Chapter 11 Luffy disguises himself as a Marine and tricks HobbyIn the distance, a strangely shaped, enormous ship floated on the sea, its prow shaped like a giant fish head, anchored steadily in the azure ocean.
Usopp, leaning on the railing, drooled, "My god! What a magnificent ship! Is this the floating restaurant?"
Even the usually frugal Nami was excited. She had heard of this place before, but always kept to herself, saving money to redeem her village, never daring to visit such an expensive establishment.
Just then, a piercing alarm shattered the silence.
A massive warship, flying a naval flag, swaggered in from the side.
A man with slicked-back hair, wearing a burgundy striped suit, strode arrogantly to the edge of the deck.
Wearing brass knuckles studded with iron rings, he leaned on the railing and shouted, "No pirate flag? I'm Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander 'Iron Fist' Hobby! Who's the captain of that wrecked ship over there? Get out here and give me your name!"
Luffy on the Going Merry was already prepared. He pulled out his "Justice" cloak, which he'd kept hidden away, from his cabin and draped it over his shoulders with a whoosh.
He puffed out his chest and roared at them, "I'm Marine Headquarters Captain, Monkey D. Luffy! What are you yelling about? Who do you think you are?"
Hobby, startled, slipped, and his swirling wine glass flew out of his hand, spilling red wine all over him.
He didn't bother to wipe his clothes, squinting to get a better look.
That distinctive straw hat and face—it was none other than the newly promoted Marine Captain Monkey D. Luffy, who had been the subject of much media attention recently!
He had been complaining to his colleagues that it was probably some rich kid from a lieutenant general's family getting a salary through connections.
Unexpectedly, he'd bumped into the person in the worst place.
Hopdog's previously arrogant face instantly fell, replaced by an extremely obsequious smile.
"Oh! It's Colonel Luffy! I never expected to meet you here, it's truly an honor!"
His fawning, hands-wrapping, and bowing manner made him look exactly like a traitor meeting a Japanese officer.
Usopp, gazing enviously at Luffy's cloak billowing in the wind, exclaimed, "That's so cool! That cloak is practically a pass! If I had one, I'd be incredibly cool!"
Nami nodded thoughtfully, "After all, Luffy's grandfather is the legendary Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp. We can benefit from his fame; maybe we can even get a position someday."
Just then, a stunning blonde woman in a red backless dress emerged from Hobby's cabin.
She asked疑惑地问道, "Honey, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Luffy, aboard the Going Merry, saw the woman and his eyes lit up instantly.
He leaped high, landing gracefully on the deck of Hobby's warship.
The nearby navy soldiers, upon seeing the shoulder insignia and cape, reflexively stood at attention and saluted: "Good morning, Colonel!"
Luffy waved casually, like a leader on an inspection tour: "Comrades, you've worked hard. At ease."
The blonde beauty looked Luffy over with surprise, then turned to Hopdy and asked, "And who is this?"
Before Hobbdy could even speak, Luffy had already glided forward, elegantly taking the beautiful woman's hand and giving her a perfect Western hand-kiss.
"I am Marine Headquarters Captain Luffy, grandson of the Marine hero Garp. This beautiful lady, would you be interested in a romantic encounter with me?"
Hobbdy, who had been visibly furious, felt like he was being humiliated.
But upon hearing Luffy introduce himself, his anger instantly transformed into ecstatic joy.
Garp's grandson?!
That's the legendary naval hero, Garp!
Although he's only a vice admiral in name, everyone in the Marine Headquarters knows that in terms of seniority and status, even the three admirals have to treat Garp with utmost respect!
He's a true powerhouse!
The blonde beauty looked at Hopdy with a puzzled expression, seemingly seeking his opinion.
Hopdy quickly and frantically winked, as if to say: Hurry up, don't offend this guy!
Looking at Hopdy's cowardly behavior, a flash of disgust crossed the blonde beauty's eyes.
She turned her head, casually took Luffy's arm, and walked towards the small boat leading to Baratie with a coquettish smile.
Hopdy followed behind like a lackey, a fawning smile on his face.
Usopp and the others on the Going Merry were practically speechless.
"Holy shit?"
Usopp's thousand words culminated in this classic Chinese curse.
Luffy, halfway there, suddenly turned back and shouted, "What are you waiting for! Hurry up and come mooch a meal! Someone's paying!"
Upon hearing about the free feast, Nami's eyes instantly lit up with Beli symbols: "Coming! Coming! Wait for me!"
Hobbdy, standing behind, watched this scene with a bewildered expression, thinking to himself: Are all the privileged kids of officials this audacious these days?
The group quickly entered the spacious restaurant hall.
Luffy's colonel's coat instantly attracted the attention of all the diners.
"Wow! What a young colonel!"
"Look at the one following him, isn't that Captain Hobbdy? He's only a lackey."
"Even a captain is only a subordinate, this must be a big shot from headquarters!"
"So handsome, such elegant movements, and he even has two beautiful women accompanying him."
Luffy, leading the blonde beauty and Nami, swaggered to a round table with the best view and sat down.
Zoro and Usopp tried to join them, but Luffy ruthlessly waved them away.
"Go away, go away, go play somewhere else. Can't you see I'm having a threesome... cough cough, a threesome? Don't be a third wheel."
Zoro, the straight-laced guy, had veins throbbing on his forehead: "Huh? Why? What the hell is this threesome?"
Usopp, seeing his erection failing him, quickly pulled Zoro to the next table: "Oh, you don't understand. This is a realm that single people can't comprehend. If it weren't for the fact that I only have eyes for Kaya, I'd want to try it too!"
Zoro was completely bewildered, utterly clueless about what this long-nosed guy was talking about.
Soon, Zeff, the red-legged guy with a two-pronged blond mustache and a prosthetic leg, walked over carrying a bottle of red wine.
Although the main character had changed, Luffy's Marine captain persona was clearly much more effective than Hobby's. Zeff personally poured the wine.
The blonde beauty covered her mouth and chuckled: "You're really charming. Look, everyone around you is looking at you with envy."
Luffy picked up his wine glass and swirled it around a couple of times, looking quite professional. "That's true, but they were mainly attracted to these two beautiful ladies."
The blonde beauty laughed heartily, while Nami stomped on his foot under the table, her eyes screaming, "Don't give me that crap, I know what you're like."
Luffy winced in pain, cursing inwardly: "Damn it! Can't you stop ruining this carefully crafted domineering CEO vibe?!"
He took a sip of red wine, his brow furrowing instantly. A sour taste shot straight to his head.
"Pah! What garbage! Boss, get me some white wine!"
The blonde beauty and Zeff both froze: "???"
Zeff looked completely bewildered: "White? What do you mean?"
Luffy pointed at the expensive bottle of red wine and complained, "High-proof! Strong liquor! How many bottles of this low-proof, juice-like drink would I have to drink to get these two drunk? No, I mean, to have a good time?!"
Thump!
Nami, finally losing her temper, punched Luffy on the head, making his head shake like a rattle: "What kind of filthy things are you thinking about?!"
Just then, in this awkward moment, the restaurant door was suddenly kicked open.
A blood-soaked, disheveled Marine soldier stumbled in.
"Captain! Captain! Something terrible has happened! The pirate Krieg's crew we were escorting has escaped!"
The previously noisy restaurant fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on the doorway.
Hobby, who was about to curry favor with Luffy, suddenly changed his expression and stood up abruptly: "What did you say?!"
The soldier, head bowed, trembling: "We lost seven brothers trying to capture Krieg's crew..."
He didn't dare look up at Hobby's ashen face.
"Impossible! When we caught that guy three days ago, he was practically starving! Weren't we just starving him ever since?" Hobby roared in disbelief.
Upon hearing the name "Krieg," the diners in the restaurant erupted in chaos.
"The Krieg Pirates?"
"Isn't that the strongest pirate crew, the so-called rulers of the East Blue?"
"I heard they have fifty large ships and thousands of men, they're terrifying!"
Panic quickly spread through the Baratie Hall.
The wounded soldier bowed shamefully to Hobby, "I'm so sorry..."
Before he could finish speaking, a dark gun barrel suddenly pierced through the doorway, pressed directly against the soldier's temple.
Luffy's hand, holding his wine glass, paused slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits.
Bang!
A deafening gunshot rang out.
The bullet grazed the wooden door frame, sending splinters flying.
At the critical moment, the soldier standing at the door felt a sudden tug on the back of his collar, and was pulled backward by a tremendous force, landing steadily on a chair next to Luffy.
"Ahhh!!"
The guests screamed in terror, scrambling to hide in the corners of the restaurant.
The man named Akin strode in, a smoking flintlock pistol in his hand, his face contorted with malice.
Blood seeped from the bandages on his head, his face was deathly pale, clearly extremely weak, but his eyes gleamed with the ferocity of a hungry wolf.
The rescued soldier, still shaken, stammered his thanks to Luffy, who had pulled him over: "Th-thank you so much, Colonel, for saving my life!"
Luffy casually waved his hand, signaling him to quickly go and bandage his wound.
Gin dragged his heavy steps to the nearest empty table, slamming his foot on it without even checking if there were any plates.
His voice was hoarse but laced with ruthlessness: "Anything will do, just get me some food! This is a dining hall, isn't it?"
Nami frowned at the scene, a flash of disgust in her eyes.
If Luffy hadn't acted quickly, that unfortunate Marine soldier would probably have his head split open by now.
Hobody, terrified, shrank behind Luffy and whispered, "Commander Luffy, what...what do we do?"
He had initially thought the Krieg Pirates were starving and wanted to take advantage of the situation to gain some military merit.
Who would have thought that even a nearly starving subordinate could escape from his warship's prison? His fighting prowess was simply outrageous.
Already timid and cowardly, he was now so intimidated by the desperate aura emanating from Akin that he didn't dare utter a sound.
"I'll say it again, listen up, everyone, bring on the food!"
Akin slammed his gun on the table, his eyes flashing red like a wild beast.
Luffy slowly stood up, holding his half-finished glass of red wine.
Hobody's eyes widened: "Hey? Lord Luffy? No way, that guy's a madman, he'll get killed!"
In his eyes, Luffy was just a spoiled brat who rose to power through his grandfather's connections; going up there would be suicide.
However, Luffy completely ignored him, walking straight to Akin and looking down at the half-starved pirate.
"Hey, aren't you being incredibly disrespectful to the Navy?"
Luffy swirled his wine glass, his tone as casual as if he were making small talk.
"The Navy?"
Gin sneered, a contempt born of bloodshed. "I think you're tired of living and want a bullet, aren't you?"
Hobody screamed, clutching his eyes, "It's over! It's going to kill someone!"
Luffy remained expressionless, flicking his wrist, and poured a full glass of red wine directly onto Gin's head.
The purplish-red wine dripped down Gin's hair, mixing with blood and staining the table.
"That's why I hate you low-class pirates the most. Not paying for your meal is one thing, but shooting indiscriminately is another."
Gin instantly erupted in fury, his eyes bloodshot: "You're asking for it!"
Bang!
Without a word, the gun was pressed almost to Luffy's chest and fired.
A chorus of screams erupted in the hall.
However, the expected scene of blood splattering did not occur.
The bullet pierced Luffy's chest, but it seemed to have struck an extremely tough piece of rubber, forcing a long trajectory through his chest.
Then, with a crisp "pop," the bullet ricocheted back along the same path at an even faster speed.
Thud!
"What?! What the hell was that?!"
Gin screamed, clutching his arm where the bullet had pierced his skin, his face showing utter disbelief.
Red-Leg Zeff, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes, stroking his beard and muttering to himself, "A Devil Fruit user? This kid's interesting."
"Idiot! A mere pirate dares to swagger around in front of me like that? Does he think he's one of the Four Emperors of the New World?"
Luffy sneered, raising his foot and kicking Gin squarely in the chest.
A deafening crash!
Tables and chairs in the restaurant flew through the air, and Gin was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing heavily against the wall, clutching his chest and retching in pain.
Luffy walked over and kicked Gin again, like kicking away trash, sending him sprawling to Hopdy's feet.
He dusted off his hands and said casually, "Go get him some food, then let him go."