Inside a tavern on the 5th floor in Mock Town, Jaya Island—
Pirates sat in small groups, watching the two men gambling with cards at the center of the room.
"Well then, you're completely out of cash now," one pirate sneered.
"So what's next? Heh… are you going to bet your underwear, kid?"
Some nearby pirates laughed.
"In a way, you're actually pretty lucky. If you beat Rossio in gambling, he wouldn't let you leave alive anyway."
It was obvious that the one currently winning was Rossio.
Rossio reached out arrogantly, intending to collect the money from the blond man sitting across from him.
But suddenly—
The blond man grabbed Rossio's wrist tightly.
"Hey… you cheated, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about? I didn't cheat!" Rossio protested.
"You did."
The blond man spoke firmly.
"You cheated."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Rossio shouted angrily.
"Hey, Sarquiss! You saw it too, right? That guy cheated!"
"Yeah, I saw it," Sarquiss said indifferently.
"I also saw that this guy is a shameless scumbag."
"You're talking nonsense!" Rossio roared.
"Do you even know who I am?!"
At that moment—
The blond man grabbed Rossio and threw him violently.
Rossio smashed into the window.
The blond man quickly pulled out a pistol.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rossio's eyes widened in shock.
"There's a kind of cheating," the blond man said coldly beside his ear,
"where I decide you cheated."
Then he kicked Rossio straight out of the fifth-floor window.
"Wait… I remember now!"
One pirate suddenly shouted.
"That's Bellamy!"
"What?!"
"The guy with a bounty over 55 million Berries—Bellamy the Hyena?!"
Meanwhile—
"Are we there yet? Jaya Island should be close by," Zoro said.
"Yeah," Nami replied.
"The weather suddenly stabilized earlier. That means Jaya is probably a Spring Island."
"So warm… this feels great!" Chopper said happily.
"Spring really is the best season!"
Suddenly—
A seagull flying overhead dropped straight out of the sky.
"It got shot down!" Chopper exclaimed dramatically.
"Then let's roast it and eat it," Luffy said with a grin.
"But if it was shot, we should've heard a gunshot," Usopp said suspiciously.
"Look—it's a bullet!" Chopper said, pulling one out with tweezers.
"You mean someone shot it from an invisible island?" Nami said.
"That's impossible!"
"That would require incredible eyesight and an amazing sniper," Usopp joked.
"No, Usopp," Luffy said casually.
"You don't need amazing eyesight."
"You just need Observation Haki."
"What?!"
"You're saying someone actually shot it from that far away?!" Usopp yelled.
"Then why didn't I see anything?" Zoro said, trying to focus his Observation Haki.
"Because your Observation Haki isn't trained well enough yet," Luffy replied calmly.
A faint red glint flashed through his eyes.
Meanwhile—
On a rooftop in Jaya.
A man lay there lazily.
Smoke drifted from the barrel of his rifle.
"How pitiful… that must've hurt."
"One of them is still alive."
"But I suppose that's your reward for flying every day."
This man was Van Augur, the sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates.
At the same time, the Blackbeard Pirates had fully arrived on Jaya Island.
Jesus Burgess was challenging people everywhere.
Doc Q was handing out apples across the island.
Soon after—
The Straw Hat Crew arrived at Mock Town.
"Wow! This town is beautiful!" Nami said happily.
"It looks like a vacation resort!" Usopp said excitedly.
"Not exactly," Luffy replied.
"This is a gathering place for pirates."
Everyone looked at the many pirate ships docked at the harbor.
"Yeah… you're right," Usopp said nervously.
"Luffy… maybe we should go somewhere else?"
"It's fine," Luffy said.
"Zoro and I will gather information."
"The rest of you stay and guard the ship."
"Alright!"
After traveling together for so long, the crew had begun to notice the change in Luffy.
He had become much more reliable.
So no one objected.
"Luffy," Robin said,
"I'd like to buy some clothes on the island. Is that okay?"
"Sure."
And so they stepped into Mock Town.
Ding.
Mission Released: Fate – Encounter
Two individuals who stand as protagonists of their era will meet here.
Will it be battle? Cooperation? Avoidance?
Host, please make your decision.
Reward: Unknown.
Luffy paused briefly.
Then stepped deeper into the pirate-infested town.
The streets were chaotic.
Drunken pirates, fights breaking out everywhere, gunshots, shouting, and roaring filled the air.
This place felt like a gathering ground for the worst scum of the sea.
They weren't pirates chasing dreams or searching for the One Piece.
They were simply thieves who lived for plunder, violence, and pleasure.
Luffy and Zoro walked through without paying them any attention.
It wasn't that they lacked emotion or anger.
But the moment Luffy stepped onto this island—
He had already made a decision.
Along the way they encountered Jesus Burgess, who called himself a champion fighter.
They also saw Doc Q, collapsed on the roadside.
But they didn't stop.
Instead, they walked straight to the largest tavern on the island.
When Luffy pushed open the door—
He immediately saw a man sitting at the counter eating cherry pie.
It was Marshall D. Teach.
Under Teach's surprised gaze, Luffy sat down beside him.
"Give me the same thing he's having," Luffy said.
Teach ignored him and continued eating his pie.
Strangely—
Both of them took a bite at the exact same time.
"Hey, old man!"
"Hey, bartender!"
"This cherry pie tastes awful!"
"This cherry pie tastes amazing!"
They stared at each other.
Then they each took a sip of their drinks.
"This drink is incredible!"
"This drink tastes terrible!"
Teach glared at Luffy.
"Is your tongue broken?"
"I think your brain is broken," Luffy shot back.
"Bartender, I want 50 servings of meat to go!"
"Bartender, I want 51 cherry pies!"
"Wait—make mine 52 servings of meat!"
"Then I'll take 53 pies!"
"54 servings of meat!"
"55 pies!"
"60 meat!"
"70 pies!"
"80!"
"90!"
The two of them kept escalating the argument.
"Alright, enough!"
The bartender slammed the counter.
"Here are your 50 cherry pies, and here are your 50 servings of meat."
"Take them and get out!"
Teach glanced deeply at Luffy.
Then he left with his cherry pies.
Luffy was about to follow him—
But suddenly the tavern doors burst open.
A blond man walked in.
"You're Straw Hat Luffy, aren't you?"
Bellamy grinned viciously.
Several members of his crew followed behind him.
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro said.
"Don't forget why we came here."
Then he turned to the bartender.
"Hey boss, do you know how to get to Skypiea?"
The moment those words were spoken—
The entire tavern fell silent.
Then—
The entire room erupted in laughter.
"What did he say?"
"He wants to go to Skypiea?!"
"Give me a break!"
"You actually believe in that old fairy tale?"
"You idiots still trust something unreliable like the Log Pose?"
"Hahaha!"
Bellamy laughed loudly.
"What era do you guys think you're living in?"
"The mysteries of the Grand Line's strange sea currents have already explained everything!"
"The Knock Up Stream is one of them!"
"Ships that get caught in it are blasted straight into the sky…"
"And eventually fall back down into the sea!"
"Ancient sailors saw ships falling from the sky and imagined some ridiculous story about a Sky Island!"
"How ignorant! Hahaha!"
Bellamy reached toward Luffy's straw hat.
Just one centimeter away—
SHING!
Zoro's sword was suddenly pressed against Bellamy's neck.
The cold blade made sweat instantly form on Bellamy's forehead.
"Zoro," Luffy said calmly.
"I'll leave this place to you."
"They're just people who don't have dreams."
Luffy straightened slightly, grabbed his bag of meat, and walked out.
"Wait!" Bellamy shouted, trying to chase him.
A cold flash of steel cut across the floor.
Bellamy froze.
A deep slash split the wooden floorboards.
Several pirates nearby were cut down instantly.
"You're not going anywhere," Zoro said calmly.
"Who the hell are you?" Bellamy asked, his back soaked with sweat.
"Roronoa Zoro."
"A pirate."
Author Note (Power Reference)
To avoid confusion about the crew's strength:
Luffy:
Base strength comparable to Rob Lucci (enhanced by the author).
Using Gear Second, roughly comparable to Dressrosa Luffy without Gear Fourth.
Zoro:
Comparable to Enies Lobby Zoro after awakening Nine-Sword Style.
Sanji:
Comparable to Enies Lobby Sanji.
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