My Hat Is Female

This fishing fiasco was nothing more than an interlude in their lives, like going to the bathroom for a piss—quick to come, quick to go. Only the final shake-off required a little extra care.

Dusk settled in, and night soon drew near again.

Inside Partys Bar in Foosha Village, Dadan's bandit family gathered together. The warm yellow light cast a gentle glow over the ordinary yet genuine liveliness.

"Dadan, why are you here again?" Uplasp said with a displeased expression. As Foosha Village's mayor... it would not look good if people often saw him associating with mountain bandits.

"You old man, I didn't come here to look at that ugly face of yours, so don't flatter yourself!" Dadan smacked the table without backing down. Though they had not interacted much over the years, she knew perfectly well that the old man in front of her was just stubborn with his words.

The members of Dadan's family gathered nearby burst into laughter and chimed in.

"Mayor, what does it matter? Don't be such a stranger!"

"We're not here to do anything bad!"

"Mountain bandits are people too. We need to drink as well!"

"Here you are, Mayor." Makino brought over two glasses of beer with a gentle smile. "And one for Dadan."

"Hmph." Uplasp snorted with a stern face and offered no rebuttal.

"So... what exactly did you come here for?" Duen rested one hand against his cheek and looked helplessly at everyone around him.

Uplasp replied, "Of course, it's to celebrate Ace turning sixteen. He can finally support himself and cut ties with these mountain bandits covered in stains!"

Almost at the same time, Dadan said, "Of course, it's to celebrate this brat turning sixteen. He can finally move out of my house, and I won't have to worry about him causing trouble that drags me into it!"

"You two are way too in sync..." Duen joked maliciously. "You might as well get married..."

Negative emotion value from Dadan +...

Negative emotion value from Uplasp +1...

"You little brat, what kind of bullshit are you talking about?!" The two of them darkened their faces and roared almost in unison.

Ace, who had seemed to be asleep with his face buried in his rice bowl, suddenly lifted his head and dragged the topic back. "Dadan, I'm not moving out of your home now."

After a pause, he revealed a smile as bright as sunshine. "Because I'm used to living with you. It feels like my own home, free and easy!"

Dadan immediately turned her head away, tears streaming down her face. "Don't say something so sentimental! You're just a brat!!"

"Me too. Even though I hate mountain bandits..."

Luffy, who was stuffing his face, raised his hand as well and giggled. "I still like you guys!"

"Why are you all saying such stupid things..." Dadan's tears flowed as though a floodgate had been opened.

"But come to think of it, Ace's sixteenth birthday should have passed long ago, shouldn't it?" Makino smiled helplessly.

Uplasp waved a hand. "It's fine. There was never an opportunity before. Since they're here, we can make up for it with a birthday party for Ace." He looked at Dadan. "You brought a birthday cake, right?"

Dadan's entire family shook their heads in perfect unison.

"So... you just came here to eat, didn't you?!"

Uplasp was left speechless.

Ace stood up from his seat and solemnly bowed to everyone. "Thank you all for attending my birthday party."

"There's still some food and alcohol in storage. I'll go get it." Makino headed toward the storeroom.

"Then I'll perform a chopstick dance for Ace's birthday party!" Luffy picked up a pair of chopsticks, turned around, then suddenly whipped back around with chopsticks absurdly stuck in his nostrils and mouth. The ridiculous expression sent everyone into uproarious laughter.

Once Makino brought out the food and drinks, the atmosphere in the bar quickly livened up.

"It's clearly a pitifully shabby gathering, yet it can still count as a birthday party..." Duen propped his cheek up with one hand and tilted his head slightly. Seeing the chopsticks sticking out of Luffy's nostrils, he could not hold back a snort of laughter and cracked a smile.

"What a shame..." Nami, seated beside Duen, rested her chin in both hands as she watched the bustling scene in the bar. She seemed regretful that the birthday party had been put together so casually.

"You think so too, right?"

Hearing that, Duen felt it was truly rare for Nami to be on the same wavelength as him.

"Yeah. They're mountain bandits, yet they're so poor."

"..."

Sure enough, he should not have expected to be on the same wavelength as this woman...

The bar was filled with laughter and cheers. Everyone had their arms around each other's shoulders, grinning like idiots. But then again... this world never lacked idiots.

"Luffy!"

As though he had thought of something amusing, Duen suddenly called out. Luffy came trotting over eagerly and immediately asked, "What is it? Are you going to make dumplings for me?"

Duen shook his head and pointed at the hat tied around Luffy's neck with a string. "That hat..."

"Oh, this hat? Shanks gave this hat to me. What's wrong?" Luffy took off the hat, then looked at Duen. "Do you know Shanks?"

"I do." Duen took the yellow-banded Straw Hat he had drawn from the system out of his storage bag. "I have one of these hats too."

Luffy's eyes immediately widened. He lowered his head to look at the hat in his hands, then looked up at the hat in Duen's hand, then lowered his head to look at his own hat again. Only then did he finally react and shout, "Why does your Straw Hat look exactly like the one Shanks gave me?!"

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Hearing the shout, Ace came over as well.

"Ace, look at Duen's hat!"

"Hm?" Ace stroked his chin as he looked back and forth between the two hats, which were nearly identical except for the color of their bands. "Looks like that great pirate Shanks's hat isn't anything special after all."

"No, no, no." Duen waved a hand calmly. "My hat is different from Luffy's."

Ace and Luffy both looked curious. "What's different about it?"

"My Straw Hat is more advanced than Luffy's."

"Why is your Straw Hat more advanced?!" Luffy shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Because Luffy's is male, while mine is female."

"So what?!"

Duen replied unhurriedly, "Think about it. When you go to a restaurant, aren't pretty female customers often given discounts or free gifts after the meal, while strong male customers have to pay full price?"

Luffy said thoughtfully, "Whenever we go out to eat, we've never gotten free gifts afterward, but those women do. I've always wondered why..."

Ace covered his face and said quietly, "Because we never paid..."

Duen continued, "For another example, if a girl accidentally enters a men's bathhouse, she can leave after apologizing. But if a boy enters a women's bathhouse, he will not only be scolded, he might even be arrested by the sheriff. Isn't that right?"

Luffy tilted his head. "That's true... One time, I got separated from Ace and accidentally ended up in a bathhouse. I got thrown out, and I almost ended up on a wanted poster..."

"What exactly did you do..." Ace's eye twitched slightly.

"Then, aren't the people who provide you with a place to live and teach you common sense about life women?"

Luffy answered somewhat uncertainly, "That's right, I guess. Dadan and Makino are both women."

"So, looking at it that way, isn't my Straw Hat better?"

"I guess that's true..." Luffy seemed to be wavering.

Duen patted Luffy's shoulder with malicious delight. "So, how about it? Want to trade hats with me?"

"Um..."

Luffy fell silent. Just as Duen began to find it strange, Luffy lifted his head and flashed a dazzling, wide grin. "No, because... this Straw Hat is my promise with Shanks!!!"

This guy...