Shells Town, inside a restaurant.
With plenty of Berries in hand, Genrou naturally opted for a private dining room.
The entire table was stacked with food, and Luffy wasted no time diving in with full enthusiasm.
Within minutes, more than half the food had vanished into Luffy's stomach.
Helpless, Genrou had no choice but to call in more food from the staff.
Soon, waiters were streaming in with steaming hot dishes one after another.
"…So that's how it was. You were captured by a fat pirate lady and later rescued by Luffy. You've been through a lot, Koby."
"But if your dream is to become a Marine, isn't it a problem staying with us?"
"We're about to head to the Marine base to rescue that three-sword-style swordsman."
"There's a good chance we'll get into a conflict with the Marines."
"If they mistake you for one of us, you can kiss your dream of joining the Marines goodbye."
Genrou set down his wine glass and looked toward Koby seated beside him.
Koby froze.
Even Luffy paused his endless eating.
After a moment of thought, Luffy turned to Koby and said:
"Koby, let's part ways here."
"Genrou's right. You've got your Marine dream."
"Sticking with us won't help you at all."
Though Luffy often seemed simpleminded, he was surprisingly sharp when it mattered.
Thanks to Genrou's reminder, their goodbye was simply moved forward.
"But…"
"No buts, Koby." Genrou waved his hand, his expression turning serious.
He pulled out a wanted poster from his coat and laid it on the table.
"Koby, I'm not just some ordinary guy."
"I'm a pirate with a bounty from both the Marines and the World Government."
"Luffy's different. He's not well-known yet."
"But every extra minute you spend with me is another nail in the coffin of your Marine dreams. Do you understand?"
Koby stared blankly at the poster. A few seconds passed.
Then his eyes flew wide open, and his eyeballs almost popped out of his head.
"Wha—?! 800 million Berries?! Genrou-san, your bounty is eight hundred million?!"
"You—what did you even do?!"
At Koby's shout, Luffy almost spat out all the food in his mouth.
"Eight hundred million?! Genrou, you're that strong?!"
Luffy gaped at him. He had sensed that Genrou wasn't ordinary, but never imagined that the man he had just recruited was an 800 million bounty criminal.
"It's really not that impressive. I just slaughtered a particularly 'noble pig,' that's all."
Genrou smiled casually.
He couldn't help but smirk at the memory of that sobbing Celestial Dragon before he killed him.
No matter how noble someone is, in the face of death—they're all equally pathetic.
"Genrou, you're amazing! Looks like I've gotta train harder—I'm the captain after all, I can't lose to my own crew!"
Luffy adjusted his straw hat with a confident grin.
Shortly after, he escorted Koby out of the private room.
Now that he knew Genrou was a pirate with an 800 million bounty, he couldn't let Koby get tangled up with them.
"Thank you, Luffy-san. I hope your dream comes true."
Koby bowed to Luffy and left the room.
At that moment, a pretty girl wearing a white t-shirt and blue mini-skirt entered with a large tray of food.
"Hello, here's your next round of food," she said cheerfully.
It was Nami. With a radiant smile, she walked over to Genrou and began placing the dishes on the table.
Genrou raised an eyebrow. With his Kenbunshoku Haki, he immediately sensed that as Nami placed the food down, her other hand was sneaking toward the chair holding his money box.
'How amusing.'
Genrou smirked and suddenly pulled Nami in by the waist, making her sit right down—right on top of the box full of Berries.
"Sir, what are you doing? We don't offer that kind of service here…"
Nami pouted, feigning shyness as she looked at Genrou.
But inside, feeling the box of 100 million Berries beneath her, her heart pounded uncontrollably.
"Genrou, do you know her?"
Luffy looked at Nami as he kept munching, asking with his mouth full.
In no time, all the food Nami had just brought in had vanished again, and Luffy's belly was bulging once more—leaving Nami utterly speechless.
"You could say that," Genrou replied. He turned to Nami and added, "My friend here ate a Devil Fruit, so he's not someone you need to be scared of."
"Hehehe, that's right! I'm a Rubber Man who ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi! My body can stretch like this, and like that!"
To prove it, Luffy tugged at his cheeks and struck all kinds of bizarre, contorted poses.
"D-Devil Fruit? That legendary fruit worth at least 100 million… really exists?"
Nami exclaimed in disbelief.
"Of course it does. In fact, there's a Devil Fruit in the box you're sitting on."
"So, interested in sneaking a peek?"
Genrou grinned.
"Devil Fruit?! Seriously—wait, what?"
Nami's smile twitched. She forced a laugh, wondering why Genrou had said that so casually.
"Genrou, is she a thief?"
Luffy frowned.
"Of course not. I'm just an ordinary waitress. You must be mistaken."
Nami turned to Luffy with the most innocent, pitiful expression she could manage.
But in the next moment, her smile twisted into sheer terror.
Her peripheral vision had caught something sitting on the table beside Luffy—
A wanted poster.
'E-EIGHT hundred million Berries?! This guy is worth 800 million?!'
Nami slowly turned toward Genrou. That warm, gentle smile on his face now looked, in her eyes, like the grin of a devil.
…
(End of Chapter)
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