With red stars in his eyes, Sanji moved along a strange trajectory and arrived beside Nami.
"Do you have any more, crappy cook? Give me one too."
Zoro, who had just finished training, sniffed with his nose and also came over.
"You mosshead! If you want to eat, go chew flour in the kitchen yourself!"
"What did you say, you pervy kappa?!"
Watching the two of them start fighting again, Nami was speechless.
Although all sorts of butterfly effects existed, this group of people had still come together through certain specific bonds of fate.
"Don't be afraid. They're always like this."
Nami comforted Apis beside her.
"Mm!"
Although she was still a little nervous, Apis, who was no longer that afraid now that they were about to reach Battleship Island, nodded hard.
According to legend, the bones of the Millennium Dragon could be used to make a medicine of immortality, so wicked people all wanted to obtain this legendary animal.
Apis had accidentally discovered an old Millennium Dragon and become good friends with it. Because of that, she had been captured by the corrupt Marine Commodore Nelson, who wanted to obtain the dragon's bones.
Nelson forced her to reveal the Millennium Dragon's location. In order to protect the Millennium Dragon, she desperately escaped from the Marine ship and fled out onto the sea in a small boat.
When she was lost at sea, Luffy happened to save her and bring her aboard.
Just as Apis was about to taste the cake brought over by the chef, her ears suddenly twitched.
Apis raised her head and looked at the sky. She discovered several seagulls flying over the ship, letting out low cries.
Her expression immediately became ugly. She stood up and anxiously said to everyone on the ship, who had been messing around,
"Everyone, this is bad! Someone is rushing over from straight ahead. According to the seagulls, those people make them feel even more frightened than the Marines we encountered before!"
Hearing Apis say this, everyone stopped moving.
Apis was a Whisper-Whisper Fruit user, able to understand the language of animals.
Because of that, she could obtain information from animals' conversations.
"I feel it too. Someone really is coming."
"Five people."
Luffy and Usopp spoke at the same time.
After their special training, the two of them had both already awakened Observation Haki.
And after the two of them finished speaking, five figures began appearing on the horizon.
"That aura... They're really strong!"
Usopp looked at the figures attacking toward their pirate ship and could not help swallowing, his voice trembling slightly.
Luffy's face, however, had already become expressionless.
Those familiar with him all knew that once Luffy's face lost its expression, it meant he had become truly serious.
Sanji and Zoro each stepped forward, blocking Nami and Apis behind them.
The figures on the sea rushed toward the Going Merry at extremely high speed. Only when they got closer did Luffy and the others discover that each of them had a strange little motorboat beneath their feet.
Whoosh!
One figure leapt straight off his little motorboat. After flipping twice in the air, he landed steadily and easily on the railing of the Going Merry.
His original motorboat gradually cut its engine and stopped not far from the Going Merry. The four people behind him also jumped aboard one after another.
"Phew~ After wandering around East Blue for so long, we finally found a place to rest our feet."
The person who had arrived had a head of striking blond hair and a long scar over his left eye.
Usopp rubbed his eyes. Just now, he felt as if he had seen the area around the other man's ankles turn into two springs.
After arriving on the Going Merry, the man first let out a breath, then quickly looked over the ship's surroundings while speaking.
"Straw Hat Luffy. A pirate with a bounty of thirty million Beli, currently the pirate with the highest bounty in East Blue?"
Although it was a question, that man spoke in a tone of certainty.
"Yeah. I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to become the Pirate King. Who are you people?"
Luffy asked.
Sanji's expression was somewhat grave as he said,
"The aura coming from this guy is really strong."
"That's right. We really aren't from East Blue. We came to East Blue from the Grand Line to handle some business."
The newcomer frankly admitted it.
"You came from the Grand Line?"
When they heard those words, everyone immediately raised their vigilance to the highest level.
"I don't have any interest in your pirate crew. I just want to rest on your ship for a bit. While I'm at it, I also want to ask whether you know any information."
The newcomer sensed the vigilance in Zoro and the others' eyes, but he did not care in the slightest and continued speaking to himself.
"Hey! Bellamy, stop wasting time. The serious matter comes first!"
The other four people on the motorboats below also climbed onto the Going Merry. One of the three with rather fiery tempers spoke up.
"What are you so anxious about, Ideo? Don't forget what Captain Gin and the others told us. Don't look down on any sea. Even in East Blue, known as the weakest sea, a few strong people might still pop up.
"Have you forgotten? Two years ago, East Blue produced a monster like Fire Fist Ace."
Bellamy shot back rudely.
"Captain Gin?"
When Luffy and the others saw that the man called Bellamy showed a bit of respect in his eyes when saying that name, they took note of it.
"Stop arguing. Don't delay our real business. Let's ask about the information first."
Among the five of them, a man with blue hair and especially long legs spoke.
Then he turned his gaze toward Luffy and the others.
"You're the Straw Hat Pirates, right? I want to ask, do any of you know anything about the Millennium Dragon?"
"The Millennium Dragon?!"
When they heard the question, the expressions on their faces changed slightly without them meaning to.
These people had come for the Millennium Dragon!
In particular, Apis, who was hiding behind Nami, could not help clutching her clothes tightly when she heard it.
"Oh? Looks like you do know. That really is an unexpected gain."
When the blue-haired, long-legged man saw the slight change in their expressions, he was first a little surprised, then somewhat delighted.
He truly had not expected that a random group of people he happened to encounter on the sea would actually know the information they needed. This really was quite lucky.
"No, we don't..."
(End of Chapter)
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