Chapter 292: A Fatal Misjudgment! Balloon Luffy and the Devoured Tribute for the Four Emperors
After yesterday's unprecedented, grand banquet, the entire Fish-Man Island was immersed in the joy of victory and peace.
The morning sunlight filtered through the massive bubble shield, gently bathing the magnificent Ryugu Palace.
The guest wing was silent, as the members of the Straw Hat Pirates, having endured days of intense combat and last night's all-night revelry, were still fast asleep.
Everyone was sprawled out in their respective rooms, fast asleep, with snores rising and falling in succession.
However, this tranquility did not last long.
"Grumble, grumble—"
Accompanied by a deafening protest from his stomach, Luffy bolted upright from his soft bed.
Although he had single-handedly polished off a mountain of grilled meat at the banquet in the plaza yesterday,
after a whole night of rapid digestion, the bottomless pit that was the Captain's Gum-Gum stomach sounded a loud alarm once again.
"So hungry... Meat... I need meat..."
Luffy's eyes were half-open, like a soulless zombie.
Rubbing his completely empty belly, he followed his internal foodie radar and instinctively walked out of the guest room.
He wandered through the intricate corridors of Ryugu Palace like a traveler in the desert searching for an oasis, hunting for prey to fill his stomach.
Driven by his obsession with food, Luffy unconsciously found his way to the "Royal Kitchen" he had visited the day before.
However, when he pushed open the kitchen doors with high expectations, the scene before him left him sorely disappointed.
The kitchen was empty; all the pots and pans were washed clean and neatly stacked on the shelves.
The usual mountains of top-tier Sea Kings ingredients and staple foods had long since been completely consumed during last night's massive banquet.
After searching high and low in the spacious kitchen to no avail, Luffy walked out, dejected.
Just then, he happened to run into the Minister of the Right, who was in the hallway taking inventory of the remaining supplies.
Upon seeing this high-ranking official of Ryugu Palace, Luffy's dull eyes instantly shot out two beams of green light.
He lunged forward, latched onto the Minister of the Right's leg, and wailed loudly, looking up at him:
"Old man! I'm so hungry! I'm starving to death!
"Why is there nothing left in the kitchen?
"Do you have any meat? Any kind of meat will do!"
The Minister of the Right was startled by being suddenly grabbed by the leg.
When he looked down and realized that the boy yelling and clinging to him was none other than the great benefactor who had saved the entire Fish-Man Island and was honored as a guest of the King,
a fine layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on the Minister of the Right's forehead.
He was sweating profusely with anxiety.
The meat and various staples in Ryugu Palace had truly been eaten clean by everyone during last night's revelry.
Right now, the palace's logistics warehouse was completely depleted.
But, he couldn't let the number one hero who saved the country run around Ryugu Palace on an empty stomach, could he?
If word got out, where would Ryugu Palace's reputation be?
The Minister of the Right had a sudden flash of inspiration.
He suddenly remembered those top-tier desserts that were prepared to be offered as tribute to one of the Four Emperors of the New World, "BIG MOM"!
As tribute for one of the Four Emperors, those desserts were not only numerous but also made from the rarest and highest-quality ingredients from the deep sea; they were definitely presentable.
The Minister of the Right stroked his long beard and quickly did the math in his head:
"Straw Hat Luffy has already eaten so much high-calorie grilled meat at the banquet yesterday; his stomach can't have much room left.
"Besides, pastries are very sweet and greasy, and they make you feel full very quickly. A normal person would feel stuffed after just a few bites."
"In that case, I'll have someone quietly send a little bit over to treat him and fill his stomach.
Anyway, the envoys only do a rough inspection of the tribute; they won't notice if a few pounds are missing, right?"
Feeling smug about his own cleverness, the Minister of the Right immediately put on a gentle smile.
He smiled and suggested to Luffy that he treat him with Ryugu Palace's special desserts.
Hearing that there was food, and special top-tier desserts at that, Luffy didn't care about anything else.
Upon hearing this, his eyes lit up immediately, and he laughed, clapping his hands repeatedly in thanks:
"Awesome! As long as there's food! You're a good guy, old man!"
Having received the hero's permission, the Minister of the Right took action immediately.
Soon, escorted by guards, cart after cart of exquisite, beautifully crafted, and mouth-wateringly fragrant deep-sea special desserts were continuously transported into the spacious and bright hall of Ryugu Palace.
Rich dark chocolate, golden and tempting caramel pudding, giant cream cakes piled high with fresh fruit...
A dazzling array of desserts filled the entire hall with their aroma.
The Minister of the Right sat on an exquisite high chair nearby, holding a cup of steaming black tea.
He was originally maintaining an elegant posture, smiling as he watched Luffy.
However, just a second later, the elegant smile on his face froze completely.
Luffy, sitting in the pile of desserts, wasn't using any utensils at all.
His hands became blurs that were impossible to track with the naked eye.
He even skipped the step of cutting the cake and buried his entire face directly into a giant cream cake that was a size larger than he was.
"Nom! Nom! Nom!"
One cart... two carts... three carts...
Those exquisite desserts, piled up like mountains, were rapidly disappearing at a terrifying speed visible to the naked eye.
The empty carts and the licked-clean packaging boxes were casually tossed aside.
While frantically stuffing chocolate into his mouth, Luffy waved his hands and cheered loudly, his words slurred:
"So good! So sweet!
"This fluffy one is delicious too!
"More! Old man, I want more!"
"Clatter—"
The exquisite teacup in the Minister of the Right's hand began to tremble uncontrollably.
Looking at the shocking scene before him, which resembled a black hole consuming everything, the Minister of the Right's pupils constricted sharply.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a fatal mistake just now—
He had actually tried to measure the stomach of a Gum-Gum human using the logic and appetite of an ordinary person!
Just over ten minutes later.
In the spacious Ryugu Palace hall, those tempting desserts from just moments ago had vanished into thin air.
A full ten tons!
That was the dessert Fish-Man Island used as tribute to the Four Emperors "BIG MOM" to save their own lives!
At this moment, not even a crumb was left; it had all been packed into Luffy's stomach.
"Thud—"
The Minister of the Right's legs went weak, and he fell heavily to his knees on the cold floor.
Tears and snot gushed out like a broken dam, covering his desperate old face.
"It's over! It's all over! Now it's truly all over!"
"That was the tribute that must be handed over on time every month to the Four Emperors BIG MOM to protect Fish-Man Island!"
"Luffy! Great Hero! My ancestor!"
"Please, stop eating, hurry up and spit it out!"
"If we can't deliver the tribute, that crazy woman will destroy Fish-Man Island, and we'll all be dead!"
However, despite the Minister of the Right wailing and grieving uncontrollably on the side,
in the center of the mountain of empty boxes, the culprit, Luffy, had completely eaten himself into a gigantic "flesh-colored balloon."
His originally slender body, now stuffed with ten tons of desserts, had expanded like a massive hot air balloon.
His limbs had become short, and he floated in mid-air with nothing to push against, only able to sway helplessly on the floor along with his round, swollen belly.
Luffy was leisurely holding a toothpick he had found from somewhere in his mouth.
He stroked his enormous, round belly with great satisfaction, an indescribable look of contentment on his face.
"Burp—"
Luffy opened his mouth and let out a long, loud, and massive burp.
He licked the frosting from the corner of his mouth and grinned at the desperate Minister of the Right, complimenting him:
"So full! Old man, your snacks taste great! This is the best dessert I've ever had!"
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Just as the atmosphere in the hall fell into despair,
a steady sound of footsteps suddenly came from the red-carpeted corridor outside the hall doors.
At the same time,
King Neptune and his party, having just finished handling the poneglyph and the memorial service for the Queen at the Sea Forest, were walking down the corridor, exhausted.
King Neptune let out a long sigh.
Recalling the series of thrilling events that had occurred over the past few days, his tensed nerves still felt a lingering fear.
However, he thought to himself, fortunately, the country had ultimately been saved with the help of the Straw Hat, and everything was moving in a good direction.
"As long as I go back and see these energetic, carefree young people of the Straw Hat, and catch some of their vitality, my tensed nerves should be able to relax a little."
King Neptune comforted himself in his heart, and his originally heavy footsteps became a bit lighter.
With this expectation, the old King walked to the hall door and reached out with his large palm.
"Creak—"
King Neptune pushed open the heavy, magnificent, carved double doors of the hall.
The doors swung open, and bright light shone into the hall.
What met King Neptune's eyes was not the vibrant, beautiful scene he had imagined.
But rather—a mountain of empty tribute boxes, ruins piled up in one continuous expanse.
The Minister of the Right on the floor, beating his chest, crying uncontrollably, with tears and snot streaming down his face.
And... in the center of the ruins, Straw Hat Luffy, who had turned into a gigantic flesh-colored balloon, his limbs suspended in the air, leisurely picking his teeth.
"..."
Looking at this scene, which resembled a disaster zone,
King Neptune's anticipation and exhaustion instantly froze.
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