While buying supplies, Leno casually probed for news about the local Marine branch. He learned the current commanding officer was a Colonel named Bill Casso, and there'd been no reports of oppressing civilians.
'Looks like the story characters haven't "refreshed" here yet. Fine by me—peace and quiet.' With nothing pressing to do, Leno happily shopped his way through town. Before long, word had spread that a big spender had arrived.
Every store Leno entered—emptied its shelves. The moment he stepped out of a greengrocer's with every last fruit, a crowd swarmed him.
"Customer, do you need anything else? Our boutique sells men's and women's fashion—please come take a look—"
"Sir, sir, our pastries just came out of the oven today. They taste exquisite…"
" Sir, sir…" One seller cut in over another; voices piled up as they crowded around him, hawking their goods with all their might. When they finally paused for breath, the man was already gone.
"Phew!" Leno, who had transformed into lightning to escape, was still terrified. Dealing with these people was even more exhausting than fighting. Luckily, he had bought almost all the supplies. Not long after, Leno returned to the ship and found that the girls hadn't returned yet. He looked back at the town and didn't see them, so he lay down, feeling at ease.
Reflecting on his experiences, he realized that although he could clash with a top-tier powerhouse, it was still a bit too much to think about defeating an old veteran. Take Garp, for example. His martial arts and Haki had reached a peak. In their fight, Leno's body could barely take his punches. He only managed to fight him evenly after transforming into his dragon form.
'Seems I've slacked off a bit lately. My body, Haki, swordsmanship—they all have room to grow. This East Blue trip hasn't pressured me much at all.'
Freedom meant he had the strength to say "no." But Garp hadn't been wrong: if someone threatened his crew—or Cocoyasi Village—he'd be on the back foot.
'In the end, it's still about strength. Only when my name alone makes others drop any crooked ideas will I truly be at ease.'
"Hey, stupid Leno—did you actually follow my list when you shopped? And why are you back so early?" Nami's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Hey, Nami, I'm still the captain. In your eyes, am I really that unreliable?" Leno said, exasperated.
"Hah?! Calling yourself captain—then tell me, what do you do besides eat and sleep? And you eat the most, too." Kuina and Nojiko snickered on the side.
He thought about it. …He didn't have much to rebut.
"Cough! Cough! Of course, my job is to lead you outstanding crew members," Leno said. He wouldn't admit that he was completely useless.
"Hmph!" The three rolled their eyes and ignored him, heading to their rooms.
Over the next few days, they passed through Orange Town. The man with the Conqueror's Haki of "luck," Buggy the Clown, didn't show for unknown reasons—maybe he hadn't "appeared," or was off recruiting in some corner.
At the gates of Syrup Village, they did run into Usopp the 'Great Liar.' The moment he saw them, he shouted about pirates, rattled off his classic "eight thousand followers" routine with practiced ease—then got K.O.'d by a very annoyed Nami.
Up at the hilltop mansion, Kaya hit it off with the girls. When she heard they were adventurers planning to sail around the world, her eyes shone with envy. Her parents were merchants who often traveled, and she longed for the world beyond.
She peppered them with questions about what they'd seen; now and then, her surprised cries drifted down the hall. Nami noticed the wealth of books and asked to borrow some—Kaya happily agreed and hosted them for a few days.
Meanwhile, Leno scouted the area but found no sign of the Black Cat Pirates. He couldn't help suspecting those figures wouldn't truly "appear" until Monkey D. Luffy set sail.
A few days later, at Syrup Village's harbor, Kaya and the family butler Merry waved goodbye. Though they'd only spent a short time together, the girls had clicked at once; now they gazed after the receding ship with reluctance.
"Kaya really is a gentle girl—she even went out of her way to host us. Nami, got the route locked? Time to set sail again."
"We'll be leaving East Blue before long. Have you decided which sea we're heading to?" Leno asked.
Silence. He turned to see the three of them leaning on the rail, staring toward Syrup Village, quiet and forlorn.
Leno sighed. Girl friendships could arrive like a sudden squall.
"If you can't bear to part, why not just kidnap her aboard? It's not too late. The ship's big enough," Leno suggested.
"You idiot, Leno! You barbarian!"
"Ayo, that's too much!"
"Bandit!" The three pelted him with accusations.
"Hey! You three are enough already!" Leno nearly tore his hair out.
Baratie—a sea restaurant in the Sambas Sea—was a massive floating eatery shaped like a fish-headed ship. Because of pirate trouble, it even had a battle mode: the fin-like side panels could rise for combat.
In the kitchen—
Thump!
"Ow—stupid old man, what was that for?!" the young Sanji yelled, clutching a new lump on his head.
"Brat, who told you to take the wok? You're a hundred years too early to be cooking. Go wash the dishes!" 'Red-Leg' Zeff looked down at him from on high.
"Hahaha—Sanji got whacked again!"
"Sanji, you're a hundred years too early, hahahaha!" a few burly cooks jeered.
Suddenly Patty burst in, flustered. "Boss! Boss! Big customer—there's a big customer coming!"
"Calm down and speak clearly. What big customer?" Zeff barked.
"The 'Miracle Ship'—that steel flying ship! It's just ahead—almost here!" Patty panted.
"What? The 'Miracle Ship'? Move—let's go see!" The idle cooks whooped and bolted out of the galley.
In the distance, Leno and the others were about to reach Baratie.
"Wow—so that's the sea restaurant? It really looks like a giant fish," Nojiko exclaimed.
"Let me see—hey, it is a fish head! So cool!" Nami ran up in excitement; even Kuina's eyes gleamed with curiosity.