I remained silent for awhile after listening to the invitation. Making things dramatic was unnecessary but it obeyed to one of my lines of conduct, or a craze if you prefer:

[Using any opportunity at dramatic statements, as well as milking for turmoil and mayhem.]

"So, have you made a choice?" Lena was eager to hear my answer. She had gone over her manual by now, exhausting all of its potential by alternating soothing and caring shenanigans. This was already a phenomenal output all things considered.

Doing more would require her to be in a frighteningly good mood, something that did not align with the poise she had chosen to demonstrate; that is as far as her professional activities were concerned... She most likely had no ill feelings towards me but she was not that cool nor nice of a person to begin with.

"Hahaha...." I started laughing like a maniac. The wicked duo was obviously, and rightfully, startled by my conduct. The scene was a sight to see indeed. A small and immature child was having a blast inside a maneatingly dark and inauspicious forest, totally dismissive of the underlined threats the woman had previously taken the care to allude; softly but still easy enough to spot out and decipher.

Only ghost sound effects, several wolves' owls and crows squeaks could make this occurence any creepier than it already was.

"What's funny?" Lena asked me gloomily.

I showed the murkiest smile I could muster at this time and savagely grinned before answering very slowly; paying attention to spell each of my next words precisely.

"GOo SCREWW YOURSELF!!..." The instant the foul sentence escaped my mouth, I was found leaping at the blonde guy's stature. He was still rooted to the ground before he realized what had taken place. Spurting the liquid from his mouth in consternation.

"Damn!..." Lena was angry for being so brutally rejected. "Leww!..." She ate the rest of the word. She wanted to help the drunk jerk but she smiled evilly after thinking of something. Hubby, you can't blame me if that bum dies by the hand of someone else...

**Whoosh** I had closed the distance and pounced at the pirate before he could react.

**Clash!!** He took the full brunt of my kick in his face and was shot back violently. "Boom!" He ate a few trees in the process which cracked under the fearfulness of the impact. I did not pursue but waited for him to get back.

**Snap!!** He got up and shoved aside some tree branches and trunks that were mounted as a pile on top of his body. He did not even clean his outfit and was dirty from all the soil and dust both on his face and hair. He looked like a total beggar right now, and as he took another sip from the bottle I frowned...He definitely should have taken damage right now. The fuck is going on? I did not use Hokuto but that had to be at least 70% of my full strength without haki.

"Ouch...That stung a bit. Kid, you're packing some power huh?!" He looked at me and hollered.

"..." My expression was probably priceless right now.

"Don't look at me like this. I'm not leaning that way." He said jokingly.

"Fuck off!!.." I screamed in response.

"Hehe. Kid that mouth of yours is really filthy.Is that how your parents taught you to respect your elders? Wait, someone like you probably does not have any..." He was trying to anger me. He put on a big smile and sipped another mouthful. Seeing as how I remained impassive he said. "Not cute at all...Alright, enough joking. Boy, you're probably asking yourself why your blow was ineffective right now I bet? Hehe!" He teased.

Did this kid really beat Hao? Someone probably overestimated him...If that's all he can do then my plan is going to fail. The woman on the side thought. Well let's watch, it's never too late to interfere if Lewis goes berserk.

I wanted to use my observe skill and investigate the situation but the tipsy golden-haired fellow opened his box again

"Let me clear your doubts for you punk." He opened his right hand and declared. "Kirapan!!( Pain-killer)"

"Viuu!" Light flashed in his palm and all of a sudden some pills appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed and chomped on them. His body glowed red and he issued a satisfied yelp.

"What in the hell?" I was confused.

"Haha...You should really see your face right now." He pointed at me while laughing frantically. His woozy state of mind only served to accentuate his turbulent glee.

"Aah..." He almost choked and after calming a bit he said loudly. "I have eaten the Drug-Drug Fruit (Kusuri Kusuri No mi). I'm able to eat an overwhelming amount of drugs without passing out or suffering negative effects. The enhancements I gain from them are limited right now but I can easily do a lot of interesting things. The pills I showed before were in fact painkillers, hence why your blow from earlier did not really weaken me..."

"So that's why. That's kinda neat." I praised amusingly.

"Oh, youngster you're more accepting than I thought you would be! That's refreshing. Well, let's get back to business now." He replied and took a stance more adapted to the situation at hand. "But still, that was only one part of my ability. Besides my cousin no one else is a fruit eater on our crew, so brace yourself. I've come up with a lot of fancy abilities over the years...The moment you underestimate Devil fruit users, it spells your doom." He warned me.

"Don't worry, I'm not a vegetarian myself." It looked as if I would have to go bananas on this guy to beat him. Well if he dies it's not any of my business. I'll have a use for some of these bandits so I wanted to keep the useful ones alive...But It seems as if I underestimated this world a bit. The Grand Line is really a ferocious place. Still, that ability of his is really useful... That's a pity.

I considered my options, but that guy was bound to experience my killing moves. His ability nullified pain, so unless I really overwhelmed him I would not be able to knock him out.

However, my previous attack clearly highlighted that our abilities were not far off. We would only fight to a standstill when that wench had yet to even take a step. If she joined forces with him I would not be able to win. Speaking of her why is she not moving? Is she really that confident in this toyboy?...Humm. I'm actually intrigued...how strong is she now.?..I wanted to get some exercise in but now I hope I don't regret fomulating such a wish...

This was going to be the first fight after my birth where I would use the full extent of my abilities; at least beside with Grandfather...

Speaking of this guy, Hokuto was useless on him. His hardening haki was so strong I could not even touch his vital points. I'm not even sure I could inflict damage to him if he discarded it. He likes to play with my feelings so I bet he's keeping a lot under his belt.

I remember when I first used my Hokuto Shinken he was not even fazed a bit. He's probably seen a lot of weird shit before, so this probably counts as something extraneous to him. He's really a weird old man. Solely considering his relationship with Dad this is an irrefutable fact...