"Captain... Navigator... Carina, you became a pirate?"
For the first time, Nami felt the interesting twists of fate.
She and Carina had both been thieves.
Meeting again, they had both become pirates.
What a strange fate.
Carina smiled and nodded. "That's right, Nami, so don't mess with us. We're pirates, wicked to the core."
She pointed at Luffy, who was carrying a tray of food in the distance, and introduced him with a grin:
"That's our captain over there, Straw Hat Luffy. Not long ago, he defeated Alvida, who had a bounty of five million Berries, and 'Kuro of a Hundred Plans,' who had a bounty of sixteen million."
"What do you think? Scared yet? Hehe, our captain is the number one pirate in the East Blue."
Nami looked at the straw-hatted boy with a silly grin who was serving food to the customers, a hint of surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected that boy to be able to defeat a 16-million-Berry pirate.
Nami withdrew her gaze, her expression completely calm. Standing next to Luo Chen, she felt a great sense of security. She was looking forward to seeing Carina's and the others' reactions when they found out about Luo Chen's bounty.
Nami smiled. "Carina, I hope you can apologize for deceiving me back then."
"Hm?"
Carina was extremely surprised. She observed Nami and Luo Chen, especially Luo Chen. She was a little curious, then glanced at Usopp and Zoro. Both of them shook their heads, meaning they had never heard of this person in the East Blue.
Carina narrowed her eyes and was just about to refuse when a commotion suddenly broke out at the restaurant's entrance.
"Krieg! It's the Don Krieg Pirates!"
"What are they doing here?!"
"The ruler of the East Blue, Don Krieg, with a bounty of seventeen million Berries! My god, run!"
Panicked shouts instantly echoed through the restaurant hall.
The diners all stood up to look at the entrance, then scrambled to flee to the corners of the hall, looking for a chance to escape.
The conflict between Nami and Carina was temporarily put aside. They, along with Zoro and Usopp, all looked toward the restaurant's entrance.
As the diners fled, their line of sight was no longer obstructed.
Luo Chen also cast his gaze over.
A tall, burly, middle-aged man with light purple hair was being helped into the restaurant.
"Krieg and Gin," Luo Chen's eyes flickered.
This trip had an extra surprise.
Although Don Krieg had just encountered Hawkeye Mihawk and fled back from the Grand Line in defeat, his ship was bound to have a lot of treasure left. He himself was worth seventeen million Berries. The one helping him, Gin, was also worth twelve million.
Usopp's voice trembled, and his teeth chattered. "It's really... Krieg! That terrifying guy whose military power dominates the East Blue!"
He took two steps back and hid behind Zoro.
Carina also retreated slightly but couldn't help her curiosity. "Why is Krieg covered in injuries? And that man with him, isn't he the one who came begging for food earlier?"
Not long ago, the man helping Krieg, Gin, had nearly starved to death. It was Sanji who had given him a meal and saved him. Now, he had returned to the Baratie with the great pirate Don Krieg.
Luo Chen said nothing, silently watching the events unfold.
If nothing unexpected happened, Krieg would next declare that he wanted to exchange money for food. But after eating, he would turn hostile, not only refusing to pay but also trying to take over the sea restaurant Baratie.
At that point, Hawkeye Mihawk would arrive in pursuit.
Zoro would challenge the world's greatest swordsman and be easily defeated by Mihawk with his "fingernail clipper."
Luffy would then have a major battle with Krieg and, after a tough fight, defeat him, making a name for himself throughout the East Blue.
Luo Chen recalled the plot.
At first, things developed just as he had thought.
But when Krieg finished eating and made his move to take over the Baratie, Hawkeye Mihawk did not appear.
'What's going on? Is Mihawk not coming? Or is he delayed?'
Luo Chen rubbed his chin.
It seemed that his appearance had caused a change in the plot. Hawkeye Mihawk, who should have appeared at this moment, had not arrived as scheduled.
"Zeff, have you thought it over? Are you going to resist?" Krieg shouldered a large sack of food and turned to walk outside.
"I'm going to feed my men first."
"When I come back, if you still haven't agreed, I'll have to use force to take over this ship."
Krieg's arrogant voice echoed inside the restaurant.
The diners had long since fled. Even the Marines from before were nowhere to be seen.
In the restaurant hall, the owner, Zeff, had a grim expression as he looked out the main door. A massive, three-deck pirate ship was moored in front of the Baratie. It was the flagship of the Don Krieg Pirates.
Luffy adjusted the straw hat on his head and smiled. "Hey, old man Zeff, if I help you send Krieg flying, can we call it even for the repair costs and medical fees for the ship I damaged?"
Zeff shook his head. "Krieg is not someone you can handle."
Luffy grinned. "I'm the man who's going to be King of the Pirates! I'll never lose to him!"
With that, Luffy walked out of the restaurant.
Zoro stood up, his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to follow.
Usopp quickly grabbed him. "Hey, hey, Zoro! Let's stay in the restaurant and protect everyone!"
Carina immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, Luffy is enough out there. He's a rubber-man, he'll be fine."
Nami chuckled. "Carina, I didn't realize you were such a coward."
She could, of course, tell that Carina and the long-nosed man were afraid of Krieg and didn't dare to go out.
Carina's pretty face flushed with shame and anger. "If you're not a coward, then you go out!"
Nami snorted lightly and glanced at Luo Chen with her large eyes.
Luo Chen nodded, signaling that it was no problem.
A smile appeared on Nami's face, and she pulled Luo Chen toward the exit.
"Carina, your straw-hat captain doesn't look very strong. If something happens, I'll ask Luo Chen to save him."
Nami's triumphant voice drifted back.
Carina stomped her foot in anger and said through gritted teeth, "Let's go out too!"
Zoro had intended to do so all along and followed closely behind Luo Chen, heading outside.
Usopp's legs were trembling, his smile full of bitterness. He tried his best to refuse but was still dragged outside by Carina.
As the owner of the Baratie, Zeff, the chef Sanji, and the other cooks all came outside as well.
Everyone looked up at the massive, tens-of-meters-high flagship of the Krieg fleet, their expressions extremely grave.
Zeff, a stout old man with a peg leg for a right leg, said in a low voice, "Krieg dominates the East Blue with his military might. This flagship is bound to be equipped with numerous powerful weapons."
"If we want to repel Krieg, we have to board the ship and confront him and his men directly."
"Once the ship's cannons open fire on us, we'll all be buried at sea."
As an old pirate who had entered the Grand Line for a year and returned in one piece, Zeff's advice carried a lot of weight.
Luffy's gaze was on the giant pirate ship. He muttered, "It does look like I can't break this big ship."
He suddenly stretched his arms, grabbing two of the Baratie's masts. His body shot out like a cannonball, propelled by the elasticity of his arms.
"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro shouted.
Worry appeared on the faces of Sanji, Usopp, and Carina.
Luffy had charged onto Krieg's pirate ship all by himself.
Zeff said angrily, "Is this kid crazy?"
The next moment, the sound of cannon fire erupted from the top deck of the giant pirate ship, followed immediately by the screams of pirates.
But not long after, with a roar from Krieg, a purple gas began to spread across the ship's deck.
The experienced Zeff's face changed instantly. He said, "It's most likely poison gas! Everyone, be careful!"
The sea breeze blew past. A few seagulls that happened to be flying by were caught in the purple gas. They fell silently and swiftly from the sky into the sea.
The purple poison gas, affected by the wind's direction, did not blow toward the Baratie.
Zeff and the others were shaken, but then they remembered Luffy, who was still on the ship.
The next moment, a small figure was sent flying backward from the top deck of the pirate ship, plummeting toward the sea.
Zoro moved nimbly. He scrambled up a mast like a monkey and leaped into the air.
He caught the falling Luffy and brought him back to the deck of the Baratie.
"Luffy!" Zoro forcefully slapped Luffy's purplish face.
Luffy coughed in pain. Although he was not unconscious or dead, he could barely move.
"Cough, cough, cough... It's poison gas... that despicable guy..." Luffy said, unwilling to accept his defeat.
Zoro sighed helplessly. "You reckless idiot!"
Usopp and Carina were extremely worried.
Luo Chen rubbed his chin. Luffy had actually been defeated by poison. This was different from the original story again. But it was normal. With Luffy's simple-mindedness, without a partner to warn him, he would never have thought of poison gas.
'Looks like it's my turn to act,' Luo Chen thought.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....patre0on.c0m/talecrafter]