Chapter 349: A Pirate’s Dream: New Bonds and Ambitions

Nami watched as Luffy and Zoro charged into battle, while Ye Fan just sat down on the ground nearby.

Unwilling to accept this, she stepped up to question him. “Why aren’t you joining in?”

Ye Fan replied lazily, “For small fry like that, the two of them are more than enough. I’m the real trump card here, you know?”

“Hmph, I think you’re just a coward.”

“Say what you like,” he answered.

Ye Fan laced his hands behind his head and leaned back against a wooden post, perfectly at ease. A few sharp words from Nami wouldn’t make him budge.

His days of hot-blooded passion were behind him. Sure, joining Luffy’s crew had stirred something inside him, but

after all, he’d just joined not long ago. It wasn’t so easy for a nearly fifty-year-old man to suddenly rediscover his youthful fire.

Ye Fan turned his gaze to the battlefield. Luffy and Zoro were locked in a fierce fight with the Navy.

Their movements were swift and decisive, every strike bursting with power and determination.

“Pirates! How dare you invade the Navy base!”

“What, you really think I, Monka, am just going to take this lying down?”

Monka, towering over three meters tall and wielding a giant axe, strode out from the Navy base.

Spotting the commotion, Luffy was about to make a move when Zoro stepped up, laying a hand on his captain’s shoulder. “Leave this one to me, Captain.”

“Besides, it’ll make for a decent show of loyalty.”

“Three Sword Style: Demon Slash!”

Zoro gripped blades in both hands, crossing them in front of him while he unleashed a slashing attack meant to pin the enemy. His third sword blocked any hope of escape. The power behind it could rival Luffy’s Gum-Gum Rocket.

As Monka charged forward, Zoro dashed past him in a blur.

Slash!

“Wh-What… how can this be?”

Blood spurted from Monka’s body in several streams.

Clang!

With a heavy crash, Monka collapsed to the ground.

Hearing the thud behind him, Zoro straightened, sliding his blade back into its sheath.

“That was awesome!”

Luffy’s eyes sparkled like gold stars as he dashed up to Zoro, staring at his sword in awe.

“That was nothing, Captain!”

“No way… how could you be this strong?”

Bellamy, completely stunned, sat slumped on the ground a few meters away, staring at Zoro in disbelief.

“Oh, almost forgot about you.”

Ye Fan slipped behind Bellamy without a sound and knocked him out with a swift karate chop.

“Captain Monka’s been defeated!”

“I can’t believe it.”

“These guys are monsters.”

Zoro looked up at the Navy across the room. “If anyone else wants to come after us, just state your name.”

The Navy soldiers exchanged glances, then suddenly tossed their guns and blades in the air.

“This is amazing!”

“We’re finally free!”

“We don’t have to suffer under Monka anymore!”

“Long live the Navy!”

Luffy tilted his head, baffled. “What’s up with them? Their captain gets defeated and they look happier than ever.”

Koby seemed to get it and exclaimed with delight, “Everyone was just terrified of Monka!”

“Huh?!”

Thud! Zoro suddenly collapsed to the floor, arms stretched wide.

“What’s wrong? Mr. Zoro, are you hurt?”

“I’m starving.”

And just like that, Zoro’s rumbling stomach brought this dramatic scene to a funny end.

The group strode after Luffy, heading for a restaurant outside, with the Navy inside making no move to block them.

But just as they’d barely stepped outside, Nami popped out of nowhere.

Judging by that bulging bag in her hands, the Navy base must’ve been stripped clean.

No one could figure out where Nami hid so much treasure. Do all anime heroines have some kind of magic bag or something?

“…”

Looking totally satisfied, Zoro lounged on a bench, rubbing his full belly. “Ah, that hit the spot! I must’ve gone three weeks without a meal!”

“Ahahaha!”

“So good!”

“You’re already full, Zoro?” Luffy asked, taking the fork out of his mouth and glancing at him.

The innocent look on Luffy’s face left Zoro a little annoyed. “Why did you eat even more than me? Don’t tell me you haven’t eaten in three weeks, too!”

“Because the food was just too good! Right, Koby?”

“Ah, sorry for troubling you, even feeding me as well.”

“No worries. You guys saved this town, after all.”

“Really, thank you all so much!”

“Exactly! If you hadn’t shown up, who knows how long Monka would’ve kept bullying us.”

The innkeeper’s daughter ran up to Luffy. “Big brother, you’re amazing!”

“Of course! And I’ll get even stronger, because my dream is to be King of the Pirates!”

“Plus, I’ve found some new crewmates, too.”

“Speaking of which, Captain, how many crew members do we have now anyway?”

Lost in his own world by the wall, Ye Fan gave Zoro an answer. “Counting you, Zoro, there’s just four of us for now.”

Too bad Zoro’s shocked face was lost on him. In the original story, this was the point where they had only two people—and not even a boat.

Zoro: “What? Didn’t you say you’re aiming to be Pirate King? How come there’s only four of us?”

Ye Fan: “That’s right. Just the four of us.”

Zoro: “Can the four of us even call ourselves a pirate crew? Isn’t that a bit small?”

Luffy: “Doesn’t matter. We’re all strong anyway!”

“And what about our ship? Where’s our boat?”

“You don’t mean… we don’t even have one?”

Luffy waved his fork—still skewering a piece of sushi—toward the door.

Zoro leaned on the threshold, frowning. “That tiny boat’s ours?”

From where he stood, it looked like cramming three or four people onto that little boat would be a squeeze.

“Don’t worry! Before long, we’ll definitely have a huge ship!”

Luffy stretched out his arms behind Zoro, spreading them wide to draw an imaginary giant boat in the air.

A little nod to tradition—the first Pirate King, Roger, set sail with just two people and a tiny boat after all.

“Ahahaha!”

“So, what now?”

“I want a pirate flag, too!”

“Ahahahaha!”

“Looks awesome!”

Sitting on a bench, Koby forced a wry smile. “I get the feeling Mr. Luffy was never much of a planner from the start!”

“Is this guy really going to be my captain?”

“Hey Zoro, once you’re on a pirate ship, it’s not so easy to get off, you know.”

Ye Fan chimed in. Zoro wasn’t the only one getting dragged onto this crazy ride—Nami was pretty much roped in, too.

“There’s already four of us, and we’ll definitely find more crewmates soon!” Luffy went on, spinning his dreams sky-high.

Suddenly, the little girl looked up at Luffy. “Big brother, where are you heading next?”

“Where else? The Grandest Grand Line ever!”

That was Luffy’s dream. Only by sailing to the Grand Line could he really chase the Pirate King title.

Hearing this, Koby couldn’t help it—he spit out a mouthful of beer in shock.

“We’ve only got four people! No way we’re making it out there!”

“No, not a chance!”

Seeing Koby’s panicked tone, the little girl asked quickly, “Is the Grand Line a really scary place?”

Because of Karl’s secret maneuvers, the Four Seas didn’t know much about the Grand Line.

Outside of a few who paid close attention, almost nobody really knew what was out there on the Grand Line.