Boom!!!
Another burst of dust shot into the air.
"Bai Ye, you bastard!"
Zoro climbed to his feet, clutching his head. "Was that payback for me drinking all your wine?!"
Bai Ye blinked innocently.
"What are you saying, Zoro? You're like the brother I never had — different fathers, different mothers, same soul! Our bond runs in our very blood!"
Zoro's forehead throbbed. Great. Bai Ye was starting to sound just like Luffy.
Yeah, this was all Luffy's fault. Definitely Luffy's fault.
And—
"Mind putting me down now?"
Still in Bai Ye's arms, Nami had stopped panicking and regained her composure. Resting against his chest, her face flushed before realization struck.
Wait… was I just groped?
No, no — she decided quickly — that's extra pay.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Couldn't help it," Bai Ye said cheerfully as he set her down. "Purely a righteous reflex, I swear."
Absolutely no ulterior motives.
None at all.
"Sugoi! Zoro, you guys came flying from the sky, didn't you? It must've been Bai Ye's doing!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled as he hopped around him like an excited kid.
"Hey Bai Ye! Do it to me too! Just once! I wanna fly in the sky!"
[Golden Light Charm — Forced Calming Strike!]
A loud bonk! echoed. Luffy sat on the ground with a goose-egg swelling on his head, rubbing it sheepishly.
"Gomen nasai~"
Bai Ye sighed. "Unbelievable. I'm usually such a peaceful man…"
Was he developing a bad habit? Maybe all this fighting was affecting his Daoist balance.
No — definitely not.
Still Luffy's fault.
"You two, knock it off already!" Nami snapped. "Look around — someone's still unconscious."
She pointed at Usopp, who had somehow managed to get embedded in the ground.
"Huh? Long-nose guy fell asleep again? He's gonna catch a cold," Luffy said seriously.
"No one's sleeping!!!" his three pint-sized crewmates screamed, fangs popping cartoonishly.
Ten minutes later, aboard the Straw Hats' ship now anchored near the shore, a "friendly meeting" was underway — the Straw Hat Pirates and the Usopp Pirates sitting across from one another in serious negotiation.
After clearing up their earlier "misunderstanding," they quickly moved on to more important matters.
"What?! You guys actually beat Buggy the Clown?!" Usopp's eyes nearly popped out. "That's a 15-million-Berry pirate! You mean you few…?"
Halfway through, he stopped. Thinking back on how they'd literally fallen from the sky, he decided maybe it wasn't impossible.
"Technically, there were three of us," Bai Ye said calmly, gesturing at himself, Luffy, and Zoro before nodding toward Nami. "Nami hasn't officially joined. She's just our hired navigator for now."
Nami: …
For some reason, hearing that made her feel a tiny pang of disappointment.
"Three or four, that's still amazing!" Usopp said, then his natural bragging instinct kicked in. "But the Buggy Pirates weren't that scary anyway. After all, I've got eight thousand men under my command! Hahaha!"
"That's a lie," Zoro muttered flatly.
"What?! You saw through it that fast?!" Usopp yelped, jumping up in horror.
Nami folded her arms, rolling her eyes. "Obviously it's a lie. Who'd believe that nonsense?"
"Ehh?! The long-nose guy was lying?!"
Now it was Luffy's turn to gasp, his eyes wide with betrayal.
"You didn't notice?"
Bai Ye sighed, resting a hand on Luffy's head. "Captain, please — stop advertising your IQ, alright?"
Watching Luffy's dumbfounded face up close, Bai Ye finally understood how frustrating it was living inside a comedy sketch.
Maybe he really should start a "How Not to Get Scammed" class for his captain…
Though, looking at Luffy's vacant expression, he doubted it'd help.
Setting that aside, Bai Ye turned to Usopp.
"Usopp, we know who you are — and we know about Kaya."
Usopp froze, speechless. He had no idea what these strangers were after. If he could, he'd bolt straight back to the village.
"No need to panic," Bai Ye said lightly, waving a hand to calm him. "We're not here to cause trouble. We're just looking for a ship strong enough to reach the Grand Line."
"According to my information, Kaya's butler, Merry, happens to have a fine vessel we could use. We just need an introduction. You can do that, can't you?"
"And as for payment…" Bai Ye paused, then smiled.
"How about this: I'll make Kaya healthy again. Would that be fair?"
For a moment, Usopp forgot how to breathe. When he finally found his voice, it came out in a shout:
"Are you serious?!"
In the world of pirates, people believed things far too easily. Luckily for Bai Ye, that made life simpler.
"Of course. It's a bit of a hassle, but doable," Bai Ye said casually, turning his wrist. A pill appeared between his fingers.
He had planned this ever since coming here. Beating Kuro wasn't enough — to truly fix this arc's regret, Kaya's illness had to be cured.
One Restoration Pill. If that didn't do it, two would.
"What kind of experiment?" Nami asked, leaning closer.
"This pill revitalizes the body instantly," Bai Ye explained, smiling slyly. "Even the weakest person will feel reborn after swallowing it."
He turned to Luffy, voice suddenly serious.
"To test it, all we need to do is… cripple Luffy first, then feed it to him."
Luffy blinked. "Heh?"
Bai Ye's grin widened. "Hehehe~"
[Golden Light Charm!!!]
Moments later, Luffy's anguished shouts echoed across the deck.
Nami, Zoro, and Usopp exchanged glances, silent agreement flashing between them.
Never. Ever. Provoke Bai Ye.
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