vncnus Chapter 215 2. Does the Astrological Association have a headquarters?
Chapter 215 2. Does the Astrological Association have a headquarters?
Chapter 215 Does the Twelve Constellations Have a Headquarters?
The Grand Line, Whiskey Peak.
The hidden hideout of the Baroque Studio, the Joyful Bar.
"So hungry! So hungry! We're finally on the island!"
Amidst a loud commotion, a boy wearing a straw hat pushed open the bar door.
"Boss, meat! I want meat! Give me a thousand portions first!"
He squinted and shouted excitedly, as if he could already smell the meat.
"Bang!"
Before he could finish speaking, a fist struck him from behind, knocking him down.
"Are you an idiot? Luffy—what do you mean, a thousand portions? How can you say something so absurd!"
"Huh!? But Nami, I didn't do anything reckless, I really can eat a thousand servings."
"Shut up! Do you think you're some kind of rapist?!"
With this conversation, a group of people walked into the bar.
There was a green-haired swordsman, a curly-browed cook, a long-nosed sniper, and an orange-haired navigator.
"Alright, Miss Luffy and Miss Nami are right. Let's just have a little bit of meat for now. After we buy the ingredients and get back, I'll make you something even better!"
"Boss—I want to drink, a thousand cups, please."
"Bang!"
"Hey, stop fooling around! Listen to me, Lord Usopp! This is the Grand Line, it's dangerous, okay?!"
While the group was playfully fighting...
"Yohohoho!"
They saw the man with the afro, who had been facing away from them and seemingly washing dishes, utter his distinctive laugh at the bar counter.
"What a lively group of guests!"
"However, that long-nosed guy is right, this is the Grand Line, you can die if you're not careful!"
He said this and then suddenly turned around.
"Just like me—oh, but I came back to life later, albeit as a skeleton. Yohohoho!"
That terrifying skeletal face instantly made Usopp and Nami lose two of their souls.
"Skull, skull, skull is a skeleton!"
The two of them instantly collapsed to the ground, trembling like leaves.
"What? A costume party?"
Sanji frowned.
"Not a real body—this guy is a skeleton."
Zoro had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Upon hearing this, Sanji nodded: "I see, so it's another special animal from the Grand Line?"
"Who's the animal here? That curly-browed buddy is really rude!"
"Meat. Meat."
Brooke removed the dishwashing gloves she used to protect her bones and casually tipped her hat: "Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm the dishwasher at this tavern, my name is Brooke."
He said proudly.
Sanji and Zoro: "If you're just a dishwasher, don't be so arrogant!"
"Meat. Meat."
"Hey, buddy."
At that moment, Brook turned to Luffy, who had been muttering "meat, meat, meat" since the beginning: "Although there aren't a thousand portions of meat here, and Bon Clay took some with him when he came back to report for duty not long ago, there's still some food left. Let me treat you to some."
"You're really treating us to meat?! Really?!"
Luffy instantly regained his spirits.
Then, he seemed to notice Brooke's presence: "Huh!? The corpse is talking!"
"So what the hell were you doing just now!?" *4
Although they already knew how eccentric their captain was, the Straw Hat crew still couldn't help but complain about him.
"Yohohoho! Of course it's true, and I just heard you guys mention 'Labu'. I'm a little interested in that and would like to ask you for some information."
That's all Brooke said.
Not long after.
"I see. You're a Devil Fruit user. That puts my mind at ease."
"I knew it! How could there be skeletons or ghosts?"
"Hey—you two, you say that, but come sit over here!"
"You're a pub, but you don't sell alcohol, only cola? How do you manage to keep this pub running?"
The nonsensical conversation continued.
Of course, amidst all the absurdity, there were still some people who cared about serious matters.
"So that's how it is. You're a member of the pirate crew Laboon was waiting for?"
Sanji silently lit a cigarette and asked the question.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but it's true."
Brooke's mood also became somewhat somber when Labour was mentioned.
"Aren't you planning to go back to see it?"
Luffy, who was frantically devouring food, somehow managed to ask a question clearly and earnestly.
"Of course I'll go see them!"
Brooke answered without hesitation, "An agreement is an agreement—it is something that cannot be forgotten."
"Even if it costs me my life, I will fulfill my promise to circumnavigate the Grand Line and then go see Laboon. Even though I'm already dead, yo ho ho ho!"
During the brief skull joke, he downed a glass of cola, but then immediately jumped up in a flurry and started rummaging around: "Ah, I accidentally drank my calcium! My calcium, I need milk!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing this, Luffy clutched his stomach and burst into laughter, almost laughing until tears streamed down his face.
"Hey! You're really something else!"
He said with a grin, "Since you're a pirate too, why don't you become my crewmate?"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Brooke was also taken aback: "Partner?"
"yes!"
Luffy stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth: "The person who has circled the Grand Line is the 'Pirate King,' right?"
"I'll definitely become the Pirate King eventually, so if you want to keep your promise, of course you have to become my crewmate!"
His words would be ridiculed as boasting no matter where he is.
But Brooke could sense it.
The other party is very serious.
"Yohohoho! This is a reason I never expected."
Then he laughed again: "But Luffy, is it okay? I'm a suspicious person, and we've only known each other for less than an hour."
"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
Luffy seemed to have eaten his fill, and patted his belly, which was now almost bulging like a ball, with satisfaction.
He chuckled and looked at Brooke: "Because I think you're an interesting guy!"
For him, that was enough reason to become a partner.
Brooke: "."
He silently looked at the rest of the Straw Hat crew.
Then he saw that the others also had helpless smiles on their faces.
"Ah, I knew it."
"That's just Luffy's style."
"There's just no way to deal with him."
They said this, but they did not deny what the captain had said.
then
"Wow, that's really something!"
Brooke had a feeling.
The partner he thought he would have to wait many more years to meet actually appeared so quickly?
"I am very pleased."
So Brooke took off her top hat again: "I'm almost so happy I could play a tune right now."
"Perform a performance?" *N
Upon hearing this, the Straw Hat crew was clearly taken aback.
"Yes, I used to be a pirate and a bodyguard. Now I work as a dishwasher in this bar, but my main job is as a musician."
"musician!?"
Upon hearing this, Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Hey! Brook, you have to be my partner!"
He had already decided that there must be a musician on his ship.
"It's an honor for me, yo ho ho ho."
Brooke smiled and agreed.
But then he said, "However, not yet."
"Huh!? Why?"
Luffy immediately dragged out the sound.
"The owner of this bar has done me a great favor."
Brooke said seriously, "He and another of my superiors recently went out on business and asked me to look after the bar—I can't leave here until they get back."
"And I promised him that if I found a suitable partner, I would let him know before leaving. That's a promise, you know, yay!"
Hearing this, Luffy was clearly disappointed.
The remaining Straw Hat crew members immediately realized the meaning behind Brook's words.
"The owner of the bar?"
"Superior?"
Normally, a dishwasher in a bar wouldn't address the owner like that, right?
"Where did they go? To the next island?"
Nami, as the navigator, was even more curious.
"Yo ho ho ho, it's not the next island."
Brook chuckled and said, but didn't elaborate, "Speaking of which, beautiful Miss Nami—since we're all about to head to the sea together, could you please let me see your underwear?"
"Who would show it to you?! You suspicious, lecherous skeleton!"
At the same time.
Chenlong and Robin were naturally unaware of what had happened at Whiskey Peak.
Or rather, even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care.
Because at this moment, they are in the Devil's Triangle.
Or to be more precise.
They are currently aboard the "Abyss".
"Unbelievable! Lord Chenlong, this is incredible!"
Although they already knew from Chenlong that the Twelve Constellations possessed an ancient ship from eight hundred years ago, and that an ancient mural had been discovered on it.
But it is quite obvious.
Robin never expected that this so-called 'ship' would be like this.
"Part of the Red Line, belonging to the legendary pirate 'Davy Jones,' whose island ship ate a Devil Fruit."
Robin murmured the fact that Chenlong had told her, that every single word was enough to shake the ocean.
Her fingertips unconsciously brushed against a bare red rock beside her.
As an archaeologist, she could clearly sense the antiquity of the rocks.
Everything Chenlong told her about the island ship called "Abyss" shocked her greatly.
To put it bluntly...
As a historian, the archaeological value of this ship was almost immeasurable to her.
She could even be certain.
If Ohara still existed, Professor Clover would probably faint on the spot upon hearing of the ship's existence.
"This is a true priceless treasure, Lord Chenlong. It must be protected. You shouldn't have told me where it is."
Robin even said it subconsciously at that moment.
The value of the Abyss exceeded her comprehension, even frightening her somewhat—because she understood that once the World Government became aware of its existence, its fate would inevitably be the same as that of Ohara.
The Buster Call, and even more powerful armies, will appear to destroy it completely.
Therefore, the fewer people who know about this ship, the better.
including herself.
Although she could not cooperate with the World Government, she never thought of betraying the Zodiac.
But she knew that compared to the powerful top executives of the twelve constellations, she did not have enough power.
If captured by the enemy, the intelligence could be leaked.
Don't worry.
But then she heard Chenlong's casual reply.
"It's safe here, and we won't be discovered anytime soon."
"And after a while, this ship will be taken to 'headquarters'."
These words were spoken.
Robin's breath hitched for a moment.
She caught the two key points in Chenlong's words.
"take away?"
She looked around in disbelief—the sheer size of the ship, the almost continental size.
The twelve constellations—should we take them with us?
Robin could hardly comprehend how such a thing could be accomplished.
Besides that.
"Headquarters!?"
The meaning of this word sent shockwaves through Robin's heart.
What headquarters?
The answer is self-evident—it must be the headquarters of the 'Twelve Constellations'.
Robin had speculated about its existence, after all, such a powerful organization should have a real base no matter how you look at it.
But it wasn't until today that she truly confirmed its existence!
"If it's the headquarters, the Star Lord must be there, along with the other Star lords."
So, she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.
What kind of place would be the headquarters of the twelve constellations—would it be an island? Or a ship? Or perhaps even a country?
But it is precisely at this moment
"Um!?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Robin caught sight of a figure suddenly appearing not far away: "Lord Chenlong! Someone's here!"
She almost immediately crossed her arms, preparing to use her abilities to fight back—though she had never been fond of fighting, her current demeanor was surprisingly aggressive.
The main reason was that she absolutely did not want to be exposed due to any accident involving this ship.
But just a moment later, she saw Chenlong gently wave his hand.
"It's alright, that's just Lox."
He watched the figure slowly emerge from the mirage and said this casually.
"Let's go, we need to get down to business—don't you want to see that mural?"
(End of this chapter)