"Luffy, Luffy!"
When it was almost time for dinner, everyone aboard the Bamboo Staff realized that Luffy was missing. They went to the game room on the third floor to search for him, but they couldn't find Luffy anywhere. Everyone finally realized that Luffy must have sneaked away to the island to play and explore.
Gustave was still unconscious and recovering, so they could only rely on Po to use his Observation Haki to search for Luffy's spiritual presence.
After locating Luffy's position, Po brought Ace with him and used the Geppo technique, heading directly toward Luffy's aura. When he was about to arrive, Ace shouted Luffy's name loudly.
"I'm here, Ace!"
"I'm here, Ace!"
Hearing Ace's familiar voice, Luffy waved his hands enthusiastically and responded loudly as if he had encountered a savior.
Following the sound, Bell-mère, Nami, and Nojiko looked up and saw Po and Ace flying toward them through the sky.
Nojiko and Nami didn't understand what was happening, but Bell-mère had been a Marine officer and had experienced many battles. She could tell at a glance that Po was using the Geppo. Those who knew the Geppo were basically senior officers in the Marines.
Hearing Luffy's cry, Po landed gracefully with Ace.
"Former Marine Captain Bell-mère meets the sir!"
Although Bell-mère had already left the Marines, her years of experience had left her with an inseparable bond with the marine organization. Therefore, Bell-mère mistakenly thought that Po was a Marine officer and immediately stood at attention and saluted when Po landed.
Po was shocked by Bell-mère's formal action. After realizing what was happening, he quickly waved his hands and said:
"I'm not a Marine, you've got the wrong person."
"Not a Marine, but why does he know Geppo?"
In Bell-mère's professional opinion, Geppo was basically only performed by senior Marine officers.
"My name is Po, and I'm Master Garp's apprentice."
"This is Ace, and he is Luffy—they are both grandsons of Master Garp."
When Po saw that Bell-mère used to be a Marine, he introduced himself, Luffy, and Ace's identities clearly.
"So you are the apprentice of the Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp!"
After listening to Po's introduction, Bell-mère understood everything immediately. No wonder Po could perform the Geppo.
"Luffy, that little guy sneaked down here when we weren't paying attention. It's really hard on you!"
Po thought that Luffy had gotten lost on the island and was picked up by Bell-mère, a former Marine officer.
"It's perfectly okay, it's not a big deal at all."
Bell-mère shook her head dismissively.
But the two people who were talking didn't notice that Luffy's face was turning increasingly red.
When Luffy heard Bell-mère report to Po that she used to be a captain in the Marines, he shrank his head in shame, realizing he had stolen oranges from a Marine.
Under Gustave's patient education, Luffy had now established some fundamental concepts of honor and disgrace. It would be incredibly embarrassing if the grandson of a Marine hero had stolen oranges from a former Marine captain.
Luffy desperately wanted Bell-mère and Po to stop talking about this topic.
"Luffy, what's wrong with you?"
Bell-mère and Po were both tall and were happily conversing, so they didn't notice anything unusual about Luffy. But it was different for Ace, who was not much taller than Luffy. He found that Luffy's current condition was somewhat strange.
"Ace, do you have any money?"
Luffy approached Ace and asked quietly.
"Money? What do you want money for?"
Ace didn't understand why Luffy needed money. It was almost time for dinner. Could it be that Luffy was planning to buy something in the village? However, the products in Cocoyasi Village shouldn't be as diverse as those in Shin-chan's world. While Gustave was unconscious, Luffy had gone to Kasukabe to purchase many things.
"Well, I got lost today, and I was tired and hungry, so I stole some oranges from the orange orchard."
Luffy said, lowering his head guiltily.
Luffy had no intention of hiding the fact that he had stolen the oranges. One should be honest in life. This was the fundamental truth Luffy had learned from the heroic stories told by Gustave.
"What? You stole someone else's oranges, you idiot!"
Hearing Luffy's confession, Ace shouted in surprise, then struck Luffy firmly on the head.
Po, who had been talking with Bell-mère, was also stunned. He had thought Luffy was lost and was picked up by Bell-mère and the others, but he hadn't expected that Luffy had been caught stealing oranges. Was there anything more embarrassing than this?
"Well, we will pay double the amount for what Luffy stole."
Po scratched his head and said to Bell-mère sheepishly.
"No need. Luffy was just too hungry, so he took some oranges to eat."
Bell-mère had no intention of holding Luffy accountable, not to mention that Luffy was the grandson of her idol Garp. When she was a Marine, Bell-mère had always been inspired by Garp's legendary story.
"No, this is Luffy's fault. We absolutely must compensate."
As he spoke, Po felt around and discovered that he didn't have any money with him.
"I'm sorry, the money is on the boat. I'll go get it right away."
After saying this, Po was about to leave, but was stopped by Bell-mère.
"Mr. Po, please stop talking about compensation. My orange orchard is so large that I don't need those few oranges."
"Nojiko, go pick some oranges and give them to Mr. Po and the others."
Bell-mère turned and instructed Nojiko.
"Okay!"
After hearing Bell-mère's instructions, Nojiko turned around and went into the house to get a fruit basket.
Nami looked at Bell-mère with an incredulous expression, not understanding why she would refuse Po's compensation and pick even more oranges for them, especially when their lives were already very difficult.
"Nami, why don't you follow Nojiko and pick some oranges?"
Bell-mère naturally noticed Nami's puzzled look, but she did not explain. Instead, she asked Nami to follow Nojiko to pick oranges.
"I don't want to!"
After saying this, Nami ran away alone.
Luffy wanted to chase after her to apologize, but Ace grabbed him and said:
"Luffy, come over and apologize tomorrow!"
"Yes, I understand..."
Luffy said, looking down in frustration.
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Mr. Po. Nami is a bit rebellious."
Bell-mère smiled and said apologetically.
"Ms. Bell-mère, how about you bring Nami and Nojiko to our ship tomorrow? Our ship is now docked at the village entrance."
Po made a decision and invited Bell-mère and the others to visit Bamboo Staff Bistro, and then let Luffy apologize properly.
"Isn't this inappropriate?"
Bell-mère was a little hesitant. She naturally saw through Po's intention of inviting them to be his guests.
"Since Ms. Bell-mère invited us to eat oranges, we should also invite you back. This is proper etiquette, isn't it?"
During the time when Gustave was unconscious, Po was effectively the butler of Bamboo Staff. Whenever anyone on the ship encountered any problems, Po had to find a way to solve them.
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Po."
Bell-mère finally accepted Po's gracious invitation.
After Nojiko returned from picking oranges, Po departed with a basket of oranges, Ace, and Luffy.
However, Po did not return directly to Bamboo Staff Bistro, but instead came to the residence of Genzo, the sheriff of Cocoyasi Village.
Po knocked on the door, and Genzo opened it and saw that it was Po. When the Bamboo Staff Bistro had stopped at Cocoyasi Village, Genzo had gotten to know the people on the ship.
"Mr. Po, what's the matter?"
Genzo asked with a friendly smile.
"Mr. Genzo, I want to talk to you about Bell-mère."
After hearing what Po said, Genzo was a little confused. Bell-mère lived alone in the orange orchard with Nojiko and Nami. The orange orchard was some distance away from where the villagers of Cocoyasi lived.
"Today we met Ms. Bell-mère and heard that she used to be a member of the Marines, so we invited her to visit us tomorrow. So we wanted to ask about Ms. Bell-mère's situation."
Po didn't mention Luffy's orange theft. He wanted to protect Luffy's self-esteem in front of other people. Po was a thoughtful person.
"Oh, so that's what this is about!"
Genzo suddenly realized what was going on and immediately told Po about Bell-mère's situation.
Hearing that Bell-mère was having a difficult time living alone with her two daughters, Nami and Nojiko, Po sighed deeply.
After thanking Genzo, Po returned with Luffy and Ace.
"Thank you, Po."
On the way back, Luffy, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly thanked Po.
"It's okay, Luffy."
Po patted Luffy's head affectionately.
"Po, how about we pay for all the oranges in the orange orchard after Luffy apologizes tomorrow? I just tasted the oranges Aunt Bell-mère sent us, they're absolutely delicious!"
After listening to Genzo's story, Ace had been thinking about how he could help them without hurting Bell-mère's self-esteem.
Seeing the oranges in the fruit basket, Ace peeled one and ate it. He found it very delicious, so he came up with this brilliant idea.
"Yes, we can buy the oranges from the orange orchard! Ace, you are so smart!"
Po clapped his hands, wondering why he hadn't thought of such a perfect idea.
So, Po took Ace and Luffy and happily returned to Bamboo Staff Bistro.