Chapter 053

"They're a criminal organization after our heads," Vivi explained. "I'm sorry, but it seems we may have gotten you involved."

"No, don't worry about it," Dorry said, waving his hand dismissively. Then he paused. "Actually, that may not be the case. You see, 100 years ago, Brogy and I both had bounties of 100 million Belly on our heads. I'm not sure if those are still active, but that could explain why they aimed for me first. Still, it doesn't make much sense. An explosion like that wouldn't be enough to take me down." Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Wait! Is Brogy—"

"No," Luffy interjected. "They won't make a move yet. I'm guessing that their plan was to let Brogy take you down during your next duel and then capture you both," he said, gritting his teeth as he said it.

"You mean they were trying to interfere with our sacred duel!?" Dorry shouted in outrage as he rose to his feet. "I'll kill them!"

"Wait," Luffy said, raising his hand to halt Dorry. "This is our problem. They followed us here, so it's our responsibility to deal with them." He grinned at Dorry. "We'll take it upon ourselves to defend the integrity of your duel." Suddenly, they heard the familiar sound of a volcanic eruption. "Besides, it sounds like you have somewhere to be," he said.

Dorry grinned in appreciation. "I'll leave it to you then, my friend. Now if you'll excuse me, I must uphold my honor for the 73,467th time. I'm feeling good about this one!" he roared, before trudging off through the jungle to meet Brogy again.

"Stay here, Vivi," Luffy said. Vivi looked like she wanted to protest, but complied. Luffy shot off towards the direction of the four enemy auras. It wasn't long before he came to a secluded region of the jungle and found a small building that seemed to be made out of 3's wax. He landed on the ground, walked up to the building, and knocked on the door. "3!" he shouted. "Come out of there! I'm here to kick your ass!" He waited patiently for a response, but to his annoyance, the four presences didn't even move. A tic developed over his eye and he shouted again. "Stop ignoring me, you assholes! I know you're in there!"

It was then that he heard faint whispering coming from inside the makeshift hideout. He was about to simply destroy the building when he sensed a presence running to the door accompanied by a spike of killing intent. He jumped back to avoid the explosion that blew the door off its wax hinges. "About time," Luffy said, dusting off his pants. "What am I, a frickin' door-to-door salesman?"

"I find your humor to be dry and tasteless," came a quiet voice from inside. Slowly, three more people walked out of the door to accompany Mr. 5, who was now standing outside the door with an angry scowl on his face. Mr. 3 looked at Luffy and continued. "I'm not sure how you found this place, but you're a fool to have come here alone."

"Whatever," Luffy scoffed. "Just answer the door faster next time. I don't have all day."

Mr. 3 frowned. "I'm afraid there will not be a next time. You are correct. You don't have all day. In fact, you don't even have five minutes. Your life was forfeit from the second you knocked on our door so nonchalantly."

Luffy was having trouble keeping his half-lidded eyes open. They started to drift closed and his head started to sag before he heard another voice shout at him.

"Hey! Are you paying attention, you straw hat bastard!?" Miss Valentine yelled. Luffy's eyes snapped open and he looked around frantically, trying to discern where he was. He looked back at the four slowly.

"Oh, it's just you guys," he said.

Mr. 3 was starting to get annoyed. "It appears you're an even bigger idiot than the reports indicated," he said.

"It's not my fault," Luffy whined. "Your voice is so monotone that it was putting me to sleep! Do you even need that wax stuff? You could win just about any fight by talking!"

Mr. 3 struggled to keep his composure as Miss Goldenweek broke out into a fit of giggles. He reigned in his anger and exhaled. "Monkey D. Luffy, bounty of 45 million Belly," he began. "Did you know that some people weigh a pirate's worth by their bounty?" he asked in distaste. "Pirates and even bounty hunters cower away from those with high bounties, interpreting them as an indication of the threat they pose." He looked Luffy dead in the eye. "I call them all fools. Only a true idiot draws attention to himself and wreaks havoc for the sake of fame. A true criminal works from the shadows, achieving his goals discreetly and efficiently. A bounty means nothing. Only the end result matters." He smirked. "Take the two us for example. My bounty is 24 million, and is far exceeded by yours. And yet, I've already won this fight," he said smugly.

Luffy looked at him with a deadpan expression. "If you think you're actually going to beat me by talking, I didn't mean you could really win that way, just so you know."

"That's not what I meant, you dumbass!" Mr. 3 shrieked in a high-pitched voice before regaining his composure. "You see, you've already fallen into our trap while listening to my monotone voice. You might want to check your feet, Straw Hat," he said with a knowing smirk.

Luffy looked down and saw a circle painted on the ground at his feet. Confused, he looked back up to see the short girl who he assumed was 3's partner holding up a paintbrush. He stared in apathy, not quite getting it. "Colors Trap: Inactivity White," she said emotionlessly.

I thought that white was best for inactivity. I mean, I could say Inactivity Blank, but that does not roll off the tongue quite as well.

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were both grinning widely now at the thought of revenge. Luffy still didn't have a clue what was going on. "You painted a circle on the ground. What's the big deal?" he asked. Miss Valentine burst out in laughter.

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