27: Chapter 27 The Cause and Effect of Koby's Broken Leg

High above Loguetown, the humid and cool sea breeze swept through the street corners, swirling up a few fallen leaves from the ground, signaling that a storm was rapidly gathering in the depths of the ocean.

After leaving the weapon shop, Rice was walking side by side with Nami and Nojiko on the spacious street paved with bluestone.

Just as the three were about to cross the empty fountain square ahead to return to the harbor, the crisp sound of high-heeled leather boots stepping on the bluestone quietly blocked their path forward.

Rice stopped, hands in his pockets, looking over with a calm expression.

In the center of the empty square stood a tall woman.

She wore her long, smooth, black wavy hair down, with a cowboy hat adorned with red feathers tilted on her head. What made it impossible to look away was her skin, which still exuded a lustrous sheen under the gloomy sky.

Looking at the woman, Rice muttered to himself:

"Sure enough, only by seeing her in person do I realize that the Sube Sube no Mi really has transformed Alvida into a great beauty."

He recalled the rumors in this world, where the original Alvida was an obese, freckled, and ugly female pirate with a violent temper.

Yet what appeared before his eyes now was a stunner with skin as smooth and tender as jade, flawless and fair, and an extremely graceful figure.

The extreme transformation brought about by the power of the Devil Fruit had a subversive visual impact.

"The 'White Dove' Rice who defeated me and parachuted to the top of the bounty hunter leaderboard?"

Alvida slightly lifted her swan-like fair neck, her enchanting eyes flashing with arrogance and scrutiny, her voice crisp and carrying a natural sense of languor.

"Who are you?"

The corners of Rice's mouth turned up slightly, examining the woman before him with some amusement.

Nami and Nojiko beside him also stopped.

The two women did not panic; instead, they retreated half a step very naturally, leaving the main battlefield to Rice.

Nami gripped the short wooden staff in her hand, her beautiful eyes scanning the woman's giant iron mace vigilantly and calmly.

Alvida raised the giant iron mace in her hand, swinging a heavy gust of wind in the air:

"Back in the East Blue, you were the one who stomped the leg of my most useless chore boy, Koby, into smithereens? And sent the most beautiful me flying!"

Alvida walked slowly with a cat-like gait, her beautiful eyes fixed on Rice's broad shoulders and sturdy, bronze-colored chest.

"Koby?"

Rice laughed. He looked at Alvida's smooth, jade-like, flawless skin and said indifferently:

"It seems that even after having his leg broken, that deserter king can still bring me some good causality."

"Rice, take this mace of mine first!"

Alvida let out a coquettish cry, her delicate body instantly turning into a streak of pink light.

Her seemingly boneless jade hand gripped the extremely heavy giant iron mace, pulling a tragic gust of wind in mid-air, sweeping straight toward Rice's shoulder and chest!

This blow was extremely powerful, and the gale it stirred up shredded all the fallen leaves on the ground.

However, facing this strike capable of shattering rock, Rice did not dodge or evade.

"Clang—!!"

A dull, loud noise like metal clashing.

The giant iron mace, weighing hundreds of pounds, slammed solidly into Rice's left arm.

Rice did not let her slide away by using the leverage.

His body surged forward like lightning, his figure moving ghostly close to Alvida.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Rice's right hand brushed along the edge of her silk coat.

Due to the fruit's ability, every inch of her skin carried a silkiness like warm jade.

Rice's long arm, with an undeniable, domineering posture, locked this incredibly smooth woman completely against his chest.

Alvida's delicate body in Rice's arms presented a state of near-zero friction; the fruit's ability made any friction at this moment become slight, but it also magnified the primal tactile sensation a thousand times over.

Alvida's warm, jade-like body pressed against Rice's hard, rugged muscles that felt like granite. With her red lips parted, her warm breath, accompanied by the faint milky fragrance caused by her fruit transformation, sprayed onto Rice's neck without reservation.

At this moment, her beautiful eyes were instantly clouded with a blurred, spring-water-like mist; she couldn't even muster the strength to move a finger.

"You... let me go! You rude guy!"

Alvida let out a soft cry in Rice's arms, the pride of her self-proclaimed pirate queen completely melted away.

For a woman who only pursued beauty and strength her whole life, this man before her, who easily suppressed her and looked calm and overbearing, was simply the most perfect prey in the world.

Rice felt the warmth of the beauty in his arms, the corners of his mouth curving into a playful arc:

"Lady Alvida, it seems that in the face of absolute power, your fruit ability cannot help you slide out of my palm."

He flipped his hand and took out the special nautical rope, soaked in sea salt on the white dove, which was incredibly sturdy.

"You... you actually dare to tie me up?!"

Alvida shouted in embarrassment and anger, her face flushing red.

"It's always a bit inconvenient to have a beauty with you when out and about."

Rice pushed the tied-up Alvida in front of Nami and Nojiko and instructed indifferently:

"Nami, Nojiko, take this slippery captive back to the white dove. Lock her in the spare bedroom; Makino is on the ship and will take good care of her."

Nami looked at Alvida, who was tied up in a somewhat comical way but had a face full of shy obedience, rolled her eyes at Rice with amusement, and replied in a relaxed tone:

"Got it, Captain. We'll head back first; don't get lost in town."

Nojiko also smiled and took the rope tying Alvida, leading her away.

Although Alvida kept complaining coquettishly, her beautiful eyes were full of adoration for Rice as she obediently followed the two women toward the harbor.

Rice stood in the empty square and clapped the dust off his hands.

He turned his head and looked at the increasingly heavy black thunderclouds in the depths of the sky, as well as the execution platform towering in the shadows in the distance in the street.

His Observation Haki had already perceived an extremely chaotic and familiar aura in the air.

Luffy and another ridiculous guy.

"The big show at the execution platform should be about to start."

Rice sneered, hands in his pockets.

His figure instantly turned into a white afterimage, disappearing into the deep street corners of Loguetown, striding toward the center of the storm.