Chapter 36: Adventure on Gold Island!
Miss Kaya had thoughtfully prepared a full month's worth of food supplies for the Going Merry's maiden voyage.
However, she had severely underestimated the terrifying appetite of the rubber girl Lufia.
The mountain-like pile of food, under Lufia's whirlwind-like assault, lasted merely two days before being completely depleted.
Staring at the empty food storage, Lufia showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and wore an inexplicably proud expression that seemed to say, "Look how amazing I am!"
"I'm starving, starving! Ralph! Nami! Zoro! Usopp! Is there no more meat?" Lufia rubbed her growling stomach as she collapsed weakly on the deck.
Zoro was equally hungry. Clinging to a last shred of hope, he joined her in rummaging through the storage room.
They found no food, but in one corner, they discovered a heavy small package.
"Oh? Hidden so carefully, it must be something delicious!" Lufia's eyes lit up as she snatched the package and eagerly opened it.
However, instead of the expected dried meat or rice crackers, it contained gleaming gold coins and several small gold ornaments.
"What's this... treasure..."
Lufia instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, pouting as she tossed the package aside. "You can't eat this stuff, what's the point!"
Zoro, somewhat curious, picked up the package and weighed it in his hand. "Didn't we leave our previous treasure for Orange Town's reconstruction, or lose it when the 'Swan' sank? Where did this come from?"
Nami, who had been studying charts by the railing, rushed over and snatched the treasure.
"Of course I took it from the Black Cat Pirates' warehouse. Did you think I joined your adventures to do charity work?"
Zoro recalled the situation at the time—they were being chased by Kuro's men, and Nami had to drag his unconscious self to escape. He couldn't help but complain:
"Weren't we running for our lives then?" You still had the mind and time to steal treasure? Truly living up to your name, 'Cat Burglar'."
Nami rolled her eyes internally.
Of course!
When I worked alone, not only were the profits higher, but the risks were controllable.
Since boarding this pirate ship of yours, I've been through life and death situations, and what I've lost outweighs what I've gained!
At this rate, when will I ever save up 100 million Berry to buy back Cocoyasi Village...
She raised her telescope, carefully observing the ocean currents and cloud formations in the surrounding sea, muttering to herself:
"According to the charts and old sailors' legends, the treasure island of 'Golden Great Pirate' Woonan—Gold Island, said to contain one-third of the world's gold—should be somewhere near these waters... If we could find Gold Island and get Woonan's treasure map... Then maybe I could reach my 100 million Berry goal in one go!"
Seeing Nami scanning with her telescope, Lufia thought she was helping look for food and asked expectantly:
"Nami! How is it? Do you see any islands with food?"
Nami angrily lowered her telescope, placing her hands on her hips as she scolded: "You idiot captain! You finished a whole month's food in two days—shouldn't you be reflecting on that?!"
Lufia pouted sadly, her logic simple and direct: "When you're hungry, you eat!"
"You need to be full to have energy for adventures! What's wrong with that?"
While the group was still arguing over food and treasure, Usopp's desperate shouts and the extreme creaking of a bending fishing rod echoed from the ship's side.
"Hooked! Hooked! Can you feel it? This million-ton pull! This sensation of conquering the seas! It must be the world's largest fish! Watch as Captain Usopp reels it in, making everyone eat until their stomachs burst..."
However, the reactions on deck remained indifferent.
In the days since Usopp joined the crew, aside from Lufia who would earnestly listen to his boasts and take them seriously, Zoro and Nami had long become immune to his exaggerations.
This guy claimed to be the Fishing King when bragging, boasting that legendary Sea Kings had all been defeated by him. But his actual track record... his best achievement was catching a worn-out boot tangled with seaweed and a few empty liquor bottles.
"This time is different!"
Usopp argued with a reddened face and strained neck, gripping the fishing rod tightly. "This time the bait I used... was a living person!"
As his words fell—
"Splash!"
A white explosion of water erupted from the sea surface!
A figure shot out from underwater like a dolphin, landing gracefully on the deck—it was Ralph!
Soaked but spirited, he held a large fishing net in his hands. With a powerful pull, he dragged the net onto the deck, revealing a glittering, lively catch—various sea fish of all kinds, an abundant harvest!
"Fish! It's fish!" Lufia and Zoro's eyes instantly turned wolfish green, pouncing toward the fishing net like two bolts of lightning!
Zoro's blade flashed as he skillfully deboned and scaled several plump sea fish, transforming them into translucent, cicada-wing-thin slices of sashimi.
Lufia was even more direct, grabbing a piece of fish still dripping with seawater and stuffing it into her mouth. Chewing vigorously, she cheered through muffled bites: "Mmph! Delicious! Ralph! You're amazing! You're literally my savior!"
[Ding! Lufia receives critical food supply during extreme hunger. Happiness and dependency skyrocket. Favorability +3%]
[Current favorability: 90%]
Hearing the system prompt and Lufia's satisfied praise, a relieved smile appeared on Ralph's tired face.
Being able to satisfy Lufia when she needed it most was the greatest demonstration of his value.
Moreover, this fishing expedition wasn't merely labor.
Using the Soru technique to herd fish through high-speed underwater movement and employing Observation Haki to sense the fish's movements—this itself served as unconventional training for combat skills.
He vaguely sensed that his application of Soru had become more refined and precise. Though he wondered what realm lay beyond the advanced level.
Simultaneously, deep diving in complex ocean currents while relying only on Usopp's makeshift safety line made from fishing wire posed a significant test and training opportunity for his Intermediate Swimming skill.
He believed that continuing like this would soon elevate his swimming skill to an advanced level.
If every skill held such immense potential for development, Ralph couldn't help but feel ambitious, unable to imagine just how powerful he might eventually become.
Just as everyone was immersed in the satisfaction brought by the food, Ralph's Observation Haki keenly detected a discordant disturbance.
His gaze swept toward the stern and immediately spotted three suspicious strangers who had somehow boarded the Going Merry unnoticed. They were hauling items out from the cabin.
One of them was clutching Nami's recently unearthed treasure!
"Thieves!"
Following Ralph's line of sight, Nami let out a piercing scream, her heart aching as if suffocated. "Catch them! My treasure!"
However, her cries were met with utter "peace."
Lufia, her mouth stuffed with sashimi, looked up blankly. "Thieves? Are they bad guys? Nami, aren't you a thief yourself?"
Usopp, perhaps still inherently wary of fights, muttered under his breath, "Just let it go... After all, that treasure was stolen by you in the first place..."
Zoro didn't even bother looking up, fully focused on competing with Lufia for food. All he knew was that if he didn't eat quickly, the remaining food would be devoured by Lufia.
Ralph was the only one who reacted.
"Regardless of who originally owned this treasure, since it's now on the Going Merry, it belongs to us, the Straw Hat Pirates! That's pirate logic! Trying to steal from us? Not a chance!"
Before the words faded, his figure vanished like a ghost from where he stood, instantly reappearing in front of the three thieves who were preparing to leap overboard and escape.
Watching Ralph step forward to defend their possessions, Nami felt indescribably conflicted.
Though Ralph's "pirate logic" sounded equally unscrupulous, their stance on "protecting treasure" was surprisingly aligned!
Among a crew of eccentric companions who showed little concern for wealth, finally seeing someone who understood the importance of money—can you imagine how moved Nami felt at that moment?!
The three thieves, realizing they had been exposed, panicked and tried to jump onto the small rescue boat below.
But Ralph was faster!
Clang!
The high-quality longsword newly fastened at his waist was drawn fiercely!
Instead of using the sharp blade, he swiftly and precisely struck the backs of their necks with the flat of the sword, like tapping a wooden fish.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The three thieves collapsed instantly, unconscious on the deck without even a chance to scream.
Ralph coldly tapped one of their cheeks with the blade to wake him. "Cooperate if you want to live."
Under the deterrence of absolute force, the three petty thieves proved unexpectedly compliant.
Not only did they hand over the rice balls they carried as rations, but they also unhesitatingly betrayed their accomplice waiting in the small boat below.
Drawn by the aroma of the rice balls, Lufia immediately gravitated toward them like a magnet.
If Zoro hadn't swiftly snatched half, these precious rice balls would have vanished into Lufia's bottomless stomach in an instant.
Hearing that there was still a rescue boat below, Lufia's eyes lit up, hoping to find more food. She even flashed a bright smile at the three bound thieves: "Thank you for bringing the rice balls! You're such good people!"
The three thieves, who had just been "friend-zoned" by pirates, exchanged bewildered glances, their minds in turmoil:
What era is this?!
The local pirates are way too polite!
In the end, before Ralph even needed to use Hypnosis for interrogation, the three thieves voluntarily revealed their origins.
They were subordinates of the pirate Eldoraggo, tasked with searching these waters for the legendary Golden great pirate Woonan's hidden treasure trove—Gold Island.
By chance, they discovered the Going Merry and, seeing that there didn't seem to be many people on board, decided to seize the opportunity to make some extra cash.
"Gold Island?!"
Upon hearing the name, Nami's eyes instantly lit up with an alarming intensity, and she immediately wanted to press for more information about Gold Island and the treasure map.
As for Ralph, the moment he heard "Eldoraggo" and "Gold Island," a flash of clarity struck his mind like lightning, and a long-buried memory suddenly became vivid!
That's right! One Piece: The Movie!
His heart jolted. Then, according to the original plot... Lufia would...
"Oh no! Lufia is in danger!"
Ralph's expression abruptly changed. Without another thought for interrogation, his figure blurred as he leaped from the deck, landing precisely on the small rescue boat below.
Sure enough, Lufia was still rummaging through the boat, trying to uncover more hidden food.
Almost simultaneously with Ralph's landing, the silhouette of a large ship flying a menacing pirate flag appeared on the distant horizon!
Immediately afterward, Ralph's Observation Haki sent a powerful warning of imminent danger!
He snapped his head up and saw an exceptionally tall and burly figure standing at the prow of the pirate ship.
The man opened his mouth wide, and from deep within his throat came a low, inhuman roar, like the howl of a storm!
A terrifying shockwave, visible to the naked eye and condensed into a beam, tore through the air like an invisible cannon, carrying a destructive aura as it hurtled directly toward the small boat they were on!
According to the "original plot," Lufia should have been alone on the small boat at this moment, struck by this shockwave and thrown into the water, leading to the temporary separation of the Straw Hat crew before they reunited on Gold Island.
But with Ralph here, how could he allow such a thing to happen?!
His very presence would inevitably cause deviations in the plot.
What if Lufia fell into the water and wasn't rescued in time?
The vast sea held too many variables! He couldn't take that risk!
Although his current strength wasn't enough to confront such a powerful shockwave head-on, he could at least ensure that Lufia didn't bear the brunt of it!
"Lufia! Watch out!"
Seeing the shockwave about to engulf the small boat, Ralph shouted, swiftly scooping up Lufia—who was still bent over searching for food—into his arms. At the same time, he pushed off with all his might, stomping violently on the boat's deck!
"Boom!"
The wooden boat instantly shattered under Ralph's tremendous force, and he used the recoil to leap into the air with Lufia, narrowly avoiding disaster.
The terrifying shockwave grazed the soles of their feet, slamming violently into the spot where they had just been.
Its power far exceeded Ralph's expectations, not only completely obliterating the remnants of the boat but also blasting a colossal wave across the sea!
The powerful surge acted like an invisible giant hand, violently shoving the nearby Going Merry away. Within moments, it became a distant speck on the horizon, far beyond even Lufia's stretched-out reach.
"Splash!"
Ralph, still holding Lufia tightly, plunged heavily into the icy seawater.
The moment she touched the water, Lufia went limp as if all her bones and strength had been drained, unable to move even a finger—the fatal weakness of a Devil Fruit user laid bare.
Clutching her firmly, Ralph treaded water vigorously, his eyes scanning their surroundings rapidly.
Fortunately, a relatively large and intact piece of ship plank was floating nearby. He swam vigorously toward it, pushing Lufia onto the plank first and making sure she held on tightly.
"Lufia! Hold on tight! Don't let go!" Ralph urgently reminded her.
However, just as he was about to climb onto the plank himself, a plot-related character flashed through his mind.
Damn! That child!
He remembered that in the original plot, there was another child who had fallen into the water alongside Lufia!
Without the slightest hesitation, Ralph shouted to Lufia, "Wait for me!" took a deep breath, and plunged back into the seawater.
He dived down with all his strength, extending his Observation Haki as far as possible underwater to sense his surroundings.
Sure enough, not far below the surface, he spotted a small figure struggling and sinking!
Just as he thought!
Cursing inwardly at the risks brought by altering the plot, Ralph swiftly swam over, scooped up the child who was on the verge of losing consciousness, and struggled to swim back to the surface.
Deviating from the "script" was truly dangerous!
A single careless moment, and a main character from the movie version would have almost met an early end right at the start!
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