Chapter 177

"Exactly — to even trick someone as pure-hearted as Luffy, he totally deserves not making money!" Lord Sima snickered.

He didn't want to......

Luffy actually didn't catch the sarcasm and nodded seriously.

It immediately caused a burst of uproarious laughter!

While passing through a stretch of forest,

A large crowd surged out, surrounding the Straw Hat Pirates in a tight encirclement.

The leader went through the routine of shouting: "Finally found a crew of pirates...... We are the Jack Bounty Hunter Group — surrender and you won't be killed!"

Didn't expect to be targeted this quickly.

However......

They had clearly kicked an iron plate.

"Let's compete — whoever takes down more enemies!" Luffy shot out.

"You haven't even shouted 'start' yet! You're cheating!" Sanji hurriedly charged after him.

The others each picked a direction too — it had been ages since a fight, and their hands were itching.

Being able to hunt pirates on Sabaody Archipelago who had crossed the first half of the Grand Line, these bounty hunters were clearly no pushovers.

But facing the Straw Hat Pirates strengthened by Shi Shi, they didn't have a single opponent who could last one exchange.

"Wind God Leg!"

"Heavenly Thunder Strike!"

"14 Rubber??

Before the Straw Hat Pirates members even exerted themselves, the bounty hunters were already sprawled all over the ground.

"That's it?" Sanji said disdainfully.

"They are a bit too weak, aren't they." Nami said, puzzled.

"Yahoo — I win!" Luffy said happily.

But no one paid him any attention — he only won by cheating and sending the first guy flying.

"It's because you've gotten stronger." Lord Sima said casually: "These cannon fodder now are no longer a match for you."

After saying that,

He calmly walked past the bounty hunters lying like corpses and continued forward.

And the Straw Hat Pirates members, having been acknowledged, were all quite pleased.

Lord Sima's praise was truly hard to come by!

Only Xiao Ba and the other two stared in shock at the bounty hunters covering the ground.

This "Jack Bounty Hunter" was a famous figure on Sabaody Archipelago — who knew how many pirate crews' journeys he had cut short.

And under the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates, they couldn't even last a single minute?

"Compared to back then...... they've gotten so much stronger!" Xiao Ba sighed.

He then hurriedly caught up.

Perhaps because there was now a "precedent," and word of the Straw Hat Pirates' might had spread,

The rest of the road went very smoothly, and they arrived in front of a tavern.

Only the name......

"Xia Qi's Bamboo-Stripping Tavern?" Chopper said nervously: "This...... wouldn't happen to be a shady shop, would it?"

"Ah...... don't worry, Xia Qi is actually very easy to get along with." Xiao Ba hurriedly explained.

And Lord Sima had already pushed the door open and entered first, just in time to bump into a still-charming mature woman, cigarette dangling from her lips, counting bills, with a man whose fate was unknown trampled under her foot.

Mm......

Have to say,

This scene was still quite a shock.

The Straw Hat Pirates members who entered later imagined a whole series of scenes — bamboo-stripping failed, so they switched straight to outright robbery!

"Yo, it's Xiao Ba." Xia Qi said casually: "Perfect timing — help me throw this deadbeat out the door."

Xiao Ba: "......"

Just a moment ago you said you were easy to get along with, and now you're making me embarrass someone?

But he still obediently got to work.

Not forgetting to introduce: "Xia Qi...... these are my friends, here to find Lei Li for coating."

"Ah, him? I haven't seen him in months either — probably off flirting with other women." Xia Qi said indifferently: "But once he steps out, he stays out for ages — that's probably a habit he picked up as a pirate."

"Oh? So the old man is a pirate too?" Luffy asked, interested.

Xia Qi didn't answer, however, and instead looked toward Crocus.

"You'll have to ask him about that — after all, they used to be crewmates." Xia Qi teased.

Straw Hat Pirates: "!!!"

Crocus's crewmate?

Wouldn't that be......

A crew member of the Pirate King?

"So awesome! Is the old man a crew member of the Pirate King?" Luffy's eyes lit up.

"Lei Li...... Lei Li...... the Dark King??

"Xiao Ba, you actually know the vice-captain of the Pirate King — that's amazing!" Keimi was shocked.

Facing the chatter of the crowd, Lord Sima didn't join in.

One was that he had long known.

Two was......

He stared at a newspaper on the wall, its headline reading — "Shocking! Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Commander 'Fire Fist' Ace has been arrested by the Navy, to be publicly executed at Marineford in seven days!"

It's finally here......

The Summit War!

Xia Qi noticed Sima Di's gaze and said casually, "This handsome young man really is sharp. This newspaper isn't due for release until tomorrow — I got it through an inside channel."

Only now did the others notice that newspaper, and the atmosphere abruptly fell silent.

Fire Fist Ace.

Isn't that......

The Luffy brother we met in Alabasta?

"Ace has been arrested?" Luffy, too, expressed great shock.

How could that be?

"You know Fire Fist Ace?"

This was intelligence she hadn't known either.

"Ace is Luffy's brother." Crocus explained.

At this moment,

Luffy hurriedly took off his straw hat, pulled Ace's vivre card out from the interlayer, and discovered that it had already burned down to just a small corner......

"A vivre card is intimately tied to its owner's life state." Crocus said in a deep voice: "Given the card's current condition...... Ace is indeed in grave danger."

No doubt about it — it's Luffy's brother Ace.

Luffy's expression was sternly serious, his gaze heavy with solemnity as it swept across the crowd.

"Everyone, I'm preparing to go rescue Ace. You all wait here......"

*Slap! *

Sima Di planted a palm on Luffy's head, cutting off the rest of his words.

"Even if you're the captain, it's still best not to say things like that." Sima Di said: "How could we let you go rescue Ace all alone? That would make us even more uneasy."

"Right, with that reckless personality of yours, someone has to keep an eye on you." Sanji agreed.

"Yo ho ho ho — going up against the Marines, are we? How thrilling!" Brook expressed anticipation.

"I wonder if the Navy Admiral can withstand that one move of mine." Franky, too, was eager to try.