Chapter 102: Ralph: I've Probably Been Infected By Lufia!
Watching Eric, the Kama Kama no Mi user, transform into a shooting star in the sky and fly away.
"Maybe..."
Ralph murmured to himself, "I guess I'm just not meant to have a Devil Fruit."
Whatever.
Ralph shook his head, pushing these distracting thoughts aside.
He and Lufia turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes falling upon the figure slumped on the throne, his flabby body trembling uncontrollably.
Nelson Royal, Commodore of the Navy's 8th Branch.
The mastermind behind it all.
Seeing Eric get punched away and noticing Ralph and Lufia's attention shift to Nelson, a few brave Navy soldiers on the flagship stepped forward to protect him.
"Protect the Commodore!"
"Fight these pirates!"
"Charge—!"
But their courage seemed utterly ridiculous in the face of absolute power.
Lufia didn't even give them a chance to get close.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
She stood in place, pivoted, and delivered a whip-like kick, her sun-tanned leg stretching even longer in an instant.
"Muchi!"
"Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!"
Her rubber leg swept across the deck like a real whip, sending Navy soldiers flying in its wake, each one screaming as they plummeted into the sea.
Within seconds, aside from Ralph, Lufia, and Nelson, not a single person remained standing on the deck.
Witnessing this, the fat on Nelson's face trembled even more violently.
Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead. His lips quivered, his teeth chattered, and his small eyes were filled with primal fear.
"I-I was wrong... I was truly wrong..."
Nelson's voice was choked with sobs, "The m-millennium... I don't want it anymore... The Elixir of Immortality... I don't want that either... I'll give it all to you... Everything..."
He looked at the two with pleading eyes.
"J-just... spare my life... I-I can give you money... lots and lots of money... I have treasures in my cabin... all plundered over the years..."
His voice grew softer and softer, eventually dissolving into incoherent whimpers.
Snot and tears mixed together, smearing across his face, making him look both disgusting and pitiful.
Seeing his cowardly state, Lufia wrinkled her nose, not even feeling the urge to hit him anymore.
She turned to Ralph.
"Ralph," Lufia said, "What should we do with this guy? After all, this is your adventure."
When asked, Ralph hesitated for a moment.
According to his original plan, this corrupt Navy Commodore would be swiftly killed in the chaos—clean, efficient, boosting his Bounty, and ridding the world of a scourge.
But...
Ralph looked at Nelson, his face streaked with tears and snot.
He looked into those small eyes, filled with fear and devoid of any will to resist.
Suddenly, he felt that killing such a person...
"Just isn't what a man of the sea should do."
Ralph told himself.
The moment this thought surfaced, he was taken aback.
When had he started having such "naive" ideas?
Probably infected by Lufia.
...Or maybe Usopp.
Whatever.
Ralph shook his head and made his decision.
"Since you've said so..."
He walked up to Nelson, looking down at him from above, "Then... let's rob them."
Nelson froze.
R-rob?
"First," Ralph held up one finger, "Order all Eighth Branch warships to cease fire, lay down their weapons, and stand by."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Nelson nodded hurriedly, turning to shout at a messenger still playing dead on the deck,
"What are you waiting for?! Relay the order! All warships cease fire! Lay down your weapons! If anyone fires another shot, I'll... I'll have them shot!"
The messenger scrambled away to send the signal.
"Second," Ralph raised a second finger, "Pay for your life. Didn't you say there's treasure in the cabin? Lead the way."
Nelson's expression changed.
That treasure... was what he had extorted over the years from various islands, merchant ships, and even civilians across the East Blue using his authority.
But now...
Life was more important than money.
"O-okay... I'll take you there..."
Nelson struggled to stand up, but his obese body failed him twice. Finally, Ralph grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
"Walk."
Ralph dragged Nelson toward the cabin like a pig headed for slaughter.
Lufia followed behind them, curiously looking around.
The flagship was indeed luxurious—red carpets covered the deck, golden trim adorned the railings, and even the doorknobs were gold-plated.
When they entered a hidden chamber deep within the cabin, both Ralph and Lufia were stunned by what they saw.
"Wow!"
Lufia's eyes lit up,
"So many shiny things! Nami would love these!!"
She meant what she said.
"Nami—!"
Lufia ran back to the deck, cupping her hands around her mouth, shouting toward the distant Going Merry, "Come get the treasure—!"
Her voice carried far across the sea breeze.
Then, everyone witnessed a miraculous scene.
The Merry, which had been maneuvering around several Eighth Branch warships, seemed to gain a soul the moment it heard the word "treasure"—
No.
It was more like someone had pressed a "turbo boost" button.
"Whoosh—!!!"
The sails instantly billowed to their limits, the bow cut through the waves like a sharp blade, and the entire ship charged straight toward the flagship at least twice its previous speed.
The momentum was so fierce it seemed determined to ram the flagship directly.
"M-Miss Nami!"
Sanji exclaimed from the ship, "Too fast! We're going to crash!"
"We'll crash after we get the treasure!!"
Nami's voice came from the helm, her eyes already transformed into Berry symbols, "Full speed ahead—!"
"Boom—!"
The Merry barely turned at the last moment, scraping alongside the flagship before stopping, with less than half a meter between the two ships.
Nami practically leaped from the Merry onto the flagship.
She rushed into the cabin, and when she saw the room full of treasure, she froze in the doorway as if hit by a paralysis spell.
Three seconds.
Then.
"Ahhhhhhh—!!!"
Her scream nearly blew the roof off.
"Gold coins! Jewelry! Antiques! Ahhh they're all mine! Mine!"
Nami pounced on the treasure like a mouse falling into a rice jar, rolling around in the pile, tossing gold coins into the air, stuffing jewelry into her arms, her expression so blissful she seemed about to faint.
Ralph and Lufia exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
Then, Lufia began to help too.
Though her method of helping was to throw an entire chest of gold coins directly onto the Merry, nearly hitting Usopp who was waiting to receive them.
While moving the treasure, Ralph suddenly remembered a question.
He looked toward Nelson, who was still trembling in the corner.
"Hey, fatty."
Ralph asked, "Where did you hear that the Sennenryu could be used to make the Elixir of Immortality?"
Nelson was stunned for a moment, then stammered:
"J-just... heard it somewhere..."
"Heard it from who?"
"J-just... tavern rumors.... and... a few ancient books...."
"Which ancient books? Who were the authors? What did they say?"
"Uhm..."
Nelson's forehead grew more sweaty, "I... I don't remember either... j-just some unofficial histories and miscellaneous tales..."
Ralph's brow furrowed.
He pressed for more details, like the specific content of the legend, whether there was any concrete evidence, whether others knew about it, etc.
But Nelson's answers were incoherent and contradictory.
Finally, Ralph understood.
This guy was simply repeating hearsay.
The so-called basis for "Sennenryu can prolong life" was nothing more than the illogical fantasy that "a dragon that lives a thousand years must let you live a thousand years if you eat it."
So... the 'you are what you eat' concept is popular in the One Piece world too?
Lufia commented from the side:
"Eating the Sennenryu to gain immortality or something, that's obviously just a legend! Only an idiot would believe it!"
Just as Ralph was about to praise Lufia for her wisdom, he heard...
"Drinking milk to restore teeth is what's real!"
He was left speechless.
And unable to refute it.
Because in the One Piece world, drinking milk to restore teeth... seemed to actually be true.
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