In the galley.
Luffy carried out a large pot of seafood congee. You could lack anything on the sea, but you'd never lack seafood.
"At least this is edible."
Luffy's face was full of exhaustion. He felt that compared to this kind of skilled handiwork, reading was better.
He didn't like working with his hands!
"Luffy, you actually made it?" Usopp's face was full of disbelief.
"Want to try it?" Luffy was quite confident.
Would trying it mean his demise?
To be honest, Usopp was already full. More than an hour had passed, and it was proven that Sanji's cooking skills were truly top-notch; he could teach Luffy while continuously producing meals.
Even Zoro endured Sanji's provoking remarks; this shitty cook's skills really had something to them.
Luffy's eye for talent... was it really this good?
Thinking about it carefully, it really was.
Nami the navigator went without saying. Although Zoro always thought she was a troublesome woman, her navigation skills were very high.
Sanji, the shitty cook, had excellent culinary skills and kick-based martial arts.
Plus, himself, a future Great Swordsman.
Usopp: "???"
"Not bad."
Nami did him the favor of drinking a bowl and said, "We're very close to the Grand Line. We'll reach Twin Capes in a few days."
"The supplies Nojiko and the villagers gave us are enough for half a month at sea, but there's a large town nearby. Should we go resupply before entering the Grand Line?"
After all, they knew very little about the Grand Line. The only ones related to the Grand Line they had met were the Krieg Pirates at the Baratie, whose so-called 5,000-man fleet was reduced by more than half in just a few days after entering.
And then there was that great swordsman Hawk-Eyes, who defeated Zoro without giving him a chance to fight back.
"Let's go, let's go!"
Information flashed through Luffy's mind. The most famous place in the East Blue was undoubtedly Loguetown, known as the Town of the Beginning and the End.
The execution site of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, over twenty years ago.
The Great Pirate Era also began at that time.
It was said that those who witnessed that execution had now all become major figures renowned in their own right.
"Sounds good. I'll go change my sword too," Zoro nodded.
Sanji: "Leave the resupplying to me."
Usopp: "I'll go see if there's anything to enhance the Merry's combat power."
Talking among themselves, they had pretty much settled the ship's matters.
This was the benefit of having nakama.
The dreams he had talked about with Uta when he was little seemed to have already come true: traveling around the world, meeting all sorts of people, eating lots of delicious food.
"Grand Line, here we come!"
[Warning. It is now time for the (Study with Nami) plan. Please execute immediately..... Detected conflict with upcoming events. Allocating time based on importance of judged significant events..... Please proceed to the next target's side as soon as possible. Countdown: three minutes.]
Luffy, who had just been cheering, immediately wore an expression like someone had killed his parents.
Even though he didn't even know who his parents were.
"Do you know how little I've eaten, you bastard?!"
Luffy, who had just relaxed, felt like a knife was being held to his crotch again.
Next target? Who is the next target?
Luffy didn't have the leisure to eat properly; he stuffed everything visible into his mouth.
His gaze swept over Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp... Something's not right.
If it were them, why use vague terms like 'next target'?
After having vast amounts of knowledge poured into his brain, Luffy was now quite good at using his head.
"What's wrong?" Nami asked.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about what to do later..."
"L-let's go."
Nami stood up, looking at Luffy, her arms crossed.
"Go where?"
Luffy asked, puzzled.
"Back to the room. Don't you still have things you don't understand about navigation?... Just so you know, I'll charge fees from now on. Otherwise, you're always getting a free ride from me."
Nami chattered on, not sure if she was making an excuse for Luffy or for herself.
Why did she suddenly feel particularly expectant about this?
Aah, what am I thinking?!
No, actually, I just want to continue enriching myself. After all, we'll face more complex maritime situations after entering the Grand Line; she wanted to become an even better navigator.
Sh-she just wanted to study with Luffy and improve together, that's all! We're nakama!
Was the emphasis on studying together, or on improving together?
Nami felt her face getting a bit hot.
Boom!
Just then, the sound of cannon fire came from outside.
"Huh?"
"What's going on? Pirates or Marines?"
"Quick, go out and look!"
The group rushed onto the deck.
Luffy saw three ships engaged in a firefight in the distance.
Huge columns of water erupted on the sea surface not far away, the splashes from cannonballs even spraying near the Going Merry.
"A naval battle?" Luffy was a bit distracted. Under normal circumstances, he would have flown over long ago.
Ahead, a pirate ship flying a ferocious Jolly Roger was frantically pouring cannon fire onto two other ships.
One of them was a Marine warship!
Next to it was an extremely ornate large sailing ship, with a pure white hull and towering masts. Most importantly, the flag flying at its masthead was the World Government flag, symbolizing the world's highest authority!
"Is that a World Government ship?" Nami exclaimed.
Did pirates in the East Blue have the guts to attack a ship bearing the World Government flag?
[Warning. Please proceed to the target area immediately...]
Luffy instantly connected the dots in his mind.
The next target he needed to stay near was likely on that ship.
Time waits for no one!
"Nami, I'm going over there first!"
"Eh? Wait, Luffy! That's a World Government ship, it's dangerous..." Nami shouted urgently, but before she could finish, Luffy's stretched-out hand had already grabbed the mast of that ship.
At this moment, on the ship flying the World Government flag.
The deck was in disarray.
The guards were all defeated, lying haphazardly on the ground.
In the center of them stood an old man, nervously shielding a red-haired girl behind him.
"Uta, there's a secret passage in my room that leads directly to the Germa 66 submarine below the ship. I'll hold them off, you run."
"N-no, I can't..."
Uta shook her head desperately.
A far cry from her dazzling stage persona as a songstress, her cheeks now bore a sickly flush, her breathing was somewhat labored, her bright purple eyes were slightly unfocused, and her body swayed slightly. She was clearly running a high fever, in an extremely weak state, standing only by sheer willpower.
"Time... just right!"
The sound in his ears stopped. Luffy gasped for breath, patting his straw hat.
As he had guessed, the so-called 'next target' was indeed here.
Luffy shook his head and looked around; he seemed to be right in the middle of several groups of people.
What's the situation here?
Luffy's gaze swept around and settled on the songstress not far away.
Their eyes met.
"Uta?!!"
***
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