Face Fruit Gets Rejected Too

Same tavern, same strong liquor, same drunkard, same crowd of drinkers...

Another familiar bout of being dead drunk. This time, what made it especially bad was that it seemed the entire population of Orange Town had gotten to know Wright, the "superb doctor." People came to the tavern in an endless stream to toast him. After all, Orange Town had not had a single doctor worth mentioning since its founding—

What was more, that bastard Shanks had actually declared that if he could drink Wright under the table, he would foot the bill for all the alcohol they drank... Had Shanks gone off to rob someone? How was he so rich?

Once that bastard learned Wright had no plans to put to sea for the time being—especially not as a pirate—he was clearly determined to turn Wright into a drinking buddy. They did not need to be on the same ship or be pirates to drink together!

So, after Shanks had dragged Wright into the tavern with his Holy Light Power drained dry, Wright barely managed to cast a few Purification Spells to clear the "negative status" of drunkenness. In the end, he was finally brought down by the vast ocean of a people's war—he seemed to have been buried beneath a crowd of utterly drunk people. Miserable, miserable, miserable...

Before that, Wright had desperately gotten Shanks drunk first and tossed him beneath a table... Then that guy had been crushed under a pile of people along with the collapsed table...

So tragic.

"My head hurts... I can't breathe..."

After silently casting a Purification Spell to clear his head, Wright immediately realized that the immense weight of the drunken crowd was nearly crushing him into vomiting blood. He barely managed to crawl out of the tavern with his powerful physique, only to find Shanks still drooling beneath the broken table. He had no choice but to return to the tavern and drag him out.

With one Purification Spell, Shanks groggily opened his eyes, then rapidly sobered up. "Wright... Your ability is so useful. You could completely dominate the world in drinking contests... I'm so jealous!"

"My stomach can't dominate the world!" Wright snapped irritably. His steps were still a little unsteady, so it was easier to lean on his sword...

"More importantly, you should think about how you're going to pay the bill! That was a whole crowd of people. Yesterday alone must have used up at least a month's worth of the tavern's stock!"

"Hahaha, no problem, Wright. It's really something that the first thing you thought of was this." Shanks laughed heartily. "I'd already been staying in this town for several days before you came. I went to that tavern often, so I put all the money I made recently on account there."

"It should be enough to cover yesterday's drinking bill. I, Shanks, would never drink without paying!"

"Wright, I'm getting ready to leave." Under Wright's disdainful gaze, Shanks put on his straw hat and gave a huge stretch. "I really am planning to form a pirate crew. A while ago, I heard there was a sharpshooter on a nearby island, so I wanted to recruit him. But that guy rejected me because 'he hadn't experienced marriage yet'..."

"Pfft, hahahaha..." Wright could not help laughing. Yasopp was too much of an oddball. That was actually the reason he used?

"And then? You gave up?"

"How could I? I told him I could find other companions first, but I would definitely go back for him before we officially set sail. Then I came to nearby Orange Town to gather information, since there are more merchant ships here... In the end, I finally found someone who looked like I could recruit him as both ship's doctor and swordsman, only for you to reject me too..."

"I feel so lost. It feels like I've suffered a huge blow."

"...If something like that could hurt you, I'd eat my sword."

"...That's true. You probably won't get the chance... Hahaha..."

The two found a restaurant—not a tavern, a restaurant—and filled their empty stomachs. Before long, two stacks of empty plates had appeared on the table.

"After resting up, I also plan to leave and travel East Blue. I rarely left home before and haven't really seen much of this world. What a shame."

"This is my first time leaving the mountain after completing my training, and the first town I arrived in had someone as young and powerful as you, Shanks. If anyone ever says East Blue is the 'Weakest Sea' again, I'll spit in his face!"

As Wright attacked the food on the table with all his might, he could not help sighing. Fate was just too damn wondrous.

"Uh..." Shanks raised his head and scratched his red hair. "I'm a rather special case. I'm actually from West Blue, and I only came to East Blue to travel."

"But you, Wright, are a genuine East Blue native. And that Weakest Sea thing... it refers to the strength of the pirates."

With quick eyes and hands, Shanks slapped away Wright's hand as it reached toward the plate by his side, grabbed it, and dumped the food into his mouth. "Mm..."

He grabbed his cup and gulped it down in one go. Having narrowly avoided choking to death, Shanks caught his breath. "In fact, as the Symbol of Peace, East Blue has always been one of the Four Seas where the Marines have relatively stronger control. It's produced quite a few big names."

"The Pirate King was also from East Blue..." Shanks paused. A flicker of pain flashed through his eyes and vanished in an instant. Then he smiled again. "Among the strongest active figures born in East Blue, there's Marine 'Hero' Vice Admiral Garp!"

"I heard Vice Admiral Garp occasionally returns to East Blue to visit family. He's the strongest existence in East Blue! If wandering pirates run into Vice Admiral Garp, that would be interesting, hahahaha!"

Wright rolled his eyes at Shanks. "Who in all of East Blue doesn't know Vice Admiral Garp's reputation? Shanks, don't tell me you ran into Vice Admiral Garp while wandering around East Blue these past few years? Looking at you, could it be that the Vice Admiral gave you a proper lesson?"

Shanks failed to catch his breath and started coughing violently. He hurriedly changed the subject. "What are you planning to do next? Since you don't want to be a pirate, joining the Marines might be a good choice. With your strength, you should receive strong training at Marine Headquarters."

"Maybe I'll become a Pirate Hunter instead. The Marines have too many rules. Maybe I'll consider it once I'm a little stronger, but for now... joining the Marines would be too restrictive." Wright swallowed the food in his mouth and turned to shout, "Boss! Ten more servings!"

"Doctor, eat as much as you want! There's plenty!" The boss said with a beaming smile as he headed into the kitchen.

"..."

"Hahaha, you're really popular, Wright!" Shanks gnawed a roasted unknown creature's leg clean and burst out laughing. "Then maybe we'll meet again, and we can fight again then! I can feel it—your Armament Haki will awaken very soon. Your ability... your support ability is simply too strong. It'll be the same for developing your Haki..."

"Just thinking about facing you after your Armament Haki awakens gives me a headache... Hahaha!"

"Hmph, then I'll beat you into a pig's head!"

"Hahaha, don't! I didn't beat you into a pig's head yesterday either..."

In his first strange encounter with the future Four Emperor Shanks, Wright rejected his invitation, somehow became his drinking buddy instead, and even told him he would beat him into a pig's head someday. The world truly was wondrous.

After leaving Orange Town, Wright boarded a small sailboat much like the one he had before, stocked it with supplies, and began his plan to travel around East Blue.