Chapter 116: Unneeded "Justice"! You Have To Take Responsibility For Me
In the ruins of Alubarna, the heavy rain had just stopped, and the air was filled with the scent of damp dust and a faint smell of blood.
Smoker had two soaked cigars in his mouth, unlit.
He looked at the once-arrogant Seven Warlord of the Sea—Crocodile.
Right now, he was rolling his eyes, his bones shattered, being cuffed with heavy Sea Stone handcuffs by several Marines and dragged away like a dead dog.
"We won... but..."
Standing beside Smoker, Tashigi tightly gripped Shigure in her hand.
Her tears couldn't stop flowing, dripping onto the scarred earth.
"Sob... it's because we're too weak..."
Tashigi wept uncontrollably, tears of frustration:
"Even though we were here, even though we wanted to protect this place... in the end, we had to let a group of pirates save this country!"
Smoker remained silent, his face terrifyingly grim, the Jitte in his hand creaking from his grip.
"Captain Smoker! It's a call from Headquarters!"
At that moment, a soldier ran over holding a ringing Transponder Snail, looking nervous.
Smoker glanced at it coldly and picked up the receiver:
"Moshi moshi, this is Smoker."
From the other end of the line came the voice of a High-ranking government official:
"Captain Smoker? Well done! We've already heard about the subjugation of Crocodile."
"Although there were some complications, to cover up the scandal of a Warlord being defeated by pirates and to maintain the government's face..."
"Therefore, the government has decided to credit the entire'subjugation of Crocodile' to you."
"Congratulations, you will be promoted. This is also for the sake of justice, please..."
"Are you kidding me?!"
Before the other person could finish, Smoker suddenly roared at the Transponder Snail, veins bulging on his forehead, startling the nearby Marine:
"If it weren't for that Straw Hat and his crew fighting to the death, if it weren't for them defeating the Crocodile, we would have been dead long ago! This country would have been finished along with us!!"
"Credit it to me? You blind fools!"
Smoker spoke into the receiver, uttering the words that shocked the entire Marine:
"Tell those old geezers at the top—to go eat shit!!!!"
"Clack!"
Smoker slammed the phone down, crushing the receiver.
"I don't give a damn about this kind of self-deceiving bullshit credit!"
...
Inside the palace.
After lying in bed like a mummy, asleep for three full days and nights.
"Meat!!!! I want meat!!!!"
A vigorous roar echoed through the entire palace.
As soon as Luffy woke up, before his body could move, his stomach protested first.
Upon learning that Luffy had awakened, King Cobra immediately ordered a grand banquet in the palace hall to thank the heroes who saved the country.
In the banquet hall, laughter filled the air, and food was piled high like mountains.
"Cheers!!!"
Luffy was frantically stuffing food into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's.
In a corner of the banquet.
Tatsuya was sitting beside Nami, enjoying this rare peace and sweetness.
"Honestly, don't be so reckless next time, that poison hook..."
Although Nami complained, her eyes were so tender they could melt water as she carefully wiped the wine stains from the corner of Tatsuya's mouth.
Looking at her delicate face, Tatsuya felt a spark and reached out with a smile.
"Slap."
Blushing, Nami quickly slapped away that restless hand.
She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned into Tatsuya's ear, her breath like orchids:
"Idiot... there are so many people here."
"Endure it... tonight..."
Hearing those two words full of suggestion.
Tatsuya raised an eyebrow, his mood instantly becoming incredibly joyful; even the wine in his glass tasted exceptionally sweet.
"Crunch, crunch!"
On the next table, the Crow Clay completely ignored the pink bubbles over here.
It had its head buried in a huge plate of roast meat, eating until its beak was covered in grease.
On the other side.
"Hmph! You have no idea how dangerous it was at that time!"
Usopp stood on a chair, holding a chicken leg, boasting about his heroic deeds to the surrounding guards and maids:
"That giant bomb was only one second away from exploding!"
"But with the calmness of a brave warrior of the sea, snip! That was a victory of technique! Even I admire myself!"
"Woof! Woof!"
At his feet, the Dachshund "Lassoo," who had eaten the Gun-Gun Fruit.
It was wagging its tail incessantly, looking at its new master with a face full of admiration.
Looking at this scene, although everyone thought it was absurd, they calmly accepted the fact that Usopp had adopted a gun-dog.
Anyway, there was already a reindeer and a Crow on the ship, so one more dog wouldn't hurt; it just completed the zoo.
In the corner.
Chopper was changing the bandages for Zoro, who was covered in them.
"Ahhh! Zoro! Don't move! The wound is going to open again!" Chopper cried out in panic, his two small hooves busy.
"So noisy, this little injury will be fine after some wine." Zoro looked impatient, still clutching a wine bottle.
"Yo, isn't this the Marimo who won't lose again? How did you get yourself into such a state? How embarrassing."
Sanji was elegantly smoking a cigarette nearby, watching Zoro's miserable state and offering heartless ridicule.
"Compared to the elegant me, it's like heaven and earth."
"What did you say?! You shitty cook! Want to fight?!"
"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you! Just don't say I'm bullying an injured person."
...
Happy times are always brief.
After the banquet, in order not to involve Vivi, who was a princess—after all, they were wanted pirates—the Straw Hat decided to leave quietly.
At midnight, moonlight spilled over the quiet river surface.
Everyone took their luggage and quietly returned to the going merry anchored by the river.
However, as soon as they boarded the ship.
"Who's there?!"
Zoro and Tatsuya became alert at the same time, their eyes locking onto the deck.
On the deck of the Merry, a tall woman wearing purple cowboy clothes was sitting elegantly in a chair, reading a book by the moonlight.
Hearing the noise, the woman closed the book, looked up, and revealed that iconic intellectual face.
"It's you!!!"
Everyone was shocked and assumed combat stances: "The Vice President of Baroque Works! Miss All Sunday! Robin!"
"Why are you here?!" Zoro's hand was on his hilt, murderous.
Robin didn't care about everyone's hostility.
She stood up, her gaze first falling on Luffy with a slight smile:
"Monkey D. Luffy, long time no see."
Then, her gaze turned to the black-haired youth in the crowd, her eyes becoming somewhat complex, her tone flat but carrying an inexplicable meaning:
"Your Vice Captain forced me to live in the Underground Mausoleum."
"Since he made me live... I happen to have nowhere else to go."
"So... you have to take responsibility for the rest of my life."
"Eh?!" Everyone was dumbfounded.
Luffy tilted his head and thought for a moment, then actually broke into a smile:
"Hmm... okay!"
"Hah?!!!"
Except for Tatsuya and Sanji, everyone's jaws hit the deck.
"That's great!!!"
Sanji's eyes instantly turned into hearts, his body twisting like noodles as he swirled over to Robin:
"Robin-chan! Welcome aboard! I'll go prepare a midnight snack of love for you right away!!"
"Hey! Luffy! This woman is dangerous!" Usopp shouted in dissatisfaction.
Tatsuya stood aside, looking at this black-bellied mature woman who had still ended up on the ship, his mouth twitching slightly.
"The ship is going to get even livelier now..."
Just then.
"Hiss!"
A sharp pain suddenly came from the soft flesh of his waist.
Tatsuya looked down and saw Nami standing beside him, with that extremely gentle expression on her face.
But those two fingers were tightly pinching his waist, even rotating 360 degrees.
"Hey, Tatsuya."
Nami's voice was so gentle it made his spine tingle:
"What do you mean by 'forced her to live'? What do you mean by 'take responsibility for her life'?"
"Aren't you going to explain it to me properly? My dear Vice Captain?"
Tatsuya: "..."
...
Meanwhile.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked at the detailed report from Alabasta in his hand, feeling a headache as if his brain was about to explode.
"Crocodile defeated, Baroque Works destroyed..."
"Straw Hat Luffy... that grandson of Garp, actually took down a Warlord."
Sengoku rubbed his temples, his gaze moving down to a photograph.
It was a blurry photo of Tatsuya summoning a water dragon in Loguetown and using various Ninjutsu on the battlefield.
"And this Vice Captain, 'Crimson Lotus' Tatsuya."
"According to reports from Smoker and field agents... this person actually possesses the bizarre ability to manipulate fire, water, and even create lightning weather. And his physical skills are astonishing..."
Sengoku slammed the report onto the desk, his expression grave:
"What kind of monster is this! And the other members... the potential of this pirate crew is simply immeasurable!!"
"If not suppressed, they will surely become a major threat in the future!"
Sengoku turned around and instructed the secretary beside him:
"Pass down the order! Re-evaluate their danger level! Increase their bounties!"
"Yes! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
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