Chapter 411: A Barroom Showdown: Luffy and Blackbeard Cross Paths

Usopp glanced at Luffy, utterly speechless. He slumped over the table, watching him with a helpless look.

“Seventy servings!”

“Eighty!”

“A hundred!”

Luffy planted his right foot on the bar, flexed his right hand, and bared his teeth, ready for action.

Right beside him, Blackbeard mirrored the move, just as eager for a showdown.

“Are you seriously trying to pick a fight with me? Aren’t you?” Luffy snapped—twice as loud.

The sudden shouting startled Usopp, who yelled, “Why are you two even fighting about this?”

“Besides, we’ve got other business to take care of here. None of us brought enough money for all that!”

Blackbeard cast a quick glance at Usopp in the back, then grinned wide as he fixed his eyes on Luffy. “You, are you a pirate?”

Blackbeard had just arrived from the New World to the first half of the Grand Line, so his information was spotty.

Still, given Luffy’s demeanor and the presence Usopp exuded, Blackbeard guessed they were from the same circles.

Luffy stayed cool and calm. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said.

The moment he saw Blackbeard lower his right hand, Luffy lowered his as well.

Unless the other side showed clear hostility, Luffy would never be the one to make the first move.

“How much is your bounty?”

Luffy answered without any fuss. “Three hundred million Berries.”

Blackbeard’s head jerked back, full of doubt. “Three hundred million? You?”

“No way! Liar!”

There was no way Blackbeard believed the bounty for this young guy in front of him was three hundred million Berries.

Sure, bounties like that were everywhere in the New World, but here on the first half of the Grand Line? Hardly ever.

And seriously, would someone worth three hundred million act like some small-time punk, arguing in a place like this?

When he saw Blackbeard’s disbelief, Luffy shouted indignantly, “I’m not lying—it’s the truth!”

The bartender brought over their takeout in a rush, trying to defuse things. “Hey now, my shop’s not for brawling!”

“Big guy, grab your stuff and get out of here. Fifty cherry pies, all packed up!”

Blackbeard’s eyes barely twitched. He simply reached out with his right hand, grabbed the package from the bar, and left without another word.

At the door, he brushed past a blond man. Out on the street, Blackbeard opened his package and started tasting his cherry pies.

“Three hundred million—should be enough!” Little did anyone know, Blackbeard only asked about Luffy’s bounty because he was hunting for high-value targets to hand over to the Navy in exchange for a spot as a Seven Warlord.

That’s why he stayed outside, planning to ambush Luffy when he came out and trade him in to gain that prestigious position.

Right then, a blond-haired youth swaggered in through the door. “I heard there’s a Straw Hat pirate in here?”

“Wait—is that Bellamy?!”

Gasps rippled through the bar. Bellamy was a notorious local gangster under Doflamingo, infamous for raising hell around these parts. No one wanted to mess with him.

Bellamy eyed Luffy, who sat just a breath away at the bar. With a cocky tilt of his head, he said, “So you’re the three-hundred-million bounty boy? Straw Hat Luffy.”

With that, Bellamy strode toward Luffy, boots pounding.

Luffy crouched on his stool, leaning against the bar, and looked at Bellamy. “What do you want?”

“Hey Luffy, that guy’s not here for friendly conversation!” Usopp’s right hand was already creeping toward the sniper rifle strapped at his back.

Some of the locals overheard and blurted out, “Did you hear that? Bellamy said that guy’s worth three hundred million!”

“That kid?”

“No way, is that even possible?”

Bellamy finally reached Luffy, his stature towering well over two meters. Luffy had to crane his neck just to meet his eyes. “Why do I keep bumping into these giants today?”

Bellamy ignored Luffy’s question and turned to the bartender instead. “Give me your most expensive liquor.”

Then he pointed at Luffy. “And give the kid whatever he likes too.”

The bartender just nodded and quickly turned away—riling Bellamy was the last thing he wanted, especially since most of the staff worked under him anyway.

“What, not a single seat left?”

“Seriously? This place is filthy!”

A group came striding in from the entrance—that was Bellamy’s crew. “Yeah, and all anyone here orders is the cheapest rum.”

One man, rocking silver hair and sunglasses beneath a white coat, dragged a bloodied man to a table. He stomped his left foot on the guy’s head and said to the group, “Well? Are you gonna give up your seats or not?”

“Bunch of clueless idiots,” someone muttered.

Before the words even finished, the people at that table leapt up and rushed outside.

“Isn’t that Thatch, the guy with the massive blade? Are they really about to start something here again?”

Thatch swung his massive sword and, in a twisted move, ran his tongue along the bloody blade.

At the table next door, a middle-aged man with bandages wrapped around his head looked troubled. “The whole gang’s here. I doubt they just came to drink.”

“Just stay out of it—none of our business,” his friend whispered. Their motives weren’t clear, but as long as it didn’t affect them, they didn’t care.

“Bellamy’s just too curious for his own good,” a pink-haired woman in the group said with a laugh.

Thatch chimed in, “Right? Couldn’t agree more.”

The bartender put a glass of liquor in front of Bellamy and a drink in front of Luffy, then quickly left like he already knew what was coming next.

Bellamy raised his glass. “Drink up!”

Luffy grabbed his drink and lifted it to his mouth, smiling. “Oh, sure. Didn’t expect you to be so generous.”

Just as Luffy took a sip, Bellamy thrust out his right hand, slamming it down hard at the back of Luffy’s head.

Bang!

To Bellamy’s shock, Luffy had somehow managed to lift his right hand, blocking Bellamy’s left hand right on the spot.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Hey Luffy, at this point it’s pretty obvious these guys are looking for trouble, right?” Usopp was already aiming his sniper rifle squarely at Bellamy’s head.

“No way—Bellamy’s attack didn’t work?” His lackeys were stunned. Bellamy was no pushover, and with that sneak attack, who could’ve seen someone blocking it?

“What do you want, you punk?”

Bellamy sneered at Usopp, who had his huge sniper rifle aimed straight at Bellamy’s forehead.

Since Bellamy hadn’t mastered both Armament and Observation Haki, he had no sense for the lethal danger coming from Usopp’s barrel.

“Pretty sure that’s my question, don’t you think? What exactly are you after?” Usopp, now a true warrior, didn’t flinch.