Rip-off Bar

Oboro led Dom to a secluded corner of the Sabaody Archipelago.

The bar is located on a hilltop. Judging from its storefront and decor, it's just average... not fancy at all, and there aren't many customers.

With a creak, Long pushed open the shop door and went inside.

Dom, who was following behind, glanced at the storefront but couldn't make out the prefix of the store name. He only caught a glimpse of the words "Rip-off Bar".

Even though he was born in the Sabaody Archipelago, he had never heard of this little tavern before.

Welcome!

As soon as they entered, they heard a greeting.

A proprietress with not-too-long hair stood behind the counter, her hands supporting her upper body. Her gaze swept across the room as she puffed on a cigarette. On the wall behind the counter were numerous wanted posters and portraits of One Piece, and newspapers were laid out on the counter.

Oboro casually found a seat and sat down, while Dom leaned against her.

He was curious as to why his boss had come to this tavern... To be honest, this little shop was small and could only accommodate a limited number of people, so it wasn't the first choice for One Piece to enjoy drinks.

"What would you two like to drink?"

The woman leaned against the counter, a cigarette between her fingers, her chin resting on her hand, glancing at Oboro and Dom with a hint of languor in her voice.

There was no address for the guest.

There's no sense of constraint associated with doing business.

As she looked at Oboro, Oboro was also sizing her up.

Seeing that the boss remained silent, Dom said calmly, "Just do what you think is best, don't try to fool us with cheap drinks!"

"Hehehe..."

The woman chuckled softly, turned around, skillfully picked up a wine glass, opened another bottle, filled their glasses, and pushed the wine in the glasses towards them.

Shakuyaku, also known as Shakky.

This tall, thin woman, who looked remarkably young, was the former captain of the Kuja Pirates... a person who had weathered many storms at sea.

His actual age is older than Oboro and Dom combined.

"Young man, you look unfamiliar... Have you just arrived in the Sabaody Archipelago?" Shakky, smoking a cigarette, looked at Oboro with a half-smile, and as she spoke... she offered him a cigarette, gesturing for him to have one too. On the other side, Dom had just raised his glass to his lips when the proprietress suddenly asked this question.

I couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

After all, his and his boss's identities are very sensitive.

He couldn't help but scoff, "What a joke... So many people travel to and from Sabaody Archipelago every day, do you know everyone?"

This isn't how you start a conversation.

"You should be a local... but he isn't." Shakky wasn't angry; she smiled and said, "You must have stolen that dress, right?"

It was obvious that, through observation, Shakky noticed that Long's clothes did not fit properly.

Oboro took off his hood and the mask he was wearing.

He thought to himself that this woman was indeed quite shrewd; no wonder she was able to get together with Rayleigh.

"Boss." Dom was shocked when he saw Long remove his mask.

"Fine."

Long didn't take it to heart.

"It seems you're the slave who's been stirring up trouble these past few days." Shakky raised an eyebrow.

Oboro's scarred face is so easily recognizable.

Dom glared at the landlady with murderous intent, seemingly wanting to kill her to silence her.

"We should show some respect to our seniors. Don't worry... she won't report us." Long took a sip of his drink and then accepted the cigarette Shakky offered.

Although Dom has been transformed into a demon, if he were to actually make a move... the consequences would be dire.

Putting aside everything else, the warriors of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, especially characters like Shakky... probably learned about Haki at a very young age.

Shakky's eyes lit up at Long's words, and she personally lit a cigarette for Long.

"Hmm... I don't remember ever meeting you, handsome young man. Could it be that something happened between us?" Shakky asked teasingly.

"There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. You, who enjoys gathering intelligence, should understand this principle best."

Long also exhaled a puff of smoke.

His smoking habit was developed on the Dark Continent. The pack of cigarettes left by Fante, although there were only a few... had a strong 'aftereffect'.

"So... is there anything I can do for you?"

Having said that, Shakky had already figured out Long's purpose.

They're either here to drink... or to gather intelligence?

"Help me take this off." Long went straight to the point, tearing open her collar to reveal a slave collar.

His physical body is still very weak, and he has not yet trained. With his strength, he cannot break the Celestial Dragons ' 'shackles'.

"I can't do that."

Shakky responded.

"If you can't do it, someone else can."

The implication is ambiguous.

"It seems... you know quite a lot."

Shakky stuck the cigarette butt into the ashtray without lingering. "I can only help you make the connection. Of course... whether he agrees or not is not up to me. Also, you'll have to pay a brokerage fee."

"How many?"

Dom asked a question.

"One million Beli. Oh, and by the way, I'll give you a discount on these two drinks too, so it'll be one and a half million Beli in total!" Shakky said with a smile.

"You're robbing me!"

Dom gaped, unable to believe it.

He had never seen such a heartless merchant. This was just the intermediary fee... Besides, fifty-five Beli for two drinks? Did they really think they were easy targets? At that moment, with a clatter, Oboro raised his hand and scattered all the money and items he had stolen from a group of One Piece onto the table.

He had converted all these supplies into cards beforehand, and was now taking them out.

"This is all the money I have on me..."

"I say calmly."

This money was just stolen.

"Okay, I'll just handle the contact. As for whether he'll come or not, don't get your hopes up." The amount of money on the table certainly wouldn't meet Shakky's requirements, but the woman changed her mind and even offered them two more drinks.

He said one sentence and then put all the money away.

"Why... why didn't you use Den Den Mushi to find that person?" Dom didn't know who Oboro was looking for, but he got angry when he saw the woman sitting there smiling after receiving the money.

"It's still early... You guys sit for a while, maybe that person will be here soon... I don't have his contact information either." Shakky leisurely lit another cigarette. "Perhaps he's already dead somewhere on the island, his body rotting..."

"..."

Dom was speechless.

They're charging a brokerage fee?

Still contacting him? What's going on? But seeing that Long remained calm throughout, he tolerated it.

A short while later, the shop door opened, and a few One Piece who had wandered in came in and ordered a few drinks.

Oboro put the mask back on and covered his head with the hood.

The One Piece guests had only been together for a short while and had only drunk a few cups when they discovered that the bill was astronomical! The group was immediately enraged, and one of the hot-tempered ones even tried to attack Shakky. However, before anyone could help, the woman easily subdued the One Piece and extorted an even larger sum of money from them before they slunk away.

Before leaving, he threatened to teach Shakky a lesson and said he was going to bring people over to cause trouble.

The woman, on the other hand, wasn't worried at all.

She's done this kind of thing a lot.

Although business was not good, there were still a few groups of customers coming and going throughout the day.

There are also regular customers who come in specifically to gather information, not to drink.

Oboro and Dom waited until nightfall.

Just as most shops were about to close for the day, an elderly man with white hair, holding a small, exquisite wine bottle, finally pushed open the door and entered.

He reeked of alcohol.

As soon as the person walked in, Long knew the person in question had arrived without even turning around.

"Lost it all again?"

Shakky tilted her head and chuckled softly.

"Oh dear... I've been having really bad luck lately."

"I'm so sorry, it looks like I'll have to buy on credit again today."

The old man scratched the back of his head, his cheeks flushed, and he spoke with remorse, but his expression showed absolutely no politeness.

"It's alright, it's free today. Someone has already paid for your drinks."

After the old man sat down, Shakky gestured to Long with her eyes to indicate where he should sit.

Are there still customers at this hour?

The old man understood immediately and exclaimed in surprise.