Chapter 417: Encounter with the Ape Pirates

Just as everyone finished listening to what Robin read from the journal, a pirate ship suddenly appeared off to the side.

“Boss, everything’s ready beneath the waves.”

“The mic’s all set too.”

“Alright, get ready to launch the sonar scan!”

A greasy blond middle-aged man who looked almost like an ape pulled out a microphone that let out a screeching noise.

Another mic was set up under the ship, where a dozen people in black uniforms puffed out their cheeks, hands pressed to their ears as they carefully listened to the signals coming back.

It wasn’t long before one diver surfaced, raising his right hand and calling out to the boss on deck. “Orangutan Diver Number 27 here! Sonar confirms a school of fish at nine o’clock. Judging by the echoes, looks like they’re Pacific saury.”

The greasy middle-aged man grinned, mouth stretching wide. “Perfect. We’re grilling saury tonight!”

“Orangutan Diver 13 confirms: Two ships detected at eleven o’clock—sinking towards the sea floor.”

The greasy man glanced toward eleven o’clock where the Straw Hat Pirates’ ship was. His sharp eyes instantly caught the glint of gold still littering the deck.

“This part of the sea is our fishing ground. Exploration is on hold for now. Everyone out of the water! Bring the ship closer!”

“Aye!”

A dozen figures surfaced and scrambled up the rope ladders to their ship. With everyone aboard, the big vessel headed straight for the Straw Hat Pirates’ ship, the Merry.

As the enormous ship pulled alongside, the greasy middle-aged man sat high on his bench, looking down at Luffy and the others. “Hey there, little brothers! What’s with all the fuss on your ship?”

“Man, I thought some big shot was coming. Got me all worked up for nothing.”

“You’ve got pretty unique features. What are you supposed to be?” Luffy said flatly, with Sanji, Chopper, and Usopp standing nearby.

As soon as she saw the approaching ship, Nami sped up packing away the gold. Before the other ship arrived, she’d already hauled the chest back to their room.

Now, she and Robin were lounging on the second deck, kicking back in chairs as they watched the greasy man across the way.

Johnny and Yosaku stood to either side of the Merry, ready for trouble. Gin was doubling as helmsman, peering out from the cabin. If a fight broke out, he planned to steer the Merry away from the giant ship before things got ugly.

“I’m human, you jerk!” the greasy middle-aged man shouted angrily.

His men chimed in too. “You guys are unbelievable!”

“We’re the Ape Pirates!”

“How could you not know about King of Undersea Exploration, Lord Ape?!”

“You’d better not mess with our boss.”

Their chatter filled the air, but the greasy captain just waved them off. “Forget it, forget it. It’s fine, don’t mind it.”

He shifted his gaze to Luffy the next moment. “But from the looks of it, you lot are pirates too, huh?”

“I bet you’ve heard about Crocodile from the Seven Warlords getting captured, right?”

“When it comes to strength, I’m at least on his level.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if I took that guy’s place someday!”

“I’ve been waiting for the chance, nerves on edge every day.”

“You want to join the Seven Warlords?” Luffy looked unconvinced. This guy didn’t feel nearly as dangerous as Crocodile.

“If I have anything special going for me, it’s this: I’ve never cut my hair once in 25 years.”

“Impressed? Scared you, didn’t I?” The Exploration King kept bragging, not even noticing Luffy’s comment.

Luffy didn’t even think before replying. “That’s stupid.”

Twenty-five years without a haircut? That’s just greasy beyond belief.

Honestly, the thought alone gave people the chills.

There aren’t fancy shampoos in the One Piece World. Anyone can imagine what hair smells like after going unwashed for ages.

“Hey! Show some respect when you talk to our boss!”

“Yeah! Piss him off and you’ll regret it!”

The underlings started their noisy protests again.

The Salvage King just raised his left hand, motioning them to calm down. “Forget it, it’s fine. Let it go.”

But the next second, he turned a cold stare on Luffy. “Listen up! If you try barging into ‘my Rage Sea’—it’ll be a bloodbath out there!”

Luffy couldn’t care less about the so-called Rage Sea. His mind was still on the sky.

“Whatever. We’ve got somewhere to be. Move your ship!”

That one line from Luffy finally ticked off the Salvage King, who’d been holding back until now.

“You little punk! This whole area’s under my control. Want to pass? Pay the toll first!” The Salvage King opened his mouth wide and roared, but anyone could tell he was just putting on a show.

“What territory?”

“Come on, old man, get out of the way.” It wasn’t often Luffy bothered to speak nicely, but the Salvage King only got angrier, thinking he was being ignored in his own waters. He snatched up the mic.

He started crooning like a street performer, belting out a crazy sound wave. First the boards of his own ship rattled, then the blast hit the Merry.

But thanks to Ye Fan’s many upgrades, the Merry’s hull was tougher than ever.

Still, that screech was seriously grating. Nami winced and shouted toward the cabin for Gin.

“Get us past this ship. Steer us somewhere out of earshot!”

Gin got the order and hurried to pilot the Merry around the giant ship, heading toward a protruding stretch of coastline up ahead.

Once they escaped the sound waves, the group found themselves close to shore, where a luxurious villa stood tall.

“Whoa! That’s awesome!”

Luffy and Usopp gaped, shouting in excitement.

“Idiots. It just looks like a castle—it’s just a dreamer’s house, nothing more,” Sanji said, savoring the taste of his latest Chinese dish, eyes closed.

As soon as Chopper heard Sanji, he held his hooves up to stretch his eyes open, staring hard at the building.

Luffy wasted no time and leapt onto the shore, racing toward the structure only to find it was just a board.

“Wait, only half the house is real! The rest’s all plywood.” As the ship got closer, Usopp could see the ‘castle’ was only a two-story building on one side, held up with huge wooden boards on the other.

It was literally half a small two-story house, with the other side propped up by a scaffold and boards.

When the ship finally docked, everyone disembarked. “I heard the person who lives here was banished from town for some impossible dream. That’s why they ended up here.”

Nami quickly turned to Robin. Robin was easily the most knowledgeable on these things after Ye Fan. “What kind of dream got him thrown out?”

“The story goes, he believed there was a mountain of gold buried beneath Jaya.”