Chapter 359: A New Journey to Baratie

Just as Nami finished speaking, the two suddenly stopped in their tracks and stood side by side facing everyone.

“Sorry for the late introductions.”

“My name’s Johnny.”

“And I’m Yosaku.”

“We’re bounty hunters who go after pirates—just the two of us.”

“We used to work alongside Big Bro Zoro. Nice to meet you all.”

“Hmph!”

Hearing the introductions, Zoro lowered his head with a quiet grunt.

He stepped forward and said, “Didn’t expect to run into you two here.”

“Still, I’m honestly shocked. Never thought the infamous Pirate Hunter Zoro would actually become a pirate.”

Zoro held out his right hand. “Eh, it’s not that big a deal.”

Johnny eagerly grabbed it. Yosaku tried to reach over too with his left hand, but in the next second his body tumbled right onto the deck.

“Hey, partner!”

“See? Told you he wouldn’t be that easygoing,” Ye Fan said, stepping over to hoist Yosaku onto his shoulder. He carried him toward the deck and found him a bed to rest for a bit.

“…”

At the small dining table, Nami was jotting something down when she suddenly spoke up. “This is absolutely a lesson to remember.”

“Yeah, I never thought long voyages could hide dangers like this.”

Since Zoro usually just roamed around East Blue and his longest trip barely lasted seven days, he never felt the effects of being at sea for so long without fresh fruit.

Now that they had a clear example right in front of them, it was obvious that vitamins and essential supplies had to be a part of their daily meals.

“So basically, we’ve got to keep our diet balanced using only what we have on the ship if we want to survive these long journeys.”

“Thinking about it, that’s an essential skill too, isn’t it?”

“Amumumumumu!”

Munching on his food, Luffy had a sudden idea. “Oh! So what we need is a cook on board!”

Ye Fan watched from the side, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

“Looks like I won’t have to interfere much on this trip.”

Luffy didn’t catch Ye Fan’s muttering and jumped up. “Let’s go find ourselves a cook!”

“That way, we’ll actually get to eat delicious food while we’re at sea.”

“Exactly! That sounds perfect.”

No idea what kind of food was on Luffy’s mind, but a string of drool slid down his chin.

Leaning against a nearby cabinet, Johnny pointed them in a direction. “If it’s a cook you’re after, I know just the place.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up. “No way! There really is such a place? Where is it?”

He hadn’t expected Johnny to know somewhere they could pick up a cook. That meant one less thing to worry about.

Honestly, Nami was right. If you’re spending ages out at sea, you need someone who actually knows how to keep everyone healthy. Luffy had no intention of collapsing from scurvy before becoming King of the Pirates.

“It’s pretty close to the Grand Line, right near the entrance—it’s a floating restaurant called Baratie!”

“I know the route. I’ll take you there,” Johnny said. Unlike Luffy and Zoro, who couldn’t navigate for their lives, Johnny actually had some sense of direction—one of the reasons he and Yosaku could travel so freely across East Blue.

“Alrighty, off to Baratie we go!”

“…”

“Luffy, we’ve arrived at Baratie!”

With Johnny leading the way, it only took them three days to reach the Baratie restaurant.

“Pirates, huh? What a buzzkill.”

From a nearby Navy warship came a comment that made the crew turn and stare.

“The Navy?” Hearing that taunting tone, Zoro slowly drew his longsword from his waist. “Figures. We really have bumped into the most annoying bunch.”

Zoro hadn’t forgotten the way the Navy acted back in Shells Town.

To him, the Navy was even more restrictive than pirates and only knew how to oppress citizens—it was clear corruption had already set in.

No wonder Zoro now looked down on them.

Both ships were heading for the same destination, so they ended up sailing side by side. Too bad the Navy’s warship was massive and had its cannons pointed right at the Going Merry.

A Navy officer with a scar on his face and bright pink hair walked from the deck to the railing, looking down at Luffy and the others. “Never seen that pirate flag before.”

“I’m Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander—Iron Fist Fullbody!”

“Who’s your captain? Hurry up and report your name!”

Luffy stepped up to the prow and answered, “I’m Luffy.”

Usopp immediately followed, “I’m Usopp.”

Luffy felt like Usopp was testing his captain’s authority, so he stepped forward again. “Our pirate flag was just made yesterday!”

“I drew the pirate flag myself,” Usopp jumped in again, just as expected.

Luffy frowned, tilting his head to give Usopp a look.

Lieutenant Commander Fullbody said, “What is this, some kind of comedy duo?”

“But I’ve never seen you lot before. As for those two over there, I remember them—aren’t you a pair of small-time bounty hunters? Or have you thrown in with these pirates too?”

“A pirate hunter becoming a pirate? Ha, that’s just hilarious.”

Suddenly, a blonde beauty strolled out from behind Fullbody and hooked her arm around his waist. “We’re here already, let’s go eat.”

Seeing her, Fullbody lost interest in talking to these low-level pirates.

Holding the woman’s waist, he turned away and headed off.

Feeling humiliated, Yosaku ran up and pointed at Fullbody’s back. “We’re not small fry!”

He dumped a pile of wanted posters from his arms.

The posters scattered across the deck, most already marked with Xs, but right on top was Arlong’s—bounty: twenty million Berries.

Fullbody didn’t care in the slightest. In fact, he found it all pretty boring. As he passed two Navy soldiers, he stuck his thumb out, then turned it down. “Don’t let these pests disrupt my meal.”

“They’re an eyesore. Sink that ship.”

“Yes, sir!”

Johnny muttered, “That guy really doesn’t take us seriously. Next time we run into him, he’s getting a piece of my mind.”

Yosaku chimed in, “Yeah, we’ll teach him a lesson next time.”

“What are all these?”

Nami walked over to the pile of wanted posters and picked up the one with Arlong on it.

Johnny saw Nami kneeling by the posters and quickly bowed. “Those are the bounties, Boss Nami.”

If anyone could’ve saved Yosaku, it was Nami, so Johnny had nothing but respect for her.

“Arlong, huh? Just a fishman traitor.”

Ye Fan’s sudden remark snapped Nami out of her gloom. She looked up at him.

“What do you know? That’s Arlong we’re talking about!” Nami couldn’t hold back any longer, raising her voice.

Arlong had ruled her village for over a decade.

Every year, the villagers had to hand over a set sum just to survive.

That made her hate Arlong with a passion, and by extension, despise pirates. She believed they shouldn’t even exist.

But this time, Nami’s mother was still alive.

“We can talk about Arlong later. Right now they’ve got their cannons pointed at us. What do we do, Captain Luffy?”

“Oh, right! If we’re fighting, then let’s put everything on the line!”

Thanks to Ye Fan’s constant feeding, even though their voyage was still short, the crew’s strength had already reached officer level.

Luffy had managed to unlock his Third Gear, and Zoro had grasped the steel-cutting technique.

Once they reached that level, it’d be time to train them in Armament and Observation Haki.