One Piece Chapter 223: I solemnly swear not to fight in this town

Luffy and Zoro confidently walk down the wooden gangplank of the Going Merry, heading towards the bustling port town. On the ship's deck, Usopp and Nami watch them depart with deep concern. Usopp, sweating nervously, observes the distant buildings and says, "That town already looks like trouble. There's no way. Not now. Not never." Nami, equally worried, agrees, "It's impossible... There's just no way those two are not gonna cause trouble!" Sanji, wearing a black vest over a light shirt, overhears their worries and decides to act. He says, "Well I can't just leave them be! Ahh, Nami! There she goes... Wait! Luffy! Zoro! Well, I'm sure she'll be safe with those two..." He turns to follow the trio into town, leaving Usopp and Chopper behind on the ship. Chopper looks absolutely terrified at the prospect of being left behind, his eyes wide with fear.

On the deck of the Going Merry, Chopper desperately clings to Sanji's arm, crying and begging, "PLEASE DON'T GO, SANJI! I-I-If you leave too and... and... if this ship were attacked, t-t-then..." Sanji tries to shake the frantic reindeer off, yelling, "O-okay, okay! Just let go of me! NO, YOU STAY HERE!" Sanji then notices Nami is already gone, looking around and saying, "What, Nami's going out? Well, I'm outta here too then." He looks around the empty deck but doesn't see her, wondering, "Where's Robin...? She's not here!?" Meanwhile, in the bustling town, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are walking together. The streets are crowded with rough-looking pirates, armed men, and various townspeople. The architecture features tall, multi-story buildings and palm trees, giving it a tropical yet lawless atmosphere. Nami walks ahead, looking determined, while Luffy and Zoro follow casually.

Nami glares intensely at Luffy, making him promise to behave in the dangerous town. Luffy, looking unusually serious, repeats her words, '"I solemnly swear," "Not to fight in this town."' Nami warns him sternly, "The moment you start trouble in this town, we won't be able to stay here any longer! That means we can't go to the sky either!" Luffy and Zoro, walking behind her, give uninterested, dismissive replies of "Uh huh" and "Yeah, yeah." Nami yells at them for their lack of enthusiasm, "What's with that uninterested reply!?" but concludes, "That's a promise, you two!" Luffy replies cheerfully, "Good!" As they walk through the busy streets, a loud "UGHH..." is heard. A pale, sickly-looking man with long hair, a black hat, and a thick fur coat is seen coughing violently. Blood sprays from his mouth as he slumps over the neck of his equally sickly-looking white horse.

The sickly man, Doc Q, falls completely off his horse, landing face-first on the wooden boardwalk with a loud thud. Bystanders notice the commotion, commenting, "Look, he fell off his horse," and "Yeah, he's coughing up blood." Doc Q continues to cough weakly on the ground. He looks up at Luffy and Zoro, who are standing nearby, and asks in a frail voice, "Could you help me get back up...? You two... I'm sorry but..." They help him back onto his horse. Doc Q pants heavily and says, "Sorry for the trouble... Whew... Finally back on my horse..." Zoro, looking skeptical, remarks, "You just don't want to stand up on your own, don't you?" Doc Q explains, "My body's been fragile ever since I was born..." He then tells his horse, "Let's go, Stronger." Suddenly, the horse, Stronger, coughs up blood as well and collapses to the ground, prompting Luffy and Zoro to yell in shock, "THE HORSE IS SICK TOO!?"

Doc Q, now sitting on the ground next to his collapsed horse Stronger, holds out a basket of dark apples to Luffy. He says, "Allow me to thank you... Here, have an apple..." Zoro is immediately suspicious of the strange man and tells Luffy, "Yeah, that totally ain't suspicious. Move along, buddy." However, Luffy happily grabs an apple from the basket, saying, "Free apples? Thanks a bunch!" Zoro yells in panic, "DON'T EAT THEM, YOU IDIOT!" Suddenly, a massive explosion erupts in the background, blowing up a building and sending debris flying into the air. People scream in panic as smoke billows from the blast. A bystander yells, "THIS IS INSANE! 5 PEOPLE JUST BLEW UP IN FRONT OF MY EYES! THE WHOLE STORE'S A BLOODY MESS NOW!" Another explains, "There was this weird guy just now, offering some free apples, but when people bit into them..." Nami and Zoro look on in absolute shock, while Luffy continues to munch on his apple, completely unfazed by the chaos.

Zoro grabs Luffy by the collar and shakes him violently, yelling, "SPIT 'EM OUT, LUFFY! SPIT OUT THOSE APPLES THIS INSTANT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT!?" Luffy, with his mouth full and cheeks bulging, mumbles, "Gahh! Urp! I-it's... passed down my throat already!" Doc Q watches them from under the brim of his hat and grins menacingly. He then starts laughing, "Ahaha... ha... COUGH!" He tells them, "Don't worry... That's a... safe one... If he picked the wrong one, he would've died on the first bite..." Doc Q mounts his horse Stronger again and rides off down the street. He looks back at Luffy with a wide, unsettling grin and says, "A real lucky one..." Luffy stares back at him, looking slightly confused by the encounter.

Nami furiously scolds Luffy, her teeth sharp with anger as she yells, "DON'T LOSE MY HEAD!? DO YOU REALIZE YOU WERE ONE APPLE AWAY FROM LOSING YOURS!?" Luffy casually replies, "These things happen." Zoro adds, "Eh, don't lose your head over it, Nami." Nami complains, "I'm beginning to doubt we can even find any proper info in a town as weird as this...!" As they walk past a restaurant, they hear a loud commotion. A massive, muscular man wearing a wrestling mask, Jesus Burgess, is standing triumphantly on a rooftop. He flexes his massive arms and laughs loudly, "AHAHAHAHA!" Bystanders below comment, "He's beat down another one! That wrestling champion again...!?" and "How many people does that make now?" They note that he's not even someone with a bounty and wonder, "Just who the hell is he...?" Luffy looks up at Burgess, intrigued, and mutters, "Champion...?" Nami yells at him, "WHAT'RE YOU GETTIN' RILED UP FOR!?"

The trio walks away from the noisy, chaotic area and arrives at a quieter part of town. Nami looks around and says, "What about this place then...? It's not too noisy here." Luffy agrees, "Yeah, it's actually quiet." They look out over the water and see a row of luxurious, resort-style buildings built on stilts over the ocean, surrounded by palm trees. Nami is impressed by the sight, "...Wow, what a lovely place. I guess even a town as wild as here has a place like this." Luffy points out the architecture, "Look at all these villas... It's like a floating ocean resort..." Zoro sniffs the air and says, "I don't see any people around, but I sure can smell something good..." They stand on a wooden walkway leading towards a large, inviting building with a sign that reads "TROPICAL HOTEL".

As Luffy, Nami, and Zoro approach the Tropical Hotel, three panicked hotel staff members rush out to stop them. The staff wave their arms frantically, sweating and yelling, "S-sirs...? You can't just come in here without any permission! T-this is very troubling for me!" They explain the situation, "Our 'Tropical Hotel,' is currently rented out entirely to the Bellamy Pirates." Luffy looks confused and asks, "Hotel? This is a hotel?" Nami questions their panic, "What's the big deal? We're just looking around." The staff members plead desperately, "I-if Bellamy were to s-s-see you here, it'll be disastrous! So please leave the premises now, if you will-" Luffy tilts his head and asks, "Who's this bellamy?" Suddenly, the staff members freeze in absolute terror. Their eyes bulge out as they look behind the trio and scream, "EEK!"

A tall, imposing man with long blonde hair, wearing a large fur coat, striped pants, and sunglasses, steps out of the hotel. He has a large circular emblem tattooed on his chest. A woman with long wavy hair, Lily, clings to his arm. A caption identifies him as 'First Mate of the Bellamy Pirates, "Big Knife Sarquiss", Bounty: 38,000,000 Beli'. Sarquiss looks down at Luffy, Zoro, and Nami with disgust and asks, "Who the hell are these dirty little shits?" The terrified hotel staff stammer, "M-m-mister Sarquiss! I... Umm... No- These three are..." Sarquiss interrupts them harshly, "I don't care what your excuses are so just drive them out already! How much do you think we're paying to rent out this whole place!?" Lily agrees, "That's right!" Sarquiss glares at Luffy and orders, "Beat it, kid...!"

Sarquiss laughs arrogantly at the trio, "Ahahaha! A real joker, aren'cha? You think you can kick my ass...!?" Luffy stares at him blankly and asks Nami, "Hey, can I kick his ass?" Nami immediately yells, "NO!" Sarquiss tosses a handful of coins and bills onto the ground in front of them, saying condescendingly, "What a bunch of ragamuffins. Here, get yourself something decent to wear." The hotel staff watch nervously. Zoro looks annoyed and says, "Yeah, I guess it'd have been better to wipe my ass with those bills! Sarquiss! The money's wasted on them." Luffy looks at the money and asks, "Really? You're giving it to me?" Sarquiss turns and walks away with Lily, laughing, "Ahahaha! What a bunch of losers! Heh heh..." Nami quickly bends down and scoops up all the money, saying, "Ow ow oww... I CAN WALK ON MY OWN...! Come on! We're leaving this lousy place!" She drags Luffy and Zoro away.

Inside the luxurious Tropical Hotel, the Bellamy Pirates are lounging around in a lavish room, drinking and relaxing. Sarquiss and Lily enter the room. Lily says, "Don't tease 'em too much, now. Sarquiss! Lily!" Sarquiss replies, "Sure, they might be trash compared to you and Bellamy. But they're doing pretty good for 'normal people'...!'" He looks over at a man sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper. This is Bellamy, wearing a dark jacket and sunglasses. Bellamy looks up and says, "Hm? What, you were here?" Sarquiss holds up a wanted poster and says, "Look. Those guys have managed to hold their own in their own way. Still, they won't be able to keep up in the coming 'new age.'" A caption identifies the group as the 'Bellamy Pirates'.

Sarquiss holds up Luffy's wanted poster, which clearly shows his bounty of 30,000,000 Beli. He smirks and says, "But still... 30 million for that pipsqueak? Gonna show this to Bellamy." The scene then shifts to a bustling tavern in Mocktown. A narration box explains the nature of the town: "Mocktown, is a town built from pirate-money. Pirates spend money like running water, you know. Fights and killings are everyday occurrences here, but the pirates rarely harm the locals here. After all, what good's money without people to accept it?" The panel shows the crowded exterior and interior of the pub, filled with various rough-looking pirates drinking, laughing, and eating at tables. The atmosphere is rowdy and chaotic, typical of a pirate haven.

At the bar in the Mocktown tavern, Nami, Luffy, and Zoro are seated. A pirate next to them advises, "I don't know... This town just ain't right. Ahaha... Yeah, I suppose it's normal to think that, but there aren't many normal folks here in this town. The log here takes 4 days to record, so if you don't wanna get caught up in trouble, you should leave right after." Nami looks at her Log Pose and says, "4 days, huh... Then we shouldn't stay any longer than 2 days..." Luffy and Zoro simultaneously slam their hands on the bar and yell loudly, "HEY MISTER!" and "HEY MR.!" Nami yells at them, "Barkeep." The large, muscular barkeep, Terry, with a thick mustache and tattoos on his arms, turns around and asks, "What?"

Inside the tavern, Luffy and a massive, dark-haired man, Marshall D. Teach, are sitting next to each other at the bar, both eating cherry pie. Teach, wearing a white shirt and a black bandana, takes a huge bite of his pie and yells enthusiastically, "This cherry pie is... TO DIE FOR!" At the exact same time, Luffy takes a bite of his own pie, looks completely disgusted, and yells, "This cherry pie is so gross I thought I'D DIE!" The two of them stop eating and slowly turn to look at each other, glaring intensely. The other patrons in the bar notice the sudden tension and murmur, "Hm?" and "Huh?" as they watch the standoff between the two pirates.

Luffy and Marshall D. Teach both grab their mugs and chug their drinks. Teach slams his mug down and shouts, "This drink is TERRRR-RIIIIFIC!" Luffy slams his mug down and shouts, "This drink is TERRRR-RIIIIBLE!" They turn and glare at each other again, sparks practically flying between them. Teach yells to the barkeep, Terry, "Gimme 50 pieces of meat wrapped to go!" Luffy immediately counters, "Give me 51 cherry pies wrapped to go!" Teach ups the ante, "Actually, make that 52 pieces of meat." Luffy yells, "Know what, give me 53 cherry pies." They continue bidding higher and higher: "54 pieces of meat," "55 pies will do," "60 pieces of meat!", "70 pies!", "80!", "100!" Terry looks at them, sweating, and says, "Umm... I ain't the cook so I don't really care either way... Somethin' wrong with yer tongue? Somethin' wrong with your brain?"

Nami grabs Luffy by the collar and yells, "Luffy! You promised, remember!? We don't even have the money to buy that much meat! We didn't come here to shop!" Marshall D. Teach stands up, towering over Luffy, and yells, "WHAT, YOU WANT SOME OF THIS!? HOW DO YOU GET A FIGHT FROM THAT!?" Luffy stands his ground and yells back, "Yeah, so what!?" Teach leans in and asks, "You a pirate...? Bounty?" Luffy confidently replies, "30 MIL!" Teach looks surprised, then laughs mockingly, "30 MIL! 30 mil? You...!?" He leans down close to Luffy's face and says, "LIKE HELL YOU ARE! STOP LYING!" Luffy yells back, "Cut it out! I AIN'T LYIN'! IT'S THE TRUTH!" The tension between them reaches a boiling point as they continue to shout at each other.

Marshall D. Teach grabs his massive sack of 50 cherry pies and turns to leave the tavern. He says, "Whoa there. No rough-housing inside the bar. Now take this and leave." He walks out the swinging doors of the tavern, muttering "Hmph..." Luffy watches him go, still looking annoyed. Suddenly, the tavern doors burst open again with a loud "CREAK...!!" The patrons inside gasp in shock. A tall figure stands in the doorway, casting a long shadow. It's Bellamy, grinning widely with a manic expression. He announces loudly to the room, "IS THERE A PIRATE WEARING A STRAW-HAT HERE...?" Luffy looks over his shoulder at the newcomer. A patron in the background stammers in fear, "I-IT'S BELLAMY!" The atmosphere in the bar instantly changes from rowdy to terrified.

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