Chapter 126: Snatching Someone Away

Three days later, towards evening.

Guided by Sunny, the Red Force finally arrived in the coastal waters of "Little Cutie." At this moment, Thor remained unconscious. This served as a testament to the fact that Garp’s high-level Armament Haki was not something to be trifled with. However, Shanks was quite pleased that Thor had not yet awakened.

Leaving a squad on board to keep watch, the rest of the crew gradually landed on the island that Thor had dubbed "Little Cutie." After the conclusion of the events on Mad Hatter Island, Sabo and his companions did not depart immediately, but instead followed the Red Hair Pirates all the way to "Little Cutie." Most of the Revolutionary Army members on their ship were puzzled by this decision. Sabo did not offer a specific explanation, though Morley and Koala could vaguely sense why he was so insistent on following them.

Upon landing on "Little Cutie," the pirates, plagued by their craving for alcohol, urged Sunny to lead the way without delay. Seeing this, Maude couldn't help but glance back at the Red Force. He wondered if Thor would faint all over again the moment he woke up to find his "Little Cutie" being ransacked by Shanks and his crew.

Under Sunny’s guidance, the group arrived at a pile of rocks nestled against the foot of a mountain. There were quite a few stones, likely having fallen from the mountainside and rolled down to this spot. Sunny led them into the pile, stopping before one particular boulder. It stood about six or seven meters high; while not the largest in the heap, it was certainly prominent.

"It’s right under this rock." Sunny pointed to the stone in front of her. Though she felt guilty toward Thor, she decided it was necessary to bring out some wine to host Shanks and his crew.

"Hidden here, huh?" Shanks’ eyes lit up.

Before Shanks could even give the order, Lucky Roux tossed aside the bone he had just finished gnawing and easily shoved the massive boulder aside, revealing an old wooden door leading to a cellar.

"Heh heh." Shanks grinned.

Half an hour later, night fell. A dozen bonfires were lit on the flat ground, and large amounts of game meat were set over the flames, the fat sizzling and dripping. Circles of stones were arranged around the fires, piled high with a wide variety of seafood. The aroma of the food mingled with the mellow scent of fine wine, drifting into the distance alongside bursts of laughter.

For pirates, a moment of indulgence is nothing more than a banquet where the wine and meat are endless. Maude sat before one of the bonfires, watching the Red Hair Pirates as they engaged in a drinking contest. Their terrifying pace of consumption was as if they were simply pouring water down their throats.

Sunny sat beside Maude; after three days of recovery, her injuries were healing well.

"Maude, I’m done for." Sunny sighed toward the bonfire. She had severely underestimated the drinking capacity of Shanks and his crew. At this rate, the entire stockpile of wine that Thor had intended to drink until his dying days would likely be polished off by them. The thought gave her a splitting headache.

"Mm, I can see that." Maude chuckled softly, crushed a large crab claw, picked out the succulent, sweet white meat, and handed it to Sunny.

Before Sunny could reach out, a large hand darted in first and snatched the shelled crab meat. Maude paused, looking at the owner of the hand—the giant, Morley.

"Hee hee." Morley blinked his large eyes at Maude.

Maude: "..."

"Morley, that wasn't for you, was it?" Koala, sitting nearby, couldn't stand it anymore; she stood up and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

Morley immediately popped the morsel of crab meat into his mouth, then covered his cheeks, looking quite maidenly.

"..." Koala slapped her forehead, sat back down helplessly, and apologized to Sunny beside her: "I'm sorry, Morley... he gets a bit love-struck sometimes."

"It's fine, I don't really like crab meat much anyway." Sunny smiled, though the corner of her eye remained fixed on the second crab claw Maude was cracking open. That was the last one.

Sabo leaned in, looking at Sunny curiously, and said, "But crab meat is delicious."

Sunny: "Uh..."

*Snap.*

Maude crushed the crab claw and picked out the steaming meat. Sunny looked over and said earnestly, "Even though I don't like it much, sometimes eating—eating..."

Before she could finish, she saw Bepo jump up and snatch the crab meat right out of Maude’s hand.

"Big Sis, crab meat is really delicious, way better than pork or rabbit!" Bepo stuffed the meat into his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he spoke indistinctly.

Sunny looked at the satisfied Bepo and said slowly, "Then you should eat more of it."

Bepo felt an inexplicable shiver, but didn't think much of it. He turned his attention to the various seafood on the stones and said regretfully, "But there isn't any left."

"I'll go get some more from them." Maude stood up and walked toward a nearby bonfire.

"Bring back plenty!" Sabo instructed.

"If there's any lobster, bring a couple of those too," added Koala, following her partner’s lead.

Maude gave them a "no problem" gesture. Passing by Lafitte, Maude slowed his pace and suddenly asked, "Lafitte, do you want more wine?"

Lafitte looked up at Maude, a flash of surprise in his eyes, and nodded: "I would be obliged."

Maude nodded slightly and turned to leave. Lafitte then glanced at the empty glass in his hand and the empty barrel lying on the ground beside him, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

A few minutes later, Maude returned with a pile of hard-shelled seafood and a barrel of wine. Bepo pounced on it first, broke off a crab claw, and placed it into Maude’s hand. Sunny took the claw from Maude’s hand and said, "Let me do it."

"Mm-hmm." Bepo shifted his gaze to the claw in Sunny’s hand, drool leaking from between his teeth. No matter what, he still preferred the crab meat.

Under Bepo’s expectant gaze, Sunny cracked the claw and picked out the plump meat.

"Thanks, Big Sis." Bepo’s eyes shone as he reached out his chubby hands toward Sunny.

Sunny gave Bepo a gentle smile, then slowly placed the meat into her own mouth, chewed a few times, and nodded: "It really is delicious."

"Big Sis..." Bepo was stunned.

Maude looked at Sunny, who was indulging in a rare bit of mischief, and chuckled softly, placing a wooden cup filled with wine in front of Bepo.

"Don't just eat meat, don't you love drinking?"

"But I wanted to eat more meat," Bepo muttered quietly, picking up the cup and drinking.

After a few gulps, he stumbled over to where Lafitte was. Lafitte watched silently as the tipsy Bepo approached him. With blurry eyes, Bepo held his cup high, slammed it hard against the glass in Lafitte’s hand, and declared boldly, "Down the hatch!"

After saying this, he tilted his head back and drained the cup. Lafitte didn't drink, simply watching with curiosity as Bepo suddenly became so lively.

Bepo shoved his empty cup toward Lafitte and, mimicking Thor’s tone, said arrogantly, "Little thing, pour me some wine."

"..." Lafitte was silent for a long moment, then picked up the barrel and filled Bepo’s cup.

Bepo looked at the wine in his cup and said with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad. From now on, you’re with me, *hic*..."

"Ho ho." Lafitte chuckled softly.

Hearing that laugh, Bepo paused, struggling to keep his eyelids open as he peered at Lafitte’s face, and suddenly fell silent.

On the other side of the bonfire, Sabo clinked his glass against Maude’s and suddenly asked, "Maude, do you want to join us?"

Morley and Koala heard this and set aside what they were doing, looking over quietly. Sunny also turned her head to look at Maude. Sabo’s sudden proposal took Maude by surprise.

At that very moment, Shanks and Yasopp walked over.

"Maude, do you want to join my ship?"

"Hm?" Sabo and the others looked toward Shanks.