Chapter 218: Look, This Is What Pirate King-Level Haki Looks Like!
There are many well-informed pirates.
Even more are braggarts.
Just ask a few people, and you can easily find out about the contestants.
There are the giant fishermen brothers, Bobby and Pogo, with their massive size and astonishing strength.
When Usopp saw these two brothers earlier, he was so excited his mouth hung wide open.
Then there's the Fish-man Willy, who I heard was once a rival of Arlong.
When Nami heard this name, she frowned briefly, then smiled it off.
What's Arlong? That's all in the past now.
There are also various other pirate crews, with mixed levels of strength.
But the hottest topic is undoubtedly one name.
Gasparde.
General Gasparde.
Bounty: 95 million Berries.
Even more eye-catching is his identity—a former Navy officer.
Even his pirate flag is just the Navy symbol with a cross drawn over it.
Truly quite arrogant.
"General Gasparde..."
Ralph muttered the name, his mind beginning to recall.
Gasparde.
A Devil Fruit User of the Ame Ame no Mi.
Those familiar with One Piece know just how deep the implications run here.
Devil Fruits related to food, like candy or cake, are of particular interest to the Big Mom Pirates, one of the Four Emperors.
After all, once these Devil Fruit Users activate their abilities, they can create large amounts of food out of thin air.
Perfect for dealing with Big Mom's Soul Pocus.
What does this mean?
It means that different Devil Fruits have completely different values to different people.
And it also means...
This is a good thing.
Leaving it on this guy is just a waste.
Ralph unilaterally made a decision.
The Devil Fruit inside Gasparde's body is not his.
Being a pirate is all about being this domineering.
Just as he made this domineering decision, a sudden clattering noise erupted from downstairs.
Followed by Lufia's loud voice.
"Gomu Gomu—"
And then, "Three Sword Style—"
Then came the clanging sounds of battle.
Ralph and the others walked to the railing and looked down.
The dining area was already in chaos.
Tables and chairs overturned, plates shattered, a group of pirates were frantically attacking Lufia.
Lufia swung left and right, knocking back everyone who charged at her.
But she wasn't using her full strength, more like she was playing around.
Zoro also drew his three swords to fight, taking on a whole group by himself.
Usopp pulled Chopper behind a pillar, one trembling, the other trembling too.
And then—
Clatter!
A decorative iron chain rose from downstairs.
Lufia grabbed the chain with one hand, waving at the people below with the other.
"Hehe—!"
She directly ascended to the floor where Ralph and the others were.
"Lufia, what are you doing?"
Ralph asked.
"Fighting!"
Lufia replied as if it were the most natural thing.
"How did the fight start?"
"I stole someone else's food!"
Ralph: "..."
Look, this is what you call Four Emperor-level Haki.
Eating your food and still beating you up.
He looked at Lufia and asked with a smile:
"Just because you stole food, it turned into a fight?"
Lufia grinned: "First, someone couldn't beat me at grabbing food, so they shoved my head onto the table..."
Ralph's smile instantly vanished.
Lufia continued: "Then a bunch of guys started shooting at me for no reason, and that's when the fight broke out!"
Ralph gritted his teeth, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
It's been too long, the plot is a bit fuzzy.
Besides, in the original story, Luffy getting beaten up in fights was pretty common.
But not here.
My Lufia stealing a bite of your food is an honor for you.
How dare you press my Lufia's head against the table?
And someone actually dared to fire a gun?
Don't they know whose woman Lufia is?!
The more Ralph thought about it, the angrier he became, feeling like a handsome, overprotective husband at that moment.
Lufia descended along the chain once more.
At the same time, the two groups she had been fighting with rose up from another chain.
One group was the pirates who had just been beaten, and the other consisted of only one person.
They were crowded onto the same chain, pushing and shoving each other.
Without a word, Ralph immediately took action.
Soru!
His figure vanished from his original position in an instant, appearing above the group.
Rankyaku: Ran!
His legs kicked out countless slashes in mid-air, each one accurately hitting a person.
"Ah—!"
"Wah—!"
"Help—!"
A group of people screamed as they fell from the chain, splashing into the central pool one after another.
Only one person remained.
A young man wearing a yellow jacket, black pants, with short hair covering his cheeks.
Ralph kicked toward him.
The other man actually dodged sideways.
Although Ralph hadn't used his full strength, being able to dodge this kick meant he wasn't an ordinary pirate.
Yellow jacket, black pants, short hair covering his face.
No matter how you looked at it, he was an important character in this part of the story.
Ralph wanted to pursue him further—
"Ralph!"
Lufia's voice came from below.
"This fight is mine, don't interfere!"
Ralph looked down.
Lufia was standing by the pool, waving at him.
Around her lay a group of defeated pirates.
Ralph looked at those people, then at Lufia.
Forget it.
If she didn't want him to interfere, then he wouldn't.
He withdrew his stance.
The young man in the yellow jacket breathed a sigh of relief and turned to run.
Lufia chased after him.
The yellow-jacketed young man sprinted wildly, passing through several platforms before finally rushing into one of the floors.
Lufia followed closely behind.
Then she froze.
The scene on this floor was completely different from everywhere else.
Tables, chairs, and benches had all been pushed against the wall, piled into a heap.
Even the pirates who had originally been drinking here had been taught a lesson and piled next to the furniture.
The entire floor had been cleared out into a large open space.
In the center of the space, only one set of tables and chairs remained.
Sitting in the chair was a tall, burly man.
He wore a white captain's robe, open at the front, revealing a muscular chest.
With short hair and an amused smile on his face, he held a glass of red wine in his hand.
Ralph caught up from behind and stood beside Lufia.
He recognized this man at a glance.
Gasparde.
Former Navy, now a pirate, with a bounty of 95 million Berries.
Ame Ame no Mi Devil Fruit User.
Gasparde's gaze swept over Lufia, then over the yellow-jacketed young man, finally settling on Ralph.
"So it's you who attacked my men?"
Lufia casually took over the conversation:
"Were those guys your crewmates?
Ralph only kicked them once, they shouldn't die from falling into the water!"
Gasparde laughed.
"It doesn't matter if they die."
He swirled his wine glass, "Weaklings aren't fit to be my subordinates."
Even though he was sitting, he cast a condescending look at the two of them.
"But you two—"
"Straw Hat Girl Lufia, and the nameless swordsman Ralph, both have bounties over 30 million Berries."
Although it sounded like praise, his eyes never left the wine glass in his hand.
"How about joining my ship and working for me?"
Lufia tilted her head to look at him.
Then she frowned.
"No! You smell like a disgusting piece of trash."
Gasparde's brows furrowed.
It had been a long time since anyone dared to act so arrogantly in front of him.
He slightly raised his chin.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the shadows!
It was a burly, masked man with a pair of iron hooks attached to his hands.
He moved incredibly fast, appearing behind Lufia in the blink of an eye.
The iron hooks aimed straight for Lufia's neck!
Then—
Thud!
A dull thump.
The man's mask and face shattered instantly.
He didn't even get a chance to fly backward—he collapsed right on the spot, falling unconscious.
Whether he was alive or dead was unknown.
Ralph retracted his fist and flexed his wrist.
He glanced at Gasparde.
"Lufia," he said, "if you hate trash like this, just beat them up."
"After all, there are no good people in this place—you won't hit the wrong person."
Gasparde froze for a second.
Then he laughed.
A furious, bitter laugh.
"Don't think defeating my strongest subordinate makes you anything special."
He stood up, spreading his arms wide.
"You have no idea—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Lufia's fist had already shot out.
A simple punch, gleaming with the black sheen of Armament Haki, struck Gasparde squarely in the chest!
Thud!
Gasparde flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the rocky wall behind him.
Boom!
The wall caved in, leaving a deep, dark hole.
Rubble clattered down.
Silence fell over the entire scene.
Gasparde's arriving subordinates stared wide-eyed at the hole, then at Lufia, then back at the hole, then back at Lufia.
Their captain.
A bounty of 95 million.
Former Navy.
A Devil Fruit User.
Punched into a wall with a single blow?
Ralph looked at the hole and shook his head with a sigh.
You're just an early movie villain—what were you trying to prove?
Well, this is what happens.
This Dead End Race adventure might turn out to be pretty boring.
Lufia retracted her fist, turned to Ralph, and flashed her signature grin.
"Hehehe! Ralph, was that punch cool?"
"Cool," Ralph said seriously, "especially cool."
"So, what do we do next?"
Ralph thought for a moment...
He glanced at the stunned young man in the yellow coat, at Gasparde's trembling subordinates, at the pirates downstairs craning their necks to watch the commotion.
The Dead End Race?
Did they even need to participate anymore?
The biggest favorite had just been punched into a wall.
He looked at Lufia.
"As for what's next~"
He smiled.
"Next, of course, we keep eating free food."
Lufia's eyes lit up.
"Alright—!"
She grabbed Ralph and dashed downstairs.
Leaving behind a crowd of bewildered pirates.
And General Gasparde, embedded in the wall, his fate unknown.