Capítulo 318: Updated Bounties
Fortunately for Law and his sanity, there actually was coffee to be had; and high quality coffee beans to boot. "Would you mind making some for me, Blackleg-ya? I never learned how to use these fancy contraptions…"
"I'm sure you can figure it out, I'm busy at the moment." Sanji refused, as he was too busy admiring four beauties.
"Oh, coffee sounds great. I can make some, Law-san." Robin volunteered.
"The best coffee in the world~ coming right up, Robin-swaaaaan~!" Sanji twirled into the kitchenette before Robin could even stand up.
Law followed Sanji with his gaze before turning his eyes to Robin, who winked at him knowingly.
"Coo Coo!"
"Ah, it's the paper. Usopp, go buy one." Nami commanded.
"You go buy one." Usopp retorted.
Nami sent a glare his way that gave him shivers down his spine in a way no horrible monster or psychopath could. He zipped out to the balcony to acquire a newspaper post-haste, lest he draw the ire of something beyond his wildest nightmares.
"You better not be thinking something rude about me!" Nami called out to him, resulting in him repeating "Don't think, don't think, don't think…" in his head repeatedly as he mechanically paid the news coo for a paper and brought it back inside.
The front page headlining story told an elaborate tale of heroism, in which a single man stood up against the now ex-Shichibukai Doflamingo and Straw Hat Luffy during their epic battle for dominance at the expense of the citizens of Dressrosa. The photo accompanying the story was Kyros wearing a forced smile on his face, fulfilling his end of the bargain by taking all the credit.
Luffy's arm stretched out and grabbed the new/updated bounty posters from underneath the newspaper.
"Shishishi! My bounty went up to 600 million Beri!" Luffy was pleased as punch.
A few of them had their bounties increase, but the most notable difference was Sanji's "Only Alive" condition and Usopp's new epithet "Savior Usopp".
"Why do they want you "Only Alive" you damned lucky son of a bitch!" Usopp complained with tears in his eyes.
"Shut the hell up! How the hell is your bounty higher than mine, let alone the damned Mosshead!" Sanji retorted. His head was only worth 190 million Beri while Usopp's was 200 million Beri and Zoro's was 320 million Beri. How does that make any sense?!
"I'm surprised that Cherry's bounty didn't go up when even Cabernet's bounty went up to 390 million Beri. Didn't you send Akainu flying like a cartoon villain?" Franky asked.
"There must not have been civilian witnesses to that fight. Ex-Admiral or not, the marines don't like to look weak." RObin said reasonably.
Cherry was remarkably silent as she examined a bounty poster that didn't belong to any of them. Where the name ought to be there were only the words "Woman in White" and the bounty listed was 2.5 billion Beri.
The photograph was blurry as if taken from a long distance and expanded. It showed a blonde woman wearing a white robe, the details of the face not quite visible.
"Who's that? Do you know her?" Nami asked.
"A long time ago, I did. I met her again recently before parting ways soon after." Cherry said with a faint, nostalgic smile.
She spent six hundred years in that life, so it was a bit sad to leave it behind. She liked who she was now, though.
"I feel like I'm forgetting something important…" Cherry spoke up suddenly, changing the subject. Several people flinched at those words. "No no, not 'somebody' important. Relax. Just that something has slipped my mind is all."
Robin gave her an odd look as if to say "Why don't you look through your memories then?", and Cherry decided that she had delayed reviewing her night long enough, she supposed.
"Ah." Cherry said after a few seconds. "I was invited to Big Mom's next Tea Party. Right."
"""Huh?!""" several incredulous responses chimed up.
Law did a spit take with his freshly brewed cup of coffee.
"What the hell? Why?" Nami asked, thinking it very strange.
"Doesn't really matter why. I have to go." Cherry said, waving away the matter like it was no big deal.
"Why do you have to go? You can just skip it." Luffy said, blissfully ignorant.
"If she doesn't go, Big Mom will kill someone she cares about." Law informed darkly, causing the mood in the room to plummet.
"Which is why I'm gonna go fuck up her tea party in a few weeks." Cherry nodded matter of factly. "If she doesn't like it, I'll smash her teeth in. We'll see how much she likes eating with just gums to chew with."
"... You're insane." Law concluded aloud.
"I'm the one who's insane? Big Mom is threatening the woman who can kick the future Pirate King's ass ten times out of ten, and it's ME who's crazy?" Cherry spoke confidently.
"Huh?! I can win at least once! I'll hit you with my new special move!" Luffy interjected. "I can kick Big Mom's ass too!"
That made the Straw Hats feel a bit better. They were still getting used to the idea that they actually stood a chance against the Four Emperors. Law was his usual pessimistic self, though, and thought they were being too optimistic about their chances. The samurai didn't have enough context about Big Mom and Carina silently concluded that they were, in fact, insane to believe they could beat Big Mom.
…
Cherry hung out with her crewmates for a few hours, but ultimately she needed to leave to maintain her cover. She informed them of her own position and they let her in on their own plans.
Cherry decided to make use of the forge deep in the belly of the Gran Tesoro whilst waiting for nightfall. She had some armor to make.
Mainly for Franky, since his schematics had a practical purpose in mind; the rest was just for fun.
An older giant fellow kept sneaking peeks at her. If she didn't know better she would think he was creeping on her, but she knew it was far more likely that he had seen her at work the night before and was just curious what she was up to now.
Soon the sun set below the ocean horizon and the Straw Hat's heist would soon be underway. Cherry stuffed all the armor she completed into her Blood Bound armor's pockets, much to the bafflement of the Gran Tesoro's forge workers, and left the iron works.
Eventually she found herself at Gild Tesoro's office again. She had been informed that tonight's performance would begin soon and asked to watch it with him. Cherry knew he was just trying to keep her close, afraid that she might try to run or backstab him at the last minute. He was under the very false impression that having Cherry sitting right next to him was the safest distance to keep her at, when it was in reality the most dangerous.
"Can I get some popcorn?" Cherry asked before chugging a bottle of very overpriced wine.
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