Translator: PapaSmurf0700
The tavern burst into renewed laughter as if the joke had just reached its punchline.
"Hahahaha, the Log Pose is pointing to the sky!" one scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's obvious that the Log Pose is easy to break," another chimed in, rolling his eyes. "Really, where do such people come from?" they wondered aloud, voicing their disdain for the crew's naiveté.
Bellamy, having lost all interest in recruiting Luffy, leaned against the bar with a shake of his head, his face etched with contempt. "I thought you guys weren't that kind of idiots," he remarked dryly. "I didn't expect you to actually believe in such outdated legends."
With a smirk, Bellamy tapped into the mythology of the Grand Line to debunk their dreams. "The mysteries of the Grand Line's strange currents are many," he began, explaining one phenomenon in particular. "Great upwelling currents that push ships high into the air, only for them to crash back down to the sea. Ancient navigators who witnessed ships falling from the sky fantasized about a sky island. It's laughable to think there's another island up there, hahaha!!"
His laughter was cruel, filled with mockery as he looked directly at Luffy. "How are you feeling now, Straw Hat kid? All your dreams unraveled. How does it feel to be made a fool of? Now kneel down, cry bitterly, and admit you're a fool; maybe then you'll still have a chance!" He paused, his voice dripping with scorn. "But I won't invite you again, Straw Hat. The new era of pirates doesn't need idiots like you!"
His laughter, loud and harsh, filled the tavern, joined by the raucous guffaws of his crew and the other pirates. They ridiculed the naive dreamers, finding amusement in their shattered illusions.
In the midst of the mockery, Luffy's expression remained serene, untouched by the scorn. He spoke quietly, with unwavering resolve, "Let's go." Turning on his heel, he headed for the door.
Nami and Zoro, displaying no visible signs of anger, simply nodded in agreement. "Yeah," they echoed, falling into step behind Luffy.
In that bizarre tableau, to the bar owner looking on, it was not the dreamers but the mocking pirates who seemed the true fools, laughing senselessly at the audacity of hope and dreams.
As Bellamy watched the Straw Hats leave with dignity intact, his frustration boiled over. He couldn't stand their unbroken spirits; it made his mockery seem toothless, turning him into the joke instead. "Asshole!!" he roared, his voice echoing off the tavern walls. The anger made him feel small, pathetic. He despised that sensation more than anything.
Compelled by a surge of fury, Bellamy's decision was instantaneous— he would crush their spirits physically since his words had failed. The ground beneath him cracked as he harnessed his fruit powers, his legs compressing like coiled springs before launching him forward at a breakneck speed. If he couldn't diminish them with his taunts, he'd do so with his fists.
As he flew through the air, a sinister smile spread across his face. This was his element, where he could let his power speak. "Go to hell, you idiot with stupid dreams!!" he shouted, his fist rocketing towards Luffy's head.
But the outcome was staggering. There was a thud, a sound too dull, too soft for what Bellamy had intended. His eyes widened in shock. "How can it be!!" he gasped. Luffy had stopped his formidable punch with a single hand, his fist enveloped in a pitch-black hue.
Bellamy's heart raced as he realized he couldn't pull his hand free; Luffy's grip was unyielding. The humiliation was immediate and acute. Desperation crept into Bellamy's voice as he quickly tried to defuse the situation, his earlier fury giving way to a nervous chuckle. "Just... just kidding," he stammered.
As Bellamy's spring attack failed to land, the tavern slipped into stunned silence. Sarquiss, clutching his machete and quivering, could hardly believe what had just happened. "Bellamy's spring attack was blocked!!" he blurted out, his voice laced with disbelief.
The pirates around the room held their breaths, their eyes locked on the unfolding scene. As Sarquiss started to rise, intending to intervene, a cold voice stopped him dead: "Do not mess around!!" The chilling command was accompanied by the sharp edge of a sword pressed against his neck. When Sarquiss slowly turned his head, he found himself staring into the relentless eyes of Zoro, the swordsman from Straw Hat's crew.
Zoro's presence was commanding, his voice steady yet filled with a controlled wrath. "It's best not to move," he warned, his sword pressing slightly into Sarquiss's neck just enough to assert his seriousness without drawing blood. "I don't want to stain my sword with the blood of people like you," Zoro added, his disdain palpable as he pushed Sarquiss back down with a firm hand.
Meanwhile, Luffy maintained his grip on Bellamy, his back to the door, his silhouette framed by the backlight streaming in. To the onlookers, his figure seemed to grow, his presence filling the room with an almost palpable intensity.
In that heavy silence, Luffy's voice finally broke through, calm yet resolute, "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I am the man who will become Pirate King." The declaration was bold, the first time he had voiced his ambition without prompt in such a setting.
Luffy's confidence seemed to solidify in the air around him, making it hard for anyone to meet his gaze. "I want to find One Piece and I'm also going to Sky Island," he continued, unfazed by the earlier mockery. "This is my target and dream! I don't care about your ridicule."
The room remained quiet, the weight of his words hanging between them. Luffy's demeanor shifted then, his brows knitting together, his eyes sharp as daggers. An imposing aura radiated from him, and for a moment, as the pirates dared to glance up, they felt they were in the presence of an indomitable force, an emperor in his own right, commanding respect through sheer will.
Luffy's next words reverberated through the tavern with the force of a thunderclap, leaving a heavy silence in their wake. "But... don't come to hinder us!" he declared, his voice booming with an undeniable authority that shook the room.
As Luffy's voice echoed, a palpable wave of Haki swept across the crowd. It was a display of Conqueror's Haki, raw and powerful. The effect was immediate and dramatic. One after another, the mocking pirates began to collapse, falling to the ground unconscious, overwhelmed by the sheer force of Luffy's will. The thuds of their bodies hitting the floor punctuated the tense silence that followed.
Zoro sheathed his sword with a quiet click, his eyes scanning the tavern. He noted the few who resisted Luffy's Haki a little longer than the others, but eventually, they too succumbed, sprawling on the ground. He thought to himself, "Conqueror's Haki seems to be quite convenient to use."
Meanwhile, at the center of it all, Bellamy, who had been gripped by Luffy's hand, experienced the full brunt of the Haki. Despite his earlier bravado and disdain, the overwhelming presence of Luffy's spirit finally broke him. His legs buckled, and he fell to his knees before Luffy.
The sight of Bellamy, once so arrogant and sure, now kneeling helplessly on the floor, was a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor. He was unable to lift his head or even utter a sound, utterly defeated not just physically but in spirit. In the presence of such a commanding force, he was rendered powerless and insignificant—an utter humiliation for someone who had prided himself on his strength and mocked others for their dreams.
The tavern, once filled with laughter and scorn, was now dominated by the profound effect of Luffy's resolve and strength. The remaining conscious patrons looked on in stunned silence, the reality of their underestimation of Luffy and his crew settling heavily around them. In that moment, it was clear that in the presence of a true king, Bellamy was not worthy.