Watching Luffy's displeased expression, iser felt a headache coming on. This guy never followed the script.
"Luffy, why did you just answer it like that?"
"What's the problem?"
Luffy looked at iser in confusion, not understanding why answering a call was an issue.
iser: "..."
"Forget it, it's already done." iser shook his head.
"What are you planning?" Sanji asked curiously.
"Those bounty hunters have already set their sights on us. They'll definitely make a move soon," iser explained.
After speaking, he glanced at Stanson and continued, "I was hoping to squeeze so useful intel out of this guy, but then Luffy just..."
For a mont, iser was at a loss.
"Luffy, you idiot!" Nami scolded.
"Ahahaha, whatever! That pointy-head said they're coming anyway. What does it matter if we know more?"
"What if they steal our Pirate Flag? Would that be fine with you?"
"Absolutely not!"
At those words, Luffy's expression darkened instantly.
"If they dare touch my Pirate Flag, I'll knock them all flying!"
This was a line Luffy would never allow to be crossed. If enemies tried to take it, he wouldn't hold back.
"G-Gentlen..."
"Oh, almost forgot about you." Franky grinned nacingly. "I'm gonna give you all a real warm welco!"
"Wait, we admit we were wrong!"
"Too late!"
The group that had deceived the Straw Hat Pirates were thoroughly beaten by Franky and Sanji, left half-dead on the ground.
Of course, Stanson was allowed to finish his al before getting pumled.
Franky glanced at the groaning figures and asked, "Luffy, what should we do with them?"
"Just toss them back."
Since Sanji and Franky had already handled them, Luffy had no interest in dealing with them further.
"P-Please wait..." Erl spoke up.
The small man struggled to sit up but failed several tis. Eventually, rry took pity and pushed a stool over, giving him sothing to lean against.
iser glanced at rry. This girl really was... too kind.
"Thank you..."
"What do you want to say?"
"Everyone... are you planning to fight those bounty hunters?" Erl asked.
He paid no mind to his injuries or the beating they'd received—they'd brought it on themselves. But now that they'd survived, he had to try.
"We never said that," Nami interjected. "If we leave now, we won't even run into them."
Nami had zero interest in tangling with bounty hunters. What if they ca after her 20-million-Belly head?
"But you're already marked. They won't let prey slip away once it's in their sights."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"I... uh..." Erl hesitated for a mont before gritting his teeth and saying, "I want to say, if you're planning to fight them, please take us with you. We'll even take the front lines if needed."
"That's right!" Kair struggled excitedly, panting heavily as he added, "Please take us with you!"
"From the start, all we wanted was to reclaim our Pirate Flag so our Phoenix Pirates could rise again."
"Our captain, he..."
"Idiot!"
Stanson, who had been pretending to be unconscious, imdiately opened his eyes and snapped, "How could you say...!"
"Do you think they don't already know?" Kair retorted. "Stanson, you moron! Even your little tricks were discovered. Do you really think they wouldn't know our captain is still alive?"
As he spoke, Kair glanced at iser, noticing the man's icy, aloof expression—clear evidence he had seen through everything.
iser, cool and composed.jpg
The others turned to look at iser, shocked to see he truly appeared to know everything.
"iser, you even knew about this?!" Luffy exclaid in amazent. "That's incredible!"
"iser is so aweso!"
Nico Robin, however, gave iser a skeptical look. Did he really know? If so, why hadn't he ntioned it earlier when making Stanson confess?
But she didn't voice her thoughts. If iser wanted to show off, she'd let him.
Nico Robin, wise and composed smile.jpg
"So you even found that out..." Stanson chuckled bitterly. "I really am a fool."
He had naively believed that as long as he didn't ntion the captain, no one would find out. Yet here they were... This was the power of a pirate crew with a combined bounty exceeding 1 billion berries. Truly terrifying.
"Everyone, please forgive my recklessness," Stanson said, bowing his head to the ground. "To keep our captain alive, I had no choice but to make a deal with the devil."
"You're just a coward!" Kair spat.
"And if I hadn't, we wouldn't even be alive now!"
"What does that matter? As long as our captain lives, our Phoenix Pirates will rise again—"
"Hey, hey, hey," Sanji interrupted. "We're not interested in watching your lodrama. If you have sothing to say, say it quickly."
The group exchanged glances before lowering their heads. "If you're going to fight them, please take us with you."
"We only want our Pirate Flag back. Nothing else."
"I already said we're not interested in fighting them," Nami said, hands on her hips.
Actively seeking out bounty hunters? Only soone insane would do that. Besides, Luffy hadn't given any orders to go after those guys, so she certainly wasn't going to agree to their request.
"But—"
"Just go," Luffy said firmly.
As captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, he wasn't about to drag his crew into soone else's fight. He might seem clueless, but he wasn't stupid.
Kair opened his mouth but ultimately stayed silent.
Stanson sighed, pulling himself up and dragging his companions along as they slowly made their way out.
It was clear the other side had no interest in getting involved, and there was nothing they could do about it.
As for the impending pursuit... we'll just have to take it one step at a ti. It's better than dying here right now.
"Never thought we'd run into sothing like this here," Franky said.
He glanced around the restaurant—several chairs were already smashed and would need proper repairs later.
"They look so pitiful..." rry suddenly spoke up.
"rry, they're bad people," Usopp said. "They deceived us."
"But they didn't even fight back when they were getting beaten up... Especially that man nad Keku. Even while being punched, he tried to smile at rry."
The others didn't resist either, rely raising their arms in token defense.
"Maybe they knew they were in the wrong."
"Since when do pirates care about such things?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
Not all pirate crews were like theirs. During his ti as a bounty hunter, he'd witnessed firsthand the true evil of pirates!
"Who knows?" Nico Robin shrugged.
"Either way, we have no reason to get involved in this," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.
"iser, were you thinking about sothing just now?" Nami turned to iser.
"Ah, just pondering about that group of bounty hunters."
"There's nothing to consider. If they dare attack us, we'll just take them out," Zoro said.
"Actually, I'm curious about one thing," Usopp interjected. "Our crew's total bounty exceeds one billion Belly. Why would they still dare co after us?"
"Money makes the mare go," iser replied. "Especially when it's a billion."
A billion Belly had substantial purchasing power—enough to drive most people mad. Just consider how Nami's newspaper only cost 100 Belly.
"They'll need to survive to collect it," Zoro sneered.
Did they think the Straw Hats were made of clay?
"Luffy?"
"If we et them, we'll just punch them flying," Luffy said simply.
"Right!"
"I really hope we don't run into them..." Nami said worriedly.
"Yeah..."
Usopp shared Nami's sentint—he wasn't eager to fight bounty hunters either.
"Bounty hunters usually have quite a bit of money," iser suddenly remarked. "Especially a bounty hunter family."
"Eh?!!"
Nami's eyes instantly sparkled, practically transforming into Belly symbols as her whole body trembled with excitent.
Seeing this, Usopp felt an ominous premonition.
"Nami, you—"
"Money!!" Nami exclaid. "That's all money!"
A bounty hunter family rooted here must possess an enormous amount of Belly, right?
iser stared at Nami, feeling like he could see dazzling golden light radiating from her eyes. Was this the allure of money?
So blinding!
"Don't get too excited, Nami," Zoro explained. "Bounty hunters normally can't save money. I nearly starved to death back then."
Encountering a pirate with a bounty isn't an easy task, and the money obtained is usually spent on daily expenses, naturally dwindling away.
If one weren't more resilient than the average townsperson, they'd surely perish at sea.
"You probably just got lost and couldn't find a place to eat," Sanji mocked.
"Bastard, what did you say?!"
An enraged Zoro imdiately charged at Sanji, their foreheads colliding directly before they began glaring fiercely at each other.
The others glanced over calmly before looking away—this was practically a daily occurrence.
"What... so they have no money after all..."
The light in Nami's eyes gradually dimd, her entire deanor seeming to darken considerably.
"Generally speaking, that's the case," Nico Robin nodded. "Because bounty hunters live much like pirates."
"They never know if they'll die at sea, so naturally, they don't save much money."
"After all, if they're killed by pirates, saving money becos aningless. So most bounty hunters spend their earnings on enjoynt until it's gone, then go after the next target."
"Are there no exceptions?"
"There are," Robin replied. "For example, this current group of bounty hunters."
"They've ford a family-like organization, so their situation might be different."
Hearing this, Nami instantly regained her vigor.
"iser!" She practically teleported in front of iser, grabbing his hand. "If those guys dare to attack us, please don't hold back this ti."
"R-right... I understand..."
iser's lips twitched. He couldn't help feeling like money was Nami's source of motivation.
Her speed was terrifying—like she'd taken stimulants—even more frightening than when she'd hit him before.
"Why hasn't Chopper co yet?" rry suddenly asked. "Did sothing happen?"
"Huh?!!"
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