"Alright,"
Roman, wearing The White Knight armor, scratched his chin. "To celebrate the formation of the 'Straw Hat Grand Fleet,' I'll have a drink too—"
"Big bro! Just forget it!!"
Do you guys think I'm useless! Roman was furious. He had planned to awkwardly "celebrate with the people" on this important day, but was rejected by everyone... Fine, whatever, it's not like he even likes alcohol.
Boom!! "What's going on?"
Right at the historic moment of the Grand Fleet's formation, a group of unwelcome "guests" started firing cannons to join the fun.
"Is 'Straw Hat' Luffy there? Get out here!!"
"We had a big deal with Doflamingo that wasn't settled, and you guys messed it up!"
A group of pirates, looking fierce, with all kinds of flags... Actually, many of them were military forces from the World Government's allied nations in disguise. These warships surrounded the Straw Hat Grand Fleet from all directions, docking at the shore.
"Since the king has been replaced, we'll settle things with 'King Riku!'"
"Before that, shouldn't you guys give us an explanation?"
Their forces had been at war, the deposit was already paid, and they were waiting to ship weapons from 'Dressrosa' to continue the fight. Now, with Doflamingo gone, could they swallow their anger?
"Attack!"
"Taking down Straw Hat's 600 million bounty would make up for some of our losses!"
...You guys really have guts.
Facing the approaching "debt-collecting fleet," Roman, riding The White Knight, rolled his eyes.
They knew Luffy's bounty had "leveled up" to 600 million, yet they still dared to charge in like this. Should he admire their courage, or just say they're beyond foolish?
"Who are these guys?"
Luffy, holding his straw hat, looked at the approaching fleet with a confused expression.
"Hey, that birdman of Doflamingo, I was the one who knocked him out. If you've got a problem, come at me!"
If these military ships with pirate flags make it into Dressrosa, the ordinary people, who have just endured a great hardship, will face even more brutal war.
"Nice,"
"Better late than never..."
The captains who had just drunk the brotherhood wine looked at the large number of pirate ships approaching and smiled with excitement.
"Captain Luffy, look, now is when 'numbers' really matter!"
"If we let these guys get close to Dressrosa, no matter how strong Captain Luffy is, it'll be hard to stop them from hurting the people of Dressrosa, right?"
The Straw Hat crew's strength is in their small, elite team with great mobility.
Their weakness is when facing large-scale battles, they'll be short-handed. Even Roman's "Paper Doll Army" would require a lot of Roman's energy and focus, and it's only made up of about a thousand people. Plus, paper dolls can't react as flexibly as real people. In a chaotic battle, if there's no special marking, it's easy for paper dolls to accidentally hurt their own allies.
"Everyone!!"
"The first battle of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet is here!"
"For Captain Luffy, charge!!!"
The seven newly formed pirate crews turned their ships around, aiming their cannons and swords at the incoming pirate fleet. The deafening shouts drowned out Luffy's "I didn't even agree," and they charged toward the enemy.
Like a broken bamboo, unstoppable!
Chew, chew~~ As for Luffy's temper, it flares up quickly and burns out just as fast.
After one battle and one farewell, the Straw Hat Pirates once again set out on an adventure. Right now, Luffy, with two big pieces of meat, was lost in his food! Eating while singing and dancing with Usopp! Nearby, Brooke, now in a beach outfit, with his chest showing a small 'soft spot' and his hair dyed pink, played his cello to liven things up. Chopper, holding a milk bottle, took a sip and sighed.
"Compared to alcohol, milk is much healthier."
"Ha~~"
Zoro, proudly blowing a big breath from his wine bottle, grinned.
"Men should drink big gulps of alcohol!"
"Anything else is heresy—"
"...You want me to have Nami compete with you in drinking?"
Roman, holding a glass of orange juice, rolled his eyes. What's so special about drinking? If he uses Seimei Kikan to break down the alcohol, drinking 300 cups would be no problem!
"Come on, Roman."
Zoro, itching for a drink, took the cup and poured himself some more, "Let's drink together, let's drink~~"
"Nooo!!!" X3
Brooke, Chopper, and Usopp looked horrified and rushed over to stop him, tears welling up in their eyes.
?
"You just blew on the bottle, right? I'm not drinking what you poured."
Roman gave them a strange look. What's the big deal with drinking? —Although he'd never actually drunk before.
"Isn't it a problem that they're so relaxed?"
Roman, who was leaning against the ship's railing, raised his eyelids and expressed deep concern over the calm Straw Hat crew, who were casually admiring the flowers.
"We just took down the world's number one underground middleman, 'Joker,' and offended two of the Four Emperors, 'Beasts' and 'BIG MOM.' Shouldn't we be thinking about how to deal with the threats from these two?"
"It's fine. When it's time to fight, they'll definitely give it their all."
The physical training effect was minimal for the Straw Hat crew now. Most of their physical abilities had already reached their peak, and the rest was just understanding and honing their Armament Haki... While thinking this, Roman turned and flashed a faded smile at Law.
"Or do you think we can come up with a good solution with them?"
... "Forget it, forget I said anything."
Law gave up on thinking about it.
"Super~~cool!"
On the other side, Franky struck a classic pose with both arms stretched out, saying the so-called flower viewing was referring to:
"Just as expected from the 'Tontatta clan,' the plants they grew can actually bloom cherry blossoms in this season."
On Franky's head and shoulders, pink flower clusters constantly shed petals. These were the soil-free cherry blossoms given by the Tontatta clan, which could bloom in any season and didn't even need much soil—
That's why Franky could wear the flower cluster on his head.
"I'm the cherry blossom front line~~heading north~~"
As Franky, the 'human cherry blossom tree,' walked by, petals floating in the air, Roman couldn't help but complain:
Even though cherry blossoms are romantic, Franky, you've made it seem like "dandruff" falling off your head...
"Enjoying flowers with good wine, truly one of life's greatest pleasures!"
No, no, no, Zoro, as long as there's alcohol, you'd think any place is comfortable, right?
"You guys are so noisy!"
Sanji, who was walking out with a tray of drinks, gave a disdainful glance at Luffy and the others who were acting wild, and then placed the chilled orange juice on the table for Robin and Nami.
"Thanks, Sanji."
"Law, here's your coffee."
"Thanks,"
Taking the coffee, Law sighed. Whatever, the Straw Hats aren't in a hurry, so why should I be in a rush?
"Anyway, our advantage is that we have a small target. Even the Four Emperors' crews would have a hard time locating us on this vast sea...?"
Crackling~~ A messenger bird flew down, interrupting Law's self-reassurance. Nami took out a bill, and the messenger bird immediately handed over a rolled-up newspaper to Nami's hand! After all:
"Don't bother looking," Nami waved her hand generously, and the messenger bird, having received a large sum of money, flew up into the sky with a grin, completely ignoring anyone else, fully demonstrating the meaning of 'birds looking down on people.'
?
Rumor had it that the Straw Hat crew's navigator was quite stingy, but now it seemed:
Law, with a puzzled look, glanced over and noticed Nami's simple T-shirt and pants, clearly luxury items that were said to be specially supplied to Celestial Dragons in Sabaody Archipelago!
This...
Rumors really aren't trustworthy! Just like the one about Luffy being eight meters tall...
"Everyone, we have a problem."
Nami sighed and raised the newspaper in her hand. The headline boldly read, "Dressrosa Sea Battle: The Worst Generation Blows the Horn for Marching Forward?" It grabbed everyone's attention.
"After Straw Hat Luffy and the Worst Generation brought down one of the Seven Warlords, Doflamingo, they immediately went ahead and formed the 'Straw Hat Grand Fleet'! Among them, there are more than ten pirates with bounties over 100 million, making everyone nervous..."
"As soon as the 'Straw Hat Grand Fleet' was established, they wiped out a fleet of over a hundred pirate ships near Dressrosa yesterday afternoon, with their arrogance and brutal methods shocking everyone..."
"?! What's this nonsense? We were just stopping those guys from landing in Dressrosa and causing trouble!" Luffy said angrily, "It sounds like we're some vicious pirates!"
"Luffy," Usopp quietly reminded him from the side.
"Our identity is that we're pirates~~"
"Oh, then it's fine."
"...Don't interrupt!"
Nami knocked on the table to silence the guys joking around. Now, it was time for the main point.
"Because of what happened in Dressrosa, our new bounties are out, and I have to say, everyone's skyrocketed." She laid the bounty posters on the table, starting with Luffy's usual goofy grin, followed by Zoro in his shiny armor and hooded cloak: 'Straw Hat' Luffy: 600 million Berries! 'The White Knight' Neo: 580 million Berries!
'Pirate Hunter' Zoro: 420 million Berries!
Next were the graceful Robin and the smiling Nami:
'Devil's Child' Robin: 150 million Berries!
'Cat Burglar' Nami: 131.4 million Berries! Then came the posters of the 'old-timer' duo, Franky and Brook:
'Iron Man' Franky: 99 million Berries!
'Soul King' Brook: 87 million Berries!
But then there was the strangely excited Sanji and drooling Chopper:
'Black Leg' Sanji: 188 million Berries!
'Pet Who Loves Marshmallows' Chopper: 100 Berries!
"Why? Why is this happening!!"
Chopper held up his bounty poster, his antlers and hat flying off in anger.
"I defeated one of Doflamingo's subordinates, so why is my bounty worth only the price of a newspaper? This is so unfair! I can feel the world's deep hatred for me..."
"Hehehe, don't worry, it's already doubled," Luffy comforted Chopper in his usual carefree manner, while Sanji's bounty poster: "What? At least they didn't use a drawing this time, huh? Do they think my bounty's too low?"
Instead of arguing back with Zoro, Sanji quietly took a drag from his cigarette. On his bounty poster, unlike the others' "dead or alive" status, his read "must be captured alive."
Damn it, is that guy... has he remembered me now, at this point? "And Usopp, your—"
Nami handed over another bounty poster, showing Usopp after he just fought Sugar, with blood all over his face and his eyes rolling. Looking at the raw image:
'GOD' Usopp: 200 million Berries?!?
"Ahhh," Franky grabbed Usopp and shook him left and right in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why is your bounty so high?! And I haven't even broken the 100 million mark..."
"Help me~~~ Luffy, Roman, Nami, give your bro a hand!!"
Ignoring the others fooling around, Nami handed the last wanted poster to Law.
"This one's yours. It went up from 440 million to 500 million."
"Thanks, but I don't really care about bounty amounts."
It was a massive upgrade for the whole crew. Thanks to Roman, the Straw Hats' achievements were even more impressive than in the original story. They had taken down Doflamingo while carrying the weight of fighting Jack, one of Kaido's top commanders. If this hadn't been the Straw Hats' "first battle" after their comeback, their bounties would have likely doubled.
"Hahaha! 'GOD' Usopp is now a 200-million man~~~"
Usopp was beyond proud.
"A bounty that high means Marines with Admiral-level strength might start paying attention to you. Be careful when you go out."
Usopp's face immediately crumbled, tears streaming down.
Cold, hard reality had just smacked him in the face...
"Did someone just say 'Admiral'?"
?!
In an instant, everyone who had been focused on the wanted posters and news reports snapped their heads around.
A warship had somehow sailed up beside them unnoticed. On its deck, a group of armed soldiers stood tall and imposing. At the front was a towering old man (Admiral height), wearing sunglasses, with short purple hair and a massive mechanical right arm.
"Your bounties went up a lot. Looks like you're pretty happy about it."
The man adjusted his glasses with his thick fingers, hiding his expression.
"I was once an 'Admiral' too, so let me—"
Soru!
In a flash, the massive old man launched himself toward the Sunny, his huge mechanical arm raised high.
Let's see what kind of people you really are.
---
----You can read 10 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu