Just as he was about to make a move, the goon suddenly noticed that the injured person lying there had open his eyes.
"Ah~ you scared the hell out of me! I could have let you die peacefully, but since you're awake now, don't blame me!" The goon, startled by Ryu's sudden awakening, angrily swung his knife at him.
"Hey, is it really appropriate to greet someone like this right after they wake up?" Ryu sat up, casually grabbing the goon's knife and yawning.
In fact, he had been awake since the ship arrived at Whisky Peak; he had just been focusing on healing his injuries with internal energy due to the severity of his wounds.
Although the battle with the dragon had seemed fierce, Ryu knew that the dragon hadn't used his full strength. He had been more exhausted from using up his internal energy, which was why he had lost consciousness.
"Hmm~ this place looks a bit familiar!" Even while still recovering, Ryu effortlessly dispatched the two goons.
"This is the Going Merry, isn't it? So, Luffy must have rescued me! That means this must be Whisky Peak? That idiot, he didn't even let that doctor check me when we passed Twin Cape! Otherwise, I'd have woken up much earlier!" Ryu murmured to himself while standing on the deck, gazing toward the town.
Meanwhile, Nami, who was secretly searching for treasure among the bounty hunters' loot, encountered Zoro, who was busy fighting.
"I didn't expect you to be so smart!" Zoro said, looking at Nami in surprise.
"Who would believe in a town that welcomes pirates? I didn't buy it for a second!" Nami scoffed.
"Alright, let's finish them off quickly; I want to get some sleep!" Zoro smiled, glancing at the bounty hunters who had already fallen by half.
"Then you handle that; I'll go look for their treasure!" Nami waved her hand and left through a nearby small house.
A moment later, she returned, walking back to Zoro. "Hey, don't you think we forgot something? I have this feeling that we still have something left to do!"
"Forgotten? What is it?" Zoro asked, confused.
"Forget it; finding the treasure is more important. Just remember to move quickly!" With that, Nami vanished again.
It seemed they had forgotten about the injured Ryu still lying in the ship's cabin.
"That woman is really something," Zoro said as he slowly drew his three swords and resumed fighting.
A little while later, Luffy, who had been sleeping, woke up urgently needing to use the bathroom, only to discover Zoro had taken down the so-called "good-hearted citizens."
Upon learning the "truth" of the situation, Luffy became furious. He wouldn't allow his friends to act like this; these people had kindly offered them food, and yet they were being attacked just because the food wasn't to their liking? Luffy was determined to avenge them.
Meanwhile, Zoro, having defeated all the bounty hunters, was sitting there drinking when he suddenly felt a strange presence.
At the port, a woman with an umbrella and a man with an explosive hairstyle and sunglasses appeared.
It was Mr. 5 and his partner, Ms. Valentine.
"What a mess you're making! Hmm?" Mr. 5 looked at the heavily injured Ikalem, sneering.
"Are you here to laugh at us?" Igaram, lying on the ground, looked up at the two.
"Ha ha ha! Of course, we're here for our mission!" Ms. Valentine replied with a loud laugh.
"Are you here to help us? That swordsman is too strong!" Mr. 9, struggling to sit up, said.
"Who do you think we are? We didn't come here for this trivial matter!" Mr. 5 replied arrogantly. "We're here because we have a special task: some individuals from certain kingdoms have infiltrated our organization!"
Ikalem lowered his head, realizing his face must have turned pale; they were exposed!
"Ah~ I almost forgot about Luffy!" Zoro muttered quietly, sitting on the roof and watching the two groups confront each other, taking another sip of his drink.
"Then the criminal, the princess who disappeared from Alabasta," Mr. 5 tilted his head, looking at the panicked Princess Vivi.
"Bastard, I won't let you harm her! Die! Ball Spike!" Ikalem stood up from the ground and charged at Mr. 5.
"Boom~" Mr. 5 was engulfed by the explosion.
"Please, hurry and escape! Quickly!" Igaram shouted at Vivi.
"Igaram~" Vivi called out, a bit worried about him, but she didn't flee.
"Useless~ Ha ha ha!" Ms. Valentine suddenly appeared from above, kicking aside Vivi's tied-up hair.
As Vivi was attacked, Ikalem was also sent flying, and Vivi immediately turned her gaze over, only to see Mr. 5 emerge unscathed from the flames, continuing, "The criminals are the captain of Alabasta's royal guard, Igaram, and Princess Nefertari Vivi! In the name of the boss of Baroque Works, I will eliminate you both!"
"Princess?"Mr. 9 looked at his partner in shock.
Vivi glared at Mr. 5, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to escape.
"Though I don't know what's happening, let's go! We've been partners for so long, it can't be fake!" Mr. 9 stood in front of Vivi, his face smeared with blood.
"Mr. 9!" Vivi gasped, surprised that he would step up to help her.
"Goodbye, you should run! Hot-Blooded Number Nine Ball Perseverance Stick!" Mr. 9 rolled into a circle and launched himself at Mr. 5.
"Foolish loyalty will only bring about your own demise! Nose-Pick!" Mr. 5 scooped a booger out of his nose and flicked it at Mr. 9.
"Boom~~"
The booger exploded, and Mr. 9 fell to the ground, motionless. But this gave Vivi the chance to escape, riding on Karoo as she fled.
"Whoa~ that booger is really terrifying!" Zoro, who was watching from the sidelines, was taken aback; he hadn't expected it to explode.
"Please, please, please save our princess!" Igaram, who was heavily injured, somehow managed to find Zoro.
"Can you let go? Don't grab my leg!" Zoro said helplessly, as Ikalem clung to him like a lifeline.
"I beg you, if you can escort the princess to distant Alabasta, you'll receive a huge reward!" Ikalem continued to hold onto Zoro's leg desperately.
"Now that sounds interesting. How about 1 billion berries?" Before Zoro could respond, Nami popped up from nowhere and chimed in.
It seemed she had a nose for money; wherever there was a scent of cash, there was Nami.
"1 billion berries?" Igaram was taken aback. Even in their desert kingdom of Alabasta, 1 billion berries was no small amount.
"Yes! If there's money involved, your princess won't die! You've seen how strong she is!" Nami pointed at Zoro, speaking to Igaram.
"B-but I'm just the captain of the guard, I don't have the authority to deal with such a large sum! How about you save the princess first and then negotiate with her directly?" Igaram said, feeling troubled.
"Hey! Don't drag me into your deal!" Zoro protested.
"What do you mean? My money is my money, but my contract is everyone's contract! What's wrong with that?" Nami blinked playfully at Zoro.
"What kind of logic is that?" Zoro obviously wouldn't agree.
"Guys, while you're talking, the princess might already be in danger! Can we save her first and talk later?" Igaram said anxiously.
"Let's go, Zoro!" Nami pointed in the direction where Vivi was escaping.
"I'm not going! I hate being bossed around!" Zoro refused.
"Is that so? Then aren't you going to pay me back the money you owe?" Nami narrowed her eyes, staring at Zoro.
"When did I ever owe you money?" Zoro asked, bewildered.
"When you borrowed 100,000 berries from me in Loguetown because you couldn't afford a sword! We agreed you'd pay back three times that amount!" Nami replied.
"But the sword was given to me by the boss! I didn't spend any money and paid you back the same day! Isn't that enough?" Zoro said helplessly.
"Of course not! I can't believe you're a man who can't even keep a promise!" Nami said, looking disappointed at Zoro.
Zoro's expression darkened. Although he understood Nami's intentions, he had no choice but to head out to save Vivi.
"You're going to regret this!" Zoro cursed Nami as he ran.
"Yeah, I'll see you in hell!" Nami replied with a lighthearted laugh.
Meanwhile, Igaram watched in stunned silence, as he seemed to have discovered a peculiar secret about this strange pirate crew—perhaps the strongest member was this seemingly harmless girl in front of him.
When Zoro finally found Vivi, she was being pursued by a couple of high-ranking agents from Baroque Works. After Zoro rescued her, he ran into Luffy, who was searching for them.
"Hey~ Luffy, are you here to help? But they're just two small fries; you don't need to help, or did you also borrow money from Nami?" Zoro asked, grinning.
"Zoro~~~ I will never forgive you! Let's settle this once and for all!" Luffy shouted at Zoro.
"Huh?" Zoro looked bewildered.
"You were the one who attacked the villagers in this town, right? They were the ones who offered us delicious food! You wiped them all out without a second thought; I won't forgive someone like you who bites the hand that feeds!" Luffy yelled angrily, vowing to knock Zoro into the sky.
Now, not only was Zoro confused, but even Vivi had a look of disbelief as she muttered, "Is he really fit to be the captain?"
"Hey~ Luffy, let me explain! Those people are—"
Unfortunately, Zoro didn't get to finish his sentence before Luffy charged at him, and after dodging a few attacks, Zoro realized Luffy was being serious, which started to raise his own temper.
Meanwhile, the high-ranking agents who had been held back by Zoro saw their chance with Luffy and Zoro distracted. They rushed toward Vivi, planning to eliminate her first!
...
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