Chapter 358: A Chef’s Urgency and a Vitamin Crisis

“Hey Luffy, we need a cook on this ship.”

Ye Fan shot a reminder over to Luffy and Usopp, who were busy fiddling with the cannon.

Especially since Ye Fan’s cooking was only barely edible at best.

He knew all too well—out here on the open sea, if they didn’t have a real cook, Luffy and the others were doomed to all sorts of health problems.

“Ah, right! Next, we definitely need to find a chef to join our crew!”

Luffy dropped the cannon immediately at Ye Fan’s words and dashed over to the deck.

That was the plan. After getting their ship, the group only rested half a day on the island before setting sail again. Usopp had joined the pirate crew without much fuss, their pirate flag was freshly painted, but they still had no idea where they’d head next.

Just as Ye Fan was about to suggest they look for the Baratie, the sea restaurant, Usopp loaded a cannonball into the readied cannon and fired it with a loud swoosh, blasting a nearby reef.

Boom!

“Who?! Who’s attacking us?!”

A furious shout echoed from behind the reef.

The voice sounded oddly familiar to Zoro. From the deck, he stood and peered toward the distant rocks, a puzzled look flashing across his face.

“Crap, I think I hit someone!”

Usopp had only meant to use the reef for target practice—he never expected to actually hit someone.

Panicked, he hurried to the helm and began steering the pirate ship toward the commotion.

As the ship drew closer, bits of the noise drifted up to them. Zoro walked over to the rail, muttering, “Why does that voice sound so familiar?”

“Eh? Could it be someone you know, Zoro?”

Luffy couldn’t help but be curious. Although he never pried into everyone’s past, that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested.

“It just rings a bell… but I can’t say for sure if I know them.”

“Wait—I remember now! Why’s it you two?”

“Johnny and Yosaku!”

When the ship rounded the other side of the reef, Zoro recognized the pair instantly. They were his old bounty hunting buddies, guys who used to call him ‘Boss.’

Johnny, wearing a blue jacket, dropped his blade in shock and cried out, “No way, Boss Zoro! Quick, help Yosaku, he’s not gonna make it!”

Johnny pointed frantically at Yosaku, who was sprawled on the ground in a green jacket, face looking gaunt as a skeleton.

“He’s sick?”

After Johnny’s hasty explanation, Zoro looked genuinely surprised.

Johnny, wracked with guilt, dropped to his knees on the deck beside Yosaku. “That guy was bouncing around just days ago, but suddenly he went completely pale—and started passing out again and again. I have no idea what’s wrong. First his teeth fell out, then his old wounds started bleeding. I seriously don’t know what to do anymore.”

“When I was helping him to rest by the rocks, out of nowhere, a cannonball came flying right at us!”

Luffy and Usopp’s jaws dropped as they listened to Johnny’s story, both looking completely stunned.

A second later, both of them snapped their legs straight, bowed deeply to Yosaku lying on the ground, and blurted out in unison, “So sorry!”

But Johnny just glared at their apologies and barked, “If a simple sorry fixed everything, we wouldn’t need the police!”

“Whaaat!!!”

Luffy and Usopp quickly put on terrified faces.

Johnny, with snot running down his face, turned to Zoro. “Boss, tell me straight… is Yosaku really dying?”

No way. Even Zoro broke out in a cold sweat—he was worried but had no idea what to do.

Thud thud thud…

Just then, Nami stepped out from the cabin. As she passed by Luffy and the others, she muttered, “Are you all idiots or what?”

Zoro instantly bared his teeth at her. “What did you say?”

His expression twisted in annoyance. He already found Nami irritating—and now she was talking like this while Yosaku, one of his old little bros, was at death’s door.

After all, Yosaku had followed him in the past. There was no way he’d let anyone talk like that at a time like this.

Nami knelt down on one knee, checked Yosaku’s eyes, then stuck out his tongue and tugged at it.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

Johnny, seeing Nami treat Yosaku like that, immediately reached out to stop her.

“If you mess around with my dying buddy, I’ll never forgive you!”

Johnny’s spit actually hit Nami’s face, so she turned away and shoved his head aside. Instead, she called over to Usopp and Luffy, “Luffy, Usopp, aren’t there some limes in the storeroom?”

But Luffy and Usopp were still crying their eyes out, convinced they’d just killed Yosaku—completely ignoring her.

After getting no answer forever, Nami finally whipped her head around and yelled at them, “Did you hear me? Get them now!”

“Ah! Yes ma’am!”

Nami’s shout snapped them back to reality. Both rushed off, but the doorway was too small and they collided at the threshold.

Soon, Luffy and Usopp returned carrying limes. Following Nami’s instructions, they squeezed the fruit with both hands, dripping juice into Yosaku’s mouth.

Watching their ridiculous efforts, Nami couldn’t help but groan. “Don’t panic—it’s just scurvy. If we haven’t waited too long, he should be fine after a few days.”

Zoro: “Scurvy?”

Johnny instantly latched on to the key point—Yosaku didn’t have to die. “R-Really? Boss Lady?”

Nami, wiping the spit off her face in disgust, gave Johnny a shove. “Can you not call me that?”

“A long time ago, this disease was a sailor’s nightmare during long journeys at sea.”

“But the cause? Just a lack of plant-based nutrients.”

“See, in the old days, ships would never load fruits that couldn’t be kept fresh.”

Ye Fan added, “Travel far enough, and your body starts breaking down from missing vitamins. It’s one of the biggest dangers when you’re out at sea.”

“That’s why, when voyages drag on, if you don’t have someone who knows about nutrition, you’re bound to get sick,”

“Um, Luffy, you can stop feeding him now,”

“Any more, and you might drown the poor guy.”

Ye Fan walked over, clutching his head, squatted down by Yosaku, and pulled four or five orange pieces out of the man’s mouth.

“Ah! I’m alive again!”

Freed from the fruit, Yosaku jolted upright and did a perfect kip-up.

The next second, he and Johnny grabbed each other’s arms and broke into a wild dance.

“Hey-hey hey-hey hey-hey!”

“Back from the dead! Fully recharged!”

“Thank goodness, partner!”

“I don’t get it—how could he recover so fast?”

Nami, hands on her hips and fangs flashing, yelled at them, “Liar! There’s no way you could get better that quickly!”