Chapter 33: A Leisurely Day
"Then, can you defeat Crocodile?"
Nami asked hopefully.
She knew that she and the others would most likely encounter that powerful Great Pirate on their upcoming journey.
If Dante Voss could deal with him, then she would feel at ease.
Vivi also looked at Dante Voss expectantly; she, too, wanted Dante Voss to help her deal with Crocodile.
Compared to Luffy, who had just set sail, Vivi trusted Dante Voss, who had a bounty of 100 million, more.
After all, that troublesome Great Pirate only had a bounty of 80 million.
Looking at their expectant eyes, Dante Voss still shook his head.
"Currently, I'm not Crocodile's opponent. He's a Logia Devil Fruit Ability user; in the desert, his strength is not inferior to an Admiral."
Crocodile being defeated in Alabasta was somewhat of a plot kill.
Otherwise, how could the current Luffy possibly defeat Crocodile?
However, Dante Voss had some confidence against this Shichibukai, who was afraid of water.
The opponent was accustomed to being arrogant in Alabasta; if Dante Voss could get some water on his bloodthirsty sword, there was a certain chance of taking him down.
This was the only Logia user Dante Voss had a chance to defeat; Dante Voss had no way to deal with the elementalization of other Logia users.
Although Dante Voss had upgraded his Swordsmanship to Great Swordsman, without Haki, he still couldn't grasp the physical form of a Logia user.
"I see!"
Nami lowered her head in disappointment.
She felt even less optimistic about their future path.
If even Dante Voss, with such powerful strength, couldn't defeat Crocodile, how could they defeat him?
Vivi's Spirits also sank; the confidence she had just gained was lowered again by Dante Voss's words.
She felt a deep sense of powerlessness regarding her country's plight.
"Don't worry! I'll be the one to send that Crocodile flying!"
Seeing everyone's low Spirits, Luffy said with a grin.
Hearing Luffy's voice, the others felt a little better.
Dante Voss smiled and didn't tell them about Crocodile's weakness to water. After all, if Crocodile discovered it in advance, the plot's direction might change.
He had already set his sights on that Shichibukai's head.
As everyone continued discussing ways to deal with Crocodile, they all went back to their own tasks.
Nami stood at the bow, sensing the wind direction and guiding them.
Vivi also stood at the bow with Nami, her expression fluctuating.
Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Supersonic Duck were leisurely fishing by the ship. Sanji went to the kitchen, and Zoro sat cross-legged on the deck, comprehending the Cutting Iron that Dante Voss had mentioned.
Dante Voss also leaned quietly by the ship, looking at the surging sea.
Such peaceful moments were rare for him.
"Here, Dante Voss, try some juice I made."
Sanji came down from the kitchen above and handed a glass of juice to Dante Voss.
"Thank you!"
Dante Voss took the juice and took a sip. As expected of Sanji's making, it was sweet and left a lingering taste.
"You're welcome. These are your fruits, after all. If anyone should be thanked, it's you. Without your food, we'd probably be too hungry to stand right now."
"For a chef, letting his companions go hungry is a dereliction of duty."
Sanji said with a smile, puffing on his cigarette.
Seeing Sanji's continuous smoking, Dante Voss asked curiously, "Do you really like smoking? I've never seen you stop."
Sanji held the cigarette in his hand, gazed at the sea, and slowly said:
"Ah, isn't it cool? It really attracts the attention of elegant ladies."
"Is that so?"
Dante Voss smiled, took a pack of cigarettes from his backpack, and handed it to Sanji.
"Then let me give you a pack of cigarettes from my hometown!"
His white system rewards, besides food, were these cigarettes and alcohol. Dante Voss neither drank nor smoked, so they were useless to him.
"Oh!"
Sanji became interested and took the cigarettes from Dante Voss.
He didn't have many cigarettes left; if they didn't reach land soon, he would run out.
Now that he saw Dante Voss's cigarettes, his crisis was temporarily averted.
He eagerly took one out and lit it. The delicious taste bloomed in his mouth, making him squint his eyes in comfort.
Several more hours passed, and dusk subtly began to fall.
Luffy and the others had been fishing for a long time but hadn't caught a single fish. After their stomachs rumbled, Luffy ran to Dante Voss's side and pleaded:
"Dante Voss, do you still have any meat? Let me eat some, I'm starving to death!"
At this moment, Luffy was weakly slumped against Dante Voss, his whole body limp.
Dante Voss smiled:
"I still have some. In that case, let's all have dinner together!"
"Good, that's great! Brothers, it's mealtime!"
Luffy regained his Spirit and shouted loudly.
Upon hearing him, everyone came over.
"Dante Voss, your food isn't infinitely supplied, is it?" Sanji asked, puzzled.
"Ah, that's right. But there's still a lot, enough to get us to the next island."
Dante Voss replied.
Even if they couldn't, it didn't matter. With his Great Swordsman strength, he could always go fishing in the sea.
"Then I'm really bothering you, Dante Voss."
Nami showed an apologetic smile.
"Thank you!"
Vivi nodded towards Dante Voss.
The others also looked at Dante Voss, feeling embarrassed. They were supposed to have saved Dante Voss, but now they were relying on him to survive. It was truly awkward.
"Then let's eat!"
Dante Voss waved his hand, and bento boxes appeared on the ground, especially for Luffy, who had a full six servings.
"Ah, meat, meat, meat!!!"
Luffy eagerly grabbed the food and stuffed it into his mouth. The others also began to eat.
After eating and drinking their fill, Luffy started getting restless again, performing the 'chopsticks in nose' divine skill in front of everyone. Usopp and Chopper also learned it, making everyone laugh heartily.
Joyful laughter spread outside the ship, bringing life to the endless darkness.
After who knows how long, when everyone was tired, the farce ended, and they all returned to the cabins below to rest.
However, Dante Voss, being well, didn't return to the ladies' exclusive room but instead squeezed in with the boys outside.
Dante Voss chose a sofa to rest on.
The boys were restless sleepers; they constantly fell from their hammocks onto the mats below, sometimes talking in their sleep, making the place lively.
They were all used to it, so they slept well.
Dante Voss was fine too; his Spirit attributes were high, so he was resistant to this.
Time slowly passed, and it was daytime in the blink of an eye.
After everyone woke up and washed, Dante Voss brought out food again, and their official day began.
However, compared to yesterday, today the Straw Hat crew fished out an exotic man with a white swan on his head.