Chapter 360: Baratie: New Allies, New Encounters

“That’s more like it, Captain.”

“Two-Sword Style—Nigiri Toro!”

Before the Navy ship could even fire a cannonball, Zoro sent two blades of sword aura spiraling through the air, slicing the ship into three pieces.

Clang!

“Nani?”

“How could a bunch of no-name pirates have this much power?”

“Captain, get over here! There are life rafts on this side!”

Even though the warship had been cut to pieces, there were still dozens of small life rafts on board.

Despite the chaos, Fullbody didn’t leave the blonde beauty behind. He held her tight as they both boarded a life raft together.

“Damn pirates! If I ever see you again…”

Fullbody pounded the raft in frustration, glaring at the distant Merry.

Far off, Luffy and the others had already forgotten about the Navy officer. Only Johnny and Yosaku stood at the stern, yelling down into the sea, “Yo, yo, Navy big shot, who would’ve guessed you’d end up running from small fry like us!”

“You two just wait! Siding with pirates? I’ll make sure you get a bounty on your heads!”

The moment he finished, Johnny and Yosaku wilted like sun-scorched eggplants.

For all their bravado, those two really wanted to be pirate hunters, not branded as pirates themselves.

“Their fate isn’t really for you to worry about, Captain Fullbody.”

Ye Fan showed up beside Johnny and Yosaku before anyone noticed.

“You probably can’t stay pirate hunters anyway. Why not follow your big brother Zoro and join our crew?”

Johnny and Yosaku hadn’t actually decided if they wanted to be pirates, but for now, they could only nod.

Ye Fan, though, had his own plans when it came to Johnny and Yosaku.

The Navy had clearly seen the two of them with Luffy’s crew, yet still assumed they’d been captured.

Didn’t they notice the lack of restraints? Sometimes ‘plot armor’ just makes everyone dumber.

With the Great Revitalizing Pill on hand, even Johnny and Yosaku might reach vice admiral strength after joining Luffy’s crew. At the very least, it’s a chance to tweak the world’s course from the ground up.

Like the saying goes: the big things may be set but the little things can still be changed.

And honestly, since arriving in the One Piece World, he’d nudged plenty of things already. This was the perfect time to test his ideas with the main cast.

“So this is the Baratie, the seafaring restaurant?”

“It’s huge!”

Since Luffy hadn’t launched a cannonball at Baratie this time, he wasn’t forced to wash dishes. Instead, he sat at the largest table, eating his fill.

Tap tap tap…

“All your dishes are served for now. I wondered which one of you would care to settle up first?”

Sanji set a plate of roasted meat on the table, pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a practiced flick, and blew out a perfect smoke ring.

They’d ordered enough food for fifty people. But Luffy’s stomach seemed bottomless—no matter how much came, he packed it all away.

“Here, 100,000 Berries.”

Ye Fan had no intention of skipping the bill. He quickly pulled out a wad of Berries and handed it to Sanji.

“Much appreciated. Enjoy your meal,”

Sanji counted the money. It was about right, so he nodded and strolled off toward the kitchen.

Ye Fan called out, “Hey, Luffy! I heard that Sanji’s the best cook on this ship. What do you think?”

“We just so happen to need a cook.”

Zoro chimed in, “Not gonna lie, the guy’s food really hits the spot.”

“True, true, this is delicious!” Usopp might not have Luffy’s appetite, but while his body was the weakest among them, using the Great Revitalizing Pill meant he’d actually improved the fastest.

He needed a ton of food every day just to keep up with Zoro and Nami.

Meanwhile, Johnny and Yosaku lay nearby, bellies round and full, too stuffed to talk.

At this point, they were probably wondering what to do with their lives.

“Amu amu!”

Luffy swallowed his mouthful and grabbed a ham hock bigger than his own head. “Seems great to me. Let’s get him!”

Not a moment later, he stuffed the whole hock in his mouth.

Good thing he’d eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit, otherwise pulling that out would’ve been a struggle.

Bang!

The restaurant doors burst open. A man stumbled in, hair tied with a dusty blue bandana, dressed in gray, with blood dripping down his forehead and cheeks.

“Is this a restaurant? I need a plate of fried rice.”

A burly man with a cigar clenched between his teeth cracked his knuckles, stepped up, and asked, “Sir, do you have cash to pay?”

The only reason Luffy’s crew could order so much was they looked rich—and had a pirate ship docked outside.

If you couldn’t pay, Baratie wasn’t running a charity. This guy looked totally alone, so if he had no money, they’d boot him right back out.

“No… I don’t…”

Muttering under his breath, the burly man just hefted him onto his shoulder, marched out, and dumped him on the pavement. “No cash, no meal.”

Ye Fan recognized that man all too well.

Wasn’t he the one rumored to have eaten the Forest-Forest Fruit later on—Aramaki?

But the real Admiral Green Bull was still making waves in the New World.

That was all part of Karl’s elaborate plan. He’d positioned both Fujitora (Issho) and Aramaki as Navy officers, currently only vice admirals by rank, but with the real power of an admiral—just waiting for their chance to move up.

Since their backgrounds were a bit murky, parachuting in as full admirals would just make them targets. Every single blemish would be dragged into the spotlight. Better to climb the ranks step by step.

“Who is that? Someone to look out for, Ye Fan?”

Zoro turned because he noticed Ye Fan’s attention glued on that man.

Nobody had officially named a vice captain, but in their hearts Ye Fan filled that role.

“Huh?”

“That guy’s a decent fighter. Feels like we shouldn’t let him slip away.”

Snapped out of his thoughts by Zoro, Ye Fan grabbed a plate of fried rice and followed after the man outside.

The Great Revitalizing Pills Ye Fan possessed weren’t endless; each one was finite and precious.

Over decades of testing, he’d learned that for ordinary people the power cap was vice admiral level—no matter how many pills they took.

That meant Ye Fan needed another strategy: focus on named characters with real influence from the original story.

Their potential was way higher than your average guy—maybe even enough to hit admiral strength.

Karl and Charlotte Linlin had spent decades churning out new babies, but most fell short of expectations. Even admiral-level powerhouses barely numbered eighteen.

It wasn’t about a hard limit at vice admiral or rear admiral. The real obstacle was how hard it was to fully awaken the Titan bloodline.

People born with Titan blood could live thousands of years, so developing their strength would naturally take a long time.

Reaching admiral power quickly usually meant special drugs or secret techniques.

Otherwise, most could only just scrape up to vice admiral at best.