One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Chapter 781 Leopard Head Lucci's Limited-Time Return

Water Seven, Shipwreck Island, Shipwright's Tavern.

In the dim light, a tall man wearing only a pair of briefs sat at the bar, drinking one glass of liquor after another. In no time, he finished a large bottle of strong rum.

After finishing the strong liquor in front of him, Franky, with his disheveled hair and stubble, looking somewhat unkempt, angrily slammed his muscular arm against the bar, making the wooden surface bang loudly, and mumbled incoherently:

"Asiye! Hurry up and bring me the wine, what are you dawdling for? I've already finished this bottle."

"Asiye?"

Inside the tavern, a little girl wiping a table grew impatient with Franky's constant shouting. She slammed the tablecloth down on the table, put her hands on her hips, and glared angrily at Franky.

"Stop arguing! You pervert, can't you put your pants on first? It's all because of you that we haven't had any business. The customers we finally managed to attract have all been scared away by you, you pervert who doesn't wear pants."

"Pervert?" Franky hiccuped and grinned. "Are you complimenting me? Thanks, Olga."

"Who's praising you?! Can't you tell I'm insulting you?!" Olga was furious.

Hearing the commotion in the tavern, a middle-aged, balding, overweight man in an apron rushed out of the kitchen and shouted at the little girl who was throwing a tantrum, "Olga! Shut up! How can you be so rude to our benefactor? If it weren't for the Franky brothers' help, my daughter and I might still be on the streets. How could we have a tavern in Water Seven like this? I told you, times have changed. You need to tone down your temper and adapt to this kind of life. Isn't it good to live a peaceful life here, selling drinks and food every day?"

The middle-aged fat man was fine when he didn't nag, but when he did, the blonde little girl Olga got even angrier.

She pouted angrily, glaring at her father. "I don't want to stay here forever! I want to go to sea, go on adventures, and become a pirate!"

"Shh!" Asie was startled and quickly put his finger to his lips to shush. "My little ancestor, why haven't you given up on your unrealistic dream of becoming a pirate? You absolutely can't let the Marine branch in Water 7 hear you say that, or our tavern will definitely have to close down."

"What's so unrealistic about that? I'm going to be a pirate. Not only will I be a pirate, I'll become the Pirate King! Humph! Anyway, I'll live a long time, and I'll find the crew I want eventually..." Olga retorted defiantly.

Seeing that her daughter's voice was getting louder and louder, Asiya panicked and rushed over from behind the bar, reaching out to cover her mouth, but Olga dodged her.

Asie was getting anxious.

"You absolutely can't say that outside! Have you forgotten who rescued us from the belly of the lanternfish? It was Admiral Rorschach! Admiral Rorschach is the one who's going to end the Great Pirate Era. Now, forget about Paradise, even in the four seas, very few people want to go to sea and become pirates. Being a pirate in this era is too dangerous. Can't you see how powerful the Navy is now? Don't even mention you, even Franky..."

Asie pointed at the drunken Franky behind him, "Even someone as powerful as Franky had his pirate crew disbanded because of Admiral Rorschach. And the Whitebeard Pirates were wiped out by the Navy. What can you possibly do at sea? Aren't you afraid of running into Admiral Rorschach on the high seas?"

Upon hearing his father mention Rorschach, Olga immediately shrank back, no longer daring to talk back.

He picked up the tablecloth sullenly, muttering incoherently, and went to wipe the table.

Franky, sitting at the bar, froze, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and glanced sideways at Asie.

This fat guy really doesn't give him any face at all.

They actually used him as a negative example right in front of him.

Franky was extremely annoyed, but couldn't find any words to refute him.

Asie was right, he was indeed a loser. Because of Rorschach, his short-lived pirate career came to an end.

Franky always fondly remembers the time he spent adventuring with Luffy in the Paradise Sea.

I thought I could adventure across the vast ocean with Sanji, Nami, Robin, Chopper, and the others. But I never expected to encounter Rorschach on the Golden Ship, especially in such a hostile situation.

But who can be blamed for this?

Is it Luffy's fault?

He was so eager to save his companion that he didn't assess the situation and mistakenly attacked Musgarud.

Is it Rorschach's fault?

Krosha was just doing his duty. After all, isn't the Navy supposed to serve the World Government and the world's nobles?

Although Rorschach wasn't Franky's henchman or accomplice, as someone in that position, he must have had things he had to do.

So in the end, Franky could only blame himself for not being strong enough to protect his crew, which led to the disbandment of the pirate crew and Bartolomeo's death.

Although I've heard that Luffy and Issho have already started a new Straw Hat Pirates crew in the New World.

Moreover, Luffy recently called, saying he wanted to gather his old crewmates together for another adventure.

Franky would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted, but the thought that his heart was still with Rorschach made him feel utterly dejected.

He felt that even if he went to the New World, he wouldn't be able to help Luffy; he would only become a burden to Luffy and give Rorschach something to talk about.

He had promised Rorschach that the Straw Hat Pirates would not set sail again. If his return to sea caused harm to his other crew members, he would regret it.

So, feeling depressed, he could only spend his days drinking in the tavern, occasionally glancing at the newspapers about Luffy's situation in the New World and reminiscing about his past adventures.

With a bang, the tavern door was pushed open, and a man, also wearing shorts and sunglasses, rushed in, panting, and shouted at Franky, who was lost in thought:

"Big brother, Franky! Why are you drinking here again? You can't keep doing this. Drinking every day will ruin your health. Let's go home!"

"Go back what? I haven't had enough to drink yet." Franky shook off Zambezi's hand that was trying to pull him away, and then tapped on the bar in front of him. "Ace, what are you standing there for? Bring me some drinks, I'm not shortchanging you."

Asie didn't move; he had secretly called to inform Zambai of his arrival.

For the past few months, Franky has been drinking every day at his pub. Although he's been paid, drinking like this every day until he's completely drunk isn't a sustainable solution.

So every time, Asie would secretly call Franky's underlings and ask them to come and take Franky back.

"Big brother, Kiwi and Moz are waiting for you. We've cooked dinner, including Shui Shui and barbecue. Come back with me."

Zambry tried to pull him away, but Franky pushed him away.

"Leave me alone! Do you still consider me your older brother? You don't even listen to your older brother's orders anymore? Go get me some wine, I want more!"

When Zambe couldn't pull Franky up, he suddenly knelt down on the ground and began to sob.

"Big brother, please, please stop torturing yourself like this. If we can't be pirates, we can be shipwrights. The Franky family is doing quite well now, and we can support ourselves. We've even saved some money. We'll talk to Mr. Iceberg about buying a share in the Carrera Company and investing in building a shipyard, with you as the manager. If we can't be pirates, we can change our lives. There's no need to keep making yourself suffer."

"Yes, brother, Zambry is right. Let's go home. If we can't be pirates, we won't be. Let's become shipwrights. With your skills, we'll definitely be just as good as those guys from the Carrera Company."

Just as Zaby was pleading with Frankie, another group of people rushed in, with the two blocky-haired women at the head of the group sobbing and choking with emotion.

The huge tavern was packed with a group of strange-looking people. Cries, voices, and Franky's scolding filled the tavern, making it noisy and chaotic.

Olga frowned at the noise from the group and covered her ears with her hands.

Franky, unable to resist the nagging of his underlings, finally gave in and was dragged out of the tavern by the sisters Kiwi and Moz, who grabbed his arms and led him outside.

Just as the group reached the door, they found that the entrance to the tavern was blocked by several figures.

"Hey, isn't this Cardiffrum? I remember you liked drinking cola, right? How come you're drinking alcohol now? Can cola really make you drunk? Judging from your tearful appearance, it seems the disbandment of the Straw Hat Pirates has hit you pretty hard."

A sarcastic voice rang out at the tavern entrance, instantly silencing the tavern.

Franky stopped in his tracks, anger flashing in his eyes, and looked up.

"Which bastard dares to make fun of me like that?"

The moment he looked up, his expression changed instantly.

At the entrance of the tavern, several people wearing long robes and various animal masks stood side by side with their backs to the light, completely blocking the entrance.

Frankie seemed to recognize the animal masks on these people's faces.

"You..." Franky sobered up instantly, instinctively spreading his arms to stop his henchmen and protect them behind him.

A burly man wearing a bull-horn mask walked over and stood in front of Franky. The two eyes in the hole of the mask looked behind him and placed their cold gaze on the bewildered Asie.

"I don't recall ever saying I was going to give my tavern to a complete stranger. Franky, can you explain to me why my tavern would be taken over by a bald, fat old man?"

"Bruno".

Franky gritted his teeth, his gaze passing over the horned masked man in front of him and landing on the man behind him with a white dove perched on his shoulder.

"Rob Lucci, what are you doing here? Water Seven doesn't welcome you. If you know what's good for you, leave now, or else..."

"What else do you want, Cardifram? *Boohoo*"

A person whose body was as fat as a ball let out a strange laugh.

Franky looked at him, raised his thick right hand, took off the glove on his right hand, revealing a fist made of steel.

"Owl, do you want to taste my iron fist again? Have you fixed your broken teeth from last time?"

"Chirp chirp, times have changed. Our strength is on a completely different level now, Cardiform." The owl wobbled its short legs and rolled like a big ball in front of Franky, took off its mask to reveal a big round face with a zipper on its mouth, and came close to Franky.

"Come on, punch me in the face and see if your fist is harder or my face is harder this time."

You think I wouldn't dare?

Frankie's expression was rather unpleasant.

"Then hit me." The owl's smug expression made Franky clench his right fist. But when he saw Bruno, Lucci, Kaku, and the others standing behind the owl, he forcibly suppressed his anger and didn't act rashly.

Franky knew that now was not the time to make a move.

He needed to figure out why Rob Lucci and his men had come to Water Seven again.

He needs to find a way to leave here and tell Iceberg about this.

The arrival of CP agents from the World Government here is never a good thing.

Could it be that Rob Lucci is still up to his old tricks and wants to find the blueprints for the Hades warship from him and Iceberg?

“He won’t dare to make a move. Help him out, Bruno.” Suddenly, Lucci, who had been standing with his hands in his pockets, spoke up calmly.

“Okay.” Bruno nodded.

Before Franky could react, he reached out and slapped Zambry across the body in front of him. Zambry screamed and flew through the air, his face covered in blood. He knocked down more than a dozen of Franky's younger brothers, overturned several tables, and finally crashed into the wall before sliding to the ground with a thud, instantly falling silent. It was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

"Zanbare!" Franky's eyes widened in fury, unable to contain his rage any longer. He raised his right fist and punched the owl blocking his way in the face.

With a dull bang, a cloud of white ash exploded from the back of the owl's head, its head jerked back abruptly, but then straightened itself again.

Franky's eyes widened in shock, a look of disbelief on his face.

The owl's face was completely unharmed, without even a bruise, which was quite different from what he had expected. He remembered that in their last fight, this guy had half his teeth shattered by a single punch.

But at this moment, his fist, which was many times stronger than before, struck the other person's face, yet it didn't even scratch their skin.

"Bah, I told you our power levels are no longer comparable, Cardiflame." The owl chuckled and clenched its right fist, delivering a punch to Franky's stomach.

With a loud bang, Franky's mouth gaped open as he was thrown into the air, his body arching as he crashed through the tavern's ceiling and flew out.

"Let's fight!" The Franky family exclaimed, and they all attacked, rushing towards Rob Lucci and his men who were blocking the tavern entrance.

However, they were no match for Rob Lucci and his group. In just a few moves, they were easily defeated by Owl and Bruno.

In the open space outside the tavern, Franky, who had smashed a hole in the ground, struggled to his feet. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood and began to retch on the ground, clutching his stomach.

A dented fist mark appeared on his abdomen. His body, which he had modified with steel, couldn't withstand the owl's punch and was almost punched through.