"Damn that Mihawk, leaving without me."
Rustle—
The sea breeze blew across Naruto's face, sending his golden hair streaming behind him.
"Hey, you, swim faster."
He gave a thump beneath him.
"Uuuh—"
Under Naruto's seat was the head of a Sea King even bigger than most merchant ships, with a body resembling a turtle beneath its rabbit-like head.
This was a giant Sea King.
After Naruto gave it a good whack, leaving a big bump, the Sea King let out a pitiful cry but had no choice but to obey Naruto's command and speed up.
Strictly speaking, Naruto didn't have his own ship.
Most of the time, he either rode Sea Kings, walked on the sea himself, or hitched a ride on someone else's ship.
There are three ways to get from the New World to "Paradise."
Most pirates would choose to coat their ship at Sabaody Archipelago and pass under the Red Line via the sea.
You could also cross the Red Line directly, but that required applying to the World Government and abandoning your ship.
For Naruto, the third way was most practical.
That is, to cross the Calm Belt directly.
But this method was usually only for Navy ships equipped with seastone bottoms and steam engines. Ordinary ships had no power in the Calm Belt and were easy prey for the giant Sea Kings.
Of course, this was exactly how Naruto crossed the sea.
If there's one thing the Calm Belt has, it's plenty of Sea Kings.
After witnessing Naruto kill and eat another Sea King as big as itself with a single punch, this rabbit-headed Sea King became very obedient.
Feeling the sea breeze pick up, Naruto settled back onto the Sea King's ear, instinctively reaching for the gourd filled with Uncle Rayleigh's treasured wine.
He was about to take a sip, only to find it empty.
"Those guys... seriously."
Looking at the empty gourd, Naruto could only smile wryly.
Now he was completely out of stock and needed to find a place to resupply soon.
For a drinker, being unable to drink was like having ants crawling all over your body.
Speaking of booze, Naruto remembered his "transmigration" again.
Thinking back, both times he had crossed worlds, it was after getting drunk. Was that the key to traveling between the two worlds?
Unfortunately, he had no alcohol now and couldn't test the theory.
"Sigh... this is tough..."
East Blue, on a pirate ship with a white sheep's head.
"Look, everyone, the sea restaurant Baratie! How about it?"
Wearing sunglasses, the bounty hunter Johnny introduced the huge ship ahead to the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Whoa!!"
Luffy and Usopp's eyes sparkled with stars as they looked at the big ship.
Compared to the Baratie, the Going Merry was like a little fish.
Just then, a navy warship sailed by.
"...What a joke."
The naval captain on the warship glanced at the unfamiliar, shabby pirate ship and sneered.
"Let's go~"
His female companion came over, not even glancing at the Going Merry, and coquettishly urged the captain.
The captain couldn't be bothered with the Straw Hats, so he ordered his men to fire and sink them, then turned to head for the Baratie.
Boom!
A cannonball flew toward the Straw Hats, making everyone but Luffy look grim. Luffy, as usual, just smiled.
"Gum-Gum—Slingshot!"
Luffy grabbed the ship with both hands, using his torso to block the cannonball.
His body stretched from the impact, showing off the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit. He became a taut bowstring, ready to fling the cannonball back.
But just then, one of Luffy's hands slipped, and he turned ninety degrees to the side.
The cannonball whistled off toward the captain's cabin atop the Baratie.
"Ah!"
Nami and Usopp covered their mouths, nearly screaming, and Luffy looked nervous.
At that moment, a blond figure in a kimono suddenly appeared on the roof.
"Honestly, Zeff, now you owe me another favor."
Zeff stared in shock at the familiar figure on his windowsill, memories flooding back.
"It's you? How could a 'big shot' like you be in East Blue?"
He looked at Naruto, whose appearance hadn't changed in over a decade, in disbelief, ignoring the incoming cannonball.
Naruto didn't even glance at the cannonball. He reached through the window, grabbed a fork from Zeff's table, and casually flicked it.
The fork, wrapped in Armament Haki, turned into a streak of light and pierced the cannonball.
Boom!
A brilliant flower of flame bloomed in the air.
Luckily, the Baratie was still some distance away, so there was no real damage.
"I came all this way, and I'm starving, old man. Aren't you going to let me have a good meal?"
After handling the incident, Naruto's gaze swept over the familiar straw-hatted boy below, then he turned and grinned at Zeff.
Hearing Naruto's words, Zeff shuddered, as if triggering some defense mechanism.
"All hands—assemble!"
At the chef's shout, every chef and waiter in Baratie dropped what they were doing and ran to the second floor.
As they ran, they grabbed spoons and kitchen knives, looking fierce.
Don't be fooled by their current roles—before joining Baratie, they were all pirates!
The crowd stormed to the head chef's door, but didn't see the expected scene of Zeff being attacked.
"Listen up, boys! NRT Special Mode!"
All the chefs' faces changed. Some of the older ones, seeing Naruto, immediately started trembling.
They had followed Zeff since before he started Baratie and had seen Naruto before.
The younger chefs were confused, including Sanji, who wore a black suit and had blond hair like Naruto.
"Hey, old man, What are you talking about?"
NRT Special Mode—they didn't know what it stood for, only that it was a special protocol Zeff had set for Baratie years ago.
When NRT Mode was activated, all front-of-house, waitstaff, and rotating breaks were canceled; everyone had to help in the kitchen—including Zeff himself.
Usually, this mode was only triggered when a huge number of guests arrived at once, but the restaurant wasn't even full.
"Idiot! Stop asking, get moving!"
Zeff roared, his braided mustache bristling.
NRT Mode—Naruto Special Mode—was created because of a nightmare Zeff had years ago.
Back then, before founding Baratie, Zeff was still a pirate.
He was saved by Naruto during an accident, and to thank him, Zeff enthusiastically let him sample his cooking.
But Naruto's bottomless appetite nearly worked Zeff to death.
And even then, Naruto was only half full.
This time, Zeff swore to redeem himself!
A chef who can't fill a customer's stomach isn't a real chef!
After shouting, Zeff put on an apron and personally headed for the kitchen, to the shock of the other chefs.
The head chef himself is cooking!?
Naruto cheerfully went downstairs and picked a seat in the center of the restaurant.
As he left, Sanji couldn't help but glance at Naruto a few more times, curious about this strange newcomer.
Naruto noticed and smiled back.
It looks like he'll finally get his fill this time.
It was worth rushing here on a Sea King.
That Sea King had collapsed from exhaustion near East Blue, so Naruto had to walk the last stretch across the sea.
Bang!
Just as Naruto was looking forward to his meal, the restaurant doors were rudely flung open.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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