One Piece Talk King: Starting with Commentary on Devil Fruits

As for the toys on the street that serve people for free, they were originally bad guys who caused destruction in Dressrosa. They were turned into harmless toys by Devil Fruit powers so that they could no longer threaten the island's tourism business. The islanders firmly believed in this explanation from the ruler.

"Don't be sad if these toys break. They're all bad guys, and they're serving us now to atone for their sins. So, big brothers, please don't cause trouble in Dressrosa, or you might turn into toys too!"

Ilya's words made the two of them secretly break out in a cold sweat. Luffy was worried that his pirate identity would be exposed, while Usopp was imagining himself as a toy, the kind of life where he was enslaved every day and had no rest, which was simply too dark.

The word "pirate" was practically written on their faces. Ilya was just trying to scare them with her words. After the prank, she asked with concern, "Brother Luffy, are you hungry?"

Ilya heard a rumbling stomach behind her. Just then, a shop came to mind, and she introduced the two customers to it.

"Sanji didn't make enough breakfast, Illya! I'm starving! I want a big meal today!"

With one of the foodies in the group leading the way, Usopp also felt hungry. "Let's find a cheap restaurant. We're a bit tight on funds, and we can't afford anything too expensive."

"Don't worry, brothers. The restaurant I'm taking you to later is definitely cheap. When I'm short on money for food, I go there to mooch off someone. I'll take you there now."

Luffy and Usopp followed the silver-haired girl, turning from the bustling streets into a narrow alley. The area was dirty and dilapidated, probably a slum on the island. However, the passersby were relatively friendly and all looked tired.

"This is the restaurant, Casa de Dressrosa."

Ilya excitedly told the two how many years this restaurant had been in Dressrosa, how good the food was, and that compared to the high prices in the wealthy areas, this was the cheapest place to eat on the island.

Luffy isn't the type to be materialistic or snobbish. As long as the food is delicious, he doesn't care about the decor or anything else. He followed Illya straight in, as the future Pirate King desperately needed a lot of food.

The exterior looked quite dilapidated, with a yellowed signboard that looked like it had been used for many years. However, the interior of the restaurant was very clean. Usopp was finally relieved to see this. He had been worried that Illya would introduce them to a shady establishment that would rip them off. Getting ripped off was a minor issue, but if Luffy were to cause trouble, it would be impossible to handle the situation easily.

The shop wasn't deserted either; some manual laborers dressed in worn-out clothes were enjoying their meals, replenishing their energy for their tired bodies. It was a small shop with a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.

"Belhill, I've introduced two more guests to you. Don't withhold my wages this time."

A mature woman with pink hair, wearing an apron and smoking a cigarette, walked out of the kitchen, laughing and scolding, "You brat, you and that big black guy have been eating and living here for free for so long, it's only right that you work for me."

Usopp saw the cursing woman and felt a sense of familiarity with her, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

Chapter 90 Uninvited Guest

Usopp was rather cautious and didn't pay much attention to the shop owner. He took the menu and prepared to order with Luffy, seemingly seriously underestimating his captain's hunger.

Choosing dishes is too much for Luffy. He's an adult now and wants everything: "Give me the whole page of Illya's food. I feel like this isn't enough for me. I'm starving. I want to eat more delicious food."

The sniper carefully examined the menu prices. During his five years of secluded training, passing through the Sabaody Archipelago and Fishman Island, he could feel the rising prices. The ship's berths were becoming increasingly insufficient, and the prices of all the goods he could see were increasing.

Dressrosa has become a tourist hotspot, and the prices of food and beverages are now comparable to those in the Sabaody Archipelago. Even this small shop in the slums is 50 percent more expensive than the restaurants I've encountered before.

"I must tell Nami when we get back that the allowance she set is no longer enough and it's time to increase it," Usopp remarked. Knowing that the two of them had limited allowance, he didn't agree with Luffy's approach of ordering a whole page of food directly. Instead, he asked for more staple food and less side dishes, deciding to make do for this meal.

This little shop serves mostly ordinary people. Even a stronger Usopp wouldn't dare to dine and dash in such a place. It's best not to cause trouble for their small business.

After paying for the meal at the front desk, Usopp sat down opposite the captain, and the two waited for the food to be served. During this time, he chatted with Illya, who was loitering around the table. There were some things that only she, a local, knew.

"Is Dressrosa always this lively at times, Ilya? There are more ships docked at the pier than I've ever seen in Sabaody Archipelago."

The silver-haired girl brought over a stool and sat down next to Luffy. "Brothers, your timing is perfect. Tomorrow night is the music festival in Dressrosa. The king has invited many world-famous celebrities. It's been very lively these past few days. The streets are packed with people, and most hotels are fully booked. According to the announcements, it seems that hundreds of thousands of tourists will be attending the concert."

Dressrosa was originally a beautiful woman with a fiery passion for music and dance, who gradually became famous in the Grand Line. It was already remarkable that she could leave her name on this sea.

This concert has been in preparation for more than three years. While promoting it to attract tourists, the island is also being actively developed internally. In order to empty the wallets of tourists, the King and his officials of Dressrosa have tried every means possible, using all the incentives they can, which has led to more and more tourists from other places gathering here.

With a steady stream of tourists, most ordinary islanders have a job that provides them with enough to eat and wear. Those without a business sense can do manual labor and barely make ends meet. In short, the standard of living is rising day by day, and people are content with this kind of life.

The three were chatting when Belhill, who was serving the food, interrupted them. Since these two were introduced by Ilya, the food was prepared in large quantities. He wondered if these two young men could finish all of it.

When Luffy saw the food arrive, he didn't care about anything else and just shoved the plate into his mouth, too lazy to even chew. "It tastes really good. Illya, it's good that you made me your guide, oh..."

"Brother Luffy, eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

"Hahaha, that's just how our captain is, Ilya. When it comes to eating, no one can beat him."

Usopp grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth. The little bit of food he had eaten for breakfast had been mostly digested in his stomach. Seeing Luffy eating so heartily made him feel even hungrier. In front of the silver-haired girl, he disregarded his table manners and started eating like Luffy.

"The way my two older brothers eat is just like the black uncle who protects me. I really envy you guys for having such good appetites."

Ilya sat in the chair, swinging her legs as she looked at her two new friends. Her impression of Luffy and Usopp was different from that of other pirates. Perhaps Luffy and Usopp were good people!

Straw Hat Luffy and his companion were enjoying their meal when the small shop was suddenly kicked open from the outside. The wooden restaurant door was violently smashed to pieces, attracting the attention of the diners inside.

"Belhill, when are you going to pay your rent? I've lost all patience with you."

Three henchmen dressed in Don Quixote Family uniforms broke the tranquility of the shop. The others, seeing this, did not step forward to stop them, all acting as if they could not see them, and quietly eating and drinking in the corner.

“I paid the rent a few days ago, sir, you must have misremembered,” Belhill said with a smile as she came out of the kitchen. Even though the other party was very impolite, she still had to put on a smiling face.

"The rules have changed and the rent will go up. The money you paid a few days ago is not enough. I told you to raise the money quickly, but it's been several days and there's still no movement. Does this bitch think we Don Quixotes are talking nonsense?"

The debt collector, a foul-mouthed thug, directly attacked the woman, kicking her in the soft stomach. He wanted the pain to remind this poor woman that some things couldn't be delayed.

Belhill was kicked hard, falling to the ground and overturning the dining table next to her. Even though she was treated so roughly, the woman still had a smile on her face. She would cry in secret, because tears could not buy sympathy from these lackeys of the rulers.

Luffy ate the plate along with the food, sucked it into his stomach, and then pulled the plate out of his mouth, slightly relieving his hunger. Faced with the bullying of the weak, his rubber fists were starting to get restless.

Seeing the captain's eager expression, Usopp knew these guys were in trouble today. However, fighting inside the restaurant would only implicate the staff. He gripped Luffy's clenched fist and said, "We'll teach them a lesson when we get outside. This fragile restaurant can't take your mess. I'll go with you after these three leave."

"Okay," Luffy frowned, suppressing his anger. He already considered Illya a friend, and with his stubborn personality, he would punch anyone who dared to hurt his friend, no matter who they were.

If anyone dares to lay a hand on Belcher, Luffy's stubborn nature won't tolerate the Donquixote Family's lackeys; he'll take action when necessary.

Just as the three lackeys were about to use violence against Belhill, a male voice came from outside the door, "You lot, who sent you here?"

Upon hearing the voice, the three henchmen instinctively shuddered, their previous arrogance instantly vanishing. The long-faced man in the lead stammered, "Lord Allen... we are just routinely paying the monthly rent."

"Then get lost, don't ruin my mood today."

The three henchmen, as if granted a pardon, scrambled away from the crowd's sight. A disheveled young man, accompanied by a blonde girl, calmly entered the small shop under everyone's watchful eyes.

Chapter 91 Encounter

"Belsil, are you alright?"

The dark-haired young man stood next to the woman and reached out to help her up.

"Alan, I didn't expect your reputation to be so effective. You're usually so low-key," Belhill was helped up by the person who came to her rescue. She had been kicked quite hard, but it didn't affect her business.

She took a closer look at the familiar customer in front of her. The woman had never imagined that this young man would be so powerful. Look how scared those lackeys were. Could Allen be an officer of Don Quixote?

The clever woman kept her guesses to herself and smiled again. "Allen, is this your daughter? What a beautiful little girl. What would you like to eat today? I'll treat you to something on the house."

The blonde little girl glared at the overly familiar woman and said coldly, "I'm not his daughter, you've got the wrong person."

This little girl, who looks to be no more than five years old, is not afraid of strangers even though she is being led by the hand by Allen. She is a precocious child, not one to lose in terms of presence.

"She's my business partner's child. She ran away this time, and I'll have to take her back later."

"Hmph, I'll run away sooner or later, and you adults can't control me."

The little girl was rather impolite, even calling Allen by his name directly. She pouted and acted like she was being naughty, a little brat who looked down on people.

This strange pair chose a clean table. The young man named Allen prepared to order food, while the blonde girl was kept by his side. The adult's strength prevented her from breaking free, and she could only obediently sit down.

This time, Belhill served the food very quickly. Less than fifteen minutes after the new customer ordered, the woman brought over two plates. "Alan, your taste hasn't changed. Serving customers like you is the most time-efficient."

The blonde loli looked at the fork in her hand with disdain. She was a bit of a germaphobe and felt that the tableware was not clean. Born into nobility, she had her own special tableware and had never used other people's tableware. "Is the food of the poor really that delicious? If you let me go this time, I can treat you to many lavish meals."

Allen ignored the other person and continued eating. He had eaten at this restaurant many times, and the taste was so familiar that he couldn't be more familiar with it. He was a bit of a nostalgic person and didn't like to try new things. Over the years, he had been a regular at Belhill's restaurants.

Seeing how happily Allen was eating, the blonde little girl sulked a bit. She had never looked down on places like this, places only for the poor.

Two figures sat down uninvited. One of them, a poor fellow wearing a straw hat, actually poured the food on the table into his mouth without the host's permission, which was extremely impolite!

"Alan, I didn't expect to see you in Dressrosa! It's been so many years! Oh... I'm a little choked up... water..."

The guy in the straw hat kept pounding his neck; he had swallowed too much food and it was stuck there. His face turned pale, and he was teetering on the edge of suffocation.

"Luffy, the water's here!" The silver-haired girl quickly appeared from behind and handed him a water bottle, but she was a step too late.

The long-nosed, muscular man next to him suddenly punched Luffy in the back, solving the problem with physical means.

"I'm saved! I thought I was going to choke to death!"

The blonde girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at this bizarre pair. Did these two really know Allen?

"I saw you as soon as I came in. If it weren't for this kid, I would have sat right next to you," Allen said, still the same as before, his face expressionless, showing no change in emotion. He hadn't changed much in five years.

Don't describe me like a child!

Unfortunately, no one paid attention to her while the adults were talking, but since they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years, they started chatting.

Luffy sat down at this table partly to freeload a meal, and partly out of curiosity about his old friend's situation. "Eren, was your illness cured on Drum Island?"

Allen picked up his glass and downed the entire glass, calmly replying, "It's temporarily suppressed, but not completely cured yet."

"Okay, it's good to see you're alright now." Luffy originally wanted to talk about Chopper and suggest that Allen board the Thousand Sunny for treatment, but then he thought that the ship's doctor wasn't 100% sure of the situation, so he decided against it and didn't want to waste his friend's time.

During their subsequent meal and conversation, Allen learned about Luffy and his crew's recent situation: they had changed ships, gained several new crew members, experienced many adventures on other islands, and after the Marineford War, they each trained for five years before setting sail again for a new adventure. Throughout this journey, the Straw Hat Pirates had been free.

Eren didn't hide anything. He took the medicine prepared by Dr. Kureha, which temporarily suppressed his condition. Instead of waiting for Chopper to return on Drum Island, he boarded a pirate ship and arrived in Dressrosa, where he stayed for several years.

The three of them reminisced about the past. Eren treated the two poor guys to a big meal, but since Nami didn't give him enough pocket money, Luffy had to mooch off her.

Soon it was time to say goodbye. Allen had to take the blonde girl with him back home. They had been out long enough, and the girl's mother would be unhappy if they stayed here catching up.

Watching Allen lead the girl away from the restaurant, Usopp saw them off, and Luffy finished his last task of cleaning his plate, bringing the meal to a perfect close.

He was a rubber man who ate too much food at once, causing him to swell up, become round and fat, which aroused the curiosity of Illya, who would occasionally poke Luffy's belly with her finger. She could feel the incredible elasticity; Luffy's skin was very fun to play with.

"Eren has probably joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea. It's a real shame; we almost had a Titan crew member on our ship."

Usopp looked regretful, and his words made Luffy a little disappointed. "If I had persevered a bit longer back then, maybe I wouldn't have missed Eren that day."

"Is that Mr. Allen very powerful?" Ilya asked, her large, ruby-like eyes wide with curiosity.