Chapter 270: Unexpected Circumstances!
The Straw Hat Crew's actions made the onlookers burst into laughter.
"Choosing a representative by playing rock-paper-scissors with five people?"
"Are these pirates here to be funny?"
"Boss Franky is being underestimated!"
Franky stood opposite them, his face darkening.
"You... you... just how much do you look down on me!"
He pointed at the Straw Hat Crew.
"I am Franky! The boss of the Franky Family! And you're deciding who fights me by playing rock-paper-scissors?"
No one paid him any attention.
The five of them formed a circle and began playing rock-paper-scissors.
"Rock—paper—scissors!"
One round later.
Zoro and Sanji looked at each other, their faces pale.
Lufia pouted in disappointment.
Ralph watched the final winner with amusement—
Usopp!
"I... I won?"
He looked up at the other four.
All four nodded in unison.
Usopp's face turned white.
"W-wait a minute! How about... we play another round? Choose one from among you?"
He trembled.
"If... if I lose, all the treasure and Berry on the ship will be lost!"
Ralph walked over and patted his shoulder.
"I believe in you, and I believe in the training I arranged for you."
Zoro nodded.
"We've all seen your hard work."
Sanji blew out a smoke ring.
"A brave warrior of the sea must show his courage."
Lufia flashed a grin, revealing two rows of white teeth.
"You're the companion I've chosen!"
Usopp was stunned.
He looked at the faces of his four companions.
He realized his legs had stopped shaking.
He took a deep breath and pulled out his slingshot from the satchel he carried.
He put on his goggles.
He turned to face Franky.
"Come on, you unlucky guy over there!"
His voice was steady.
"You're about to face the Great Demon King with eight thousand underlings—"
"Captain Usopp!"
The crowd fell silent for a second.
Then, they erupted into even louder laughter.
"Eight thousand underlings? Him?"
"He was trembling in fear just now!"
"These pirates are too funny!"
Franky stared at Usopp.
Then he looked at the four people behind him.
None of those four were laughing.
Lufia's eyes held anticipation.
Zoro's eyes held trust.
Sanji's eyes held encouragement.
Ralph's eyes held...
Franky was taken aback.
He had seen that look before.
It was the look of someone who believed their companion would definitely win.
Franky took off his sunglasses.
"Your pirate crew... is quite interesting."
He stuffed the sunglasses into his pocket and rolled his shoulders.
"Come on, Captain Usopp. Let me see what you've got."
Usopp raised his slingshot.
Their gazes clashed.
The battle was about to begin.
Meanwhile, over at the Going Merry.
Several men in work clothes arrived at the dock.
Leading them was Paulie, the foreman of Galley-La Company—the one who was really good with ropes.
Nami was sitting on the ship's railing, sunbathing. Seeing them arrive, she stood up to greet them.
"Mr. Paulie? What brings you here?"
Paulie's expression was grim.
"Mr. Iceburg was attacked last night and is now unconscious."
Nami was stunned.
"What?"
"Miss Kalifa was also attacked."
Paulie stared at Nami.
"She identified your Straw Hat Crew as the ones who did it."
Chopper poked his head out from the cabin.
"It wasn't us!"
Paulie ignored him.
"Come with us."
"Let's go to Mr. Iceburg's mansion and confront Miss Kalifa face to face."
Nami frowned.
"None of us left the ship last night. How could we have attacked them?"
Upon hearing this, Paulie said coldly:
"In other words, aside from yourselves, there are no witnesses who can prove your whereabouts last night."
"You don't believe us?"
"We have no reason to trust pirates over our own people."
Robin walked out from the cabin.
She stood beside Nami, looking at Paulie.
"If we prove our innocence, what will you do?"
Paulie was taken aback.
"If it truly is a misunderstanding, we will of course offer a sincere apology and compensate you."
Robin nodded.
"Very well. We'll go with you."
Nami looked at her.
"Robin?"
Robin shook her head slightly.
After a moment's thought, Nami understood.
The ship's main combatants were all away.
If a fight were to break out, although the three of them were not weak, the opponent's foreman was no pushover either.
A fight could easily result in injuries on both sides.
Moreover, they still needed to ask them to repair the Going Merry!
If this really was a misunderstanding that could be resolved through words, wouldn't starting a fight now only make things worse?
She took a deep breath and nodded.
"Chopper, let's go with them."
Chopper jumped off the ship and ran to their side.
The three of them followed Paulie toward the city.
On the way, Nami asked about the other members of the Straw Hat Crew.
Foreman Paulie replied:
"The other foremen have already gone to find your accomplices. Don't worry, none of you will escape."
Additionally, Paulie excitedly shared other information.
For example: Mr. Iceburg was not only the president of Galley-La Company but also the mayor of Water 7.
To prevent the entire city's citizens from becoming enraged, they were even keeping the news under wraps.
"What is your purpose? How dare you commit such an evil act?"
Nami repeatedly argued that they hadn't done it!
But the other side clearly didn't believe her!
Moreover, this foreman named Paulie seemed particularly conservative about women's clothing.
Along the way, he repeatedly called Nami and Robin shameless women.
In response, not only did Nami retort, "What about my outfit is shameless?"
Even Robin placed her hand on her chest, asking if that was what he was dissatisfied with.
Her tone and actions were clearly meant to provoke him.
This made Paulie shout angrily, but he still didn't attack the three.
In reality, Robin placed her hand on her chest
because she was hiding a Den Den Mushi there.
She pressed it lightly.
The Den Den Mushi vibrated.
Outside Franky House.
Ralph was watching Usopp and Franky face off.
Suddenly, he felt a vibration in his chest.
He took out the Den Den Mushi and glanced at it.
It was a signal from Robin.
He turned and walked over to Lufia.
"I'm heading back to the ship."
Lufia didn't turn her head, her eyes fixed on Usopp in the field.
"What's wrong?"
"Something came up. Keep an eye on Usopp's fight."
Lufia nodded.
Ralph stepped forward, activating Sky Walk, and soared into the air, gliding toward the Going Merry by stepping on the air.
The surrounding crowd gasped in surprise.
"He flew away?"
"That black-haired guy flew away!"
Franky looked up, his brow furrowing.
That guy...
Meanwhile, at the edge of the crowd.
A person wearing a mask with an exaggerated festival robe retreated from the crowd.
He walked into an alley and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
"Unexpected situation."
A voice came from the other end.
"Speak."
"Target Ralph and Lufia have separated."
"Ralph left Franky House, heading in the direction of where their Pirate ship is docked."
"It's suspected that he has a special way of contacting his shipmates guarding the vessel."
There was a two-second silence on the other end.
"That's good. Saves us the trouble of figuring out how to lure him away."
"What next?"
"Proceed as planned. Find an opportunity to create chaos, capture targets Lufia and Franky, and take them away directly."
"Understood."
The masked person hung up and returned to the crowd of onlookers.