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Chapter 164: Trouble Finds Them
Just as Konis was settling into her role as tour guide, explaining the intricacies of dial technology and the layout of Angel Island, the Straw Hats rounded a corner and were instantly captivated by the magnificent buildings towering before them. Subconsciously, the group gravitated toward the grandest structure on the street.
"Wow, these buildings are so huge and beautiful. Are they grand hotels or something?" Nami stared, wide-eyed, at the majestic, brilliantly gilded structures. They possessed incredibly modern, almost futuristic architectural features—smooth curves, towering pillars, and pristine white facades that gleamed in the sunlight.
Since leaving the peaceful, rustic towns of the East Blue, this was Nami's first time seeing this specific style of high architecture. The royal palace complex of the Alabasta Kingdom had been grand and historically magnificent, but it ultimately lacked the dazzling, contemporary flair and pristine cleanliness of these towering Skypiean structures.
"Looks more like a high-end luxury inn, or maybe a city hall for the rich folks!" Usopp rested his hand on his chin, analyzing the building with an air of faux expertise, having recovered from Nami's blow.
"Maybe it's a Marine base?" Zoro yawned loudly, stretching his arms behind his head, lazily chiming in.
Normally, the mid-afternoon was his dedicated nap time. He was originally supposed to be one of the ship guards alongside Chopper, but everyone collectively figured that leaving Zoro behind would just mean he'd sleep through an attack anyway. Since he wouldn't be much help guarding the ship while unconscious, they had dragged him along to window-shop instead.
"You absolute idiot moss-head, this is an isolated island in the sky. Why in the world would there be a Marine base here?" Sanji mocked mercilessly, lighting a fresh cigarette.
"You perverted, curly-browed cook, it's not like you've been to Sky Island before either. How do you know for a fact there are no Marines up here?" Zoro shot back, his hand naturally dropping closer to his hilts.
"You unreasonable, muscle-brained moron… anyone with even half a functioning brain would know there are no Marines ten thousand meters in the air! Ganyu-san, don't you agree with me?" Sanji pivoted, clasping his hands together and looking at the adeptus with hearts in his eyes.
"Er…"
Ganyu tilted her head slightly, pointedly avoiding Sanji's expectant, romantic gaze. She had absolutely no desire to be dragged into their tiresome, childish, and never-ending bickering.
Thus, looking for a distraction, she naturally directed her attention toward a certain captain, expecting him to be doing something equally distracting. Sure enough, their captain never failed to disappoint.
Ganyu took an involuntary, deep breath before interrupting the swordsman and the cook's escalating argument. "Hold on a second, you two. How about… we check on what Luffy is doing first?"
Hearing the sudden tension in her voice, Zoro and Sanji stopped glaring at each other and turned their heads simultaneously. The moment they took in the situation playing out ahead of them, they froze, the color draining from their faces.
The Luffy who had just been walking quietly alongside them a minute ago had somehow, without anyone noticing, already wandered past the grand entrance and into the majestic building entirely on his own.
At this very moment, deep inside the pristine, polished grand lobby, Luffy was standing dead center on the marble floor, scratching his head with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
Surrounding him, layered three rows deep in a perfectly disciplined formation, was a tightly packed perimeter of uniformly dressed men. These men wore neat white berets and crisp, dark, imposing uniforms, with strangely shaped firearms and shell-like weapons holstered securely at their waists.
Half of the soldiers had their muzzles trained directly on Luffy's head, while the other half had instantly pivoted, aiming their bizarre weapons directly at the rest of the crew standing paralyzed outside the building's glass doors.
The eyes of the Beret Corps soldiers were cold, hostile, and highly vigilant. Their fingers rested lightly on their triggers, ready to fire a barrage of unknown energy at a moment's notice. It was a textbook, flawless military formation designed for one specific purpose: fending off dangerous foreign invaders.
The crew outside was completely dumbfounded, caught totally off guard.
"Guys… I think I made them mad…" Luffy, standing right in the center of the deadly encirclement, looked blankly through the glass doors at his equally stunned crewmates outside, his voice echoing slightly in the tense lobby.
The warm afternoon air froze for a full second.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO IN THERE?!" Nami and Usopp screamed uncontrollably, their voices cracking.
Their expressions were an absolute comedic spectacle, their jaws hitting the floor and their eyes practically popping out of their skulls. They could already vividly imagine the sheer, catastrophic absurdity of whatever Luffy had managed to do inside that pristine building in less than sixty seconds.
He probably yelled "Is anybody home? I want meat!" the second he walked in, or sprinted wildly through restricted corridors, or broke an ancient, priceless vase, or touched something explicitly, violently forbidden…
That was just the kind of guy Luffy was; he possessed a supernatural, gravity-like talent for attracting the worst possible trouble in the shortest amount of time.
"No, Luffy hasn't actually done anything this time." Robin suddenly stepped forward, crossing her arms. She spoke in her usual calm, gentle, analytical tone, entirely unbothered by the dozens of guns pointed in their direction. "I saw the whole thing unfold. The exact moment Luffy stepped inside the threshold, these people rushed out from the side rooms and immediately surrounded him. It was an ambush."
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