Chapter 42: You Bastard, You Seem Quite Arrogant
"The Sea Restaurant—Baratie! How is it, everyone? That is the most famous restaurant in the East Sea!"
Johnny stood at the bow, pointing at the strange building ahead, cheering excitedly.
"Ohhh!!"
Looking at the spectacular sight before them, everyone on the Going Merry couldn't help but let out a collective exclamation of wonder.
"Wow!! It's such a huge fish!!"
Luffy leaned over the railing, his eyes wide as saucers, and his mouth already starting to water.
Tatsuya also looked at the building ahead with curiosity.
Floating on the azure sea was a massive, multi-story building shaped primarily like a fish.
Its design was extremely peculiar, with arc-shaped ends, and the bow was fashioned into a giant fish head.
Two giant fins stretched across the sea, and the spacious deck was bustling with people; this was the legendary Sea Restaurant—Baratie!
"It's quite nice, looks very stylish."
Standing beside Tatsuya, Nami looked at the luxurious exterior and praised it with a smile, "Eating in a place like this will definitely put one in a good mood."
"Caw caw! Master! Master! I can already smell the fragrance! Let's go quickly!"
Clay circled in the air, calling out impatiently.
Just as everyone was immersed in fantasies of delicious food.
"Wooo—!!"
Suddenly, the dull and massive blast of a Marine warship's horn sounded from the side.
Following that, a huge shadow quickly enveloped the deck of the Merry.
Everyone instinctively looked toward the source of the shadow and saw a massive Marine warship slowly pulling alongside.
A striking seagull emblem was painted on the white sails, and the gun ports below looked menacing.
"W-Why is there a Marine ship here!!"
Johnny and Yosaku, the former pirate hunters, were now pale with fright, their eyes wide.
"Tch, we've run into some troublesome guys."
Zoro snorted in annoyance, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"When did they get so close..."
Nami's eyes also widened, her expression changing, "Hey, they aren't going to attack us, are they..."
"N-No! I've come down with the 'I'll die if I encounter the Marines' disease!" Usopp clutched his head and instantly hid behind the mast, trembling in fear.
Tatsuya, however, remained leaning against the railing, his expression calm.
He looked up slightly, his dark eyes glancing sideways at the warship above.
His gaze fell on a man in a striped suit with pink hair standing by the ship's railing.
"That's a pirate flag I've never seen before..."
The pink-haired man swirled a glass of red wine, looking down at the Merry from his high vantage point.
His face was filled with deep disdain as he shouted arrogantly at them:
"I am a Lieutenant of the Marineford, iron fist—Fullbody! Which one of you is the Captain of this piece of junk! State your name!"
"I'm Luffy!"
Luffy was not intimidated by the other's aura at all; instead, he calmly picked his nose and spoke.
Seeing this, Usopp, who was hiding behind, found some courage and poked his head out to shout loudly:
"I'm Usopp!!"
Seeing the situation, Clay felt he couldn't let them lose face, so he flapped his wings and flew into the air:
"Caw caw! I am Clay! The overlord of the sky!"
Fullbody looked at this bizarre combination of a crew and directly ignored Luffy and Usopp, though he was quite surprised when his gaze fell on Clay.
"A... a talking Crow?!"
"Hey! Don't ignore me! I'm Luffy! The man who will become the Pirate King!" Luffy waved his fist in dissatisfaction.
Fullbody quickly regained his composure, a flash of disgust in his eyes as he glanced at them.
"What is with you guys? Is this a circus?"
Then, his gaze turned toward Johnny and Yosaku hiding behind the cabin door, his eyebrows arching slightly.
"Those two... I have some memory of them. They're pirate hunters who specialize in small-time crooks, right?"
"Heh, looks like you've been captured by pirates. How pathetic."
Hearing these contemptuous words, Johnny and Yosaku's pride was deeply insulted.
"Who are you calling a specialist in small-time crooks!!"
Johnny roared, pulling a large stack of bounty posters from his coat and throwing them into the air, the papers fluttering everywhere.
"Are these small-time crooks too?! You bastard!!"
"Hmph, boring clamor."
Fullbody didn't even look at the bounty posters, turning instead to the scantily clad beauty beside him.
"Alright, let's not let this trash ruin our appetite. Let's go eat."
Then, he cast a contemptuous glance at his Marine subordinates and casually ordered, "Hey, sink this..."
*Whoosh!*
Before he could finish his sentence.
A dark shadow appeared before him instantly like a ghost.
*Bang!!*
Fullbody felt his vision blur, and then an irresistible, massive force slammed down onto his head.
Accompanied by a heavy thud.
The Marineford Lieutenant was slammed violently onto the deck, the wooden planks instantly cracking.
"Eek!!"
The sexy woman who had been holding his arm screamed at the sudden turn of events, falling to the ground in a daze.
The nearby Marine soldiers were also horrified, everyone stunned by the sudden development.
"L-Lieutenant?!"
Fullbody struggled to lift his head, looking in terror at the black-haired youth crouching over him.
Especially those eyes...
In the crimson pupils, two black tomoe were slowly spinning, emitting a suffocating chill.
His intuition told him...
This person... is extremely strong...
Damn, I've kicked a steel plate!
"You pink-haired bastard, you seem quite arrogant."
Tatsuya looked at him with a smile, his tone gentle, but the strength in his hand was gradually increasing.
"It just so happens I haven't encountered a decent opponent lately, and I have a belly full of frustration with nowhere to vent."
*Creeak...*
Fullbody felt like his jawbone was about to be crushed; he was in so much pain he couldn't speak, only letting out muffled whimpers:
"Mmmgh..."
"Hey! Pirate! Let go of our Lieutenant!!"
The surrounding Marines finally reacted, raising their flintlocks and aiming them at Tatsuya.
"How dare you! We are the elites of the Marineford!"
"Gunners! Prepare to fire!!"
Some Marines even ran toward the cannons on the deck.
"Caw caw! Take a hit from Master Clay!!"
Seeing his master being so cool, how could Clay in the air bear to be left behind?
This was the stage for the overlord of the sky!
It suddenly opened its beak and let out a piercing high-frequency sound wave at the Marines on deck who were aiming their guns.
"Gaaaa—!!!"
"Ah!! My ears!!"
"Damn it! What is that sound!"
The Marines on deck instantly clutched their ears and fell to their knees in pain.
Two Marines with weaker constitutions even rolled their eyes and fainted outright.
*Boom!!*
However, in the chaos, one Marine still pulled the firing cord.
With a loud blast, a pitch-black cannonball whistled through the air, heading straight for the Merry below.
"Hee hee hee!"
Watching the incoming cannonball, Luffy didn't dodge; instead, he held his hat and laughed out loud.
"Let me! Gomu Gomu no Balloon!!"
Luffy took a deep breath, and his stomach instantly inflated into a giant sphere.
*Boing!*
The cannonball hit his soft belly and was instantly reflected away.
However...
The direction it was reflected in seemed a bit off.
"Ah!!"
Luffy's eyes widened as he watched the cannonball trace a parabola, fly over the warship, and accidentally land on the roof of the Baratie behind it.
*Boom!!*
An explosion occurred, and black smoke rose.
"Oops..." Luffy exhaled, shrinking back to his original state with an expression that said he'd caused trouble.
On the warship.
Tatsuya sighed in relief when he saw the Merry was fine.
Just then, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in Fullbody's eyes as he lay on the ground, trying to take the opportunity to pull out his right hand for a sneak attack.
"You still dare to move?"
Tatsuya's gaze turned cold.
He lifted his foot and mercilessly stomped down on Fullbody's proud 'iron fist' wrist.
*Crack!*
A crisp sound of bone fracturing rang out.
The so-called "iron fist" was as fragile as a dry twig under Tatsuya's foot.
"Mmph!!!! Ah!!!"
Fullbody's eyes instantly bulged to their limit, filled with bloodshot veins.
But because his jaw was held tight by Tatsuya, his screams were blocked in his throat, and he could only let out terrified, muffled groans as his body convulsed violently.
Tatsuya leaned down, his crimson Sharingan staring directly into Fullbody's terror-filled pupils, and said softly:
"Keep your eyes open in the future and don't come looking for trouble with us, do you understand?"
Fullbody nodded frantically, tears and snot flowing freely.
"Very good."
Tatsuya let go.
[Ding! Target defeated: Marineford Lieutenant Fullbody.]
[Battle Evaluation: S.]
[Reward obtained: 200 Ninja Points.]
He stood up, glanced at the terrified, shivering woman nearby, and then his figure blurred.
The next second, he was back on the deck of the Merry.
"Phew... Ah, I feel much better now."
Tatsuya patted his hands, the red light in his eyes fading as he returned to his harmless-looking, smiling self.
"You went too far!"
Nami rushed over and complained helplessly, "That was a Marineford Lieutenant! Attacking the Marines is a serious crime! We'll be wanted criminals!"
"Well, don't be so tense," Tatsuya shrugged, "I didn't kill a single one of them, just gave them a little lesson."
"So... so strong..."
Nearby, Johnny and Yosaku looked at Tatsuya's figure, so shocked they fell to their knees, their eyes full of worship.
Is this the strength of a big shot?!
He can even instantly defeat a Marineford Lieutenant!
"Caw caw!"
Clay circled in the air once more and flew back triumphantly.
"Lord Clay is the overlord of the sky!"
"Get down here! You idiot bird!" Tatsuya waved his hand.
"Coming, Master!!"