Chapter 177: That Young Man… His Negotiation Skills Are Truly Superb!
A sharp cross-shaped blade aura brushed past Lufia's straw hat.
The head beneath the straw hat tilted upward, revealing curved eyes and a brilliant smile.
Everyone's hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled.
Zoro let out a long sigh.
Sanji lit a new cigarette, his hand trembling slightly.
Usopp plopped down on the ground, muttering:
"S-scared me to death..."
But just then, Ralph suddenly moved again.
He darted out in an instant.
Everyone thought he was going to attack, but the next second, they realized something was wrong.
Ralph brushed past Lufia, charging toward the direction of the castle gate.
Looking closely, the cross-shaped blade aura from earlier, after passing Lufia, had ultimately struck the castle wall and gate.
Crack—Boom!!
A deep, intersecting cross-shaped scar was left on the stone outer wall.
As for the heavy castle gate, it was directly sliced into four pieces, collapsing with a thunderous crash.
At the same time the gate fell, a small bird's nest slid down from above the lintel.
It was a nest woven from dry twigs and feathers, inside which were several newly hatched, pink chicks whose feathers had not yet fully grown.
The chicks seemed unaware of what had happened, instinctively opening their mouths and emitting faint "cheep-cheep" sounds.
Ralph leaped up, flipped in mid-air, and reached out to scoop—
Steadily, he cradled the bird's nest in his arms.
Upon landing, he even knelt on one knee, cushioning the impact with his body to ensure the nest didn't shake in the slightest.
When he stood up, the chicks were still chirping away, completely unharmed.
Seeing this scene, everyone broke into smiles.
Nami poked her head out from the Fusion State,
"He's back! Our familiar Ralph is back."
Vivi also peeked out from the right side, looking at Ralph's back with a complex expression.
She remembered how, in Little Garden, Ralph had also saved a small black dinosaur.
"Powerful, skilled at planning, and more importantly... kind-hearted."
Vivi whispered softly, a faint blush appearing on her face, "Such a gentleman... such a perfect man, isn't he exactly what... our Alabasta needs?"
Chopper excitedly rushed over, tears glistening in his eyes:
"You... you noticed... I noticed the snowbird's nest there long ago! That's why I never closed the castle gate... The battle just now was too intense, I didn't even have time to..."
Ralph smiled and handed the nest to Chopper:
"Take good care of them."
Chopper took the nest and asked Ralph with concern:
"Ralph, what happened to you just now? What exactly was going on?"
Ralph let out a sigh and looked at everyone, "Sorry for worrying you all."
His blood-red eyes had returned to normal, reverting to their familiar deep brown.
Only his disheveled long hair proved that what had just happened wasn't an illusion.
"It's been resolved."
Ralph said, his voice tinged with exhaustion, "I'm still me, the one..."
He looked at Lufia, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "...who loves Lufia and wants to marry her."
Silence.
Then—
"Eww—!!"
Everyone simultaneously shuddered, breaking out in goosebumps.
Usopp rubbed his arms:
"Cheesy... so cheesy..."
Nami rolled her eyes:
"Just when I thought you were acting normal again, here you go?"
Sanji gritted his teeth:
"Bastard... How dare you say such things to Miss Lufia right in front of me..."
Zoro remained expressionless:
"I didn't hear anything."
Vivi covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.
Only Lufia showed no trace of shyness at all. Instead, she nodded matter-of-factly:
"Marriage is out of the question! But—welcome back to the crew, Ralph!"
She extended her hand.
Ralph was about to... shake Lufia's hand.
Zoro (dragging Nami and Vivi's bodies) walked over, his eyes fixed intently on Ralph:
"That state earlier... and that sword technique—what was that about?"
Ralph scratched his head:
"It's a long story. We can talk about it slowly when we have time. For now, let's deal with the important matters."
And there were indeed many important matters.
Dalton stepped forward and bowed deeply to the Straw Hat crew:
"Thank you... for dealing with Wapol and bringing real change to this country."
Ralph waved his hand:
"Don't thank us just yet. Wapol hasn't been dealt with~ Our companions were fused by his Devil Fruit ability, and that's a problem we must solve."
Dalton frowned:
"That's what troubles me too. According to my plan, Wapol's crimes must be tried, and the final outcome should be formally stripping him of his kingship and exiling him from the country. But if we need something from him now... that guy will definitely seize the opportunity to make demands or even threaten us."
Ralph smiled.
It was a gentle smile, but for some reason, Dalton and the others nearby felt an inexplicable chill.
"Don't worry at all."
Ralph said, "Leave it to me. I'm very good at... persuading people."
He walked over to Wapol, who was lying sprawled on the ground nearby, foaming at the mouth, lifted him up with one hand as if he were a bag of trash, and headed toward an empty room deep inside the castle.
"Give me ten minutes."
The door closed.
The door opened.
Ralph walked out, followed by Wapol.
Surprisingly, Wapol's face showed no anger, no resentment, not even reluctance.
His expression was calm, his gaze somewhat vacant, but he was cooperative.
"Release their Fusion State."
Ralph said.
Wapol nodded, walked over to the fused trio, opened his mouth—
And swallowed the three-headed, six-armed monster in one gulp.
The sound of chewing.
A grating sound, mixed with fabric and flesh.
Nami (inside the mouth) screamed:
"Ahhh, so gross!!"
Zoro (inside the mouth) cursed angrily:
"Bastard... Once I'm out, I'm definitely going to cut..."
Vivi (inside the mouth) fought back the urge to vomit:
"Hang in there... It'll be over soon..."
Ten seconds later.
"Ptooey."
Wapol spat out the first person—Zoro, who fell to the ground.
"Ptooey."
The second person—Nami.
"Ptooey."
The third person—Vivi.
As soon as they landed, the three immediately checked their bodies—hands were hands, feet were feet, and each had one head.
Though they felt extremely uncomfortable all over and the process was disgusting, at least they were separated.
"We're free!!"
Nami cheered.
Zoro flexed his wrists, glaring at Wapol with a hostile look, but Ralph stopped him with a glance.
Even more surprisingly, after releasing the Fusion State, Wapol made no demands, offered no resistance, and uttered no insults.
He even cooperatively followed the militiamen arranged by Dalton toward the castle dungeon, remaining as quiet as a lamb the entire way.
The people of Drum Island watched in stunned disbelief.
"Th-this is resolved just like that?"
The old doctor from the Doctor 20 team couldn't believe it.
"That young man… truly has exceptional negotiation skills."
Dalton remarked with admiration.