No one knew when Luffy had appeared beside them, but Nami involuntarily recoiled in surprise, while Usopp did not so much as blink, as though he had seen the young man approaching in advance... despite sitting with his back to him.
"What do you mean, fate?" the girl asked, failing to understand her captain's words.
Judging by Usopp's face as he turned around, the phrase made no sense to him either.
"Don't tell me you've already forgotten."
"Maybe I have and maybe I haven't. First I need to know what you're talking about."
"Broke Shwarks!"
"...Oh! Your notebook. You wrote something in it about destroying a secret organization, though I don't remember the exact item."
"Item number four. I just didn't expect us to hit the jackpot on the very first island." There was probably no other pirate on the Grand Line who would have considered arriving in a den of pirate hunters to be 'hitting the jackpot.' "Though that's probably my own fault. I should have guessed—the first island is the perfect place for a trap like this."
"Are we going to warn our traveling companions?" Nami immediately asked about what she considered most important. "This revelation may come as a terrible shock to you, but I should tell you right away that not every pirate deliberately seeks encounters with people who hunt pirates," the girl added with undisguised sarcasm.
"Traffy's a smart guy. He should figure everything out himself." Luffy waved the matter aside carelessly, while completely ignoring the spike the size of a nail that she had just driven into him. "Besides, like I said, we don't need weaklings... Or did I not say that? I don't remember anymore."
It was yet another confirmation—no one knew how many there had already been—of Law's statement that with friends like these, the Heart Pirates had no need for enemies.
"So, do we kill them all immediately?"
Naturally, Zoro was the first of the other Straw Hats to sense the approaching bloodshed. His sudden appearance, more like instantaneous teleportation, was no less impressive than Luffy's. The difference was that the first had come running toward the 'scent of fun,' while the second had arrived at the 'scent of blood.'
"Why?!" Luffy asked in genuine surprise upon hearing Zoro's question. "First we'll see what they've prepared for us. Or have you already forgotten what that idiot said? He told us they throw enormous parties for every pirate who arrives, so why should we deprive ourselves of that pleasure?"
The words 'enormous parties' unquestionably appealed to Zoro. His bloodthirsty gaze instantly became interested. He was the one who constantly thought along the lines of "what should I drink?" In fact, the rest of the Straw Hats immediately gathered at those words. Unlike the green-haired swordsman, Sanji, Johnny, and Yosaku—three incurable womanizers—gave the phrase 'enormous parties' an entirely different meaning. Where there was a party, there were always women, at least from their point of view; and where there were women, there was accordingly the possibility of sex with them. Nami's observation that every hypothetical woman present would also be a pirate hunter failed to register in their minds. The men had a counterargument that was difficult to dispute at once: a woman, even if she was a pirate hunter, was still a woman. None of them objected to some beauty dragging him into bed, even if only for the sake of treacherously murdering him afterward. Nami could not find the strength to argue with such logic. After more than a month of abstinence—and considerably longer in Sanji's case—appealing to their reason was hopeless. Dialogue was impossible when the other party's brain had shut down completely.
"Welcome to the Island of Giant Cacti!"
"Welcome to Whisky Peak!"
"Welcome to the Grand Line!"
"Welcome to our town!"
Just as Usopp had predicted, the moment the coupled vessels entered the channel, several hundred people appeared along both shores. Their greetings were periodically drowned out by popping noisemakers, confetti rained from the sky, and the delighted crowd waved various brightly colored flags bearing words of welcome with wild enthusiasm.
"Welcome! Glory to pirates!"
At that, Nami could no longer restrain herself.
"Glory to pirates?" she repeated in a voice filled with contempt. "Are they even trying? Can anyone really fall for a farce like this?"
As though answering the girl's question, an ecstatic roar immediately came from the Heart Pirates, causing Nami's mouth to fall open. Somewhat stunned, she turned toward the voices. Because of the difference in size between the Going Merry and the submarine, she could see all the Heart Pirates who had poured onto their vessel's upper deck and were now returning the friendly townspeople's enthusiasm in full. Only Law himself stood out sharply from the rest. He displayed not the slightest sign of joy, but instead stood with his eyes closed and one palm pressed to his face.
"...Are they serious?" Nami finally found the strength to ask. "Luffy, they're joking, aren't they?" Her tone suggested she was on the verge of losing every last shred of faith in humanity.
"Nami, shut up!" the young man answered through clenched teeth with uncharacteristic rudeness, while stretching his lips into a broad smile and energetically waving back at the greetings coming from every direction. "God forbid someone here knows how to read lips, or we'll expose ourselves immediately. So smile and wave, unless you want us to miss the welcoming feast!"
Zoro, Johnny, and Yosaku immediately gave the girl murderous looks. Each of them had his own plans for the repeatedly mentioned feast. Sanji probably would not have restrained himself either, but he could not look threateningly at an ordinary woman, and against Nami he was as helpless as a newborn infant before a starving grizzly bear.
"At moments like this, I simply hate all of you," the girl shared through clenched teeth as she obediently began smiling and waving like Luffy.
"Don't tell me you aren't curious how they plan to kill us."
"Not in the slightest."
"You don't know how to enjoy life."
"I know perfectly well how to enjoy life. My enjoyment simply does not involve several hundred hypocrites surrounding me and dreaming of driving a dagger into my back."
"Trust my experience, Nami. In your case, they'll be dreaming of putting something very different into you—and certainly not into your back."
"I believe you. When it comes to sticking things into people, you're an expert."
"...Was that an implication that the two of you have sex?" As expected, Johnny could not force himself to remain silent after the girl's words.
"Have you ever tried thinking with your head?" Nami gave the man beside her a murderous stare. "I have no idea what you've imagined, and I don't want to know, but I personally meant that Luffy is an expert at delivering unexpected dagger blows to the back. Or are you going to claim that isn't true?"
"Hmm... It is true, but your words sounded awfully ambiguous."
"You know the saying that everyone judges according to the depth of their own depravity? I suggest you try thinking with your head instead of whatever is between your legs. Then perhaps you won't hear double meanings everywhere."
Johnny was about to object, but Yosaku's hand settling on his shoulder made him hold his tongue. Unlike his friend, Yosaku had no doubt that every double meaning had been voiced deliberately. It was hardly the first time, and certainly would not be the last. As the young man understood perfectly, as long as anyone remained interested in the subject, those hints would never stop. Luffy's default settings were configured to twist the brains of everyone around him, and Nami spent even more time with him than Zoro did. Yet the girl still had the nerve to consider herself the most normal person aboard the ship—and sincerely believed it.
"Welcome! My name is Igarappoi, and you have arrived at Whisky Peak—the town of joyful music and endless wine! This is one of the seven first islands beyond the Red Line, and we are famous for our hospitality. We have an entire sea of excellent wine waiting for you. Please, tell us of your adventures over a festive table!"
With those words, Igarappoi—also known as Igaram, also known as Mr. Eight—welcomed the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates as they came ashore.
"...A transvestite with a saxophone," Johnny offered as his assessment upon seeing their host, immediately earning an elbow in the ribs from Yosaku beside him.
And yes, the man really was holding a saxophone.
"There's something I don't understand about those seven first islands," Usopp put in. "How can there be seven 'first' islands?"
"Didn't you listen to old man Crocus?" Nami replied. "At the Red Line, a Log Pose can lock onto one of seven routes, and each route has its own 'first island of the Grand Line.' Whisky Peak is one of those first islands."
"Exactly!" Igaram declared loudly, pretending not to have heard Johnny's comment about his appearance. "Whisky Peak is the very first island on your long journey, so we must celebrate your arrival properly. Please! Everyone to the table!" Mr. Eight made an inviting gesture toward one of the tallest buildings nearby.
Credit had to be given to the hunters. A joyous welcome for pirates might have seemed implausible to some people—Nami, for example—but once the banquet itself began, the people of Whisky Peak performed flawlessly. An ocean of food, drink, and merriment. Even the Great Skeptic herself could find nothing to criticize. Everything truly looked as though they were surrounded by ordinary townspeople rather than bounty hunters. Children ran happily between the many tables. On a small platform in one corner, five musicians played various pirate songs. Women clung to whichever pirates had caught their interest, while the local men listened greedily to stories being told—an arena in which Usopp had no equal, even though his tales had nothing whatsoever to do with reality. With hospitality like that and alcohol flowing quite literally like a river down the throats of the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates, one could genuinely begin doubting one's own conclusions. It all looked that convincing.
Naturally, like any good party, it did not pass without surprises for everyone involved. While Whisky Peak's greatest 'surprise' waited until the end of the evening, the town's 'guests' received their own shock almost as soon as the banquet began.
"...I have no idea what you're talking about."
That was Zoro's answer when someone asked him about the declaration he had made in Loguetown. What declaration? Zoro remembered perfectly well that he had made no declarations at all. The strange question immediately attracted the attention of everyone nearby. For the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates, it sparked a desire to learn what this 'declaration by Zoro' was supposed to be. The 'peaceful townspeople,' meanwhile, were drawn by simple curiosity. The message Zoro had left behind had been far too brazen, and its consequences were impossible not to find impressive.
"We mean your desire to become the new Pirate King!" one of the men explained, simultaneously clarifying the situation and making it even more confusing. "The article about you published two weeks ago caused quite a stir!"
"Do you have the newspaper?" Nami asked immediately.
"You mean you haven't read it?!" the man exclaimed.
And he was hardly the only one surprised.
"If you haven't read it, then I suppose you haven't seen the bounty either?" asked a woman seated nearby.
"Bounty?!" the Straw Hats answered in unison.
"Did they finally manage to write something?" Luffy brightened visibly, instantly exposing himself completely.
"I should have guessed from the beginning that this was your work," Yosaku said with a nod, folding his arms. "Well? What did you do in Loguetown that made it into the biggest newspaper in the world?"
The logic was simple. If news from East Blue had reached residents of the Grand Line, it could only have been printed in the world's largest newspaper. By the same logic, whatever Luffy had done in Loguetown had to be, if not grandiose, then certainly well beyond ordinary limits.
"First I need to see the newspaper!" the 'prime suspect' refused to explain. "And the wanted poster. Do you have them?"
"Of course!"
"If possible, several copies at once, please!" Nami added with a charming smile, causing the crowd to nearly tear the door from its hinges in their eagerness to fulfill her request, instantly forgetting that the request had not originally come from her at all.
Less than five minutes later, the faces of every pirate gathered there stretched with genuine astonishment, accompanied by Luffy's satisfied cackling in the background. They did not even need to read the newspaper article to react that way. A single glance at the posters brought before them was enough for everyone to lose control of their expressions. Even Law failed to maintain his usual poker face. And no wonder.
============================================================
Please Write a review/comments and support with power stones. Also check my other works.
Also if you want to support me, or access to some additional chapters, then check the patre on.com/moctopus