In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of the little girl, facing Helmeppo head-on.
The little girl stumbled back from behind Lei, her eyes wide in shock.
Helmeppo stumbled back from the arrival of unexpected person, his eyes widening.
The hilt of Lei's nichirin blade struck Helmeppo squarely in the face with a solid thud. Helmeppo staggered, his hips hitting the ground hard as he collapsed. He crawled backward, clutching his face and rolling on the ground. "Gugh—! Wh-what?! You… you hit me?! Do you have any idea who I am?! I'm Helmeppo-sama! My father is Captain Morgan! He'll have you executed for this! No—he'll have you tortured for a hundred years!!"
The little girl, still backing away, almost whispered, "He actually hit him."
Helmeppo's face turned a furious red. "You… you filthy peasant! You touched my face! My beautiful face! GUARDS! KILL HIM! Slice him into pieces! I want his head on a pole by lunch!!"
The two marines glanced at each other nervously. "U-um… yes, Helmeppo-san."
They stepped forward, drawing their swords with trembling hands. "Hey, you! Don't move! You're under arrest for harassing Captain Morgan's son!"
"Whoa! You're really fast, Lei! I didn't even see you move!" Luffy exclaimed, jumping down from the wall. He walked over to Helmeppo, squatting down and poking him with a finger.
Lei glanced at Luffy, who wasn't even a bit scared by the marines. He then turned to the two marines ahead of him. "Don't even try. Or we will have to actually attack you too."
Lei struck both of them with the hilt of his blade, sending them flying back several meters.
The marine guards scrambled away in panic, running toward the gates.
Luffy stood there for a second, blinking. He looked left, then right. He stuck a pinky finger in his ear and wiggled it. "Huh. Everyone's gone."
Then he added, "Huh. They both ran off. So… what do we do with this 'Chin-guy'?"
"Hey, you chin-guy. Eat these rice balls that you threw on the ground," Lei said, squatting down beside him.
Helmeppo had snot running down his nose, huge tears streaming, and his face red from a mix of rage and terror. "Y-you're kidding, right?! You want ME, the Great Helmeppo-sama, to eat… that?! It's covered in dirt! It was touched by a filthy commoner brat! It's disgusting! I'll vomit! I'll—"
Lei stepped closer, looking him directly in the eye.
"EEK! P-please! Don't hit me again! Look, I have money! I'll buy you a hundred rice balls! I'll buy you the whole restaurant! Just don't make me eat that filth… my father will kill you! He'll kill us all! WAAAAAAH!" Helmeppo wailed, trying to scoot away from the dirt-covered rice balls.
Lei smiled faintly. I didn't know I was such a sadist.
He turned to the little girl, where Luffy was patting her head reassuringly, then turned back to Helmeppo, uninterested in hearing the talks between Luffy and Rika.
"You all run, they have gone to Captain Morgan. He will kill all of you!!" Zoro screamed from the cross.
"Don't worry. Luffy, free him," Lei said without turning back.
"So, Helmeppo, fast. Or my blade is not open yet."
He heard Luffy and Zoro banter as Zoro told Luffy that his swords had been taken by Helmeppo. Luffy launched himself toward the building by stretching his arm.
Rika had run back to her home. I guess the storyline isn't much affected. Lei sighed.
Helmeppo had fainted.
What a fucking retard.