Over on his side, Usopp was vigorously boasting about his glorious exploits, eliciting rounds of applause and shouts of "Bottoms up!" from those around him. He thought this town that threw banquets for pirates was really great.
On the other side, Luffy was devouring food. Plates of food were basically tossed directly into his mouth and swallowed whole. A huge pile of empty plates had already accumulated beside him.
Even though Luffy had eaten enough for twenty people, his rubber stomach bulging greatly, he was still dissatisfied, shouting for another plate. His eating speed far exceeded the chefs' cooking speed. After he finished eating, he had literally exhausted three chefs dedicated solely to feeding him.
As for Sanji, in a certain sense, he was even more impressive than Luffy because his goal for this banquet had already been exceeded and perfectly completed.
Thus, Sanji was completely immersed, shouting loudly that this was paradise.
As for Nami, Tom, and Zoro, the three of them...
The so-called "Bottoms-up Contest" involved everyone downing cup after cup without stopping. Put plainly, it was a drinking competition.
Initially, Nami didn't want to participate. She said reservedly that she couldn't drink. But upon hearing the winner would receive a 100,000 Berry prize, she completely changed her attitude. Not only did she join, but she also forced Tom and Zoro to participate, using the excuse that they had no money.
After downing his thirteenth consecutive cup, Zoro collapsed on the table, unable to get up.
At first, Tom thought his final opponent in this drinking contest would be Zoro. Contrary to his expectations, now only he and Nami were left locked in a fierce contest. Everyone else who participated had already completely collapsed.
"Finished. Next."
After Tom downed his fourteenth cup and saw Nami had also finished hers, he immediately called for another cup.
By Tom's estimate, each cup he'd drunk held at least 1,300 milliliters and had to be finished in one go. After continuous drinking of thirteen cups, his head had actually begun to feel slightly dizzy. But for some reason, he didn't want to lose to Nami, especially in drinking.
As a man, how could his alcohol tolerance be lower than a woman's? With this mentality, Tom went head-to-head with Nami for five more cups.
If his opponent were Zoro, Tom might have given up long ago. After all, that green-haired guy was a drunkard; losing to him wasn't embarrassing.
But to Nami? Tom would never admit defeat no matter what. Unfortunately, he didn't know Nami's alcohol tolerance was exceptionally good, possessing the style of someone who runs a tavern.
"They've drunk their twentieth cup! They've already broken the previous Bottoms-up Contest record of sixteen cups!"
"This man and woman are truly heroes among drinkers!"
The people watching, seeing Tom and Nami down cup after cup without any sign of stopping, were all extremely shocked.
In fact, the most shocked was Tom.
How can she drink so much? Where did she practice this?
How would Tom know that when Nami used to sail alone to steal pirate treasure, she would often pretend to join pirate crews. During their banquets, she would get the entire crew drunk, then take advantage of the situation to steal treasure. Her alcohol tolerance was trained this way. How could it be poor?
"Aren't we on the same side? What do you mean by this?"
Due to the alcohol, Nami spoke with slight drunkenness, leaning closer to Tom, who was about to drink his twenty-first cup.
"Listen up. I'm a man with dignity. I absolutely will not lose to you."
Tom let out a drunken hiccup, looking at Nami leaning closer. Stimulated by the alcohol, he felt an unprecedented strange sensation.
"Why do you have to be so strong-willed? Would it be so bad to give in to me occasionally?"
After drinking her twenty-first cup, Nami's drunken-tinged face held a trace of tender affection. Her tone of voice was clearly different from her usual self.
There's a saying: The wine doesn't intoxicate; the person intoxicates themselves.
Though not yet drunk and still rational, Nami, having drunk alcohol and facing Tom alone, unconsciously revealed a woman's gentle vulnerability.
She recalled earlier, when they left Loguetown. Upon returning to the ship, Tom, seeing her clothes were wet from the rain, had taken the initiative to take off his own jacket for her to wear.
Even though Tom had been careless enough to forget his own jacket was also wet, Nami could still clearly feel that Tom was indeed acting differently toward her now.
At the very least, Tom would now take the initiative to care about her. In the past, if he saw Nami getting rained on, he would nine times out of ten pretend not to notice, let alone worry about her catching cold and taking off his clothes for her.
Perhaps, in Nami's subconscious, she actually longed for a day when she could be carefree with Tom—acting spoiled, playing around, like a real couple.
But for now, neither she nor Tom had achieved their respective ideals. Both had their own pursuits. This man and woman both intentionally and unintentionally avoided each other's feelings, yet their emotions deepened constantly during this voyage.
One had to admit, this was...
"Alright. I'll do as you say."
When Tom first heard Nami's words whispered in his ear, he had intended to refuse outright. But the words that reached his lips completely changed flavor, making him feel strange.
Looking at Nami before him, Tom noticed that upon hearing his words, her face was brimming with satisfied joy, the curve of her upturned lips revealing a hint of playful spirit.
When her pair of lively, expressive eyes glanced over, it made his breathing hitch.
So making her happy is this simple? What am I fighting with her for? Letting her win isn't a big deal. Can't I, a grown man, have that much magnanimity?
Thinking this, Tom smiled faintly, speaking in a voice only the two could hear: "This time... I'll listen to you."
Hearing the man's words, Nami bloomed into a radiant smile, raising her empty cup. "This is the twenty-third cup! I win!"
"She really drank twenty-three cups!"
"What a terrifying woman!"
The onlookers saw Tom and Nami whispering closely, not knowing what they discussed. Then Tom collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. From the looks of it, Nami had indeed obtained final victory.
"Hurry up and give me the 100,000 Berry prize!"
Nami, with a hint of drunkenness, said to Igaram.
After receiving the prize money, Nami happily came to Tom's side. Sitting on the ground, counting money, she said cheerfully to Tom, "See? We'll have even more money in the future."
"In the future, we won't just have money..."
Tom, looking at the laughing, money-counting Nami, added this seemingly random phrase before closing his eyes, showing no reaction, as if he had fallen asleep drunk.
Though Tom spoke very softly just now, Nami, being close, still heard it. She froze for a moment, her heart stirred, looking at Tom. As if drunk, she whispered: "Then... I'll wait."
As she spoke, Nami, looking unable to handle the alcohol, fell beside Tom. She slowly closed her eyes, thinking to herself: I am drunk... but you are not. Those words... I will take them seriously.
By now, whether Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, or Zoro—all had completely collapsed, looking like they wouldn't be able to get up for some time.
Seeing the Straw Hat crew had all lost consciousness, Igaram prepared to start acting. He went outside the tavern where the banquet was held, looking at the moon hanging high in the sky, reciting like a poet: "They have fallen asleep, adventurers. May you have sweet dreams. The moonlit cactus rocks are also quite beautiful."
"You're quite suited to be a poet, Mr. 8."
Mr. 9 and Miss Monday sat on a rooftop, praising Igaram.
Earlier, the two had written a letter to their boss from their residence, explaining their failure in the whale capture mission. They said they had already made up for their mistake by luring these pirates here. They hoped the Unluckies would deliver their letter to the boss and gain his forgiveness.
Miss Wednesday had already notified Mr. 8 that among the group was a guy very skilled at hunting, whose strength was quite extraordinary, and they should pay extra attention.
As it turned out, Igaram said that person had already been imprisoned and told Miss Wednesday not to worry.
But what they didn't figure out was this: the person Igaram referred to was Usopp, who had been boasting loudly in the tavern. The person Miss Wednesday meant was Tom.
Unfortunately, they didn't mutually confirm the details. Hearing Tom had been "dealt with," Miss Wednesday let out a sigh of relief. She had already witnessed Tom's formidability. With him around, things would have been problematic.
Thus, Usopp, while sleeping soundly, tragically became Tom's scapegoat. He was carried to a small dark room and locked up alone.
"But was it really necessary to go out of your way to welcome them?"
Miss Monday, dressed like a nun, took her hood off. Though she had two small buns in her hair, she still gave off a rugged masculine vibe.
She continued to Igaram: "They just look like a bunch of mentioned brats. Couldn't we have just killed them at the port?"
"You are mistaken, Miss Monday."
Igaram took out a wanted poster for the others to see. "I've already investigated their backgrounds. Their captain is worth thirty million Berries!"
"W-What?!"
"T-Thirty million Berries?!"
Miss Wednesday and the others, seeing the wanted poster in Igaram's hand, were so shocked their jaws dropped.
"So don't judge a pirate's strength by appearances. Moreover, according to my information, there should be another person in this crew worth thirty million as well."
The moment Igaram said this, Miss Monday, who earlier suggested dealing with them at the port, changed expression, scratching her head honestly, admitting she had judged by appearances.
Miss Wednesday asked Igaram who the other thirty-million bounty was. As it turned out, that newspaper-selling seagull had dropped another wanted poster among the batch. He didn't know the person's appearance, but the alias seemed to be something like "Red-Eye" or similar.
Hearing this, Miss Wednesday thought of Tom's strange blood-red pupils. She speculated internally that it was most likely him. But since Tom was already imprisoned, it wouldn't be a big problem.
Originally, Igaram had still been worried that if they couldn't capture the criminals alive, the World Government's reward would be thirty percent less. After all, the World Government preferred public executions of pirates to deter others, rather than receiving cold corpses.
However, Miss Wednesday said they didn't need to worry about the other thirty-million bounty anymore, as that person was already captured. Now they just needed to deal with their captain.
Igaram carefully looked at Luffy's wanted poster and noticed that the person Miss Wednesday mentioned as highly skilled was also in the photo. He thought perhaps the photographer had accidentally gotten two wanted criminals in the shot.
Unexpectedly, that long-nosed guy who looks so obedient it's unbelievable is also worth thirty million. The world really is chaotic. And the Marines seem to have gotten the alias wrong too. "Nose Gentleman" is quite something...
Thinking this, Igaram ordered Miss Monday and the others to go to the Going Merry, take all valuable things, and by the way tie up the remaining pirate members.
"Sorry. The morning's sailing tired them out. Just let them rest properly for a bit."
Zoro, holding his swords, sat atop a tall building, looking down at Igaram and the others. The gentle moonlight spilled down on him, stretching his shadow.
"Weren't you already drunk and collapsed?"
Igaram was quite shocked seeing Zoro on the rooftop. At the same time, several people ran out to tell Igaram someone had escaped while they weren't paying attention—that person was Zoro.
"As a swordsman, no matter when, I can't do something as stupid as getting drunk."
Holding his swords, Zoro looked down at the growing number of townspeople emerging from their houses. They no longer had the warmly hospitable demeanor from the day, replaced by ferocious expressions. They all held weapons—pistols or knives—eyes gleaming with malice as they stared at Zoro on the rooftop.
"Actually, this is a bounty hunters' nest, right?"
Zoro drew another sword from his waist, looking down at Igaram. "Pirates come to the Grand Line full of ambition. Do you intend to ruin everyone's mood right from the start?"
"There are about a hundred bounty hunters here. Let me play with you all... Baroque Works!"
Zoro directly called out the name of Igaram's organization, shocking them.
"How do you know our company's name?!"
"Back when I was working in the same line as you guys, someone from your company once personally approached me, wanting me to join. Of course, I refused."
Zoro continued exposing Baroque Works' inner workings: "Company employees completely don't know each other's backgrounds, addressing each other by code names. For employees, the boss's location and true face are both mysteries. Baroque Works is a criminal organization that faithfully executes orders from above. Isn't that right?"
Seeing Zoro knew so much about them, Igaram decided to silence him permanently. He said another tombstone would be added to the cactus rocks.
Upon closer inspection, the needles on the giant cacti standing at Whisky Peak were actually densely packed tombstones erected on them. In the silent night, it gave an unprovoked spine-chilling feeling. From afar, these tombstones looked like needles growing on the giant cacti.
Just as Igaram ordered an attack on Zoro atop the building, they realized Zoro was no longer there. Without them noticing, he had already descended into the crowd below.
By the time Igaram and the others reacted, they immediately launched an attack on Zoro.
Facing the encirclement of over a hundred bounty hunters, Zoro responded calmly. He quickly arrived behind Igaram, placing a blade against his throat.
The cold blade pressed against Igaram's skin, scaring him into not daring to move. Zoro asked if adding just one tombstone to the cactus rock was really enough.
Maybe we need to add another hundred.
Seeing the bounty hunters ignore his capture and wanting to shoot and kill him together with Zoro, Igaram decisively used his saxophone shotgun, firing bullets from his curly hair to take down these people.
Zoro also wanted to test the power of the two new swords he got in Loguetown and decided to cause havoc here.
Just as Zoro was one by one knocking down the hundred-plus bounty hunters of Whisky Peak with the blunt side of his blade, Tom was awakened by the noise outside. Drowsily opening his eyes, he seemed to faintly smell a citrus scent on his chest but didn't see Nami. Instead, Sanji and Luffy were sleeping soundly nearby.
Having drunk a lot, Tom's head felt heavy and muddled. He shook his head a few times, feeling slightly better.
Finding the tavern's air very bad, Tom wanted to go outside for fresh air. Staggering outward, he saw many people lying all over the ground, felt it was strange, and was about to step forward to check when a woman suddenly grabbed his arm from the side…
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T/N :
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