Although the idiot captain's idiotic idea had been flatly rejected by everyone else, no one raised a single objection to Luffy's next proposal.
"Let's throw a banquet!" the Straw Hat simpleton declared, his face beaten black and blue.
And so, a lively banquet unfolded on the beach of this small island...
The towering bonfire seemed to light up the night sky. Fragrant grilled fish and crisp, refreshing fruit had the Straw Hat crew, exhausted from the day's toil, crying out in satisfaction.
However, this wore out a certain blond cook who was working hard at the grill.
"Don't cut in line, you damn monkeys! Stand in line properly!!"
Sanji, a cigarette dangling from his lips, shouted impatiently at the horde of monkeys swarming around him.
Surprisingly, these monkeys seemed to actually understand the blond cook's words. They immediately formed a neat line, quietly waiting for Sanji's special grilled fish. They looked quite intelligent.
"That's better..." Grinning, Sanji flipped the grilled fish in his hand. Under the heat of the red-hot charcoal, the tender fish meat released bursts of mouth-watering fragrance, causing the monkeys to scratch their ears and cheeks in anticipation, drool spilling from their mouths.
The blue-nosed little reindeer looked at the long queue and frowned slightly. "Hey, Sanji, can you handle all this by yourself? There are probably over a thousand monkeys here."
"Don't worry, Chopper." The curly-browed cook handed a grilled fish to a monkey, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and smiled. "I am a chef, after all."
"As an excellent chef, how could I let the banquet guests go hungry?"
Although he was a love-struck curly-brow, Sanji absolutely possessed the professional ethics proper to an excellent chef.
Chopper froze for a moment after hearing this, then revealed a cute smile: "Hehe, that's true."
Meanwhile.
Since the Straw Hat Pirates were having a banquet, how could they go without Luffy's comical chopsticks-in-the-nose dance?
As the newly appointed "Monkey King" of this island, the simpleton captain—who previously only had Usopp and Chopper as backup dancers—was truly balling out this time.
Luffy was seen with chopsticks plugged into his nostrils, holding a bamboo scoop, wriggling left and right like a loach. At the same time, he was humming a tune that had strayed all the way to the New World.
Behind him stood a dense crowd of monkeys. They had twigs plugged into their noses and were mimicking Luffy's movements with decent form, wiggling along while grunting and humming. The serious expressions on their monkey faces were hilarious.
It had to be said that these monkeys had powerful learning abilities. Their uniform movements were enough to make even well-trained Marine soldiers sweat in shame.
Ah, ah, ah...
Even for such a comical dance, having several hundred monkeys perform it in unison was quite imposing—truly spectacular. Combined with the roaring bonfire, from a distance, it looked like some strange cult holding an evil ritual to summon a great demon. It was indescribably eerie.
"Cough, cough..." Watching this eye-searing scene, Zoro, who was drinking, nearly choked to death.
"Luffy seems to have gotten addicted to dancing..." Robin took a bite of the fruit in her hand with a calm expression.
"Isn't it fine? While he's still in the mood, let's hurry up and eat more grilled fish." Sherlock pushed up his glasses, then picked up another fish. "Otherwise, once he comes back, there won't be anything left to eat."
At this moment, Usopp finished his grilled fish and stood up from his seat.
"Alright, I'll use my new invention to add to the fun." Saying this, the long-nosed brother pulled out his slingshot and fired into the sky.
"Special Attack: Firework Star!"
Boom!!! A huge firework blossomed instantly high in the air, overflowing with color—red as fire, yellow as gold, white as snow—extremely beautiful.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Usopp continued to fire, one gorgeous firework after another competed for beauty in the silent night sky, illuminating the entire horizon.
"So... so cool!!"
"Usopp, you're amazing!!"
"Jigu jigu!" XN
Luffy, Chopper, and a large group of monkeys gazed at a certain long-nose performing the firework show with looks of admiration, little stars twinkling in their eyes.
"Hmph, I configured this Firework Star by sheer luck during a failed attempt at mixing a new Gunpowder Star."
Speaking of this, Usopp subconsciously glanced at a certain scheming woman who was silently eating fruit. His face changed slightly, then as if suddenly remembering something, he excitedly shouted to the navigator not far away, "That's right, Nami!"
"What is it? Usopp."
"Hurry up and take out your Clima-Tact!" Mentioning his proudest invention, the great inventor Usopp puffed out his long nose proudly.
"Such a lively banquet is the perfect opportunity for you to perform, I..."
However, before the long-nosed brother could finish his sentence, the Demon King Nami charged over with black lines covering her forehead and delivered a heavy blow to Usopp's head.
"You idiot, you still dare to bring that up? I almost got killed by that broken invention of yours in Alubarna!" After saying that, she gave him a sound thrashing.
Dong!
(Nami seems to be getting more and more violent. Truly foolish...) Sherlock turned his head away and began to focus intently on dealing with the grilled fish in his hand.
Just then, a few small monkeys carried over a large wooden barrel, placed it next to Zoro and the others, and opened the lid.
Instantly, the air was filled with a boozy fruit fragrance. Everyone sniffed gently and felt as if they were in an orchard, surrounded by countless fresh, delicious fruits.
"Smells so good! What is this?" Attracted by the fruity aroma, Luffy ran over with an impatient look on his face.
"It says this is the monkey troop's secret 'Holy Water,' a tribute for the Monkey King," the little reindeer translated.
The little monkeys acted like waiters, handing each of the Straw Hats a wooden cup and filling them one by one.
"Gulp, gulp..." Luffy and Usopp downed the 'Holy Water' in their cups almost simultaneously, then let out a long breath of extreme comfort.
"Whew~ Such delicious juice! Another cup!" X2
"Eh, I still think booze tastes better." After drinking the unknown liquid in his cup, the green-haired swordsman picked up his own tankard and went back to drinking by himself.
"What a rich fruity aroma..." Nami gazed at the amber liquid in the wooden cup, a look of nostalgia on her fair face. The rich scent seemed to remind her of the tangerine-filled orchard in Kokoyasi Village in the East Blue.
Taking a small sip, Robin's beautiful eyes instantly lit up; she was evidently extremely satisfied with the taste of this beverage.
(Not a bad taste. I wonder how these monkeys produce it; otherwise, it would be another objective source of income.) Sherlock set down his empty wooden cup, silently savouring the lingering fragrance between his lips and teeth, and pushed up his glasses.
(It's just... why do I feel a bit strange now?)
At this moment, having finished grilling the fish, Sanji walked over with a curious look on his face.
"What are you guys drinking?" Saying this, he poured himself a cup of the so-called 'Holy Water,' took a sip, closed his eyes, and savored it carefully.
"The main ingredients are various fruits, at least several dozen kinds..." As an excellent chef, aside from cooking, Sanji's ability to appraise food was also extremely strong.
A long moment later.
"Ah, I know what this is." Sanji suddenly opened his visible right eye, his face full of excitement.
"The shitty old geezer once mentioned to me that legend has it in the Grand Line, some very intelligent monkeys store gathered fruits in tree hollows. If they can't finish eating them, the fruits at the very bottom ferment. Over time, these fruits brew into wine!"
"Wine?!! But this doesn't taste like wine at all." Luffy, Zoro, and the others all looked puzzled.
Robin, however, looked as if she had suddenly realized something. "So this is the so-called Monkey Wine. I've read about it in a book."
"I thought it was just a legend. I didn't expect it to actually exist. We're truly lucky."
"As expected of Robin-chwan! So knowledgeable." Sanji first flattered her with a love-struck face, then lit a cigarette and explained to everyone:
"That is the peculiar thing about Monkey Wine. Although you get drunk if you have too much, if you only drink a little, it's no different from drinking fruit juice."
"Of course, except for people who get drunk particularly easily..."
(Wait...)
Speaking of this, Sanji froze first, because the curly-browed cook suddenly realized something.
Next, the intelligent Robin and Nami also immediately caught on, their expressions changing.
(People who get drunk particularly easily??)
Silently repeating this phrase in their hearts, the expressions on Usopp, Chopper, and Zoro's faces gradually became quite colorful.
Swish!
Except for a certain Straw Hat idiot who still didn't know what was happening, everyone else turned their heads in unison, looking towards a certain demon warlock who had, at some unknown point, lowered his head and gone motionless.
"Sure enough, Sherlock... he got drunk..."
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