Luffy and Zoro started climbing faster after realizing they could actually fight the snakes.
"That was easy," Zoro said, sheathing his sword. A snake's head hit the ground behind him, bursting into blue light—only to regenerate seconds later knocked out cold.
"Shishishi~ You guys can't beat me! I'm going to be the King of Gamers!" Luffy shouted, blasting another snake with a punch.
"King of Games? Then I'm the God of Games!" Lucen declared as he climbed a long ladder with sparkles in his eyes.
Nami watched the board with growing interest. "Playing like this is no fun. Why don't you guys place a bet?"
"Bet?" x3
Three different voices rang out at once.
Nami continued sweetly, "Yes. If Lucen wins, then you two will give me three hundred thousand beri."
"What?! That's so much! I don't even have a beri!" Luffy cried, suddenly remembering how broke he was.
Zoro blinked. Lucen also tilted his head, confused.
"I'm not done," Nami added, holding up a finger. "If Luffy wins, then Zoro and Lucen will pay me that much. And if Zoro wins, you two will pay me."
She finished with a sugar-coated smile. "Simple enough, right?"
"Right! I just have to win!" Luffy smashed his fists together with a confident grin. Lucen mirrored the gesture.
"ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS?!" Zoro shouted. "WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY HER IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"
"Hehehe… Zoro, don't be silly," Nami replied, still smiling—but it was the kind of smile that made grown men cry. "I'm the only one not playing, so obviously it's natural for you to pay me."
"You should focus on winning... or be prepared to pay."
Zoro fell silent. Nami's logic kind of made sense... yet felt weird the more he thought about it. But considering he was broke too...
'I'd better win,' he thought grimly.
Zoro rolled his dice and took a few steps. Luckily, he landed on a ladder—a big one—and quickly climbed it.
By pure coincidence, all three of them ended up on square 93 at almost the same time.
"Shishishi~ Looks like I'm gonna win!" Luffy grinned.
"AHAHAH! That's the best joke you've told today!" Lucen laughed.
They locked eyes, sparks flying between them.
"You're fighting so hard for something you clearly can't do," Zoro said, smirking.
"Oh really?" Luffy replied—and punched Zoro square in the stomach, sending him stumbling back with a grunt.
Zoro clutched his gut, his face contorted in pain. "Now you've done it," he growled, drawing two of his swords.
He lunged at Luffy, who dodged and returned with a solid punch.
"I'm here too… well, whatever." Lucen, feeling left out, jumped in and punched both of them in the face.
"Hey! That was a dirty move!" Luffy protested.
"Yeah! And it's weird hearing you say that," Zoro muttered, pulling out his third sword and biting down on it.
Meanwhile, Nami watched the scene unfold like a confused bystander at a puppet show.
All she saw was three doll-sized pieces on the board bouncing around, leaping at each other, falling down, and getting back up in an endless loop.
"Haaa… these guys can't even play quietly," Nami sighed heavily. She turned toward the sea, thinking that not looking at them would help.
It didn't.
She could still hear everything.
"Hm? What's tha—" Nami squinted. In the distance, something was heading toward them—fast.
She blinked a few times, then her eyes widened.
"MARINES!"
If it had been any other time, she might not have cared. But right now, she was sitting on a boat flying Buggy's flag. And Buggy wasn't exactly a nobody in East Blue—he was considered one of the big pirates here.
_______________
"Sergeant! I see two boat ahead one of them is flying the Buggy Pirates' flag!" a lookout shouted from the mast.
Tension gripped the Marines below. One officer, clearly the highest-ranked among them, lifted a scope and scanned the distance.
"Hmm… I received a report they were last spotted in Orange Town. No further info was available after the Shells Town incident—which dealt a major blow to our forces," he explained.
"If we can capture Buggy somehow, morale across East Blue's Marines will rise… no—soar to a new peak," he said, eyes gleaming with unspoken determination.
The Marines listening to him felt their spirits ignite.
"Soldiers! Load the cannon!" the Sergeant barked.
"YES, SIR!" x12
________________
"Guys, I think we're in trouble," Nami said, sweat forming on her forehead as she watched a cannonball hurtling straight toward them.
Lucen, Luffy, and Zoro froze mid-battle as Nami's panicked voice echoed across the deck.
"Huh? What's the problem?" Luffy asked.
Then suddenly, the entire boat shook violently.
"WHAT?! AN EARTHQUAKE?!" Luffy shouted, flailing to keep his balance.
"IDIOT, WE'RE ON THE SEA!" Zoro yelled.
"WOW! HAHAA! This is kinda fun!" Lucen shouted, wobbling on one leg as the deck trembled.
"ARE THE THREE OF YOU DEAF?! I SAID—MARINES!" Nami screamed.
To them, who looked like ants compared to her giant form, Nami now resembled a terrifying Dormammu-like figure.
"Don't worry, Nami! We're coming!" Luffy and Zoro shouted with cold sweat pouring down their faces.
"Uhhh… so… how do we leave the game?" Luffy asked, looking around in confusion.
Zoro turned to Lucen, who was sweating bullets. "Lucen. Is there something you forgot to tell us?"
"Well… you see… uhhh… you can't leave… until you finish the game…" Lucen muttered, avoiding eye contact.
"WHAT?!" x2
Nami collapsed to her knees. "I'm too young to die… waaaaah!"
"Nami, don't worry! We're close to finishing this!" Lucen shouted as he rolled the dice.
It landed on one.
Lucen went silent.
Next, Zoro rolled. Also one.
Then Luffy. One.
Nami's mental defenses were now hanging by a single thread.
The ship kept rocking violently, but so far, not a single cannonball had hit them.
"At least the cannonballs haven't—"
BOOM!
Just as Nami raised the red flag with that jinxed line, a cannonball came flying straight at them.
To Be Continued...
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A/N:
Yestaday I felt too unmotivated today also but still tried best to write.
Tomorrow I hope to upload one bonus chapter for last week powerstones.
Also this kind of chapter some people find pointless since they are not canon. I only want to say to those that they are important in this book of mine.
Because simply telling new props when the situation arise feel forced so these kind of chapter can help me write some intreasting things also making the character more alive.