Ralph, Nami, and Zoro sat at a table, surrounded by a circle of people eager to challenge them to drinking contests.
"Co on! Green-haired guy, let toast you again!"
A burly man raised his beer mug.
Zoro didn't even glance at him, took the mug, and downed it in one go.
"Great! That's the spirit!"
The burly man also finished his drink, then swayed and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Zoro grinned.
"Who's next?"
On the other side, several people had already fallen before Nami.
"This orange-haired lady can really hold her liquor!"
Soone exclaid in amazent.
Nami smiled without a word.
As for Ralph…
[Host detected participating in 'drinking duel.' Drinking Skill (Advanced) activated.]
The system prompt echoed in his mind.
Ralph chuckled inwardly.
He had acquired this skill from the bar owner in Loguetown, never expecting it to co in handy here.
His opponents changed one after another.
Fourteenth.
Fifteenth.
By the eighteenth, no one dared to step forward anymore.
"Incredible! This black-haired guy has drunk eighteen people under the table!"
"A true champion of liquor!"
Ralph remained unfazed.
The Advanced Drinking Skill significantly boosted his body's alcohol tabolism while keeping his mind clear.
But he knew today wasn't the ti to show off.
He glanced at Zoro.
The green-haired swordsman had just taken down his thirteenth opponent, then very "naturally" let his head thump onto the table, emitting steady snores.
Not bad acting.
Nami, too, had "conveniently" passed out while challenging her fifteenth opponent, lying motionless on the table.
Ralph thought to himself: 'These two are wasted not being actors.'
One was a Pirate Hunter, the other a pirate thief—both seasoned veterans of the world!
No wonder they were much more cautious than the others!
It was about ti, Ralph thought. He should "pass out" too.
"I... I'm fine... I can still..."
Ralph staggered to his feet, then "stumbled" and fell backward onto the floor.
Before closing his eyes, he heard one last complint:
"He drank twenty people under the table all by himself! Now that's a true liquor master!"
The music continued, and laughter still echoed.
But all six mbers of the Straw Hat crew were now "completely" drunk.
Lufia had eaten too much and genuinely fallen asleep.
Her belly was bulging, oil stains still at the corners of her mouth, sleeping soundly.
Usopp had exhausted himself from bragging, and combined with the alcohol, he was out cold on the table.
Sanji… well, Sanji had been overwheld by the beauties.
Ti passed minute by minute.
The music gradually faded.
The laughter turned into whispers.
Then even the whispers disappeared.
The room fell silent.
Ralph kept his eyes closed, using Observation Haki to sense his surroundings.
He could "hear" the supposedly drunk residents standing up one by one, their footsteps steady, their breathing calm—not a hint of intoxication.
Soone walked up to him and patted his cheek.
Ralph didn't react at all, even making his breathing deeper and more rhythmic.
"They're all down," a voice said.
"Confird?" another voice asked.
"Confird."
Footsteps scattered.
After a few more minutes, confirming there was truly no movent, the "residents" of Whiskey Peak began to take action.
Under Ralph's Observation Haki perception, most of the "residents" left, but a few remained in the room to watch over them.
His perception expanded further, extending to the open space outside the house.
A familiar voice rang out—it was Mayor Igaram, but his tone had completely changed. No longer warm and exaggerated, it was now calm and steady:
"Everything settled?"
"Yes, Mr. 8."
Mr. 8 was the agent code na for Baroque Works.
"Was it really necessary to go to such lengths to entertain those few?"
A rough female voice spoke up,
"They look like a bunch of weak kids no matter how you see it. Why not just take them out at the harbor?"
"Miss Monday, don't let your guard down."
Mr. 8 Igaram said, "Trust the intelligence gathered by our colleagues."
At that mont, two other familiar voices joined in:
"That's right! We saw the wanted posters on their ship with our own eyes!"
It was Mr. 9 speaking.
"Their captain and vice-captain—one has a bounty of 30 million, the other 35 million!" That was Miss Wednesday.
A brief silence followed.
Then the woman called Miss Monday coughed awkwardly:
"To think I didn't see their strength... how embarrassing. But it's strange—why is the Straw Hat Girl's bounty lower than the vice-captain's if she's the captain?"
She questioned:
"Could the wanted posters on their ship be fake? Made by those Pirates to scare people?"
"I verified them personally."
Mr. 8 Igaram's voice sounded again, followed by the rustling of paper.
"These are the two latest wanted posters, absolutely no mistake. Straw Hat Girl Lufia, 30 million; Naless Swordsman Ralph, 35 million!"
The atmosphere grew tense.
But just then—
"Are you sure the latest bounties are Lufia at 30 million and Ralph at 35 million?"
A voice suddenly spoke up behind them.
Calm, natural, even carrying a hint of... distress?
Igaram instinctively replied:
"How could it be fake? It's right here in black and white..."
He trailed off mid-sentence, stunned.
That voice...
It wasn't any of the four agents.
But it sounded familiar.
Very familiar.
All four turned their heads in unison.
Under the moonlight, a black-haired young man stood behind them, leaning against the wooden wall of the warehouse, hands in his pockets, a troubled expression on his face.
Ralph.
When did he wake up?
No, was he never drunk?
"You..."
Miss Monday's eyes widened.
Ralph ignored her.
He walked naturally up to Igaram, reached out, took the two wanted posters, and held them up to the moonlight for a closer look.
They were indeed the official, newly issued versions.
And the bounty amounts were exactly as they'd said:
Lufia, 30 million Berries; Ralph, 35 million Berries.
Ralph's frown deepened.
"Plan..."
"What am I supposed to do about this..."
He muttered to himself, completely ignoring the four agents on high alert around him,
"Lufia was so excited to clear Clockwork Island, but her bounty didn't go up..."
"What if she blas ?"
"Bosses from movies really are no good, their worth is just too low..."
He looked up at the moon in the night sky and sighed:
"Maybe... take her to kill a few Navy soldiers? Or nobles? World Nobles?"
"If that doesn't work, pick a fight with one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
His words weren't loud, but in the quiet of the night, they clearly reached everyone's ears.
Mr.8 Igaram, Miss Monday, Mr.9, Miss Wednesday.
Four people, eight eyes, all wide open.
They stared at this young Pirate who was lost in his own thoughts, ignoring everyone else, at the two bounty posters in his hands, and listened to the outrageous "solutions" he was muttering.
Kill Navy soldiers? Kill nobles? Kill World Nobles? Take on the Seven Warlords of the Sea?
Is this guy...
Completely insane?
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