Chapter 142: Luffy's Dissatisfaction
Under Orlumbus's booming introduction, the full scope of the alliance became clear. What had started as chaos on the deck had crystallized into something with shape and weight.
The "Beautiful Pirates" led by Cavendish, with the beheader Suleiman at his side. Bartolomeo and his crew of devoted followers. The thousand warriors of the Happo Navy from the Kingdom of Flowers, along with their leader Sai and the abducted Baby-5, who had somehow become attached to him during the battle. The "Destruction Cannon" Ideo and the martial artists of his gymnasium. Hajrudin the giant and the four giant warrior brothers he had yet to reunite with. The Tontatta Battle Squad under Leo's command. And Orlumbus himself, admiral of the Yonta Maria Grand Fleet, whose fifty-six ships represented enough naval power to challenge a small nation.
Seven captains. Over five thousand six hundred fighters in total. A force that, if united, could shake the very foundations of the New World.
Bartolomeo stepped forward and dropped to one knee. His voice trembled with barely contained emotion.
"Together, we represent a combined force of over five thousand six hundred warriors! I humbly request that Senior Luffy share a cup of sworn brotherhood with our seven representatives!"
"The seven captains—myself included—wish to pledge ourselves to you!"
He raised his head, sweat beading on his forehead beneath the green mohawk.
"You would be the boss, Senior Luffy! We would be your loyal subordinates! Please—please accept us into the Straw Hat Grand Fleet!"
Luffy blinked.
The Straw Hats exchanged glances.
Itachi swept his gaze across the kneeling pirates with clinical detachment. His attention lingered for a moment on the Happo Navy's warriors, on the giant's massive frame, on the Tontatta who had proven themselves far fiercer than their size suggested. Then his eyes shifted past them—past the grand declarations and the sworn brotherhood—and settled on two figures standing apart from the crowd.
Kin'emon. And beside him, a man Itachi had not yet met. A samurai with wild, unkempt hair and a paintbrush tucked behind his ear. His companion, finally rescued.
"What are you looking at, Itachi-ya?" Law had noticed his distraction.
"Kin'emon found his friend."
"Ah. Yes. Kanjuro." Law nodded. "Like Kin'emon, he's from Wano Country. They were separated when they first arrived in Dressrosa. The Marines captured him during the chaos."
Wano Country.
Itachi studied the two samurai with new intensity. The Kozuki clan's token rested against his chest beneath his cloak—a weight he had grown accustomed to but never forgotten. The crooked old man's final words echoed in his memory: When you reach Wano, use the token. Strip the Kozuki clan of their status. Free them from the name.
And if any object... kill them.
Before he could pursue the thought further, Bartolomeo's voice cut through the deck. He had finished pouring wine for each of the seven captains and was now extending a brimming cup toward Luffy with trembling hands.
"From this day forward, Senior Luffy shall be our Supreme Commander! Once you drink this cup, we will all be your sworn brothers!"
"Senior Luffy... please... drink first..."
He prostrated himself, forehead touching the deck.
Luffy looked at the cup. Then at Bartolomeo. Then at the six other captains watching him with expressions ranging from hope to pride to barely concealed anxiety.
He picked up the cup.
"I don't want to drink this."
"EEEEEH?!"
The pirates recoiled as if struck. But the Straw Hats—those who knew their captain best—simply exhaled through their noses. They had expected this. Or something like it.
"As expected." Itachi folded his arms, watching.
"I don't like alcohol." Luffy set the cup down with a grin.
"Senior Luffy—this isn't about whether you LIKE alcohol!" Bartolomeo's voice cracked. For once, he was thinking strategically. "You destroyed Doflamingo's SMILE factory! You toppled his entire underworld operation! From this day forward, you'll be targeted by powers beyond anything you've faced before! Even Senior Luffy and his incredible crew will struggle against what's coming!"
He slammed his fist against the deck.
"When that day comes—we who were saved by you will come to save YOU!"
Robin glanced back at Itachi, her eyes crinkling with quiet amusement. If Bartolomeo knew that Itachi had already slaughtered the Big Mom Pirates' advance force and crippled their flagship—had already provoked the wrath of an Emperor and walked away unscathed—his concern might shift from "how will they survive" to "what have we gotten ourselves into."
"Aaah, I don't need that. Shishishi!" Luffy looked back at his crew, his grin unwavering. His eyes found each of them in turn—Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Franky—and finally settled on Itachi. "My crew is really strong."
Itachi's lips curved slightly.
"So anyway—" Luffy's face scrunched up in genuine puzzlement. "If I drink this, does that make me the boss of a big fleet or something?"
"That's—that's the idea, yes..." Bartolomeo's voice was very small. His eyes, despite his best efforts, kept drifting toward Itachi. He remembered the Birdcage. The black flames consuming the strings. The two massive slashes—one purple, one crimson—that had carved through the cage from opposite sides.
Fujitora and Itachi. The Admiral and the pirate. Had they truly been fighting? Or had they been... something else? Bartolomeo didn't know. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. What he did know was that the man standing calmly behind Luffy had fought an Admiral to a standstill and was currently looking at six thousand pirates as if evaluating their combat utility.
Don't think about it. Focus. FOCUS.
"Senior Luffy! With five thousand six hundred subordinates at your command, you could join the ranks of the Great Pirates! You're the man who will become Pirate King! To conquer the seas, even THIS much fighting strength might not be enough!"
He threw his arms wide.
"PLEASE! ACCEPT US!"
Zoro waved a dismissive hand. "Give it up. He can't do that kind of thing."
His eye drifted toward the wine cup. "Actually, if no one's drinking that, pass it over here."
"Senior Zoro, this is NOT a casual drink!"
Orlumbus's voice boomed across the deck. "WHY?! Straw Hat! Is this fighting force not enough for you?!"
"That's right!" Cavendish stepped forward, golden hair billowing. "Every star in this alliance would follow you into battle!"
But Luffy's face was growing darker. More frustrated. His nostrils flared.
"This is way too stifling."
"WHAT?!"
The pirates stared in disbelief. Luffy looked absolutely disgusted.
"What's your problem, Straw Hat?!" Ideo cracked his knuckles.
"You better not be looking down on us!" Sai's hand moved toward his blade. "We may owe you our lives, but we won't be insulted!"
The air crackled with tension. Bartolomeo's head swiveled between the offended captains and Itachi's expressionless face. The Sharingan had appeared—those crimson eyes with their spinning tomoe—and Bartolomeo felt a primal terror crawl up his spine.
"EVERYONE! Everyone please calm down! Let's all just—just take a breath—"
He turned to Luffy, his voice cracking.
"Senior Luffy... what exactly do you mean...?"
Luffy had reached his limit. He threw his head back and shouted.
"I TOLD YOU! I'M THE MAN WHO'S GOING TO BE THE PIRATE KING! MY GOAL ISN'T TO BECOME SOME BIG SHOT!"
Sai and Ideo exchanged bewildered glances. Law frowned, trying to parse Luffy's logic. Even the Straw Hats leaned forward.
Luffy grabbed the railing and vaulted onto the ship's highest point. He stood above them all—the captains, the crews, the thousands of warriors who had pledged their loyalty—and when he spoke, his voice carried across the entire fleet.
"Everyone! If we're ever in trouble, we'll call for your help. And if YOU'RE ever in trouble, you can call for US. We'll come running, no matter what."
"I don't want to be some 'Great Captain' or 'Supreme Commander' or whatever. I don't need subordinates. I don't WANT a fleet."
He paused. His grin returned—warm and bright and utterly without pretense.
"But we all fought Doflamingo together." Law twitched at the name—still not getting it right, even after everything—but Luffy barreled on. "I won't forget any of you. Ever."
He smiled.
"So if you need us... just call. That's what friends do."
(End of Chapter)
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