Chapter 412: A Clash at the Tavern: Rising Tensions and Unlikely Encounters

The Bellamy in front of him felt so weak Luffy couldn’t even bother to worry.

“Huh?!”

Bellamy’s left hand was shoved aside by Luffy’s sudden force and he toppled from his stool.

“Since you’ve made your move I assume you’re ready for what comes next.” Luffy calmly set his drink down and turned, fixing Bellamy with a serious stare.

He was no longer the kid from the original story who let himself get beaten up for some so-called belief.

Now he was a captain, and until he reached Pirate King, he had no intention of showing weakness.

“Did you hear that? That guy wants to pick a fight with Bellamy.”

“Fight! Fight!”

The crowd started to rile them up, eager for a brawl to break out.

“Hahaha This isn’t a fight, it’s a test! Come on, show me what you’ve got!” Bellamy cackled and gestured for Luffy to come at him.

But Luffy wasn’t about to play along.

“Gum-Gum Rocket!”

Boom!

Bellamy couldn’t even react before Luffy’s fist smashed into him, sending him flying and blowing a gaping hole in the roof.

“Wh…what…no way.”

“Hey, did everyone see that? What just happened?”

“Quick, go find Bellamy!” Thatch and his crew started to panic. Not even Bellamy could handle a single punch from Luffy, and they sure as hell weren’t going to try. They scrambled out of the bar, fleeing in the direction Bellamy had flown.

Luffy just felt bored after launching Bellamy and walked out of the bar.

“Tch!”

“So much for an epic showdown.” Usopp muttered, sliding his sniper rifle behind his back.

He’d been ready to fire at Thatch and his gang, but who knew they’d run without a fight.

“Boss, here’s some Berries for the damage.” Usopp tossed a pouch of money onto the table and followed Luffy out.

“What’s going on over there?”

“Looks like something happened over where Luffy and Usopp went.” Chopper leaped atop a building, scanning for the commotion, then called down to Nami and Robin.

“Luffy really can’t stay out of trouble.”

“Come on, Nami. Since something happened with Luffy, let’s go check it out.” Robin dropped her hand and smiled gently at Nami. The two of them, with Chopper leading, headed for the bar.

Johnny and Yosaku heard the commotion from the bar too.

Thinking about how their captain always caused trouble, they gave up gathering information and bolted in that direction.

But only Ye Fan and Gin were fast enough to reach the bar entrance first.

They kept close to Luffy because they knew Blackbeard would be on this island and wanted to keep an eye on things.

So when trouble broke out, they were the first ones to show up.

In the original story, Luffy’s bounty was only 30 million Berries, so he wasn’t on Blackbeard’s hit list, but after his tweaking, it had soared to 300 million.

If Blackbeard became interested in Luffy, there would be a huge fight—and now wasn’t the right time for Luffy to face him.

Just as Luffy walked out the door, Ye Fan and Gin strolled over from the other side of the street. They immediately spotted Blackbeard—Teach—sitting cross-legged on the ground near the bar.

That guy was the spark that set off the War of the Summit, the one who took Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor Fruit, later became one of the Four Emperors, and might even end up as Luffy’s final and strongest opponent.

Blackbeard had hidden within the Whitebeard Pirates for decades, all for the Dark-Dark Fruit, and Ye Fan had no confidence in changing such a schemer. Best to let him become Luffy’s whetstone.

As expected, Blackbeard made a move to approach the second he saw Luffy come out.

But he froze the moment he sensed the overwhelming aura rolling off Ye Fan, whose golden hair practically shone at the end of the street. He’d only ever felt that level of power from the top pirates of the New World.

So, not knowing which side Ye Fan was on, Blackbeard stayed put and chose to observe for now.

“Luffy, what happened?” Ye Fan acted as if he didn’t even notice Blackbeard and stepped up to question Luffy first.

Luffy hadn’t answered before Usopp puffed out his chest and bragged, “Some punk tried to mess with Luffy, but I—thanks to my brilliant guidance—he got sent flying!”

Usopp just couldn’t resist taking credit for himself.

Gin behind them nearly sweat-dropped. Everyone knew Usopp used a gun—the only one who could really send someone flying was Luffy.

“Is everyone alright?” Nami and the others emerged from a side street and rushed over, immediately checking on Luffy.

Blackbeard saw that all these people were Luffy’s crew, and his face stiffened just a bit, though he was secretly relieved he hadn’t acted.

His senses told him that every single one of these people was stronger than most of those on the first half of the Grand Line.

Even in the New World, they’d all be a force to be reckoned with.

He couldn’t tell how strong Luffy truly was if he could gather a crew like this. Maybe 300 million wasn’t even enough for his bounty.

Bang!

The group had barely exchanged a few words when a loud crash came from down the street. A huge man was sent flying, skidding to a stop at Blackbeard’s feet.

It was Blackbeard’s very first crewmate—Jesus Burgess!

“Yo, captain.” Jesus Burgess climbed up and found himself face-to-face with Blackbeard, who looked anything but pleased.

“Ah! It’s Sanji.”

Chopper spotted Sanji at the far end of the street, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Turns out it was Burgess again—he couldn’t resist another duel. This time, he knocked his opponent flying and nearly crashed into a lady, only to cross paths with Sanji, who’d been out shopping for ingredients.

Sanji had a soft spot for women, so when he saw what was about to happen, he was furious and shouted:

“How dare you lay a hand on a beautiful lady! That’s unforgivable.” And, to be fair, the woman really was gorgeous.

If she’d looked like Alvida, Sanji probably wouldn’t have bothered at all.

After a few exchanges, things ended up like this.

Burgess was new to the Blackbeard Pirates and stood no chance against Sanji. Losing in just a few moves was never in doubt.