𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙄𝙣 𝙀𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 ꒐ ℤ𝕠𝕣𝕠

(10) 𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓢𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓼

.•♫•♬• Song •♬•♫•.

• 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴: 𝘔𝘢𝘥 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥

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"I’ve never seen a house this big before," Luffy whispered, eyes wide and practically bouncing with excitement. He craned his neck, trying to take in the entirety of the mansion looming before them, a childish grin plastered across his face.

"Impressive, right?" Usopp exclaimed, puffing out his chest slightly. He leaned back, striking a pose, clearly pleased with himself for having brought them to such a place.

"It's pretty impressive for a mansion," Scarlet mumbled to herself, her gaze distant. Her brow furrowed slightly, a shadow of a memory flickering across her face as she recalled the far grander mansion she had left behind. She unconsciously clenched her fist for a moment, the memory bitter on her tongue.

"Kaya’s given me an open invitation to drop by anytime I want," Usopp boasted.

"Wow," Luffy breathed, awestruck, his eyes practically sparkling.

"All of this just for one person?"

"Well, she lives here with her butler and a few other staff," Usopp clarified, his voice dropping slightly, as if even he felt a little overwhelmed by the scale of it all. Luffy let out a long, impressed whistle, his eyes scanning the building again with renewed wonder.

"Money really shows you who people truly are," Nami spoke solemnly, her arms crossed and features hardening. She stared at the mansion, her gaze almost accusatory.

"No, it doesn't... money is only outer exterior," Scarlet replied, her voice laced with a defensive edge. She bit her lip, her eyes darting away, clearly affected by Nami's comment. There was a tremor in her voice, as if she were trying to convince herself as much as anyone else.

"Most people only care about themselves and what’s theirs," Nami spoke, her gaze unwavering, but not quite meeting Scarlet's eyes. A subtle tension filled the space between them.

Before Scarlet could respond, Zoro scoffed at Nami saying "Sounds like someone I know," Scarlet rolled her eyes. She glanced back and forth between Nami and Zoro, a mixture of exasperation and concern etched on her face, wishing they could find some common ground.

Even though Nami got the dig, she didn't show it, maintaining her composed facade.

"And a small staff makes for easy pickings," she added, a sly glint returning to her eyes.

"Why? Gonna rob the place blind?" Zoro asked bluntly, his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in amusement.

"At least a little blurry," Nami replied, her smirk widening, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Scarlet let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head at Nami but clearly finding her antics amusing.

"So if you have an invitation, why are we going around the back way?" Luffy asked out of nowhere, tilting his head in confusion. His question cut through the tension like a knife.

Everyone's heads snapped towards him and then to Usopp, searching for an explanation.

"I never use the front entrance," Usopp replied, a nervous smile plastered on his face. His eyes darted around, as if searching for an escape route. "This is more of a VIP entrance reserved for special guests," he added quickly, trying to sound confident, but his voice betrayed his nervousness.

"This guy’s full of shit," Zoro mumbled, unimpressed, his arms tightening to his chest. He narrowed his eyes at Usopp, radiating suspicion.

"How the fuck does Luffy even buy it?" Scarlet grumbled from behind Zoro, rolling her eyes.