"Wow, North, it's so lively here! Look at these streets, these shops, this atmosphere..."
The three walked along the roads of the Sabaody Archipelago. Shanks, being still young and having joined Roger's penniless crew early on, hadn't seen much of the world. As soon as they arrived at Sabaody, he started exclaiming loudly.
"Shanks, calm down. The three of us are famous, after all. Old Man Rayleigh is Captain Roger's indispensable right-hand man, and you and I are both Rookies of the Year. Shouting like that will make people think that the Roger Pirates are just a bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen anything!"
Kronos couldn't help but retort, seeing Shanks acting like he'd never been anywhere grand.
"We're here!"
Just as Shanks was about to bicker with Kronos, Rayleigh, who was leading the way, pointed to the building ahead.
"Old Man Rayleigh, your 'gal' seems a bit short on cash too. This is the first time I've seen someone name their shop 'Rip-Off Bar.' Does she really have money to lend us?"
"How do you know it's a woman?"
Rayleigh was a bit curious. He hadn't revealed any information about the friend they were visiting on the way there. Could it be that Kronos really had some kind of foresight?
"Heh! Just looking at how you, Old Man Rayleigh, even snatched Uncle Tom the fish-man's sister when you were young, I'm telling you, besides Captain Roger, you absolutely have no male friends, let alone male friends who can lend you money more than ten years later."
"Who says no man would lend me money? Roger would!"
"Captain Roger's pockets seem cleaner than his face..."
Seeing Rayleigh's furious face, Kronos was absolutely certain that if he weren't a member of the Roger Pirates, he'd probably be beaten to a pulp by Rayleigh right now.
"Kronos, I'm warning you, when we meet the person later, watch what you say, especially don't mention anything about me and Tom. Otherwise, forget about borrowing money; it'll be a question of whether we can even leave the bar, got it?"
Rayleigh suddenly remembered Kronos's sharp tongue and quickly grabbed him, tucking him under his armpit. His thick biceps and triceps firmly locked Kronos's neck.
Unable to breathe, trapped tightly by Rayleigh, Kronos could only nod tearfully, indicating that he understood.
Opening the door, the bar was quite empty. Only a short-haired woman was wiping glasses at the counter. She looked to be in her thirties, with a very hot figure that was no less than that of a young girl. Her graceful face could even hit some people's "sweet spots."
"Oh, I didn't expect three incredible VIPs to visit my little shop!"
The woman put down the glass she was holding and welcomed them after seeing the three enter.
"Beautiful older sister, could you call your boss out? This uncle next to me and your boss are old flames; he has something to discuss with her."
Kronos pretended to be naive, pointing at Rayleigh as he spoke to her.
Rayleigh: (⊙⊙) Shanks: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ "When did Kronos's tongue become so sweet?"
They had suffered greatly from Kronos's sharp tongue. If it weren't for his foul mouth, the Roger Pirates would have avoided so many fights.
Kronos: "Two straight men, do you really think I argue with everyone?" "When his father was on his deathbed, he left him three pieces of advice: the first was to be a cultured person, and the second was never to provoke women, especially beautiful women..."
Shakky flicked some ash from her cigarette and asked curiously, "Your words are truly sweet, young man! But why can't I be the boss here?"
Kronos pointed to his eyes.
"Do you think I'm blind? You're at most twenty-five or twenty-six, and our vice-captain is in his mid-forties. His 'gal' probably isn't far off..."
As Kronos flattered Shakky, he relentlessly disparaged Rayleigh, completely disregarding the 'Dark King' behind him, who had already half-drawn his sword.
"Vice-Captain, calm down, calm down! Kronos is doing this to borrow money!"
His good brother Shanks desperately held back the enraged Rayleigh, expending great effort to sheathe the sword again.
"Why are you here today?"
Shakky turned to Rayleigh with a smile. Her beaming face showed she was in a beautiful mood. Indeed, complimenting any woman (except infants) on her youth and beauty is always a safe bet.
"Uh... that... this... I heard there's an auction recently, so we came to join the fun and see you along the way."
Borrowing money is hard to bring up, and it's even harder when the person you're borrowing from is a "gal" with whom you have a close relationship. Rayleigh, who usually dominated the seas, now looked exactly like a shy elementary school student.
"Sister, it's like this: our ship is broken, and we want to get a branch of the Treasure Tree to build a new one. But seeing Old Man Rayleigh here, you can tell how poor our Roger Pirate Ship is. Could you lend us some money? A few hundred million berries would be enough. I'll put Vice-Captain Rayleigh's 'next half-life' (body) as collateral for you. Maybe we can even pay you back a few hundred million tonight!"
"Is that so?"
Shakky looked at Rayleigh, wanting to hear the answer from him.
"Basically, yes..."
Rayleigh wished he could stab a few transparent holes through Kronos. What did he mean by "pay back a few hundred million"? Was he trying to get him killed tonight so he could usurp his position?
"I don't have that much money. You know the situation on Sabaody Archipelago; Celestial Dragons often come here. If a Celestial Dragon sets their sights on the Adam wood, they'd probably spend billions..."
"Then never mind. I'll think of another way."