Nami rolled her eyes. Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh, that's right. For justice.
But this was fine. Since they were actively going to start a fight, she could take the opportunity to slip away. After all, she joined as a navigator. Which pirate crew's navigator was also a combat unit?
"Lin Bei's right! Captain, the sea chart and the ship—it's up to you!"
Luffy swayed slightly, looking absent-minded, as if still considering.
He wasn't the type to attack on sight. That came afterwards, usually.
That much he learned from Red-Haired Shanks. When he was little, even after someone dumped beer on Shanks' head, Shanks didn't retaliate. But if anyone hurt his friends, he'd strike back without hesitation.
Luffy had learned this thoroughly.
So Lin Bei thought for a moment and realized he truly couldn't force Luffy to change; he had to use a softer approach. If it couldn't be changed... then it had to be guided, not imposed.
"Captain, didn't you want to hold a welcome party for our new crewmate? Forget Buggy's crew for now. Let's land and throw the party first."
That did it.
"Banquet! Banquet! Banquet!" Luffy cheered.
They officially landed at Orange Town. But the moment they stepped ashore, they realized something was wrong. The town looked like a ghost town. No one in the streets. No voices. No movement.
There wasn't a soul on the streets.
Zoro checked several houses—empty.
Under these circumstances, forget about a banquet; holding a wedding here would make people think you were holding a funeral.
Nami, strangely familiar with scenes like this, spoke with disdain and hatred in her voice, "This is what happens wherever pirates go."
It was Luffy's first time seeing what it looked like when real pirates passed through. Remembering when Shanks came to visit, the whole town welcomed him. There were crowds of people, red flags flying, and they all had a great time. It had been a celebration—crowds, laughter, music. Everyone had fun.
But pirates out here…
Not everyone was Shanks, huh.
"...Is this why you hate pirates?" Luffy asked.
Nami didn't answer, but her cold snort was enough.
Luffy didn't say anything more. He didn't even bring up the banquet again. He was observing, refining his own worldview.
In fact, the East Blue—the so-called "Beginner Village"—was essentially just groundwork for how Luffy would act when facing situations later on.
Lin Bei glanced at him once, then looked away.
He and Luffy weren't so different. Luffy had just begun his journey; Lin Bei had just arrived in this world. To someone from modern times, everything here was fascinating.
Interesting buildings. Interesting people. Interesting big lions—
Wait.
Lin Bei blinked.
At the end of a street, across an alley, he saw something pass by.
It had to be three or four meters tall—a great giant beast.
Although he couldn't remember the lion's name anymore, barring any surprises, it should be an executive of the Buggy Pirates.
Scary ferocious in the early game, meow-meow-meow in the late game.
However, it hadn't noticed them. Among them, only Zoro looked in that direction as well.
"You saw it too, right?"
Zoro had already gripped his swords.
Lin Bei nodded.
Lin Bei nodded. "Probably one of Buggy's officers. Looks like it hasn't spotted us."
"Oi, with that sentence, are you looking down on our Richie?"
Just as Lin Bei finished speaking, a somewhat arrogant voice rang out.
Heavy, ground-shaking steps.
Logically speaking, feline footsteps are very light. The purpose of their paw pads is to allow felines to make no sound while hunting. But the weight of Richie the lion clearly exceeded what paw pads could dampen.
A lion the size of a house leaned its head out of the alley.
Nami staggered back in fright.
Sitting atop the lion was a white-haired man, grinning arrogantly.
"From the moment you set foot on the island, Richie caught your scent. You think I just happened to show up here, brats? Now tell me—what are you doing here? Or you'll become Richie's lunch~"
The old white-haired guy spoke to them as if scaring children, which annoyed both Lin Bei and Zoro.
Who is this guy treating like kids?!
Luffy, on the other hand, answered honestly.
"I want the Grand Line chart you stole. And if possible, could you prepare a party for us too?"
The old white-haired guy exploded instantly.
"Do I look like a waiter taking your order?! Watch your attitude, brat! Do you want to be eaten by Richie?!"
Zoro snapped back.
"He's obviously the enemy! You expect him to bring you a beer too?!"
Luffy paused.
"Eh, can't I?"
At this moment, both the old man and Zoro looked speechless.
Lin Bei ignored Luffy's antics; he seemed eager to try something.
"So negotiations failed? If they failed… can I go?"
Of all things in this world, Lin Bei's favorite was his daily-refresh superpower. Even though he had only had it for two days, if anything happened to it, he would kill everyone in this world, then himself.
That was precisely why he joined the Straw Hat crew. He needed a relatively safe environment to experiment. As long as someone covered him, he could test abilities freely—even useless ones—without getting killed.
But unfortunately, today's superpower had left too deep a shadow on Zoro.
If he could control it to target a single person, Zoro definitely wouldn't stop Lin Bei from using it.
But it was indiscriminate. Does that mean every time Lin Bei unleashed it, he, Luffy, and Nami would have to run away beforehand?
As promised earlier on the ship—
"No need. Leave it to Luffy and me. Unless absolutely necessary, please do not use your ability!"
Lin Bei sighed. It was... quite disappointing.
He really wanted to use this ability on an enemy to see what would happen. Unfortunately, once released, it was Area of Effect damage. Actually, while sailing, he suddenly realized this superpower didn't just make people climax; it had other effects too.
Although he hadn't tested it on enemies yet, if his guess was correct, by moving different muscles throughout his body, he could influence at least seven or eight different emotions.
But Zoro wouldn't allow it.
While Richie the lion and the beast tamer, Old White Hair, were completely confused, Zoro turned into a beast fiercer than Richie.
"Three-Sword Style—Oni Giri!"
One strike.
Both lion and tamer collapsed instantly.
Their arrogance and threats from moments ago instantly turned into pitiful whimpers.
Zoro stepped on the beast tamer with one foot, coldly pointing his sword at the man's throat.
"Our captain may be a little airheaded. But do we need to report our business to trash like you?"
Lin Bei raised an eyebrow. Zoro was too reliable. This feeling of winning without doing anything dispelled a lot of his gloom.
He chuckled as he crouched down in front of Old White Hair.
"Actually, we're not devils or anything. We're just ambitious youths who want to go to the Grand Line to chase our dreams. Tell me where your ship is, where your treasure is, and where the chart you stole is."
He tapped the old man's cheek with a smile, " Talk. The treasure belongs to Buggy. But your life? That's yours."