Seeing the situation before him, Mr.5 took advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the Mugiwara guy and decided to strike first:
"Nose-Snot Fantasy Cannon · Chain Shot!"
He frantically dug into his nostrils, firing several boogers like bullets at Tomioka, who was momentarily distracted!
However, to Tomioka, the trajectory of the boogers was crystal clear. He merely swayed his body slightly, dodging all the attacks, and then explosions erupted from the buildings behind Tomioka.
Boom! Boom!
Seeing a villain-like figure across the plaza seemingly attacking Tomioka, Luffy's gaze immediately locked onto Mr.5, who had one hand picking his nose and the other in a firing pose, and Ms. Valentine, who was still floating in the air.
"Ah! I get it! It's you two!" Luffy's anger instantly ignited. "I understand! You're the ones who... who... to the kind people who welcomed us with fine wine and delicious food!"
"Gum-Gum — Gatling!"
Luffy's roar drowned out everything. With his food-filled belly, he leaped forward and unleashed a barrage of punches like a storm towards Mr.5 and Ms. Valentine.
"It's not us! It's them! It's your two companions who did it!" Ms. Valentine shrieked, tears in her voice, as she desperately dodged.
"Don't lie to me! I won't listen!"
Luffy had completely entered revenge mode for the fallen Whiskey Peak villagers, unleashing countless punches.
"It really wasn't us..." Mr.5's desperate voice was quickly drowned out by the countless fists.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
After a fierce onslaught from Luffy's Gum-Gum Gatling, Mr.5 and Ms. Valentine were completely transformed into two human-shaped murals embedded in the wall, their eyes spinning with stars, completely unconscious.
Luffy panted as he withdrew his fists, looking at his masterpiece, and clapped his hands in satisfaction: "Done!"
Only a few people remained stunned in the arena: Zoro, Tomioka, Princess Vivi, Igaram, Ms. Monday, and Nami, who was secretly smiling.
Then Nami leisurely walked over and explained to Luffy what had really happened.
Whiskey Peak is a town on Cactus Island in the first half of the Grand Line.
On the surface, it appears to be a welcoming town for so-called sea warriors, but its true face is a Baroque Works stronghold. The bounty hunters and millionaires disguise themselves as villagers and throw banquets to lure inexperienced new pirates.
"Eh? Is that so?" Luffy picked his nose, looking bewildered.
Zoro and Tomioka were counting the millionaires lying on the ground, looking from one to another, and finally realized they couldn't even tell who had knocked out whom.
Meanwhile, Sanji and Usopp also woke up.
Just as Zoro was verbally sparring with Tomioka about the knockout count, and realizing that three swords weren't as efficient as one, he unceremoniously grabbed a bucket of sake and poured it over Sanji's head. "What are you doing! You Mosshead!" Then the two started fighting again.
Nami, on the other hand, chose a more direct approach, delivering several crisp slaps that made Usopp cry out in pain.
"Ah! Ouch ouch ouch! What happened?? The brave warrior of the sea is here! Don't be afraid!" Usopp jumped up, clutching his face.
Igaram looked at the now fully awake Straw Hat, enduring the sharp pain, and spoke again in an earnest tone: "Everyone... please, escort Princess Vivi back to her country! Alabasta needs the help of you heroes!"
"I witnessed the battle just now. I saw your incredible bravery and strength. Only you! Can safely escort Princess Vivi back to her country! I beg of you!"
Luffy casually found a chair, sat down, and asked with some confusion: "Alabasta? Where's that?"
Listening to Igaram's humble plea, Vivi felt a bit helpless, then turned to answer Luffy's question: "Alabasta... it's one of the few civilized nations on the Grand Line."
"It used to be a peaceful and prosperous country..."
"In recent years, a revolution has erupted among the people, escalating rapidly, leaving Alabasta in chaos..."
"Until one day, I accidentally heard the name of an organization called Baroque Works. It seems the people were incited by them to riot. But besides that, we have no other information and no way to act."
"So I asked Igaram, who has always looked after me, to infiltrate this organization with me to see if we could find anything..."
Usopp exclaimed, "Then you're really brave, Princess, to infiltrate an organization like that."
"Thank you... Mr. Long Nose..."
"In the end, we discovered that Baroque Works' ultimate goal is to seize the Alabasta Kingdom. I need to quickly expose the truth to the public and suppress the national uprising, otherwise the kingdom will be in danger..."
Tomioka spoke. After listening to Vivi describe everything about her country, hearing how a once thriving civilized nation was now suffering, with someone secretly causing trouble, a hint of anger, which he hadn't yet noticed himself, stirred within him.
"Then, who is the person trying to seize Alabasta? Who is he?"
Hearing Tomioka's question, Vivi quickly waved her hands: "No, no! If you know, your lives will also be threatened!"
"We don't want to know, hahaha, just escort you back to the King and that's it."
"Who is it? Tell us, tell us!" Luffy leaned in, curiously asking.
"I can't say..." Vivi lowered her head, but then uttered a terrifying fact she hadn't even realized, "'Although you are very strong... you absolutely cannot defeat Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!'"
The moment the name was spoken, time seemed to stop.
Nami's face instantly turned pale, and she shrieked:
"Didn't you just say it?!"
"Shichibukai?! Are you kidding me! Forget it! There's no reason to go up against a monster like that right after entering the Grand Line! I refuse! Refuse, refuse, refuse!"
Sanji lit a cigarette, thoughtfully: "No wonder... back at Twin Cape, you were asking that old man about Crocodile."
"What does it matter!" Luffy wasn't scared at all, instead, he grinned excitedly, "Shichibukai or not, I'll punch him flying!"
Igaram shook his head with difficulty, shattering Nami's last illusion:
"But even if you want to back out now, it's too late. We don't know why, but the boss... that is, Crocodile, already gave orders last night to consider you Straw Hat as accomplices of the princess, and plans to eliminate you all."
This news was like a sharp sword, piercing Nami's heart, leaving her unable to move.
"How can this be?!"
She clutched her head, completely broken, spinning in place like a top, "It's over, it's over! We're going to be hunted by a Shichibukai! We're doomed! We're definitely going to die! My treasure... my dream..."
Just as Nami was engulfed in despair, a calm voice interjected.
"I'll help too."
It was Tomioka. He walked over to Nami, though his face remained expressionless.
These words were like a lifeline, allowing Nami, who was about to faint, to recover slightly. She looked at Tomioka, remembering him knocking Mr.5 flying with a single blow earlier, and finally felt a little more confident.
At least he was as monstrously strong as Luffy and the others.
However, just as the atmosphere had eased a bit, Usopp suddenly jumped up again, pointing at the sky: "Hey! Look! It's that same annoying bird we saw at Twin Cape!"
The black vulture circled high in the sky, with an otter on its back holding a pen and writing on a piece of paper.
"This time, I'll shoot it down!" With that, Usopp pulled out his slingshot again, loaded a stink bomb, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion!
Hi! is anyone actually reading the story? Leave a comment! Right now, there are only comments from my friends, which are clearly not reliable. I see some people adding "power stones," so why isn't there any comment on the paragraph or the chapter itself?