Whiskey Peak

Whiskey Peak, an island on one of the Grand Line's routes, was a secret base for bounty hunters and subordinates of Baroque Works.

Ordinary pirates who did not know the truth would mistake it for a town that welcomed pirates, thanks to the bounty hunters' enthusiasm.

Once they accepted the invitation to a banquet, most pirates would have their heads taken by these bounty hunters amid their pleasure and fantasies, to be exchanged for bounties.

Pirates with a little experience would generally avoid this route and sail elsewhere, but Luffy and the others clearly had no such thought. As far as intelligence went, they knew nothing.

Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9, who had jumped off the Going Merry and swum back through the sea, crawled ashore, utterly exhausted.

A curly-haired man with a square head and a barrel waist walked up to them. After carefully helping Miss Wednesday up, he asked, "Didn't you go to Twin Cape? How did you come back in such a sorry state?"

Their bedraggled appearance shocked the man in charge. In principle, none of the newly arrived pirates at the entrance to the Grand Line should have been a match for them.

Miss Wednesday said miserably, "Don't even mention it. You can't imagine what we went through. Those Straw Hat Pirates are seriously cursed! The changing weather was like it had a tracker installed and had chewed some Stride gum. Not only did it chase their ship, it wouldn't fucking stop! A different natural disaster every minute, for an entire day!"

After Wednesday's explanation, a look of understanding finally appeared on the leader's face, and he looked at the two with pity.

Before long, Luffy and the others finally reached the shores of Whiskey Peak as well. Shortly after Wednesday and her companion left the Going Merry, Liu Qing had told Luffy and the others that the two had sneaked away, but Luffy had still decided to explore the island.

After securing the Going Merry, everyone disembarked together and headed toward town.

As Luffy and the others got off the ship, the nearby pirate lackeys under Baroque Works spotted them.

"Holy shit, we've got a big fish here!"

"Yeah, yeah! The Straw Hat Pirates are finally here! We're going to make a fortune this time. The boss gave orders that anyone who finds the Straw Hat Pirates gets fifty million Beli."

"Keep an eye on them. I'll go tell the people in town, and then we'll pull off a big score."

"All right, hurry up. We'll watch him."

The surrounding members of Baroque Works grew excited as well.

"Capturing them might be a little difficult. Their combined bounties are over a billion, and according to the intelligence, one of them fought Dracule Mihawk to a standstill. He's a Shichibukai and the World's Greatest Swordsman. We'd better wait for the boss to deal with them," one of them added.

"How are you supposed to accomplish anything if you're scared of everything?"

"Exactly, exactly."

"Keep an eye on them. I'll notify the people in town, then pass the news on to Boss Crocodile."

The messenger wasted no time and ran straight toward town, pulling out a Den Den Mushi to notify Crocodile as he went.

Once word had been passed around, this was the sight that greeted Luffy and the others when they entered town.

Crowds of people had gathered at the town entrance, holding up all kinds of banners and flags to welcome them.

"Welcome to Whiskey Peak, Straw Hat Pirates! Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"

Luffy and the others looked at one another, utterly baffled.

Zoro asked in bewilderment, "What's going on? Why are they welcoming us so warmly when they know we're pirates?"

Usopp and Sanji, who had thought the villagers would drive them out upon learning they were pirates, were also left completely bewildered by what was happening before them.

Luffy, however, was delighted, showing not the slightest suspicion. "Ahahaha! This town is great!"

Apart from Liu Qing, who knew the situation here, only Zoro noticed something was wrong. But he did not know exactly what, so he did not warn Luffy, deciding to first see what tricks the townspeople intended to play.

"I'm Igaram, the mayor of Whiskey Peak. Hospitality is our town's proud tradition. Now, please allow us to welcome you after your long journey... blah blah, ah ba ah ba," Igaram introduced himself to Luffy and the others.

Then he invited them, "Gentlemen, we've prepared a banquet. How about joining us for a meal?"

Without a second thought, Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji excitedly nodded their agreement. "Sure, sure! Let's eat!"

Hearing their answer, the surrounding bounty hunters let out noisy cheers and crowded around them, ushering them toward the town's tavern.

The tavern had begun preparing food for the banquet as soon as the messenger first arrived, and had also prepared drugs to put people to sleep.

Nami had originally intended to ask Igaram how long it would take the Log Pose to fully record the magnetic field, but Luffy and the others dragged her toward the tavern with them, leaving her no chance to ask.

That left only Zoro standing there, pondering the situation, which felt wrong no matter how he looked at it.

Liu Qing walked over and patted him. "Come on. Whatever problems there are, we'll deal with them when the time comes. Why think so much?"

Hearing Liu Qing's words, Zoro relaxed and asked quietly, "So you noticed something was wrong with them too?"

"Come on, let's go." Instead of answering, Liu Qing pulled Zoro along to catch up with Luffy and the others.

Soon, everyone was led into the tavern. The tables were covered with all kinds of meat and beer, and many bunny girls stood around them.

The banquet began.

During the banquet, Luffy frantically grabbed meat on the bone with both hands and stuffed it into his mouth, cramming it so full that he could barely speak.

Sanji pulled the chef aside to discuss cooking tips, occasionally running over to fawn over the bunny girls.

Usopp was having a wonderful time bragging and chatting with everyone.

When Nami noticed that neither Liu Qing nor Zoro had touched the food, she sensed something was wrong as well. She obediently sat beside them without eating or drinking, quietly watching Luffy and the others happily eat.

After a while, Nami could no longer hold back her question. "Hey, Liu Qing, Zoro, is there something wrong with these people? Why aren't either of you eating?"

Zoro answered, "Obviously something's wrong! What island would welcome pirates so warmly? I wouldn't believe it if someone said nothing fishy was going on. Those guys are the only ones without brains." After speaking, he looked toward Luffy and the others, who were happily eating.

About another hour passed. Seeing that Zoro, Nami, and Liu Qing still had not touched the food or alcohol laced with small doses of drugs, the bounty hunters were running out of patience. After all, the drugs were about to take effect. To avoid detection, they had only used small doses, which would take effect in about an hour and a half.

Finally, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp suddenly passed out. Everyone from Baroque Works knew their plot had been exposed, and now they had no choice but to press ahead.

A group grabbed the three and held blades to their necks, their hands trembling. After all, they were facing pirates worth seven hundred million Beli. How could they not be afraid? Their own boss was only worth a little over eighty million.

Then they shouted at Liu Qing and the other two, "You three, surrender right now, or we'll kill your captain! Especially you, Liu Qing! If you dare move, we'll do it immediately!"

Liu Qing looked at them as though they were idiots. "Are you kidding me? You think you're robbing a bank? Taking fucking hostages? Should I give you a ship too, and throw in a few hundred million Beli?"

Hearing this, the bounty hunters opposite him trembled even harder. "Y-you... don't force us... You may be strong, but... but we have your captain. You'd better not do anything rash."

Liu Qing looked disdainful. His gaze focused, instantly turning sharp as he prepared to unleash Conqueror's Haki and take them all down at once.

However, just as Liu Qing was about to act, Zoro suddenly stopped him.

"Wait, Liu Qing. I want to test my current strength," Zoro said seriously. "Yesterday, while practicing Haki, I felt like I'd grasped the swordsman's realm of cutting steel, so I want to give it a try."

Hearing this, Liu Qing considered it briefly, thinking to himself, Hmm... he grasped it more than ten days earlier than in the original story. It looks like Haki really does help people grasp the realm of cutting steel faster.

With that thought, Liu Qing nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll leave them to you. I'll rescue Luffy and the others first."

Before he had finished speaking, Liu Qing flickered like a ghost, appearing instantly before the bounty hunters opposite him. Before those bounty hunters could react, Luffy and the others appeared in his hands as though by magic.

"You can start now. Make it quick. We'll wait for you on the Going Merry." With that, Liu Qing took Nami and headed toward the Going Merry without looking back.

Once Liu Qing left the tavern, Zoro immediately shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, opening with Three-Sword Style as he charged ferociously at the people opposite him.

Just as Zoro and the bounty hunters were locked in fierce combat, two people quietly slipped out of the tavern and stealthily followed in the direction Liu Qing had gone.