It was obvious the "residents" of Whisky Peak were pros at throwing parties... or traps.
The second the Straw Hats sat down, the feast began.
Chefs brought out dish after dish, and beautiful women specifically targeted guys like Sanji, pouring booze down their throats non-stop.
Zoro and Nami stayed cautious, even when Igaram announced a 100,000 Belly prize for the drinking contest champion.
They participated, sure, but they kept their wits about them.
Chouchou stayed with the tied-up Vivi and Mr. 9, munching on meat while giving them the death glare.
'Leak any info, and you're dog food.'
The two captives could only watch him nervously, desperately looking for a chance to warn Igaram, but no luck so far.
Ray had kept his mask on since they landed.
Now, grabbing several bottles of booze and some meat, he headed up towards the peak of one of the giant cacti.
Clearly, he was planning to just sit back and watch the show unfold.
He figured even if these bounty hunters didn't know who they were dealing with, they'd figure out something was wrong eventually.
Drinking, eating, and watching chaos – Ray's kind of evening.
His first act upon reaching the peak, though? Clearing away all the tombstones within a kilometer radius.
(Whisky Peak's cacti were literally covered in graves.)
Ray wasn't about to chill in a graveyard.
…
Igaram took a break from the drinking contest and signaled Miss Monday, a muscular woman with pink pigtails, to follow him outside.
"Have you figured out who they are?" Igaram asked grimly.
Miss Monday tilted her head.
"Mr. 8, you look serious. Are they really that strong?"
(Maintaining those muscles took a lot of energy, leaving little brainpower on her.)
Igaram pulled out three wanted posters.
Miss Monday's eyes went wide.
"What?! It's them?!"
Igaram sighed. "Yes. The Straw Hat Pirates. Total bounty: 145 million. This is a big fish. We might not be able to handle them."
Just as they were starting to doubt themselves, Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 showed up, looking cocky.
"Relax," Mr. 5 said. "Yeah, they're strong for rookies, but their guard is way too low. Why not just drug their food and drinks?"
"Besides," Miss Valentine added, "with us here, we can take them head-on if we need to. They're just rookies from the East Blue, the weakest sea. Nothing to worry about."
Sitting up on the cactus peak, Ray overheard everything thanks to his demon hearing.
'Frogs in a well,' he thought, amused.
They had no idea the East Blue was breeding ground for monster.
Ray decided to just watch.
Would the Straw Hats really be careless enough to get drugged and wiped out? If they were, their future training was going to be hell.
'Wait... training...'
A thought struck Ray as he looked down at Miss Valentine (who could change her weight) and Mr. 5 (who made bombs).
Starlight flickered in his cold eyes.
'Those two... are about to suffer greatly.'
…
Meanwhile, inside the banquet hall...
Luffy had already eaten enough food for 15 people, knocking out three chefs in the process.
Sanji had confessed his love to 20 different girls and downed every drink they offered him.
Usopp was so caught up in telling tall tales that he ate whatever was put in front of him.
And Chouchou, being a newly sentient dog, happily accepted every bone thrown his way.
Yep.
All of them got drugged and were now passed out cold.
Zoro and Nami, who had noticed Igaram leave, had faked being drunk and collapsed after only eight drinks.
Seeing the entire Straw Hat crew "down," the Baroque Works members gathered in the square, ready to celebrate their catch.
Vivi and Mr. 9 managed to sneak away from the passed-out Chouchou and rejoin Igaram.
Just as the bounty hunters were marveling at their impending fortune, Vivi noticed something.
"Mr. 8! The one with the highest bounty! He's gone!"
Mr. 9 nodded frantically.
"And he's a yokai!"
Hearing that, a chill went through the Baroque Works agents.
The cold night wind didn't help.
"A yokai? Are you serious?"
"Yes!" Vivi insisted. "Their crewmates said it themselves! And the little dog is a yokai too – it can talk, transform, and eat people!" She pointed at the sleeping Chouchou and recounted her terrifying experiences.
"Hiss—"
A lot of the bounty hunters started having second thoughts.
Yokai or not, a 65-million-Berry pirate disappearing was bad news.
At that moment, Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 stepped forward.
"Don't be afraid!" Mr. 5 yelled. "There's only one left! Who cares if he's 65 million? Who cares if he's a Devil Fruit user? Valentine and I are Devil Fruit users too!"
Miss Valentine puffed out her chest.
"Fuhahaha~ With us here, you grunts just do your jobs. If that 'yokai' dares show his face, I'll flatten him into a pancake!"
As she spoke, she shot Vivi a nasty sideways glance.
Just then, a cool, magnetic voice rang out.
"Oh? You said you'd flatten Ray into a pancake?"
Zoro stood silhouetted on a nearby rooftop, swords drawn, looking like a total badass under the full moon.
"You actually think you can mess with Ray?!" Nami yelled, slinging her Clima-Tact over her shoulder and hiding behind Zoro.
"Have you asked my Clima-Tact for permission?!"
Zoro instantly felt his cool aura deflate and shot Nami an annoyed look.
Nami just turned her face to him and whispered, "I'm just a delicate girl—I'll support you from behind."
Then, puffing out her chest, she pointed her weapon at the bounty hunters.
"Charge straight through, Zoro—the 30 million Berry pirate! East Blue's greatest bounty hunter! The world's one and only Three Sword Style swordsman!"
Zoro was speechless.
'Great. She just painted a giant target on my back.'
But whatever.
He told Nami to be careful, drew his swords, and charged.
Mr. 5 ordered the low-level agents to attack.
Up on the hill, Ray took a sip of wine.
'Two minutes, tops,' he estimated.
Sure enough, less than two minutes later, all the regular bounty hunters were lying on the ground, battered and barely conscious, victims of Zoro's tornado attack.
Only Miss Valentine, Mr. 5, Igaram (Mr. 8), Miss Monday, Vivi (Miss Wednesday), and Mr. 9 were left standing.
Zoro flashed a confident grin.
"Alright, Nami," he said, turning back to her. "You handle the women, I'll take the men. How's that?"
Nami swaggered up behind him and punched him square on the head.
"What are you thinking?! You're fighting all of them, obviously!"
"Huh?"
"Wait—" Nami suddenly pointed at Miss Valentine. "Leave the umbrella woman to me! She's crossed a line!"