One Piece Chapter 222: Hotshot Rookie

The Going Merry sails peacefully on the ocean under a cloudy sky. A voice from the ship remarks, "...Man, those monsters sure were big." Another voice agrees, "Yeah... Never want to see 'em again..." On the deck, Usopp leans against the railing and calls out, "Y'know, Chopper..." Chopper, standing nearby, turns his head, "Hm?" Usopp strikes a confident pose, pointing to himself with a smug grin. "If I got just a lil' serious, I can take care of monsters like them. Piece of cake." Chopper's eyes widen in amazement, "REALLY!?" Usopp continues his boast, "Sure, I took out 10 of 'em before." Chopper is completely taken in, exclaiming, "TEN!?" Suddenly, Nami appears, furious, her teeth bared in a shark-like yell. "WHY DO YOU THINK YOU EVEN WENT UNDERWATER IN THE FIRST PLACE!?" In the background, Sanji sighs, muttering, "For god's sake..."

On the deck of the Going Merry, Zoro sits cross-legged amidst a massive pile of salvaged junk, including rusty swords, a broken suit of armor, and old pots. Sanji, standing nearby with a cigarette, defends Zoro, "He's telling the truth, Nami." Zoro adds, "I told you already, there weren't any clues down there!" Nami, exasperated, gestures wildly at the pile. "LOOK AT ALL THIS JUNK! NOT A SINGLE PIECE OF CLUE ON HOW TO GET TO THE SKY!" Sanji picks up a human skull with a hole in it, examining it closely. "The ship was clearly attacked by some enemy in the past. Or if not, then some sort of violent clash broke out amongst the crew." Nami clenches her fists, arguing her point. "Then that's all the more reason for us to find out information! Listen! Whatever happened to that ship, might also happen to us if we really try to go up to the sky! 'INFO!'...Is what'll decide if we live or die!" She yells at Zoro and Sanji, who recoil in shock. "Not this rusty sword, plate or some octopus! WE NEED JOURNALS! SEA CHARTS! THOSE SORTS OF THINGS!" Zoro and Sanji yell back, "AGHHH!"

Nami continues her tirade, yelling at Sanji, "I DON'T WANT IT, YOU IDIOT!" as Sanji happily offers her a shell, saying, "Nami, I brought a lovely seashell for you! <3". Meanwhile, Zoro is inspecting the broken suit of armor, and someone yells, "AHH! YOU DESTROYED THE SUIT OF ARMOUR!" Nami then asks, "Oh, what's that, Luffy?" Sitting calmly on the stairs, Nico Robin rests her chin on her hand and observes the chaos. "You seem frustrated..." Usopp, sweating and looking stressed, complains to her, "Oh, the real frustration will be from hereon! Surrounded by idiots, honestly! Now we have absolutely no way of finding land!" Robin simply smiles and holds out her hand, saying, "Here..." She reveals an Eternal Pose. Nami is shocked, "Ah- An eternal log pose!?" Robin explains with a gentle smile, "I knicked it from the ship of those monkeys earlier."

Nami is moved to tears, clutching the Eternal Pose tightly. "SNIFF...! You're my only ally, Robin...!" Robin smiles warmly at her. Usopp, watching Nami's dramatic reaction, comments, "You look like you've been through some hardship..." In the background, Luffy holds up an empty plate and shouts, "Hey! Is the takoyaki done yet!?" A close-up shows the Eternal Pose in Nami's hands; the glass dome contains a needle pointing steadily, and the wooden base has the word "JAYA" carved into it. Nami reads it aloud, "'Jaya.' That must be the name of the island." Luffy, his mouth full of takoyaki, asks, "Jaya? Is that where we're goin'?" Nami snaps back, "THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE!" Luffy immediately throws his arms up in excitement and declares, "ALRIGHT! SET COURSE FOR JAYA!"

The Going Merry sails forward as Luffy commands, "FULL SPEED AHEAD FOR JAYA!" Nami asks, "Which way is it?" Usopp instructs Chopper, "Just keep the rudder steady at the middle." Chopper replies, "Ok." Luffy reiterates, "SET SAIL FOR JAYA!" Suddenly, Usopp realizes something and panics. "Ahh! Hold on a moment! If we go to this Jaya island... Then won't our current log get rewritten there...?" Luffy, Chopper, and Sanji are struck by this realization, exclaiming, "WHA!" Usopp continues, "And then we wouldn't be able to go to sky island...!" Luffy immediately crosses his arms in an 'X' and yells, "SET NO SAIL FOR JAYA!" Luffy then turns his anger on Nami, yelling, "NAMI!! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!? What, you're the one who decided to sail for Jaya." Nami stammers, "Ah- You're right! But I didn't think this would happen!" Luffy retorts, "Well, that's your fault." Nami explains, "The log pose always gets re-written at every island. That's how it's been from the start." Luffy realizes she's right, "Ah- You're right!"

Luffy crosses his arms and asserts his authority, "Well listen up then! As the captain, I get to decide where the ship goes!" Nami counters, "And I say the ship goes to sky island!" Luffy asks, "Fine, but how?" Nami suggests, "Well, we gotta ask around." Luffy agrees, "Makes sense." Nami concludes, "Let's go ask around in Jaya then." Luffy nods, "Then let's head to Jaya." Nami points forward and yells, "SET SAIL FOR JAYA!" Luffy immediately yells back, "WAIT, YOU IDIOT! WE WENT IN A CIRCLE!" Robin interjects calmly, "The log pose won't get re-written as soon as we arrive there. We can just leave Jaya before the log gets re-written." Nami agrees, "Yeah, that sounds good... We'll need a bit of luck though..." In the background, Usopp and Luffy are happily eating takoyaki. The ship sails on. A narration box reads, "And so for the time being, ALRIGHT, THEN! TO THE COUNTRY OF MEAT, JAYA! YEAH!!!" Sanji mutters, "Stop dreaming." Another narration box states, "The ship now headed for the mysterious island of Jaya." Sanji calls out, "Nami! Robin! The special ladies-only takoyaki is served!"

Usopp looks through his binoculars from the ship's deck. Someone asks, "Still nothing, Usopp?" Usopp replies, "Yup. Still nothing." Zoro stands on the deck, hand on his sword hilt. "It can't be that far, right? That monkey-dude did call this area his turf, after all." Nami adds, "Yeah, it should be close. The climate's stabilized for a while now, So we should already be in Jaya's climate zone." Chopper watches seagulls flying overhead and notes, "Jaya must be a spring island. Feels nice and warm..." Nami smiles, "What a lovely spring day. Even the seagulls look happy."

Suddenly, the peaceful scene is shattered as the seagulls are shot out of the sky, plummeting onto the deck of the Going Merry with loud thuds. Luffy is shocked, yelling, "AGHHH! THEY'VE BEEN SHOT!" then quickly changes his tune, "Oh! Let's have some grilled-bird!" Chopper is horrified and on the verge of tears, "S..." Usopp is bewildered, "Shot!? But I didn't hear anything even close to a gunshot!" Nami analyzes the situation, "Look! Bullets! Judging from the direction they were flying in, the shots were fired in the direction we're sailing!" Chopper asks incredulously, "What, you think they were shot from an island we can't even see yet?" Nami dismisses the idea, "That's just silly, Chopper." Luffy is already drooling, "Seagull-meat! Sanji!" Chopper cries out, "BUT I WAS WATCHING THE BIRDS ALL THIS TIME!" Usopp reasons, "Ha... That'd have to be one hell of sniper with one hell of a gun and one hell of an eyesight! I'm sure those birds were shot while someplace else and only happened to fall down now."

A lone seagull flies over a tropical island. A narration box identifies the location: "Jaya's Western Shore". On the roof of a building, a tall, thin man with a monocle and a very long, ornate rifle sits calmly. He remarks, "Poor thing... How painful it must have been... I failed to deliver instanteous death to one of the birds." A close-up reveals the man, Van Augur, holding his massive rifle. He continues philosophically, "BUT THAT TOO, IS FATE, A CONSEQUENCE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ACTIONS..."

The Going Merry approaches the island, revealing a bustling town on the shore. Luffy is thrilled, "WHOA! AWESOME! THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE FUN TOWN TO ME!" The crew looks at the town. Chopper is amazed, "Whoa, it looks like a mini-resort...!" Nami is delighted, "A resort!?" Luffy urges, "Faster, Merry!" Nami sighs happily, "I'd love to go and take it easy for a little while. <3" Usopp agrees, "You're right!" However, as they get closer, they notice the ships docked at the port. Usopp points out nervously, "Is it just me or are the ships docked at port all pirate ships?" Nami tries to reassure herself, "Don't be silly, Usopp! There's no way pirate ships would brazenly dock right in front of the town! Hahaha... I guess you're right!"

Nami and Usopp's illusions are shattered as they hear the sounds of the town. They scream in terror, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS TOWN..." A voice from the town yells, "MURDER!" A wide shot shows the chaotic streets of Mock Town. Pirates are everywhere, drinking, fighting, and causing mayhem. One pirate is chugging from a bottle, while others brawl in the background. Narration boxes describe the scene: "On the Western shore of Jaya island, Is a lawless town far removed from the reaches of any government, teeming with undreaming criminals. A town where people sing, laugh, and kill each other."

In the streets of Mock Town, a massive, muscular pirate laughs uproariously, "AHAHAHA HAHAHA! Do you even lift, bro? Talk about weak..." A narration box introduces the place: "A town of ridicule and mockery... 'Mock town.' -From the Ship Log of Jew Wall-". Another pirate boasts, "Hey, you know who I am? I'm a wrestling champ!" A bystander warns someone, "Whoa, now... You messed with the wrong man, there... He's one of Roshio's crew...!" Elsewhere, a pirate with a drink gossips, "Y'know, I was there when some guy beat Roshio at a game of cards... Killed, right on the spot, I tell ya! He's crazy!"

Inside a lively bar, a man with dreadlocks, Roshio, is playing cards. A spectator comments, "Looks like a pretty easy win for Roshio." Roshio chuckles confidently, "You should consider yourself 'lucky,' hee hee. Heh heh..." His opponent lays down his cards, revealing a winning hand. "Sorry there." Roshio's confident expression vanishes, replaced by a dark scowl. A text box introduces him: "Captain of the Roshio Pirates 'Executioner Roshio' Bounty: 42,000,000 Beli". His opponent taunts him, "Looks like you're all out. What'll you bet now? Your underwear? Haha..."

The opponent, Bellamy, reaches across the table and grabs the pile of money. "I'll be taking all your money then. It might be chump change, But feel free to come by and play again." Suddenly, Roshio slams a knife down, impaling Bellamy's hand to the table right through the stack of bills. The bar erupts in shock. Patrons scream, "KYAAAA!" "AGHHH!" Roshio glares menacingly, but Bellamy, despite his hand being pinned, just smiles with a dark, wide grin.

Roshio twists the knife in Bellamy's hand. Bellamy screams in agony, "AAAA ARRR GHHH HHH!" Roshio accuses him, "YOU CHEATED, DIDN'CHA..." Suddenly, Bellamy stops screaming. He looks up, his expression shifting from pain to a sinister smirk. Roshio is taken aback, "......!? WHAT!?" Roshio yells, "STOP GRASPING AT STRAWS! JUST WHEN DID I CHE-" Bellamy interrupts, his smile widening, "OH, YOU DID. YOU CHEATED, ALRIGHT..." The bar patrons murmur in confusion and fear. "W-who the hell does that hot-headed brat think he is!?" "That was a fair game, no matter how you look at it!" "That's Bellamy... 'Hyena Bellamy!'" "He might be young, but he's already got a bounty of over 50 million on his head!" "Watch your mouth there..."

Bellamy calls out to someone at the bar, "Sarquiss!" A man with long blonde hair and glasses, Sarquiss, turns around. "Hm? What?" Bellamy asks, "You saw him cheat, didn'cha?" Sarquiss smirks, "...Cheat? Yeah, sure. Haha... Oh, he cheated alright. Definitely." Another patron chimes in, "I saw it with my own two eyes. He's one dirty bastard, I tell ya!" Roshio is enraged by the blatant lies. He yells, "THAT'S ENOUGH BULLCRAP! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM!? GAHHH!"

Roshio draws a flintlock pistol, but before he can fire, Bellamy moves with incredible speed. He grabs Roshio by the head and slams him violently into the table, shattering it. Sarquiss casually flicks a coin or small object, saying, "Later, loser." The scene cuts to the exterior of the bar, named "WILD CHERRY". Roshio is thrown forcefully through the window, shattering the glass and wood, and crashes onto the street outside, much to the shock of the onlookers.

A close-up shows Bellamy's face, half in shadow, as he laughs maniacally, "HAHAHAHA!" A text box introduces him: "Captain of the Bellamy Pirates 'Bellamy the Hyena' Bounty: 55,000,000 Beli". Meanwhile, Luffy and Zoro are walking into the bustling town of Mock Town. Luffy looks around with a wide, excited smile, his hands in his pockets. "Lotta people here. Seems like a pretty fun town." Zoro walks beside him, looking relaxed.

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