Orochimaru, looking helpless, was forced to sit in the hole in the middle of the round table, while a group of people gathered around the table, each with a different expression. Usopp pulled out a lamp and shone it on Orochimaru, cosplaying as a police officer.
Usopp cleared his throat, "Alright... you can confess now."
"???" Orochimaru's mouth twitched, "What did you say???"
Usopp slammed the table, a serious expression on his face, "Confess and be lenient! Resist and be dealt with severely! Or don't blame us for being merciless!!"
"Merciless!" Chopper echoed, nodding, his small hooves patting the table, the paw pads making a 'poo-yo... poo-yo' sound.
Orochimaru's gaze fell on Chopper's hooves, his face a mysterious blush (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝).
Chopper, angry, his shark-like face distorted, quickly slapped the table.
"Serious!!! No teasing the officer!"
Robin chuckled when she heard this, "Officer Chopper, you haven't even asked yet..."
Usopp paused, clearing his throat awkwardly, "Is that so... haven't asked... it doesn't matter if we haven't asked... after all, this cunning snake has too many priors, asking might not get us anywhere.
So, to deal with this, we've prepared a second plan.
Please welcome Chief Luffy! It is said that Chief Luffy holds this snake's fatal weakness and can effectively extract a confession."
Usopp pointed at Luffy with both hands, a serious expression on his face.
Luffy pretended to straighten his clothes, then strode over, slamming his hands on the table. He stared intently at Orochimaru, making Orochimaru feel a shiver.
"Orochimaru, you'd better confess... otherwise," Luffy finished, then menacingly blew on his palms, mimicking Garp, and began to rub his fists together, cracking his knuckles.
Orochimaru's face instantly turned ugly, alternating between red and white. He looked at Luffy, gritting his teeth, "Ask!"
"Yosh..." Luffy nodded in satisfaction, then pointed at Nami, "Nami, it's your turn."
Nami held a notebook and looked at Orochimaru, "First question, you know that Shichibukai who appeared later, right? How did you meet, what did you talk about, why did he specifically send you away... In short! What are you plotting... that even makes you unable to control your frustration?"
Sanji took a puff from his cigarette, "As expected of Miss Nami, straight to the point. But there's another question, your previous attitude towards Mosshead, that also has something to do with that Shichibukai, right?"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Orochimaru, making him feel a bit uncomfortable, and he tried to change the subject.
"Nami, you didn't ask just one question... This is a bit difficult to explain. How about we talk about it when we reach Fish-Man Island? Look, the Sunny is still adrift... We don't know what's happening outside, and it's very dangerous to be like this in the Grand Line."
Nami was expressionless, "Luffy! Go! Torture!"
"Yosh!!" Luffy excitedly rubbed his fists.
Orochimaru indicated he felt threatened, "Wait!! Can't I just tell you... But there has to be a beginning and an end... Which one should I talk about first?"
Franky combed his hair, "Then start from how you met, then move to your most recent conversation, and finally talk about this incident."
Orochimaru choked... They were so clear and methodical in their questioning, how much homework had they done behind his back?
Orochimaru spread his hands, making a helpless expression.
"Alright, alright, Kuma... originally named 'Bartholomew Kuma', a Shichibukai who obeys the World Government. As for how we met..."
Orochimaru pointed at Luffy.
"I met him through Luffy. In a sense, Kuma is a Revolutionary Army spy placed in the Marine. For certain reasons... he left the Revolutionary Army and joined the World Government... he has no choice but to obey the World Government's orders.
I met him a few times when Dragon, who is Luffy's father, came to the East Blue for business. Dragon's identity couldn't be exposed, so we knew each other, but we didn't meet often. Kuma is one of the few people who knows Luffy is Dragon's son."
Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Nami continued to ask. Although it was surprising and shocking, it wasn't important and had nothing to do with them. "Mm... and then... you met before, right? What did you talk about...?"
Orochimaru frowned slightly, gently rubbing his temple with one finger. His mind raced, racking his brains to figure out how to bluff his way through, and he slowly began to speak.
"I met Kuma in advance on Thriller Bark. He received orders from the Gorosei to eliminate the Straw Hat Pirates.
The Gorosei are the administrators of the World Government. They believe that the Straw Hat Pirates will pose a great threat in the future and must eliminate this potential crisis in advance.
Kuma was just putting on a show... That's why you all were unharmed."
Sanji took a puff from his cigarette, exhaling a smoke ring, deep in thought: "Your explanation seems to have some truth to it, but it's wrong.
If it was just a show, with your combat power, you would have been the most suitable to play that role. But Kuma specifically took you away, which means if you were there, you would have messed things up.
And you were so angry before, it must be because the events unfolded as you expected. No, rather, you knew what would happen, but you didn't agree, yet Kuma still did it, which is why you were so furious."
Zoro had remained silent, after all, he was one of the parties involved. He recalled Kuma's words and actions, as if carefully sifting through something. "Qualification trial..." he murmured softly.
Brook suddenly thought of something, after all, many pirates in the past had done something similar.
"Yohohoho... So... that bear-like gentleman, he probably wanted to test if we, these people, were qualified to be Mr. Luffy's Crewmates. After all, Mr. Luffy is the child of his former companion."
Luffy slammed the table in dissatisfaction, saying loudly, "My Companions don't need anyone else to determine their qualifications!!"
Nami suddenly understood. Although Orochimaru was a bit awkward, he genuinely cared about them.
...So Orochimaru wouldn't have agreed to such a thing... but it still happened."
Everyone's gaze instantly shifted to Orochimaru's face. Orochimaru felt a bit helpless. Do these people have no sense of boundaries?! Can't they analyze someone's inner thoughts so openly?
Robin's voice broke the silence: "There's more to it, isn't there... Since it was done... then there must be a conclusion... And that conclusion... is the root of your frustration.
Luffy... I think Orochimaru might need one of your slaps of love..."
Hearing this, the others tilted their heads, looking confused.
Luffy was also a bit surprised. How did Robin know? Besides himself and Ace, Robin was the third person to know.
But that wasn't important. Now Luffy didn't even need to pretend; he simply slumped onto the table, looking at the pitiful Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's face was flushed, and he looked at Robin in disbelief, gritting his teeth as he said,
"The result is... the people are qualified, but their strength is insufficient; they are simply not qualified to go to the New World. If there are no surprises, he will make the Straw Hat Pirates' journey stop at Sabaody Archipelago! So... we will soon have to say goodbye!"
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