Shakky blew out a smoke ring. She had originally thought the Sabaody Archipelago might become chaotic, but now it seemed "turned upside down" might be more accurate.
The plan was good.
The man behind it had boldness, too.
But various unexpected events were still inevitable.
Most importantly—
"Tyrant Kuma?"
Shakky couldn't figure out why that Warlord of the Sea would send Luffy to find Rayleigh. Did he know something?
...
Walking out of the bar and getting back on the bubble cars, Bonney's expression was still complicated and tangled.
She looked at Luffy, then at his crewmates, who seemed to not take the kidnapping of the Draco and the Supernova Gathering seriously. Her inner thoughts were in turmoil.
This was insane.
Was the world she knew wrong?
Shouldn't normal people be as nervous as she was?
Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she gritted her teeth and shouted at Luffy:
"Hey, Straw Hat! I'm going to stick with you guys from now on."
"Eh? Weren't you already sticking with us?" Luffy said.
"Those are two different things!" Bonney couldn't help but scratch her head.
"Oh my, you're so cute, Bonney-san." Robin laughed.
"You guys still have the mood to joke."
Bonney really couldn't understand these people's thought processes. She crossed her arms with a somewhat resigned look.
"You saved me and helped me get away from Zephyr's pursuit. I'll consider it repaying the favor! Until you leave the Sabaody Archipelago, I'll stick with you! And if something happens, don't even think about leaving me behind!"
...
Grove 24.
This was one of the lawless zones on the Sabaody Archipelago that the World Government couldn't control.
It wasn't a desolate place. On the contrary, due to the lack of regulation, various industries and organizations not permitted in other areas flourished here.
Casinos, bars, underground exchanges, black market weapons you name it attract large numbers of pirates, bounty hunters, and other outlaws to gather here.
Inside a reasonably well-decorated restaurant, the crowd was bustling.
Near the window, a young girl was particularly noticeable.
She had a unique hairstyle bright red on the right side, pure white on the left. She wore headphones, a feather-adorned outfit, and a white miniskirt with a black bow tie. She was slowly enjoying the dessert in front of her.
"Sensei, Luffy and the others should have arrived by now, right?"
The girl was Uta.
She swallowed a bite of cake and asked Gordon, who was sitting across from her.
"Yes, word is that their ship has already arrived at Grove 44."
News traveled fast on the Sabaody Archipelago. The Tipster played a big part.
For famous people like the Straw Hat crew, any news about them spread very quickly.
Gordon hadn't expected that the 'student' he had briefly taught in the East Blue would cause such a huge stir in less than a year.
To be honest, he was a bit surprised and a bit secretly pleased.
Rounding up, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Luffy to call him "sensei," right?
Of course, Gordon wouldn't go around telling everyone about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't even last two days before the Navy came knocking.
In the eyes of the world, that group was quite a dangerous presence.
"Uta, this place is a mixed bag. We'd better leave quickly too..." Gordon said.
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a commotion.
Someone in the restaurant recognized Uta a singer who had recently risen to fame and started crowding around asking for autographs.
Soon, the entrance to the restaurant was almost completely blocked.
In another corner of the restaurant, the atmosphere was completely different.
A group of burly men in black suits, armed with weapons and looking like mafia thugs, half surrounded by a dining table, guarding a short, stocky man at the table.
The man was leisurely cutting his steak.
"Tch. These people wandering around in front of me are ruining my appetite."
The short man was "Gang" Capone Bege. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, glanced sideways at the commotion, and said coldly, "Go get rid of those noisy people."
"Godfather, that might not be a good idea."
A subordinate hesitated and stepped forward to persuade.
"This island is right under the Navy Headquarters' nose. That singer is quite famous. If we cause too much trouble..."
SHINK!
Bege suddenly grabbed a fork from the table and stabbed it viciously into the subordinate's eye!
The latter let out a blood-curdling scream, clutching his eye as he fell to the ground.
"My orders are to be followed, not advised." Bege said coldly.
Just then, the restaurant door was pushed open again, and another group of people walked in.
The waiter, already frazzled by the commotion at the door, turned around and accidentally bumped into the newcomers. The tray in his hand nearly tipped over, splattering spaghetti sauce onto the clothes of one of them—a man with dreadlocks.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" The waiter quickly apologized.
"You little bastard! Do you want to die?!" The dreadlocked man flew into a rage, drawing a machete.
"Stop."
A calm voice stopped him.
The speaker had wavy golden hair, with long bangs covering his le
ft eye. It was "Magician" Basil Hawkins.
"Why, Captain? He got spaghetti sauce all over my new clothes!" The dreadlocked man protested.
"That was the fate of those clothes." Hawkins said expressionlessly. He then looked at the frightened waiter. "Sorry for scaring you."
He had done a divination today. If he killed someone, his luck would turn bad.
For a fortune teller, everything was done based on the results of divination.
In the crowd, Uta recognized Bege and Hawkins at a glance.
"Pirates with bounties over 100 million, just like Luffy?"
Uta pursed her lips. "Luffy is way stronger than them."
Gordon saw these dangerous people and his alarm bells went off. He quickly dissuaded the people asking for autographs and said to Uta in a low voice, "Uta, it's too dangerous here. We should leave."
Uta also sensed the tension in the air and nodded.
Meanwhile, Bege also noticed Hawkins, who had just entered. His eyes condensed. He forced a smile onto his face. "Magician Hawkins? So you've made it to this island too. How about it? Would you consider joining my family?"
"Foolish request."
Hawkins expresslessly drew a Tarot card and said flatly, "'Gang' Capone Bege. You don't seem to have a death omen today. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind letting you die here."
Hearing this, the guards around Bege all gripped their weapons, looking hostile.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Uta took this opportunity to quickly leave the restaurant with Gordon.
She couldn't wait to go find Luffy.
After they parted in the East Blue, she had deliberately lowered her profile to get the general route of their voyage from Nami and had chased after them.
She had hoped to catch up in Alabasta, but she had still been too late.
As soon as she stepped outside, her gaze swept across and she saw Luffy and his group riding bubble cars in this direction.
"LUFFY!"
Uta's eyes instantly lit up. The two different colors of her hair seemed to pulse with her excitement.
She rushed toward him desperately, shouting excitedly.
"Hm?"
Luffy was looking for Rayleigh while also keeping an eye out for any suitable target that might appear. Hearing a familiar voice, he looked up and broke into a surprised smile. "Uta?"
Uta, like a young swallow returning to its nest, charged into Luffy's arms. The huge impact made Luffy's rubbery body bounce back slightly.
Fortunately, Uta held on tight.
"What are you doing here?" Luffy happily hugged her back and asked.
Uta lifted her head from his chest and grinned, with a hint of elation and shyness on her face. "Just a coincidence! Just a coincidence!"
She would never admit that she had come here specifically to wait for Luffy.
Her unconsciously self-incriminating tone made Nami, watching from the side, purse her lips and sourly undermine her. "Is it a coincidence? Really?"
Nami would have been better off not speaking. The moment she opened her mouth, Uta immediately pulled away from Luffy, rushed over to Nami, dragged her aside, lowered her voice, and asked in a huff:
"What's going on with you?! How long have I been gone?! And you've already added so many..."
Her gaze swept over Vivi, Robin, Merry, Bonney, and even Camie in the distance. For a moment, she couldn't find the right word.
Nami felt a bit guilty at her questioning, but she refused to admit verbal defeatly. She forced herself to stay calm.
"What do you mean 'what's going on'? They're partners that Luffy found. He's the captain, not me. If he wants someone to join the crew, can I stop him?"
Uta was so angry at her sophistry that she laughed.
Damn it!
Nami, you're useless!
You were so arrogant before. Turns out you only act that way with me?
Or did you all decide to digest internally now that you're crewmates and leave me out?
I was here first!
Vivi and Robin watched this scene, exchanging glances. They had no idea that Luffy had such a close childhood friend. They were both surprised.
Merry, however, wasn't unfamiliar. Although she had become a ship spirit after parting with Uta, she actually owed her ability to become a ship spirit to Uta.
So she briefly explained who this childhood friend of Luffy's was.
Before they could even catch up properly, Gordon had just greeted Luffy when a sound came from inside the restaurant.
...
BANG!
A gunshot broke the brief calm.
Inside the restaurant, a tiny window had strangely appeared in Bege's right eye. Then someone inside it set up a gun, fired, and quickly retracted. The bullet, which had been small, instantly returned to normal size in mid-air and hit Hawkins's forehead with precision, making his head jerk back.
"A Devil Fruit ability?" Hawkins looked up expressionlessly.
"Likewise. You're a troublesome guy too." Bege glanced to the side. One of his subordinates inexplicably had a bullet hole in his head and screamed as he collapsed.
Meanwhile, a straw substitute doll with a bullet hole in its head slowly drilled out from Hawkins's arm.
"I'd say you have a death omen now."
Hawkins drew the sword from his waist with a clang, his tone was solemn.
"If you won't become my subordinate, then die." Bege showed no sign of backing down.
***
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