"Will you two stop it already?!" Nami's fist connected with the bar counter, making the tankards jump. She shot a glare at Nolan lounging beside them. "And you—stop looking so damn entertained by this!"
Nolan simply blinked, the picture of innocence beneath his hood. Nami resisted the urge to smack him—that face was a biological weapon.
Luffy froze mid-insult, remembering their actual mission. With visible effort, he turned away from Teach with a huff. The pirate shrugged and returned to his drink, losing interest.
Nami smoothed her skirt and addressed the bartender with forced calm. "We're looking for information about Sky Island. What can you tell us?"
The clatter of a dropped mug echoed through the sudden silence.
Then—
A single snicker broke the tension.
""GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!""
"HAHAHAHA—Sky Island?!" A barrel-chested pirate slammed his ale down, tears forming in his eyes. The dam burst as the entire bar erupted in laughter.
"Fucking sky pirates now?!"
"Did ya fall on yer head, sweetheart?"
"Pfft—next she'll be asking about mermaids in the clouds!"
The raucous mocking hit Nami like physical blows. She took an involuntary step back, face burning. This was exactly why she hated dealing with—
Crack.
A gunshot? No—the sound was quieter. More... final.
Nami turned to see Nolan casually lowering The Third Eye. Where a particularly vocal heckler had been standing, only swirling dust remained.
The silence this time was absolute.
Nolan's hood had slipped back during the motion, revealing those impossible pink eyes that seemed to glow in the dim bar light. He scanned the frozen crowd like a bored executioner counting heads.
"Twenty-three," he mused, voice soft yet carrying to every corner. "That's how many of you laughed just now." A slow blink. "Anyone else want to... clarify their stance?"
The bartender's rag hit the floor with a wet splat. A man near the exit pissed himself quietly. Even Teach had gone very still, his beady eyes fixed on Nolan's gun.
Nami watched in stunned silence as every pirate in the bar suddenly found their tankards fascinating. The ones who'd laughed loudest were now trying to merge with the walls.
Robin chose that moment to reappear at the door, taking in the scene with raised eyebrows. "Did I miss something?"
Nolan yawned, the dangerous edge vanishing as quickly as it came. "Mm. Boring people being... boring." He turned to the bartender. "Sky Island info. Now."
The old man's hands shook as he poured four whiskeys he definitely wasn't asked for. "R-right! So there's this madman in town, Montblanc Cricket—"
Luffy immediately perked up. "A madman? Awesome!"
Nami rubbed her temples as they left the bar, the bartender's panicked directions still ringing in her ears. Robin effortlessly translated the man's terrified ramblings into usable intel as they navigated Jaya's filthy streets.
"Apparently this Cricket fellow lives on the outskirts," Robin mused. "He's something of a local laughing stock for his—"
A distant crash cut her off. The group exchanged glances before quickening their pace toward the commotion.
The scene that greeted them was pure chaos. A rundown shack stood besieged by well-dressed pirates, their gaudy gold trim glinting in the sunlight as they pummeled a group of ragged defenders. At the center stood a grinning blonde madman, his coat flapping dramatically as he kicked a downed man in the ribs.
"Geezer!" Bellamy's voice carried over the violence. "Hand over the fucking gold already before I rip this shithole apart board by board!"
Luffy's sandals hit the dirt before Nami could stop him. "Oi! Stop that!"
The beating paused. Two dozen heads swiveled toward Luffy with identical expressions of amused contempt.
Sarquiss, the wiry swordsman, let out a theatrical gasp. "Well well, looks like we've got ourselves a hero!" His crew erupted in mocking laughter. "What's next?"
Nolan leaned against a nearby palm tree, watching with half-lidded eyes. He'd seen this play out before—Bellamy's arrogance, Luffy's restraint, the inevitable violence. Normally he'd nap through it, but these pretentious fucks were grating on his last nerve.
When Sarquiss made to draw his sword, Nolan's gun arm lifted with lazy precision. "You dickweeds... don't fucking interfere..." The Third Eye hummed to life, its barrel glowing faintly.
PFFT.
One of Bellamy's crewmates vanished mid-laugh, his gaudy jacket fluttering empty to the ground. The laughter died instantly.
Bellamy's grin faltered as he turned to face the threat. His remaining crew froze like prey animals, sweat pouring down their faces. Nolan's pink eyes glowed from beneath his hood, his bored expression somehow more terrifying than any battle cry.
"Next one... who moves..." Nolan yawned, rotating the gun slightly, "...gets to find out... if there's an afterlife."
The silence was absolute. Even the Saruyama Alliance held their breath. Bellamy's hands twitched at his sides—not in fear, but calculation. This wasn't part of his script.
Luffy cracked his knuckles, the only one unaffected by Nolan's display. "Now that everyone's shut up..." He adjusted his straw hat. "You were saying something about heroes?"
The standoff hung in the air—Bellamy's crew paralyzed by Nolan's threat, Luffy itching for a fight, and Nolan looking like he might fall asleep on his feet despite holding an entire crew at gunpoint.
Nami buried her face in her hands. "Why do I even bother..."
"B-Bellamy.. I think you should see this" One of Bellamy's crew called out as he handed wanted posters towards Bellamy who grunted while accepting it. He looked at it and nearly popped his eyes when he saw the bounties.
'MONKEY D. LUFFY' — 'STRAWHAT PIRATES' — 120,000,000 BERRIES — WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE'
'NOLAN D. RANVIL' — 'THE SLOTH' — 100,000,000 BERRIES — WANTED ONLY ALIVE'
'NAMI' — 'CAT BURGLAR' — 70,000,000 BERRIES — WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE'
'NICO ROBIN' — 'DEMON'S CHILD' — 90,000,000 BERRIES — WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE'
The bounty poster crumpled in Bellamy's trembling hands. 400 million berries. His lips twitched, mind racing for an exit strategy—maybe he could blame this on Sarquiss, or—
WHAM!
The world became a blur of sky and buildings as Luffy's fist launched Bellamy clean through three storefronts. Wood splintered, glass shattered, and the spring-powered pirate finally skidded to a stop in the town square, carving a trench through the dirt.
Silence fell over the gathered pirates. Tankards froze mid-sip. Dice stopped rolling. Every eye locked onto the groaning figure embedded in the marketplace cobblestones.
"Shit... that's Bellamy the Hyena..." a pirate whispered, his cutlass slipping from numb fingers.
The man next to him rubbed his eyes. "Did... did he just get one-shotted?"
Bellamy's head snapped up at that, blood dripping from his broken nose. "SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS!" he roared, his pride stinging worse than his injuries. His eyes darted toward the rooftops—if he could just get some altitude—
"Bane Bane no..." His legs compressed into tight springs. "BOUNCE AW—"
SLAP!
Robin's sprouted hands clamped around his ankles like sea stone manacles. Bellamy's escape attempt became a spectacular faceplant, his nose rebounding off the cobblestones with a wet crunch.
"Gah! What the fuck—"
Luffy's shadow fell over him before he could finish. The captain cracked his knuckles, his usual grin absent. "You shouldn'ta hurt those people."
Bellamy barely had time to register the incoming fist before—
CRUNCH!
The impact deformed his face like putty, cheeks rippling outward from the force. His eyes rolled back as his body went limp, bouncing once before settling in an undignified heap.
The marketplace held its breath. Then—
"HE BEAT BELLAMY IN ONE PUNCH?!"
Chaos erupted. Pirates scrambled over each other to get a better look at the unconscious "big shot," while others backed away from Luffy like he was the devil himself.
Nolan yawned from his perch on a nearby roof, lowering The Third Eye. "Tch... waste of time..." He'd been ready to stop any interference, but apparently nobody had been stupid enough to try.
Meanwhile, Nami facepalmed so hard it echoed. "Great. Now every pirate on the island will be after us."
Luffy just stretched his arms with a satisfied grin. "Shishishi! That was fun! Let's go find Cricket!"
As they walked away, the whispers followed,
"That's Straw Hat Luffy..."
"And his crew's got that blue-haired demon..."
"Did you see how Bellamy's face—"
"Shut up before they hear you!"
Luffy's group were about to leave when another voice prevented them from doing that.
"Stop right there, strawhat"
The Straw Hats turned as one at the unfamiliar voice. Nolan - who had been moments ago from dozing off against a wall - now stood fully alert, both eyes open for the first time in recent memory.
Sarquiss tried to slink away, but a massive hand slammed down on his head, driving his face into the dirt with a CRUNCH.
"Zehahaha! Been lookin' for a hundred-million-berry pirate," boomed the gap-toothed man from the bar. Blackbeard's grin widened as he cracked his knuckles. "Seems I hit the jackpot instead!"
Luffy's expression darkened, recognizing something dangerous in the man's aura. Behind Teach, his crew fanned out with predatory grins,
The old man on the camel adjusted his goggles with a wheezing laugh. "Oho~ Quite the catch we've stumbled upon, Captain."
The towering wrestler-type cracked his neck. "I'll take the rubber man. Been itching for a real fight."
The sniper spun his rifle lazily. "Dibs on the blue-haired one. Never erased a pretty boy before."
Nami stepped forward, "Why are you targeting us specifically?!"
Van Auger adjusted his scope with a cold smile. "Your bounties make for excellent... startup capital."
Doc Q coughed into his hand. "Besides, what better way to announce our arrival than crushing the newest supernovas?"
Burgess flexed his massive arms. "That rubber fruit of yours will make a fine addition to our collection too."
Teach's beady eyes gleamed as he spread his arms. "Zehahaha! Don't take it personal, Straw Hat! Just business!"
Nolan's gun clicked as he clutched his gun lazily. "Fuck off... or find out... why my bounty's higher... than yours."
A tense silence fell. Teach's grin never wavered, bu
t his crew exchanged glances - they'd all seen what that strange weapon could do.
Luffy cracked his knuckles, straw hat shadowing his eyes. "You talk too much."
---