Sanji exhaled a plume of smoke. "I need to source fresh ingredients. And while I'm at it, see if I can find any... beautiful... *ahem*... useful leads."
Zoro kept his arms firmly crossed. "I'll go with them to the tavern. That's the best place to gather information."
Ron looked at the group making rather transparent excuses and smiled wryly. "Alright then. It's decided."
Soon, the crew split into two teams:
Ron led the treasure-obsessed Nami, the intellectually curious Robin, and Chopper—who was clutching his medical bag tightly—toward the island's interior and its rumored ruins.
"Be careful!" Usopp called after them, waving frantically. "Don't dig up anything weird this time!"
"Hey! Luffy! Slow down!" Sanji yelled, already chasing after their Captain, who had shot off like a rubber band.
Zoro stood his ground, scowling at the map in his hand. "Oi, don't just run off! We're supposed to be gathering information first!"
And so, the two teams went their separate ways.
A short while later,
The group that had been "gathering information" somehow found themselves standing outside a dilapidated tavern.
Zoro pushed open the creaky wooden door, and they were hit by a wave of thick, boozy air and a cacophony of raucous noise. In the dim light, pirates of all shapes and sizes were drinking heavily and shouting over one another.
"Excuse me, sir? Do you know where we can find a South Bird?" Luffy asked a grizzled old man at the bar. Seeing the man cup his ear, Luffy took a deep breath and bellowed, "HEY! OLD MAN! DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND A SOUTH BIRD?!"
The tavern fell instantly silent.
The old man looked up at Luffy calmly, then simply shook his head and went back to his drink, leaving the Straw Hats momentarily speechless.
Just then,
"Hey, I heard you asking about the South Bird?" a bartender with a face full of scars asked as he polished a glass.
Luffy immediately leaned over the counter, his face alight with excitement. "Yeah! We're going to Skypiea!"
The tavern was silent for a beat, and then erupted in mocking laughter.
"Bwahaha! What's this kid on about? Skypiea?"
"Another daydreaming fool!"
From a shadowy corner, a man with short blonde hair and a garish floral shirt slowly rose to his feet. Bellamy swayed his wine glass, a contemptuous smirk plastered on his face. "Hey, hey, I must be hearing things. Someone still believes in the fairy tale of Skypiea?"
His lackeys immediately erupted in sycophantic laughter.
Bellamy swaggered over to Luffy, looking down his nose at the straw-hatted boy. "Kid, Skypiea doesn't exist. Instead of chasing childish fantasies—those are just lies for the weak, and dreams are just excuses for cowards..."
He suddenly smashed his glass on the floor, shards skittering across the wood. "Why don't you join me instead! Look at this territory I control! I have wealth and manpower!"
The tavern fell silent, all eyes fixed on the confrontation.
Zoro's hand drifted to his sword hilts. Sanji's expression hardened. But Luffy just looked back at Bellamy, his gaze steady and clear. "My dream doesn't need your approval."
Bellamy's face instantly darkened. "It seems you're too well-fed, that's why you have the luxury of such delusions."
He cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing in the quiet room. "Let me sober you up!"
"**Spring Hopper!**"
Bellamy's arm compressed like a coiled spring, then shot toward Luffy with shocking speed!
*Whoosh!*
Luffy simply tilted his head slightly, the attack whistling harmlessly past his ear. Bellamy stared in stunned disbelief, his subordinates' jaws dropping.
"I said," Luffy pressed his straw hat down, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone, "don't make fun of other people's dreams."
"You dare look down on me?!" Bellamy roared, his face flushing with humiliated rage. He couldn't believe he was being mocked by some rookie trash! "Damn it, I'm Bellamy! Don't you know who I am?!"
The atmosphere in the tavern grew thick enough to cut with a knife.
Sanji's eyes blazed, his leg already raised for a devastating kick. "You're the one looking to die, you scum—!"
But Usopp suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"Wait, Sanji." Usopp's voice was deceptively calm, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "To deal with trash like this... there's no need for you to dirty your hands."
Bellamy and his crew were stunned for a second, then burst into another round of hysterical laughter. "Bwahaha! What's this long-nosed fool saying? Does he think he's some big shot?"
Usopp slowly lifted his head, a mysterious, knowing smile gracing his lips.
He struck a dramatic pose—one hand on his hip, the other adjusting his sniper goggles.
"Heh... a mere pirate crew of less than twenty small fries, and you dare to raise your voices in my presence?"
Bellamy's laughter died in his throat, his expression turning thunderous. "If I'm a small fry, then what does that make you?"
Usopp closed his eyes slightly, as if gazing into a distant, epic past. "It's been... so many years since anyone dared to ask for my true name."
His voice was low and resonant, filled with a profound sense of history. "So long that even I have nearly forgotten it..."
The lantern light in the tavern seemed to dim, focusing all attention on him alone.
"I only remember..." Usopp's eyes snapped open, his presence exploding outwards, "the name the world cries out in fear—**Sniper King!**"
Each syllable landed like a thunderclap, making the glasses on the tables hum and vibrate.
Bellamy's men unconsciously took a step back. Even Bellamy himself felt a slight, involuntary chill.
Usopp continued, his voice dripping with condescending menace. "I hail from the legendary Sniper Island, commanding eight thousand elite marksmen! I have traversed the Four Blues, my name synonymous with undefeated victory!"
The scene was utterly silent, save for the heavy breathing of the stunned pirates.
Luffy's eyes were sparkling. "Wow... Usopp is so cool..."
Zoro's eye twitched. "This guy... he's really going for it."
Sanji simply pinched the bridge of his nose.
Bellamy's face cycled through shades of red and purple as he stared intently at Usopp, trying to find any crack in the bravado.
But Usopp maintained his inscrutable, almost pitying expression, as if he were looking down on insects scurrying beneath his feet.
"PFFT— AHAHAHA! Sniper Island? Sniper King?!" Bellamy finally burst out, clutching his stomach as tears of mirth streamed from his eyes. "You must have read one too many storybooks! That kind of garbage might fool a toddler!"
His crew roared with renewed laughter, one of them slapping the table and yelling, "Yeah! Eight thousand subordinates? If you really had eight thousand men, I'd stand on my hands and take a crap right here!"
Usopp remained perfectly still, not a trace of fear on his face. In fact, a subtle, triumphant smile curled his lips.
Because the system prompt had just chimed in his mind.
*[Ding! Pretense scenario detected!]*
*[Random quote fulfillment in progress...]*
*[Fulfillment Result: 8,000 Subordinates. Duration: 3 seconds.]*
....
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