RNP Chapter 11: Was the Holy Grail War conducted in secret?
Chapter 11: Was the Holy Grail War conducted in secret?
Orange Town, a tavern.
The oil lamp was dim, and the shadows swayed.
The sour smell of cheap rum mixed with the smell of sweat.
Johnny gulped down a large mouthful of wine, the spilling portion soaking his filthy collar.
"Hey! You all better prick up your ears!"
Joseph stepped onto the broken wooden table, sending splinters of wood flying.
His voice instantly drowned out all the noise in the tavern, attracting curious eyes.
"You bumpkins! Do you know where I just came from?"
Joseph pounded his chest and waved his bandaged arm excitedly.
"Baratie, the floating restaurant! I witnessed history with my own eyes yesterday!!"
He was spitting as he spoke, his eyes wide open.
In the corner, a fat man who looked like a businessman sneered.
"Baratie? That famous floating restaurant in the East China Sea? What history can it witness? A cooking competition?"
"fart!"
Johnny slammed the empty wooden glass on the table with a bang, startling several drunkards nearby.
He stood up abruptly, deliberately lowering his voice to match Joseph's.
"Listen carefully! Arbitrator Dilt! World's greatest swordsman Hawkeye Mihawk! And—"
He deliberately dragged out the sound, then suddenly pointed his finger at himself.
"Our Luffy-nii! These three big shots! Sitting on equal footing! Drinking and discussing business at the same table!"
"Do you know what earth-shattering event we're talking about? The Holy Grail War!"
A man with a scar on his face, who looked like an old pirate, frowned.
"The Holy Grail War?"
He took a swig of his drink: "I've heard of the Holy Grail that Dilt mentioned, but what's this Holy Grail War?"
"That's right, you haven't heard of it!"
Joseph spat as he spoke, his voice rising even higher.
"Let me tell you! The fourteen contestants have summoned legendary heroes from history to act as their henchmen!"
"Fourteen groups of people! Fighting each other!"
"The last group standing will win the legendary, all-powerful wish-granting machine! The Holy Grail!"
Laughter and incredulous chatter erupted instantly, like boiling water bursting forth.
"Hahaha! Bragging doesn't cost anything!"
"Summon Heroic Spirits? Joseph, have you been knocked senseless by a sea king?"
"Luffy? Never even heard of him! He's on par with Dalt and Mihawk? Hahaha, that's hilarious!"
Johnny's face turned bright red, and he abruptly rolled up the sleeve of his right arm.
Although there was nothing below, he pointed at it with great seriousness.
"Bullshit? I saw those three blood-red marks on Luffy's hand with my own eyes."
"That's called a Command Spell! Proof of the Holy Grail's choice!"
"Even someone like Hawkeye has to bow down in the Holy Grail War! You guys don't know anything!"
He looked around with a sense of superiority.
"Just wait and see! The East China Sea is just the beginning of this storm!"
"In this ultimate war that will sweep across the entire sea, our Luffy is destined to be the protagonist who stirs up the storm!"
Amid the commotion, the fat businessman pulled out paper and pen from his pocket.
By the light of the oil lamp, he quickly jotted down keywords such as "Holy Grail" and "Heroic Spirit," his eyes darting around nervously.
If this information were sold to Morgan Stanley, they could probably make a fortune...
The one-eyed bounty hunter stroked his chin and muttered to his companion, "An all-powerful wish-granting machine... if it were real... tsk..."
Joseph Johnny looked around at the crowd discussing with satisfaction.
"Now you have a chance to serve Luffy! We're looking for a woman with orange hair. Does anyone have any leads?"
The old pirate spat out a mouthful of wine.
"Pfft! Damn it..."
"An orange-haired girl? She stole my shirt before! I heard she's from Cocoyasi Village..."
The bounty hunter's one eye lit up: "Cocoyasi Village? Aron's territory?"
The one-eyed bounty hunter leaned closer to Johnny: "Brother, I know Cocoyasi Village well... We want to serve Lord Luffy!"
Johnny and Joseph looked at each other and grinned.
The intelligence came to us on its own!
They then recounted the Holy Grail War with even greater fervor, as if it were their own glory.
In the shadows, countless people from both the legitimate and criminal worlds learned of this information.
They slipped out of the tavern silently and disappeared into the bustling alleyways.
The news, like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pool, created ripples that were unstoppable.
A short time later, the new world appeared.
The Moby Dick was docked at a pier, where four days of feasting had exhausted their food supply, and they needed to go ashore to resupply.
Sunlight streamed onto the sails, but the atmosphere on the deck was even more intense than the sunlight itself.
"Have you heard? Captain Ace summoned Karna, the 'Son of the Sun'!"
"My God! Just one shot! Captain Vista's meticulously crafted flower field was instantly reduced to ashes!"
"More than that! Captain Joz wasn't convinced and went to fight him, and what happened? His supposedly hardest diamond body was rattled by that golden spear! The entire deck was shaking!"
At the dock, pirates carrying supplies constantly boasted to the merchants.
"The Holy Grail War that Lord Dilt spoke of! It's true! Captain Ace has already represented our Whitebeard Pirates in the war! What an honor that is!"
The pirates, in groups of three or five, were spitting as they spoke.
There is only one core topic—the Holy Grail War and the awe-inspiring power of the Heroic Spirits.
The little sun, which had been hiding in its spirit form, revealed itself with a speechless expression.
Ace grinned, "You're definitely going to be famous in a couple of days!"
"Master, I already said the Holy Grail War is... never mind. It's nothing..."
Marco leaned lazily against the mainmast, his signature deadpan eyes sweeping over the excited crowd.
Finally, the voice landed on the mountain-like white beard, carrying a hint of helplessness.
"Tsk, Dad, the news travels too fast. It's only been a few days! Shouldn't we do something about it?"
The white-bearded man tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing, and downed a large barrel of strong liquor.
The liquor dripped down his beard, glittering in the sunlight.
"Kuralalala!"
He put down the barrel of wine and let out his signature hearty laugh.
"Control? How? By silencing all the sons?"
His eyes gleamed with an all-knowing glint.
"That bastard Dilt has maintained his table-flipping skills for decades; he's still top-notch!"
"Since he dared to throw out the 'Holy Grail,' he definitely didn't expect to be able to keep it a secret!"
The white-bearded man grinned.
The once stagnant sea is indeed about to become interesting.
Marco nodded: "Yes, our intelligence network has received information that the Holy Grail War has spread throughout the East Blue."
"In addition to what we already know, there is some new information."
"There will be a total of 14 teams in the Holy Grail War, and the other two participants are said to be Hawkeye and a newcomer named Luffy."
Ace was overjoyed: "Hey, Luffy! He's joining the battle too? Hahaha, are we going to have a showdown in this war?!"
Diamond Joz stood to the side with his arms crossed, his body reflecting a dazzling light in the sunlight.
"Ace's brother and Hawkeye are in 14 groups. Who are the other contestants? Those Navy lackeys?"
"Kaido, Linlin? Or those rats hiding in the shadows of the World Government?"
"Who cares who he is!"
The white-bearded man swung his large hand violently, the sound wave sweeping across the entire deck like a tsunami, carrying an undeniable domineering aura.
"Anyone who dares to covet the Holy Grail, anyone who dares to stand in the way of my sons, I'll beat them all to a pulp! Kura-ra-ra-ra!"
His loud laughter was full of fearlessness and pride.
"Go! Tell everyone sailing in the New World, friend or foe, anyone who takes up this war against Dilt! They want the Holy Grail?"
He clenched his enormous hand in mid-air, as if grasping the entire ocean, and declared, "First, let's see if the Murakumo-kiri in my hand agrees!"
"Awooo—!!!"
"Long live Daddy!!"
"Beat them up!!"