As the giant shipwreck sank and the sea calmed down, Nami noticed something weird.
The Log Pose's needle was pointing straight up.
She figured it must be broken.
Robin, however, saw it too.
She put two and two together – the ship falling from the sky, the pointer aiming up – and remembered the legends.
"It's a Sky Island," she told everyone, even finding a 200-year-old picture of the exact same ship in one of her history books.
That pretty much confirmed it.
This revelation, of course, made one person jump up excitedly.
"Yohoho! I've decided!" Luffy yelled. "Our next destination is Sky Island!"
This crazy new adventure was right up Luffy's alley.
Ray didn't object; he wanted to visit Sky island too.
More importantly, he knew there'd be plenty of fighting on Sky Island, which meant his fusion rate would definitely break 60%.
'With that kind of power,' he thought, 'I should be able to fight an Admiral.'
This was crucial.
After refusing the Warlord invitation, they were officially on the Marines' bad side.
Garp probably couldn't protect them anymore.
Ray needed to get stronger, fast.
Robin also gave Nami an important tip, "In the Grand Line, never doubt the Log Pose."
Luffy, insistent on going up, ignored Nami's (very reasonable) protests.
So, Nami started trying to figure out how to get there.
The first clue was the giant shipwreck.
The three (Luffy, Zoro, Sanji) dove in to search.
While salvaging, they ran into a guy named Mont Blanc Cricket, who was also salvaging ships.
After half a day of finding nothing, Robin "casually" produced an Eternal Pose she'd swiped from Cricket's ship.
It pointed to a nearby island: "Jaya."
They decided to head there for info.
(Ray wasn't flying them up. He said it was 'too exhausting'and, more importantly, 'too embarrassing.' Chouchou wasn't strong enough to fly that high yet, either.)
…
Less than half a day later, they arrived at Mock Town on Jaya Island.
Nami's first instinct was to make everyone disguise themselves.
'Pink suit, pink suit...' she thought, still obsessed with the idea.
Unfortunately, Ray shot her down.
"No Marines on this island. No need to hide." Robin backed him up.
"Besides, with our captain, disguising ourselves is pretty pointless anyway."
Everyone just nodded.
True.
If Luffy didn't cause trouble, would he even be Luffy? So, they dropped anchor and headed into the infamous pirate town.
…
While the Straw Hats were looking for a way up, the rest of the world was freaking out.
Getting a bounty over 100 million was a huge deal.
It meant you were officially a big-shot pirate.
The Straw Hats had just made a name for themselves in the entire Grand Line.
Back in the East Blue, everyone they'd met – Zeff at the Baratie, Genzo and Nojiko, the folks in Foosha Village and Orange Town, Koushirou – were all hanging their new wanted posters like collector's items.
They all claimed they were "condemning" the crew's wicked deeds... by throwing massive parties.
On Drum Island, Dr. Kureha sipped her booze, smiling at Chopper's 50-Berry poster.
"Heh. You're a proper pirate now, Chopper."
Dalton, standing nearby, added, "50 Berries... at least he's safe. No one would bother..."
He was promptly kicked through a wall.
"FOOL! Sooner or later, they'll be chasing him like mad! What would a guy with no bounty know?!"
But all of them, from Zeff to Garp's old friend Makino, were worried about the same thing.
'If they refused the Warlord invitation, they're now the Marines' top target. Be careful, all of you.'
And in the Grand Line, Admiral Aokiji was idly thinking.
'Nico Robin... after Crocodile, whose crew will you join this time? The Straw Hats?'
…
The Straw Hats, completely oblivious to all this, arrived in Mock Town.
Just as they were about to split up, Nami dropped a bomb.
"We're... almost out of money~"
Luffy immediately struck a serious captain's pose.
"Guys! As captain, I have to say something! No matter how carefree we are, we still need to be mindful!"
"(╬ Ò﹏Ó): IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOD EXPENSES!!" Nami, Sanji, and Zoro roared in unison.
Ray was speechless.
Luffy's appetite was getting insane.
Ray wasn't sure if it was his Devil Fruit developing or just... Luffy.
The direct result was Nami's savings were gone.
Even with hunting sea monsters, they were barely scraping by.
They needed cash, fast.
After a moment, Ray had an idea.
This was a pirate town, full of glory hound.
Luffy was bound to be targeted.
They could just... take out a few of them and cash in their bounties.
So, this time, Ray stuck with Luffy, Zoro, and Nami.
But then he stopped. "Hmm. We missed something."
"Luffy, Zoro, Nami – disguise yourselves. Cover your faces."
Ray himself put on the golden half-mask Nami and Robin had made for him.
The other three were confused.
'Didn't he just say no disguises?' But they trusted him and pulled up their hoods.
Why the change of heart?
Their bounties were too high.
If the bounty hunters in town recognized them immediately, they might be too scared to even try to attack them.
And you can't go fishing if you scare all the fish away.
After gearing up in their disguises, the group started buying supplies and asking around about Sky Island.
As they walked, Nami repeatedly drilled it into Luffy's head.
"Do not cause trouble. We need to get info and get out."
Ray, of course, wasn't the type to start fights... unless someone provoked him.
And if that happened, Nami knew she couldn't stop him.
(Plus, anyone who provoked Ray tended to die too quickly for it to waste much time anyway.)
…
After asking around and getting nothing but weird looks, Luffy declared he was starving.
So, the four of them piled into a nearby bar.
Luffy ate, Zoro drank, Nami tried to get info from the bartender, and Ray just watched.
Coincidentally, a few "big shots" were in the bar, including the two most famous guys on the island.
"Hyena" Bellamy (55 million bounty) and his vice-captain, Sarquiss (38 million bounty).
Seeing Luffy wolfing down food like an animal, Sarquiss got annoyed.
"Where'd this brat come from? His eating manners are disgusting. It's ruining my appetite."
He swaggered over to the cloaked Luffy. "Hey, brat! I'm talking to you!"
Luffy, 100% focused on his meat, completely ignored him.
Sarquiss, who was used to being feared, got furious.
He grabbed Luffy's head and slammed it down onto the counter, shattering the wood.
Luffy and Zoro immediately tensed up, ready to retaliate, but Nami stopped them.
"Don't cause trouble!" she hissed. "We won't be here long! What if the Log Pose resets?! Then we'll never get to Sky Island!"
She hurried over to the bartender.
"Boss," she asked, "we want to go to Sky Island. Do you have any information?"
Before the bartender could even answer, the whole bar burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Sky Island? What era are these guys from?!"
"Not just disgusting brats, but delusional idiots too!" Sarquiss cackled.
From a nearby table, Bellamy roared with laughter.
"Hah~hahahaha! To think there are still dreamers in this era! Listen, kids—the age of pirates having dreams is over. This is the new era. The strong take what they want, and the weak get crushed. One Piece? Sky Island? It doesn't exist!"
His crew immediately chimed in.
"The boss is right!"
"Beating them up and taking their money sounds like fun!"
This crew was clearly used to bullying people for fun.
Sarquiss glared at Luffy and Zoro, ready to start a fight. Nami, unable to take their mockery anymore, finally snapped.
"Luffy! Zoro! Just beat them up already!" she yelled. "I don't care about the info anymore! I'm pissed!"
Zoro's hand was already on his sword, but Luffy, surprisingly, stopped him.
"Zoro," he said quietly, "we can't fight this one."
Zoro, confused, stood down.
Ray sighed from his corner.
To him, this was a bit childish.
'Luffy,' he thought, 'you think fighting them would tarnish the word "dream," don't you?'
Luffy just nodded, as if he'd heard him.
Zoro glanced at Ray and added, "Ray, he probably thinks retaliating means we're angry. And being angry would mean their words got to us, that we wavered. But... they're too insignificant to even deserve our anger."
Ray understood.
Luffy hated people who mocked people dreams.
If he got angry, it would mean his own dream wasn't firm enough.
But to Ray, this wasn't about dreams.
These guys were just... money.
Just as Sarquiss and the others were about to jump them, Bellamy and his intel officer suddenly froze.
"...Did that woman just say their names were Luffy and Zoro?"
"Wait... that guy in the back has white hair."
"And that woman looks familiar..."
Nami, now furious, ripped the cloaks off herself, Zoro, and Luffy.
At that moment, the entire Bellamy Pirates crew realized who they were messing with.
They started trembling, their voices shaking.
"C-C-Captain... they're the Straw Hat Pirates!!"
Sarquiss immediately leaped back behind Bellamy.
The two women who'd been excited to hear them "moan" clamped their mouths shut.
To them, the Straw Hats were untouchable.
They were the super rookies who had refused the Warlord title!
Even the woman had a 35 million bounty!
And these three guys were the top bounties on the crew!
The Bellamy Pirates were terrified.
Luffy just looked at them and shook his head.
That simple motion made Sarquiss feel like his heart was about to explode.
"Let's go," Luffy said.
The Bellamy Pirates let out a collective sigh of relief.
But just as they were leaving, Bellamy's fear turned to greedy, sinister opportunity.
"Don't leave so soon, Straw Hats," he called out, licking his lips. "Your heads are worth a fortune. If I kill you and deliver your heads to a certain someone... I can achieve my dreams!"
"Men!" he yelled, "Don't be afraid! That Straw Hat kid didn't even fight back! He's a spineless coward, all talk! I've seen plenty of pirates with fake, inflated bounties! They're trash! Kill them, and we'll be rich!"
His crew, convinced, drew their weapons.
The four Straw Hats were speechless.
"You just mocked our dreams," Nami seethed, "and now you're talking about yours? Hypocrite! No... even dogs are better than you! At least dogs are strong, white, and soft... Hehe~ (＾▽＾)"
Ray's eye twitched.
'Why did that circle back to me?' He shot her a glare, then called out to Luffy.
"Did you catch what he said?"
Luffy turned around, his straw hat shadowing his eyes.
"Yeah. He wants to kill me. And all of you."
Ray nodded.
He then kicked Luffy, Zoro, and Nami clean out of the bar.
They landed on their butts in the street, rubbing their sore backsides, but their anger was gone.
Now, they just felt pity.
"Zoro," Nami asked, "how many do you think Ray will leave alive?"
"How should I know? I almost feel bad for them. Provoking Ray like that..."
Luffy was calm.
He wouldn't stop Ray.
Mocking their dreams was one thing.
But threatening his crew? That was a one-way ticket to getting punched.
Except this time... they'd provoked Ray.
This wasn't going to be just a punching.
Luffy could tell – Ray was really angry.
…
Ten seconds later, the bar went dead silent.
The only one left standing was the bartender, trembling in the corner.
Ray walked out and tossed a heavy bundle to Nami.
"This should be worth about 90 million. Find a way to cash it in."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator