At that moment, one of the weirdos whispered:
"Hey, we should go tell the boss right now. These guys give me a bad feeling."
As he said this, one of the pale, chubby weirdos pulled a wanted poster straight from his pocket.
It was Raynor's bounty poster: thirty million Belly.
Seeing Raynor's wanted poster, a dark-skinned weirdo got angry and said:
"Only thirty million? We burn through more than that every single month!"
"Right now, the important thing is catching up to those guys, not standing here scared of our own shadows!"
Hearing this, the pale, chubby weirdo thought for a moment, then spoke up:
"Then let's use Plan A. It hits most people right in their weak spot."
Hearing that, the dark-skinned weirdo got a sly gleam in his eye.
He picked up his walkie-talkie and said:
"Unit Two, Unit Two, listen up. Start Plan A. Do whatever it takes to stop the Straw Hats' speedboat!"
The moment he finished speaking, the weirdos up ahead flashed sinister grins and started putting the plan into action.
Raynor stayed alert, keeping an eye on the Franky Family, worried they might try something.
But just then, up ahead, a weirdo with a brown beard came into view.
He was hugging a fat guy dressed up like an old woman, crying his eyes out.
"Grandma! Grandma, what's wrong with you? Please wake up!"
As he said this, the brown-bearded weirdo looked around desperately.
"Hey, can someone please help me get my grandma to the hospital? I'm begging you!"
As he said this, the brown-bearded weirdo lowered his head for a second, flashing a nasty grin.
This was a signature move of the Franky Family.
They called it emotional blackmail.
It worked every single time on out-of-towners who didn't know any better.
While the brown-bearded weirdo was feeling pleased with himself, the jet ski slammed the throttle and shot right past them.
It even splashed water all over them.
Seeing that, the brown-bearded weirdo's eyes filled with disbelief.
"Wha—how is this possible? Plan A actually failed!"
Raynor had one hand on the throttle and the other clenched into a fist.
He was barely holding back the urge to jump off and punch those guys in the face.
What kind of garbage trick was that?
It was just plain stupid.
If anyone fell for that, they'd have to be the dumbest idiot of all idiots.
Raynor was thinking this when Nami turned around, a confused look on her face as she said:
"Hey... I think someone back there needed help..."
Before Nami could finish, she saw the strained expression on Raynor's face and quickly covered her mouth.
Seeing her reaction, Raynor wiped a hand down his face in frustration.
Sure enough, the Straw Hats were all idiots under the right circumstances.
Meanwhile, the dark-skinned weirdo had a serious look in his eyes.
"Dammit, what a bunch of cold-hearted bastards. Since Plan A didn't work, we'll move to Plan B. Let them feel what real despair is!"
Nami and Raynor kept moving forward, but suddenly a loud rumbling sound echoed from up ahead.
Around them, the townsfolk started screaming in panic.
"Hey, what are the Franky Family up to now? Don't those creeps ever stop?!"
"Shut up! Keep your voice down, or they'll target you!"
Hearing the commotion, Nami looked around and her face went pale with fear.
Then, in the sky above, a huge ship came crashing down.
And it wasn't just one.
Ship after ship landed, completely blocking off the waterways of Water 7.
Five massive ships stretched across the main route, stopping every vessel in its tracks.
No one could move forward.
The townspeople were wailing in despair, but none of them dared complain against the powerful Franky Family.
Then, from the frontmost ship, a bunch of weirdos climbed out and pointed their guns at Raynor and Nami.
"Hey! Stop right there! You've got nowhere to run! Just hand over the gold, and we won't hurt you!"
Hearing this, Raynor's face stayed cold, but a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Finally, the Franky Family was pulling out something worth taking seriously.
Raynor checked the depth of the waterway. With the jet ski's size, diving underwater probably wasn't an option.
With that in mind, he quickly skimmed through the jet ski's instruction manual.
Then he pressed the rocket launch button, followed quickly by the middle acceleration button.
Seeing this, Nami's eyes widened with alarm.
She remembered what happened last time when Luffy pressed the rocket button randomly, and terror flashed across her face.
"Hey! Raynor! Don't pull a Luffy on me!"
As she shouted, Nami started struggling frantically.
But after a moment, she slowly calmed down.
A confused look crossed her face, because the jet ski didn't look like it was about to blast off into the sky. Instead, its frame started to compress.
Then, the thrusters at the back ignited and the jet ski lurched forward with explosive speed.
Nami made a mental note of this.
So pressing the rocket button first and then the acceleration button activated a horizontal rocket dash mode.
Watching the jet ski barrel straight toward them, the Franky Family members were struck with terror.
"Hey, what's wrong with these guys?! Are they trying to kill themselves?!"
"Forget that—why is their boat so damn fast?! At this rate, we're all gonna crash!"
Just as they thought that, the jet ski slammed right into them.
In an instant, all five ships burst apart.
Civilians on both sides scattered in panic.
The Franky Family members were all launched into the sky, then splashed into the water.
By the time they got their bearings, Raynor and Nami were long gone.
The Franky Family, staring at the scattered pieces of wreckage floating around them, were shaken.
"Who the hell are those guys? They're carrying all that gold, so how do they still have this much power?"
"We need to report this to Franky, the boss. Today, we've met our match!"
...
After shaking off the Franky Family, Raynor canceled rocket mode, letting the jet ski settle back to a smooth ride.
By this point, Nami was scared out of her wits, sitting in the driver's seat with her face completely pale.
Seeing that, Raynor didn't bother with her. He just took control of the jet ski and kept moving forward.
They rode along for a while, Raynor scanning the area until he locked onto a bank that looked decently sized.
He steered the jet ski straight toward it.
Just then, the system's notification sound suddenly rang out.
[Ding! Congratulations, host. A story mission has been triggered: Invite Franky to join the crew. Upon completion, you will receive 2000 points of all-attribute experience, various forging materials, and a blueprint for the Hyperbolic Time Chamber forge.]
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