A banquet was the pirate's theme. As long as there was a reason to celebrate, they'd throw a banquet, no matter the time or place.
A small feast every three days, a big feast every five.
A group of people living with their heads on the line, of course, had to seize the moment.
Like office workers today, they liked to treat themselves after work.
A hearty meal.
With Queen and Stussy joining, Kaido wasn't about to miss the chance to throw a banquet.
The Beasts Pirates didn't have a cook yet, and Noro didn't want to cook, so they had a restaurant in Water 7 deliver food and drinks.
Kaido, with a jug of sake in his left hand and a hunk of meat in his right, took a big bite of meat, then gulped down a bowl of sake.
He let out a long, contented burp, "Noro, their cooking isn't as good as yours."
Noro turned away, ignoring the stupid dragon.
He knew that already. Was he kidding? This was Asian cuisine, and he was from Earth.
If he wanted to be a chef, Sanji would have to become his apprentice.
Stussy smiled, elegantly cutting the meat on her plate, but her mind was on the Beli.
Queen, a self-assured fat man, believed he'd be too popular if he lost weight, so he deliberately didn't diet. He drank and ate heartily, without restraint.
King, still wrapped up tightly, leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching coldly.
He didn't trust the two newcomers, so he didn't want to show his true face.
The World Government had been established for eight hundred years. The Lunarian race had been driven from the Red Line and hunted for eight hundred years.
As the only survivor, he'd be dead long ago if he wasn't cautious.
It was only because Mr. Noro and Mr. Kaido had saved his life and knew his race's secret, that he'd decided to follow them, that he'd let down his guard.
Noro noticed King's wary gaze and smiled, waving, "King, what are you doing standing there like a statue? Come eat with us."
Kaido, his mouth full of meat, mumbled, "Yeah, yeah, come eat."
Noro knew what King was wary of, smiling, "It's alright, we're comrades."
Queen, that fat man, was a bit unreliable, but in the story, he'd lived with King for decades.
Stussy, though greedy and not a good person, wasn't stupid. How could she give up the Beasts Pirates, a mountain of gold, for a mere 100 million?
King slowly removed his mask and walked over. Just as he sat down, Kaido put an arm around his shoulder, shoving a bowl of sake into his hand, laughing, "Drink, drink, King, down it!"
King took the sake and downed it in one gulp.
Yeah, if he couldn't trust his comrades, who could he trust?
Kaido laughed heartily, filling his bowl again, "Again, King, we won't go home until we're drunk!"
King let down his guard, eating and drinking.
Queen also joined in, the three of them, with their similar builds, soon with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Whether it was the sake talking, or the atmosphere, they began singing Bink's Sake, dancing clumsily.
Ugh, what a terrible song.
Noro didn't drink much, and his height didn't match theirs, so he didn't join in. He also had to prevent Kaido from getting too drunk and causing trouble.
Stussy, with ladylike steps, came to Noro, swirling the red wine in her glass, giving him a flirtatious smile, "Vice-Captain Noro, a drink?"
Noro picked up a glass from the table, clinking it against Stussy's, "Just call me Noro, cheers."
Stussy found a seat and sat down, "Cheers."
The two took a small sip of wine.
Stussy hadn't come to pry for information, nor did she have the stupid idea of getting Noro drunk.
She was a smart woman, she knew everything had to be done step by step.
So she'd just come to get closer, build rapport, and show off her charm.
A warm, older woman was hard to resist. Noro smiled, chatting casually with Stussy, his hand growing restless, tentatively stroking Stussy's...
Hmm, jade thigh.
He knew Stussy's intentions. Anything you wanted had a price.
A lecherous man, as expected. Disgust flashed in Stussy's eyes, quickly replaced by a smile.
A lecher was good, a lecher was easy to manipulate.
If he was like Kaido, clueless about romance, she'd really have no way to get what she wanted.
Thinking this, Stussy's smile grew brighter, not minding Noro's groping.
...
The banquet ended when Kaido and the others were completely drunk, sprawled out on the deck.
Stussy had not only been groped by Noro, but she'd also drunk a lot of wine with him.
Realizing that if she drank any more, she'd really get drunk, Stussy decisively got up and said goodbye to Noro.
She didn't want to get drunk on her first day, then get taken advantage of.
While she was still somewhat sober, Stussy found a random room on the pirate ship, locked the door, and fell asleep.
Noro's lips curved into a wicked smile. If Stussy hadn't run a little faster, he'd have touched the forbidden zone.
This woman was willing to pay any price for money.
Looking at the three sprawled out on the deck, Noro didn't bother moving them to a room.
These three were monsters, they wouldn't get sick.
It just meant he had to keep watch again.
There weren't any pirates in the first half of the Grand Line worth worrying about, but there were the Marines.
With pirates almost dominating the New World, the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line were the Marines' absolute territory.
The next day, Kaido woke up, clutching his head. The taste of a hangover, even for the Azure Dragon, wasn't pleasant.
But Noro knew he'd do it again!
The banquet was over, time to get to work.
Kaido dragged Queen to the shipyard to see the Adam Wood. The two studied the blueprints, discussing them repeatedly.
On the way back, Queen bought a pile of paper and pens, locked himself in his room, and spent the morning writing and drawing.
Then he took the Beli and bought a pile of research materials from the black market.
But it still wasn't enough. The black market was the black market, but this was just the black market in Water 7. And there were many things that even the black market didn't have.
Queen, as a scientist who had once worked with Vegapunk, had his own connections.
Using these connections, Queen called and bought a lot more research materials, waiting for them to be delivered.
Noro finally saw money flowing like water. Research was a bottomless pit.
Queen alone had spent nearly 2 billion Beli in Water 7's black market.
And that didn't include the things he'd be paying for on delivery.
No wonder Queen had come so readily, and joined so readily.
Stussy, watching the chests of Beli being carried out one by one, felt her heart clench, a dull ache.
She wanted money too, but she couldn't find a reason to ask Kaido and Noro for it.
Two days passed in a flash. The black market boss sent someone to deliver invitations.
The auction was about to begin!
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