Chapter 70: Warlord Killer
It was already late at night. The casino inside remained lively, but the main streets outside had gradually quieted down.
Even in this prosperous city-state, only a small number of shops were still open for business.
"Hurry up, Robin! We need to get back and meet up with everyone!"
On the street, Nami and Robin, carrying large and small shopping bags, ran towards the Feiwen Grand Hotel. They had spent the evening shopping and bought quite a few clothes.
Halfway through their shopping trip, they heard the intense explosion. Nami had a bad feeling and immediately rushed back with Robin.
Arriving on the street near the hotel entrance, they happened to run right into Reiner and the others walking out.
"Reiner! Great! You guys are okay!"
Nami rushed forward, clutching her chest and panting as she scanned the group. "Where's Luffy?!"
"Don't know," replied five voices in unison, simultaneously turning their heads towards the distant firelight.
Nami followed their gaze, and as if sensing something, planted her hands on her hips and roared furiously at them:
"Idiots! What are you good for!? So many of you couldn't even keep an eye on Luffy!?"
The group quickly averted their gazes. Now was not the time to ask for a beating.
"Wait, Nami. Let's go check first, just in case."
It was Robin who stopped Nami. "Maybe it wasn't Mr. Captain."
Currently, besides Nami, Robin still addressed the others by their titles.
Her comforting words managed to quell some of Nami's anger. Finally, they decided to split up: one group would go check the scene of the incident first, while the other would head to the port to retrieve the Going Merry, just in case.
"It's easier for me to pilot the ship with my undead. I'll go to the port."
"The Going Merry is in your hands, Reiner."
"Okay. See you at the agreed spot."
Reiner summoned the undead hawk, jumped on, and Nami, laden with shopping bags, climbed on too.
The hawk pushed off the ground, flapped its wings a few times, soared into the air, and carried the two towards the port.
Looking out from the sky, they could vaguely see rows upon rows of soldiers on the ground continuously rushing towards the location of the fire.
"Nothing bad will happen, right, Reiner?" Nami couldn't help but worry, watching the scene below.
During the flight, Reiner had already summoned Frieren, constantly radiating Observation Haki to search for Luffy's presence.
However, he found nothing. Nami's bad feeling intensified.
"Relax. Luffy is strong. Trust him," Reiner could only offer verbal comfort at this point.
Arriving at the port, Reiner showed the permit he received earlier from the guards.
Once back on board, he immediately summoned the Fish-Man undead, who began operating the Going Merry methodically under Nami's command.
Sailing out of the harbor, they followed the coastline towards the eastern peninsula. According to the map, there was a cliff there, suitable for concealing the ship – the rendezvous point they had agreed on earlier.
"Honestly!" On the second-floor deck, Nami huffed irritably.
"You knew perfectly well Luffy would cause trouble, and you still didn't keep an eye on him!"
"If Luffy could be kept an eye on, he wouldn't be Luffy. I'd sooner believe in world peace," Reiner teased.
"It better not be trouble he caused! Otherwise!" Nami threatened, shaking her fist.
Seeing this, Reiner silently and wordlessly retreated.
After some time, they finally arrived at the base of the cliff. Reiner had the undead retract the sails and drop anchor.
Looking up at the cliff, it wasn't exceptionally high, but more than sufficient to hide the Going Merry.
"Let's go."
Reiner put an arm around Nami, lifted her up, and with a light leap, landed on top of the cliff. What greeted their eyes were vast fields of green crops.
They looked like sections of sugar cane, but only about a meter tall, entirely green, with long, thin leaves drooping from the top.
"What's this?" Nami stepped forward, examining them curiously. "Never seen it before. Is it a local specialty?"
"Don't run!"
"Stop right there!"
Before Nami could observe closely, angry shouts erupted from the distance.
Looking up, several familiar figures were running towards them, led by none other than Luffy, grinning widely!
"Hey Reiner! Nami!"
"I knew it was you!" Nami grimaced, her expression twisting with anger.
"Heeheehee."
"Laugh your head off!!!"
Duang!!!
"Sorry~~" Luffy, looking bruised and swollen, immediately wilted under Nami's 'education'.
"Now's not the time for this! Let's bail first!" Seeing the large troop of soldiers behind them, Reiner and the others jumped back onto the ship.
Summoning the undead to raise the anchor, they unfurled the sails and slowly steered away. The soldiers ashore also reached the cliff edge.
"Fire!"
The leader, a man in silver armor, raised his sword and roared. The soldiers behind him raised their rifles and took aim.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Luffy leaped high into the air, took a deep breath, "Gum-Gum... Balloon!"
"Cannonball over there!"
Chopper pointed a hoof towards a soldier shouldering a bazooka; the shell had already been fired.
Swoosh~~
They even have weapons like this here?
Reiner muttered inwardly, though considering the Donquixote Family's base was here, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Frieren had already waved her staff, sending a Sand Tornado sweeping towards the incoming projectile.
BOOM!!!
The explosion's pressure wave hit the sails, pushing the Going Merry further away from the coast.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Several more cannonballs flew towards them. Zoro leaped up, drawing his swords.
"Thirty-Six Pound Phoenix!" Green slashes, like circling birds of prey, precisely cut each cannonball in two without missing a single one.
"Whoa! Flying slashes! Since when, Zoro?" Reiner asked, pleasantly surprised.
"Well~~ Just figured it out. Still not proficient," Zoro replied, looking slightly smug.
With the four main combatants working together, they quickly defended the Going Merry, moving it out of the range of the enemy's guns and cannons.
"Hey Luffy! What on earth did you do!?"
Nami looked dissatisfied, grabbing Luffy's ear and pulling continuously.
"Forget the ruined vacation! Now the Log Pose hasn't even set! Honestly! Every time I take my eyes off you for a second, you cause trouble, idiot! Can't you just quiet down for once, damn it!?"
"So, what exactly happened?"
Reiner was also puzzled. Looking at the current situation, it was obvious the initial explosion was linked to Luffy.
However, Luffy just put his hands on his hips, grinning brazenly and cheerfully explaining:
"I ate a meal and forgot to pay!"
???
Everyone else: "Huh?!"
Did you eat a Fujianese person!? How could that get the entire country's soldiers chasing you!!!?
Clearly, everyone was baffled, not even knowing where to begin roasting him.
"Then I got caught," Luffy continued cheerfully. "They took me to a factory and told me I had to work there for the rest of my life! So I ran away."
"Work for the rest of your life?"
"Couldn't you just pay them back? It's not like I didn't give you money! Why such a heavy punishment?"
"Ah... they took the two million Beri, but they still wanted to capture me..."
With Luffy's muddled explanation, the group roughly understood the sequence of events.
Initially, the city guards found Luffy and just asked him to pay for the meal. But upon learning he was a pirate, they confiscated all his money and took him to the factory.
When Luffy heard he had to work there for life, he immediately broke free from the handcuffs and escaped. As for the sky-high flames, that was from him wrecking the factory during the ensuing fight.
The reason? There was a feeling there that rubbed him the wrong way.
A bit willful, but whatever. Reiner roughly guessed what that place was for.
Increasing the punishment severity just upon hearing he was a pirate, then taking him to a factory for lifelong labor... it sounded extremely similar to Dressrosa.
Adding the Donquixote Family member he encountered, whose public identity was a guard controlling the port...
This country likely had deep cooperation with the Donquixote Family, perhaps even being secretly controlled by them.
"Those plants growing near the coast... I smelled the same scent at the factory," Chopper spoke up. "Those are Maden Leaves. They used to be a raw material for making psychotropic drugs, but production was later banned by the World Government due to their high addictiveness."
Reiner recalled the scene when they first arrived at the casino, then thought again of the Donquixote man.
Likely, his presence in the first half of the Grand Line is strongly related to this.
Damn it! I took the guy out without getting any intel, yet Luffy eats one free meal and uncovers so much stuff!
God!
He could probably compete with the elementary school kid next door who brings death wherever he goes. (Note: Reference to Detective Conan).
"Speaking of which, I remember this island has an underground force entrenched here," Robin suddenly interjected.
"The Donquixote Family. I heard Crocodile mention them before. The mastermind is a Warlord from the New World. The Holled Kingdom's military strength is formidable primarily because of them."
"The factory Luffy destroyed... was likely their drug manufacturing plant, secretly exporting products from this country to the rest of the world."
Everyone understood what kind of 'drug' Robin was referring to. Hearing this, the Weakling Trio instantly turned pale with fright.
"A Warlord!!"
"Why is it another Warlord!?"
"Luffy, you idiot!" Nami yelled, raising her fist. "We just finished fighting Crocodile, and now you immediately provoke another Warlord! Do you have some kind of vendetta against the Warlords!?"
"Heeheehee."
"Grin your head off!"
Warlord Killer... terrifying indeed!
"Speaking of which, Arlong also had some connection to the Warlords," Reiner said, looking down at the White Bone Chain Sword at his waist, then added:
"There's a Fish-Man among the Warlords. Jinbei, Knight of the Sea. A very strong fellow."
"NANI!!!"
"Wait, wait, let me count," Usopp trembled, counting on his fingers.
"One... two... four! Four! We've only just set sail and already encountered four Warlords!"
"NANI!!!" Chopper was so scared his eyeballs nearly popped out. He had witnessed the entire battle against Sand Crocodile in the tomb from the sidelines.
If all the Warlords are enemies of that caliber...
"We're doomed."
Thinking this, Chopper collapsed onto the deck utterly devoid of hope. Reindeer life is over, wah wah~~
"Four?"
Robin looked puzzled. She and Chopper had only joined in the Grand Line and didn't know about the incidents involving Hawk-Eyes and Arlong.
Hawk-Eyes is fine; he won't actively seek trouble with them. It's more like Zoro has a date with him.
As for Jinbei...
Reiner glanced again at the White Bone Chain Sword at his waist. If people mistakenly think he skinned Arlong alive... that might not be good either.
"Let's not talk about this first. What about the Log Pose now?" Sanji interjected, breaking the Cowardly Trio's panic.
(End of this chapter)
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