Chapter 97: Successive Appearances.

"Come and play when you have time~~"

"We, the 'Monkey Mountain Allied Army', are on the east coast of Jaya!"

As an island appeared ahead, the Going Merry separated from the giant monkey salvage ship beside it and sailed towards the seaside port of 'Magic Valley Town'. The port was filled with pirate ships of various flags, clearly a lawless place! Meanwhile:

"Do you really not need me—"

"No need!" x2

"Alright," Roman, sternly rejected by Luffy and Nami, stopped his 'spoilers', but there were still some things he had to say.

"After we get off the ship, everyone should..."

Keep a low profile?

But does Luffy even know what keeping a low profile means?

"Forget it, I'll go shopping with you."

??

"The thing is, the paper cranes I sent out scouted a few real 'experts' on this island—" Before he could finish, Luffy and Zoro's eyes sharpened, eager to fight, making Roman look up at the sky in exasperation.

"Don't just rush to fight when you hear 'experts'!"

"Those are terrifying people with bounties over a billion, if we really fight, we won't stand a chance."

That's right, on this Jaya Island, there is currently a group of 'unremarkable' people, the Blackbeard Pirates, all of whom are at least three meters tall.

Although the bounties of the Blackbeard Pirates are currently low, that's because they just 'debuted'. As the captain, Blackbeard 'Marshall D. Teach' doesn't even have a bounty yet! But in terms of strength... a billion each is not an exaggeration.

They are undoubtedly dual Haki users!

So, there's no doubt they can easily crush the current Straw Hat crew. Therefore:

"Once we get on the island, just do what you need to do, don't cause trouble or act foolishly... In short, follow my lead."

"Mm, mm."

Seeing Zoro nodding with his eyes closed and Luffy looking up at the sky, Roman began to silently recite the 'Ice Heart Technique'!

"I have a disease that will kill me if I get on the island! I want to stay on the ship!~~~"

Usopp was completely stunned, a billion! They had just barely defeated Crocodile with a bounty of 'only' 80 million... and there are several people on this island stronger than Crocodile?

Blackbeard Group: It's not that bad, it's not that bad...

"I-I-I-I, I'm not going either."

Chopper was already shy, let alone facing such terrifying people as Roman described! In his imagination, this island was simply hell! Filled with a group of eight-foot-tall, eight-foot-wide non-human giants...

In reality, it was true: at least Blackbeard himself was a ten-foot-tall, ten-foot-wide giant.

"Really?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow, unable to suppress his fighting spirit! Having just significantly increased his combat power, he was eager for opponents.

"Really! As real as gold!"

Roman rubbed his temples, giving them a heads-up.

"In short, for everyone's health and safety, don't mess around—otherwise, I'll have to drag you all into the sea to escape..."

"But actually, there's no need to be too nervous," after explaining the opponent's strength, Roman 'comforted' everyone.

"They have no grudge against us, and no reason to attack us. We just need to resupply and then look for clues to the sky island—as if those people never existed."

In the end, Roman's mix of fear and intimidation made Usopp, Chopper, and even Nami reluctant to leave the ship, and Sanji needed to stay behind to watch the ship. On the other hand, Robin, who was used to dealing with various danger was fearless and went off alone to gather information and buy clothes.

Of course, Roman followed Luffy and Zoro to shop, keeping an eye on these two overly energetic guys.

---

"Mock Town, a small town developed by pirates."

As they walked, Roman introduced the town to Luffy and Zoro, "As you can see—"

"What are you looking at?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Try it again!"

"Try and you'll die!"

The fight began—

In short, this was the typical style of conversation along the way. Drawing swords at the slightest disagreement, fighting and competing was the daily routine here, making it a town full of violence. However, Luffy and Zoro remained calm, as they were also used to solving problems with violence.

"Fortunately, pirates don't attack civilians. On one hand, they are extravagant and spend money lavishly, and on the other hand, if they have money but no one to serve them, wouldn't that be disappointing?"

So, humans are the most adaptable creatures. As long as there is profit, even blood-stained Beli will have plenty of people to earn it.

"Oh oh oh~~, there are all kinds of people."

"It's a very interesting town,"

Even though there was fighting all the way, Luffy and Zoro were excitedly looking around, feeling right at home.

"Wa hahaha, I didn't even use my strength, and you fell!"

A three-meter-tall man with purple hair, wearing a wrestler's mask, was laughing heartily, looking very bold. His belt had a "Champion" mark.

"Have you been training your body well?"

Jesus Burgess, the helmsman of Blackbeard's pirate ship. A hand-to-hand combat expert proficient in using two types of Haki.

"I heard this guy is a martial arts champion... better not mess with him..."

Champion?!

This word immediately caught the attention of Luffy and Zoro, but the prepared Roman quickly dragged them away.

"Don't cause trouble."

Seeing the two of them reluctant to leave, Roman had to use his trump card.

"This guy is worth over a hundred millions—consider the other crew members."

"Let's go," X2

Although Luffy and Zoro wanted to challenge him, they knew that if a conflict broke out, the rest of the Straw Hat crew would have to pay for their recklessness.

————————

"Cough cough,"

A man lying on the ground, barely alive, blocked their way. He wore a sinister black feather coat, a black round hat, and under his gray-white hair was a face that looked terminally ill. —If it weren't for his height of over three meters, he would indeed look like a dying patient.

"Hey guys, can you give me a hand..."

Facing the man coughing up blood on the ground, Zoro calmly retorted.

"You're just too lazy to get up, aren't you?"

This sickly appearance might fool others, but not the incredibly intuitive Zoro and Luffy, especially since Roman had forced them to awaken their Observation Haki.

"Cough cough, sorry."

'Struggling' to climb onto the nearby horse, the panting man patted the horse.

"I was born weak and sickly... let's go, Sturdy!"

Pfft!

"Hey hey hey, your horse is coughing up blood too..."

Truly, like master, like servant... even the horse pretended to be sickly.

'Death God' Doc Q.

The doctor of the Blackbeard Pirates, a mysterious guy who liked to hide his strength. Like the sniper who always talked about fate, he also believed in 'fate'. So:

"A little token... have one."

Facing the basket of apples he handed over, Roman and Zoro naturally wouldn't accept such a strange thing, but Luffy—

"Thanks!"

Chew, chew~~

Boom!!

At that moment, a series of explosions and chaotic exclamations came from the side.

"What happened?"

"Just now, a sickly guy gave them apples, and after eating them, they exploded!"

"How tragic, five people were blown to bits, no need for an undertaker..."

Clang!

Zoro's sword, Wado Ichimonji, suddenly unsheathed, and he looked at the man with killing intent.

"What do you mean by this?"

"Don't panic,"

The man lying on the horse just gave a creepy smile.

"He didn't pick the 'exploding apple', he'll be fine—"

"You're really lucky, straw hat kid~~"

——————

"I really want to cut down that strange guy from earlier!"

Facing the furious Zoro, Roman waved his hand. "Don't be impulsive, that guy was one of the 'masters' I mentioned."

???

"Indeed, I had a strange feeling," the now calm Zoro said, holding the hilt of his sword.

"It felt like I couldn't cut him, even though I hadn't even attacked yet."

"Right, you can't judge a book by its cover~~"

Roman and Zoro walked and chatted as they approached the tavern ahead. Luffy had already rushed to the bar and started eating and drinking. Next to him sat a rough-looking, hairy, tall, and burly middle-aged man.

Roman's steps suddenly paused for a moment, then he continued forward as if nothing had happened, causing the big man who was eating like Luffy to glance back slightly.

"Bartender, some wine!"

As Roman and Zoro sat down next to Luffy, Roman took the opportunity to glance at the man.

He had dark skin, fluffy black hair wrapped in a headscarf, and was missing a few teeth. He was gulping down food with gusto.

"This cherry pie is awful!!"

"This cherry pie is delicious!!"

?

Luffy and the big man looked at each other, then picked up their wine glasses and chugged them down. Then:

"Why is this wine so good?!"

"Why is this wine so bad!?"

!

"I'm not a chef, how would I know?" The burly bartender answered calmly, but the two 'customers' in front of him were already glaring at each other!

"Is your tongue broken?"

"Your brain is broken!"

"Bartender, give me fifty servings of meat to take back as gifts!"

"Bartender, give me fifty-one cherry pies to take back as gifts!"

"Ah... then change my meat to fifty-two servings~~"

"Bad luck, then I'll take fifty-three pies~~"

"Fifty-four meats!"

"Fifty-five pies!"

...

Madness!!

These are the future Pirate King and Yonko??

Even elementary school kids argue better than this! Is it true that the simpler you are, the stronger you become in this world... Listening to Luffy and the big man's boring argument, Roman could only feel his temples throbbing.

This man, who behaved very similarly to Luffy but had completely opposite tastes, was named Marshall D. Teach. He had a famous nickname:

Blackbeard!

——————

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