ling was already moving past him when Chuck rushed in from behind.
"Get him!"
Footsteps closed from both sides.
Ling activated his Time Skip again.
One second passed.
When he returned, Chuck had stopped several feet away.
The other bandit hadn't.
He was still swinging at the empty space where Ling had vanished, and Ling reappeared directly in front of him.
Both froze for half a heartbeat.
Ling reacted first.
He caught the man's wrist, guided the arm past him, and struck his chest with his free hand.
The bandit dropped backward onto the road.
Chuck swore.
Ling turned toward him.
For the first time since the fight began, Chuck hesitated.
'Now you're thinking too much.'
Chuck stepped back, but the man with the bat came rushing from Ling's side instead.
Ling didn't use his Devil Fruit.
He stepped beneath the raised weapon and struck the man's wrist before the bat could come down again. The weapon slipped from his fingers and hit the dirt, and Ling followed with a palm to the chest that sent him stumbling backward onto his back.
Only Chuck and one other bandit remained standing in front of him.
They exchanged a look.
"Together," Chuck said.
The other man swallowed and nodded.
They rushed Ling from opposite sides.
Ling waited until Chuck came within reach, then turned aside and caught his arm. One short pull was enough to ruin Chuck's balance and send him stumbling directly into the other bandit's path.
The second man tried to adjust.
Too late.
They collided.
Ling stepped in before either could recover and drove his palm into Chuck's chest, sending him sprawling across the dirt.
The final bandit managed to stay upright. He spun toward Ling and threw a desperate punch.
Ling leaned away.
The fist passed harmlessly in front of his face.
Ling stepped back in and struck once.
The last man hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Ling lowered his arm and slowly let out a breath.
The men who had surrounded him were now scattered across the road, some groaning while others had already lost consciousness.
A short distance away, the bandit who had been holding Kome stood frozen.
His eyes moved from one fallen companion to another before settling on Ling. His face had gone pale, and the hand gripping Kome's shoulder loosened.
Ling glanced toward him.
The man flinched.
He released Kome and took one cautious step backward, then another.
Ling made no move to stop him.
The man had clearly given up.
'At least he knows when to quit.'
The bandit kept backing away while watching Ling, apparently too nervous to turn his back on him.
Unfortunately for him, Ling wasn't the person he needed to be watching.
Kome crouched near the road and quietly picked up another stone.
The bandit never noticed.
Just as he finally began to turn away, Kome drew his arm back.
"Take this!"
The stone struck the man squarely in the forehead.
"GAH!"
His head jerked backward. He remained standing for a stunned second before his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the road.
Ling blinked.
Kome planted both hands on his hips.
"That's what you get for bullying my grandma!"
The corner of Ling's mouth lifted.
'He really waited until the fight was over for that.'
Raisa hurried over and looked Kome over carefully, brushing dirt from his clothes and checking where he'd been hit earlier.
"I'm fine, Grandma."
"You've said that before."
"But I am."
Raisa gave him one more look before finally letting him go.
Ling glanced over the fallen bandits and prepared to continue on his way.
"Wait!"
He stopped.
Raisa stood beside the cart, one hand resting against the wooden frame.
"Thank you..."
She hesitated.
Ling smiled.
"No problem. My name is Ling."
"Ling!"
Kome hurried closer.
"How did you disappear like that? And you beat all of them! Were you hiding in the forest the whole time?"
"Kome."
He looked toward his grandmother.
"What?"
"Give him a moment."
"Oh."
Kome turned back to Ling anyway.
Raisa gave Ling an apologetic smile before lowering her head.
"Thank you, Ling. If you hadn't come along—"
She started to bow.
Ling quickly raised a hand.
"You don't have to do that."
Raisa stopped and straightened again.
Ling's attention shifted toward the cart.
"Where are you two heading?"
"We're from Namonaki Village!" Kome answered before Raisa could.
Raisa looked toward him.
"Kome..."
"We're going to Central Town to trade."
"Namonaki?"
Ling recognized the name from Makino.
His gaze moved toward the food in the cart, and the image of the boar disappearing through the undergrowth returned to him.
Ling paused.
'Right. Food.'
He turned back toward them.
"I should get going."
Kome's eyes widened.
"Already?"
"Yeah. I still have something I need to find."
Raisa nodded.
"Then be careful, Ling."
Ling smiled and raised a hand.
"You too."
Before Kome could launch into another question, Ling turned toward the forest and pushed off the ground. Within moments, he disappeared between the trees.