RNP Chapter 95 Talking about Wine
Chapter 95 Talking about Wine
Chapter 95 Talking about Wine
Only the fat businessman who spent twelve million to buy the twin sisters couldn't help but mutter under his breath:
'
"I paid for it—"
Norton glanced at him, and the fat businessman immediately shut up.
"Money?" Norton pointed at Doflamingo. "Ask him for it."
Doflamingo raised an eyebrow. "Hey, hey, this has nothing to do with me."
"Didn't you want to buy me a drink?" Norton said. "Here's the money for the drink."
Doflamingo paused for two seconds, then smiled. "Fufufufu—interesting. Very interesting."
He turned to the fat businessman, "How much? Twelve million? Come to GR-30 tomorrow and give my name."
The fat businessman stood there, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Who would dare ask for Doflamingo's money?
But Norton no longer cared about any of that; he went up on the stage and stood before the slaves.
How do I remove the collar?
Rayleigh followed lazily behind, removing the explosive collars from the slaves one by one.
Nami has already rushed onto the stage.
Norton stood by, watching it all.
Doflamingo leaned against a pillar, thoughtfully watching Norton's retreating figure.
Rayleigh walked over to him and leaned against the pillar as well.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about him," Doflamingo said, gesturing with his chin towards Norton. "What do you think of him?"
Rayleigh remained silent for a moment.
"It's hard to say, but one thing is certain."
"Um?
"He truly doesn't care," Rayleigh said. "He doesn't care about the Celestial Dragons, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or any of the rules of this world."
Doflamingo narrowed his eyes.
"Fufufufu————"
He straightened up and walked towards the door, glancing back as he reached the entrance.
"Admiral Norton," he said, "we'll owe you the wine for now. We'll drink it when you get to the New World."
Norton turned around, looked at Doflamingo, and grinned. "Who said you could leave?"
At this moment, Doflamingo had already reached the door, one foot stepping over the threshold, maintaining a farewell gesture.
Upon hearing those words, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at the silver-haired man on the stage.
Norton stood there, hands in his pockets, a calm smile on his face.
The nobles in the hall who hadn't had time to run away wished they could embed themselves into the wall.
This suffocating atmosphere lasted for a few seconds before Doflamingo suddenly burst out laughing.
"Fufufufu—Admiral Norton, what does that mean?"
Norton didn't speak, but Doflamingo had already turned around and was staring intently at him.
"Could it be that Admiral Norton intends to subjugate me, just as he did with Moonlight Moria and Crocodile?"
When he said this, Doflamingo still had a smile on his face, but there was a hint of murderous intent in his smile.
Rayleigh leaned against the pillar, glanced at Norton, then at Doflamingo, and then quietly moved two steps to the side.
It's not fear, it's making room. Giving the younger generation a battlefield. He's already retired; he can just watch the excitement.
Norton grinned and flexed his wrist. "I think it's fine."
This seemingly ordinary action caused Doflamingo's pupils to contract suddenly, as he felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
That sense of oppression wasn't directed at anyone in particular; it was the mere presence of that person that made it hard to breathe!
If a fight breaks out, the chances of winning are probably not very optimistic.
There was a few seconds of silence.
Doflamingo laughed, and the laughter was even more exaggerated than before, as if he wanted to laugh away the murderous aura he had just displayed.
"Fufufufufufu—the young man has a lot of spirit."
Doflamingo paused for a moment, then adjusted his sunglasses.
"But this world isn't as simple as you think. There are even bigger monsters in the New World," however, before he could finish speaking, Doflamingo was startled. Norton appeared in front of him in an instant with incredible speed, and Doflamingo could even feel the wind generated by the man's breathing.
The oppressive feeling suddenly intensified, as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on them.
"So what? Let's not get off topic. Become my third Shichibukai," Norton said calmly.
He knew perfectly well who the bigger monster Doflamingo was referring to was, but he didn't care at all.
Faced with the immense pressure from Norton, Doflamingo almost couldn't suppress the urge to attack, but in the end, he managed to hold back with his strong willpower.
After thinking at the speed of light, Doflamingo said these words.
"—Let me think about it."
The moment he finished speaking, Doflamingo retreated rapidly and headed towards the door.
He looked nothing like a Shichibukai anymore; he seemed to be trying to run away.
In fact, Doflamingo was indeed running away. In his mind, Norton's image inexplicably became much larger, and the oppressive feeling made it impossible to feel any desire to fight, because he simply couldn't sense any chance of winning.
Norton watched the retreating figure, making no move to capture the man.
"Don't try to escape, I'll find you in the new world."
Upon hearing Norton's words, Doflamingo nearly collapsed and quickly sped up his departure.
Rayleigh leaned against the pillar, looking up at the figure soaring through the air, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.
"Hahahaha—interesting. I've lived most of my life and met a lot of people, but someone like you..."
"Rayle suddenly remembered his youth, and that man named Rocks. He had the same look in his eyes, the same tone of voice, and the same self-righteous arrogance."
"You remind me of someone," Ridley said, "someone from a long time ago."
Norton didn't ask who it was, and Riley didn't continue, he just looked at Norton and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Young man, are you still going to drink that glass of wine you just mentioned?"
Norton glanced at him.
"drink.
"
"Let's go then." Rayleigh straightened up. "I know a good shop."
Norton nodded and looked at the newly freed slaves on the stage.
"Bring all these people back to the ship. Settle them in and give them a good meal."
The pirates guarding the ship had somehow followed them in, and upon hearing this, they quickly nodded.
Xiaqi's Bamboo Bar is located at GR-13, an inconspicuous little shop sandwiched between two shops selling bubble souvenirs. The wooden sign hanging at the door is so old that the words are no longer legible.
Pushing open the door, I found the room filled with smoke and dim lighting. Behind the bar were rows of empty bottles, and on the wall hung several yellowed photographs of people laughing wildly and unrestrainedly—photos from decades ago.
There was a woman standing behind the bar.
She has short black hair and a captivating smile. She looks to be in her thirties, but the world-weariness in her eyes is something you wouldn't expect from someone in their thirties.
When Norton entered, she was wiping glasses. Seeing Riley, she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, you're back? I thought you were really going to sell yourself today."
Rayleigh yawned and sat down at the bar. "Almost. This young man ruined it."
Shaki glanced at Norton, and her expression changed slightly with just one look.
"Silver hair?"
"Um."
"I've heard so much about you," Xia Qi smiled. "You look younger than I've heard."
Norton sat down opposite her. "I've heard so much about you too, former emperor of Amazon Lily, treasure of Beehive Island, the spark that ignited the God Valley War—it's remarkable that you're still so beautiful in this world."
Xia Qi was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, laughing so hard that she almost dropped the cup in her hand.
"Hahahaha—this guy is really funny."
She turned to Ridley, "Where did you find such a treasure?"
Rayleigh ignored her, picked up the bottle from the bar and poured himself a glass: "Don't ask so many questions, hurry up and pour the drinks for the customers."
Shaki wasn't annoyed. She picked up another bottle of wine and poured it for Norton. The amber liquid swirled in the glass, the light filtering through the glass and creating shimmering patterns.
Norton picked up his glass and looked at the swirling liquid inside.
Rayleigh took a sip, put down his cup, and said, "Young man, you recruited Moria, you recruited Crocodile, and now you want to recruit Doflamingo? What exactly are you trying to do?"
Rayleigh was still very curious about this, after all, even in those crazy times, no one had ever said anything about subduing the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
No pirate would openly defy the World Government like this, and no one has the power to do so.
Norton put his glass back on the bar and gave his answer to the question: "That kind of thing is just a hobby."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow: "So what is your dream? Or rather, what is your purpose?"
"nation?"
"nation?"
"Yes." Norton said, beaming. "To be honest, I've always felt that I should be a great king since I was a child, so I wanted to build my own country."
Rayleigh paused for a few seconds: "Establish a nation—"
"Young man, do you know how difficult this is? Especially in a place like the New World. The Four Emperors' territories, the Navy's influence, and all those messy forces—if you want to establish a country, you have to snatch food from their mouths."
"I know."
"You knew that, yet you still did it?"
"Didn't we manage to get Bigom all done?"
Rayleigh paused for a moment, recalling the woman sitting in the center of the world, surrounded by a group of monsters, and the island made of candy and cake.
Those citizens have to sacrifice their lives every year, and their children may be used as tools at any time.
"—That crazy woman," he shook his head, "that kind of country can hardly be considered healthy."
"You want to become that kind of pirate?"
Norton shook his head and smiled, saying softly, "Piracy is just a transition; what I want to become is the King of the World."
Rayleigh looked at Norton, his expression becoming complicated. Even Shakky stopped wiping the cup.
King of the world? Many years ago, a man did say he wanted to become the king of the world.
Norton actually shares the same goal as that man?
After thinking about it, Riley decided to tell Norton.
"Listen carefully, young man, this kind of thing is very difficult to do. There was once a man named Rocks who once ascended to the throne of the world's strongest, and even killed a Marine Admiral, but he still fell on this path."
"You are strong, stronger than Roger was back then, but being strong doesn't mean you can't lose. This world isn't a place where one person's strength alone can determine everything."
Rayleigh knew very well what a behemoth the World Government was.
"I'm not like that guy. I'm going to succeed. There's no way I'll fail," Norton said with a smile.
Of course he knew about this; Rocks was defeated by Roger and Garp together, and was eventually killed by that Celestial Dragon.
But that has nothing to do with him; he won't follow in Rocks' footsteps.
Why?
"Because I am invincible."
Upon hearing this, Rayleigh was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down his face. He slapped the bar, making the glass of wine rattle.
"Great! I like that line!"
"To your invincibility!" he raised his glass.
Norton also raised his glass, and the two glasses clinked together with a crisp sound.
"Are you planning to find the One Piece?"
"No, it doesn't matter whether I find the secret code or not. I've always relied on my own strength."
"I see. Haha, that's not bad. In any case, let's follow the path you envisioned."
Xia Qi watched from the side, a slight smile playing on her lips. She didn't say anything, just continued wiping the cups, occasionally glancing up at the silver-haired young man.
After a few rounds of drinks, Rayleigh's face flushed more, and he became more talkative.
"Hey old man, did Ace ever come here?"
"Ace?"
"Portgas D. Ace".
"I've heard of him. His nickname is Fire Fist, right? He's a very strong young man, but he's not as famous as you."
"Ace was Roger's son."
"What did you say?!"
Rayleigh sobered up instantly. Roger, that guy, and his son?
"I've never met him. I really want to meet him someday. What would Roger's son be like?"
"He's a great guy, old man."
"Yeah?"
"Of course, I've tried to recruit him several times. Training a Pirate King might be an interesting thing."
"Hahahaha—Good! Cheers to your ambition!"
Another glass of wine down the drain.
"Oh, right," Norton almost forgot the important matter, "my ship needs a coating."
"Okay, I'll go take a look tomorrow."
Rayleigh readily agreed, then paused and said, "But you need to be careful around Fishman Island. That place is a must-pass for pirates, and also the place with the most traps. Those guys in Fishman Island aren't very friendly to new pirates."
"Know."
Outside the window, bubbles floated by. Night deepened, and the bar's lights shone warmly and dimly. Two men sat at the bar, drinking one glass after another.
As night fell, the bottles on the bar were almost empty.
Rayleigh leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, seemingly trying to sober up or reminiscing about old times. Shaki finally put down her glass, poured herself a drink, and leaned against the other side of the bar, slowly sipping it.
Norton looked at the bubbles outside the window and suddenly spoke.
"How long does the coating process take?"
"Your ship?" Rayleigh opened his eyes. "The White Pearl is about the size of a ship; it'll take about a week. For the other ships in the fleet, find other craftsmen. There's no shortage of coating masters in Chambord."
"One week," Norton nodded. "That's enough."
"In a hurry to leave?"
"There are still people waiting in the new world."
Rayleigh chuckled.
"Doflamingo?"
"He was one of them."
Rayleigh shook his head, picked up his glass, and took another sip.
"That guy is no simpleton. He's the King of Dressrosa, a middleman in the underworld, and has connections with Caesar and the Four Emperors. You think you can recruit him? It won't be that easy."
"If it were easy, it wouldn't be interesting."
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