As the sun finally came out, Zoro once again doubted if joining Luffy at sea was a wise choice.
After setting sail, they had first intended to go to Orange Town, and then to find Nami, so they turned back towards Bellemere's village.
However, just as dawn was breaking, the sea suddenly churned with waves. After a fierce storm, they had no idea where they had ended up.
Fortunately, though Luffy's boat didn't look big, it was very sturdy, managing to prevent the two of them from having to swim like fish to the next island.
Oh, it was only Zoro swimming, because Luffy was a Devil Fruit user and a landlubber who couldn't swim at all.
But after being tossed by the waves, they didn't recognize anything. They just felt surrounded by a vast ocean, where every view looked the same.
"I thought the seas around the sea of chaos wouldn't be affected," Zoro couldn't help but sigh. "To think that such a large area of the sea was caused by a battle. The Pirate King is truly incredible."
"The Pirate King?!" Luffy had little interest in other things, but perked up as soon as he heard the words "Pirate King." "What, what? Is this place related to the Pirate King?!"
"What? You don't know?!" Zoro was shocked. "Are you really from the East Blue? How could you not know about this?"
"Huh?" Luffy scratched his cheek with his hand. "What? Is this place famous?"
"Of course!" Zoro explained. "This was the last battle of the Pirate King Roger's life. His opponent was a powerful demon. That battle lasted a long time, and their fight permanently turned this area into a forbidden zone. The Marines' ability to capture Roger was also related to this battle."
"I heard that the Marine Admiral at the time, Akainu, sensed this battle. After Roger defeated the demon, he clashed with Akainu. In the end, Akainu defeated Roger, and not long after, Roger was executed."
"How despicable!" Luffy couldn't help but say. "Sister Akainu took advantage of his weakened state!"
Luffy's mind conjured the image of the blue-haired woman. After Shanks left the East Blue, she came to the East Blue with many Marines and stayed in Fuusha Village for a few days, so he had some impression of Akainu. He hadn't expected Akainu to be the one who captured the Pirate King.
Seeing Luffy's indignant expression, Zoro was a bit speechless. He continued, "However, there are other theories. There are rumors that Roger and Akainu actually joined forces to defeat a powerful demon, and after the demon was defeated, the two of them engaged in a fated duel. Some say Roger set a trap to team up with the demon to deal with Akainu. In short, there are many rumors here, as people always like to invent stories about important figures."
Luffy rubbed his chin, then suddenly said, "Alright! Then let's go and see the sea of chaos!"
"I already told you it's a forbidden zone. With this small boat, it would probably be torn apart as soon as we entered," Zoro said, too tired to talk to him anymore. He changed the subject. "We need to find a small island for supplies quickly, otherwise we'll be stuck at sea to die."
As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy rubbed his stomach again. "I'm hungry."
Zoro froze. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon and had been running all night. By now, he was a bit hungry too.
Suddenly, his face turned pale. "You're not going to tell me there's no food on your boat, are you?"
Luffy's expression was natural. "Ah, it seems I've already eaten it all."
A well symbol appeared on Zoro's forehead. He suppressed the urge to draw his sword and shouted, "Then hurry up and row to find some food!"
"Right!" Luffy suddenly punched his palm, and the two of them immediately started rowing, preparing to find a place to land.
They searched for several hours.
"I... I can't do it anymore," Luffy dropped the oar he was holding and suddenly slumped onto the boat, groaning feebly. "I'm starving to death..."
Zoro became even angrier. "Get your spirit up!"
He was also hungry, but he knew they couldn't stop. If they really stopped in the middle of the sea, they would only have the heavens to save them.
"Can't row anymore..." Luffy looked like he was about to melt, his body extremely limp, like a puddle of mud.
Just as Zoro was about to say something more, he suddenly froze. He looked at a building in front of them and exclaimed with joy, "Excellent! We found it!"
"Found it?!" Luffy, who had been like a puddle of mud moments before, suddenly stood up. His eyes sparkled as he peered in the direction Zoro was looking.
He only saw a giant ship floating on the blue sea. Well, it couldn't be called giant, but it was definitely much larger than the small boat they were in.
A big ship meant supplies, it meant food!
And as Luffy stood up, he also smelled a fragrance wafting from afar. He could hardly contain his appetite.
"Hurry, hurry!" Luffy's mouth watered as he suddenly accelerated his rowing, catching Zoro by surprise.
"What a load of nonsense, you still have plenty of energy," Zoro grumbled, but he wasn't any slower. The two of them quickly cooperated and reached the side of the ship.
After all, he was hungry too.
As they got closer, Zoro recognized the ship.
Zoro examined the ship, as if remembering something, and said, "So it's the Sea Restaurant. I didn't expect us to be swept to this kind of place by the waves. Speaking of which, we're quite lucky."
"Sea Restaurant?" Luffy was curious again.
Gradually getting used to Luffy's ignorance, Zoro said, "This is a restaurant that operates exclusively at sea, offering all sorts of delicious food. I heard the owner was once the personal chef of 'Big Mom,' one of the Four Emperors in the Grand Line. But for some reason, he returned to the East Blue to open this restaurant. Sometimes members of the Big Mom Pirates even come here to pick up some food."
This was thanks to the well-established bounty system established by the World Government. When Zoro went to the mission hall, he noticed that the Sea Restaurant often posted quests, mainly for collecting ingredients from various places, especially the meat of all sorts of strange and powerful animals.
Zoro hadn't taken on such a mission himself, but he learned about this place because of it.
"Four Emperors?" Luffy was curious again.
Zoro couldn't help but hold his forehead. But then he thought that if it weren't for his master, he probably wouldn't have known about the Four Emperors in the New World either. So, he explained to Luffy, "The Four Emperors are the four strongest among all pirates. They reign like emperors, hence they are called the Four Emperors. But knowing this is useless now. Let's fill our stomachs first."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Luffy rush into the Sea Restaurant and start loudly ordering food.
Zoro sighed and followed him.
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