Zoro's Change of Heart; Arriving at the Sea Restaurant.

Life at sea is dull and repetitive.

Of course, that statement doesn't apply when Luffy is around.

This kid bounces around all day except for training time, and when he's free, he goes bird hunting or fishing.

Just as their drowsy afternoon nap ended, before Can Yue, Zoro, and the others had fully woken up, they heard the sound of cannonballs exploding.

It turned out Luffy and Usopp were having a cannonball launching contest.

Judging by the results of the competition, Usopp indeed possessed exceptional long-range sniping talent, easily hitting giant rocks hundreds of meters away with a cannon.

Seeing this familiar scene, Can Yue's lips curved upwards imperceptibly, as he could clearly sense two people beneath the giant rocks. They should be Zoro's two subordinates, Johnny and Joseph, who were also Pirate Hunters.

'How pathetic.'

Even Can Yue felt a pang of sympathy for the bounty hunter duo who were hit by the blast.

Ten minutes later, Johnny rushed onto the pirate ship to duel Luffy, only to be easily defeated by him.

Later, Johnny reunited with Zoro and informed him that he and the critically injured Joseph had been hiding under the giant rocks, resulting in the unfortunate cannon incident.

Luffy and Usopp's mouths hung wide open upon hearing this, and they repeatedly apologized.

The group subsequently saw Joseph, whose teeth had fallen out, who was covered in bruises, had dry skin, and lacked any vitality.

With Nami's explanation, everyone except Can Yue learned that Joseph had contracted scurvy, a common ailment at sea caused by a lack of Vitamin C.

If they didn't pay attention to nutritional balance while sailing, the others figured they would all be susceptible to this disease.

Fortunately, Nami had prepared plenty of limes before setting sail, which saved Joseph's life.

After this incident, Luffy and the others became even more convinced of the necessity of finding a cook.

Thus, the group continued sailing towards the Sea Restaurant.

One day later, the critically ill Joseph had already regained his vigor.

The two excitedly introduced themselves to Can Yue and the others.

A while back, when they saw Zoro had become a 'Great Pirate' with a bounty of 15 million, they were so shocked their scalps tingled.

Now, they had personally witnessed Luffy and Can Yue, who had even higher bounties.

As bounty hunters, sailing with a pirate crew whose combined bounties totaled 65 million Berries felt incredibly surreal to them.

~

Inside the kitchen, Joseph was still eating oranges as part of his recovery treatment.

Johnny and Zoro were keeping him company.

At this moment, Johnny suddenly asked with curiosity.

"Brother Zoro, why did you decide to become a pirate with them?"

Upon hearing this question, Zoro fell silent for a moment.

Before meeting Can Yue and Luffy, Zoro believed he had sufficient strength to set sail and challenge Hawk Eyes, fulfilling his promise to his close friend Kuina.

However, in Shells Town, he met Can Yue, marking his first defeat since setting sail.

In Orange Town, Zoro witnessed the terrifying power of Can Yue's sword skill, 'Azure Dragon Break.'

This showed him the vastness of the world and made him grateful for having met Can Yue, Luffy, and the others.

His silence ended, Zoro's gaze was firm, and he responded with a smile.

"By joining this pirate crew, I will become stronger."

"Stronger? Brother Zoro, aren't you strong enough already?" Joseph asked with disbelief.

"Ah, compared to those two, especially Can Yue, I still have a long way to go."

Although he said he couldn't compare to Can Yue, Zoro's eyes were incredibly firm, a confidence that he would continue to grow stronger.

Johnny and Joseph were deeply shaken.

"That Can Yue actually earned the respect of the formidable Brother Zoro. Who exactly is he?"

Zoro didn't reply further and walked towards the door.

In the eyes of Johnny and Joseph, Zoro's aura seemed to be gradually changing.

"Can Yue, let's continue training," Zoro said confidently, walking up to Can Yue with a smile.

"Oh?" Can Yue, who was currently beating up Luffy, turned to look at Zoro.

"It seems your state of mind has achieved a breakthrough," Can Yue observed, seeing the reason.

A person's sword skill improvement is greatly related to their state of mind.

Zoro had likely let go of some inner turmoil just now, which led to this change.

Indeed, it was as Can Yue had guessed.

Zoro had been too impatient in the past period because he realized that no matter how much he trained, he still felt just as far from Can Yue.

His impatience had prevented him from making much progress all this time.

At this moment, Zoro finally accepted himself, letting go of his desire to compare himself to Can Yue. All he needed to do was compare himself to the person he was a second ago and grow stronger step by step.

With this realization, Zoro felt a step closer to being able to cut through steel.

Watching a confident Zoro, Can Yue said, "Very good. Then work hard to prove yourself."

"Okay!"

Zoro adjusted his breathing, drew his sword, and slashed at the large iron hammer!

Another day passed. The scorching midday sun caused steam to rise from the sea's surface.

Even the Straw Hat Pirates had stopped their training and entered a brief midday rest.

As everyone was drifting off to sleep, Shushu, who lived in the forward gun deck, suddenly started barking.

The group emerged from the ship's cabin and looked closely. A massive, circular sailing ship with fish-shaped prows was visible a few hundred meters ahead of them.

The words "Sea Restaurant Baratie" were clearly written on the hull.

"Wow, we've finally found it, the Sea Restaurant Baratie!" Luffy shouted excitedly, jumping up and down.

Nami was so excited she started crying, wiping away tears as she complained, "Finally, we won't have to eat only fruit and sea birds anymore."

Usopp wiped away his excited tears and looked expectantly at Can Yue.

"Can Yue, now we'll have food. I don't have to hunt birds anymore, right?"

The main issue was that Usopp had been catching sea birds every day recently. He thought he had avoided being beaten by Can Yue, but Can Yue, without any sense of fairness, had increased his task to two birds a day.

Therefore, Usopp was still being beaten and crying out in pain every day.

"Yes, when we're at the restaurant, I'll give you a break."

"Wow, long live boss Can Yue!"

Poor Usopp truly seemed terrified of Can Yue, not daring to say anything disrespectful.

Zoro also said with anticipation, "I wonder how the sake at this restaurant tastes?"

After nearly a week of monotonous sailing, Zoro's mouth felt incredibly bland.

"Meat, meat, meat!"

Luffy drooled as he issued a captain's order.

"Brothers, full speed ahead towards the Sea Restaurant Baratie!"

The few hundred meters distance was quickly covered.

Just as the Merry was about to reach the restaurant's entrance, a dark shadow suddenly appeared beside the Merry.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Marine warship.

On the warship's deck, a Marine officer wearing knuckle dusters, supported by a beautiful blonde woman in a form-fitting long dress, looked down at the Straw Hat Crew.

"What unknown pirates are you? Have your captain come out to speak."

Marine Captain Iron Fist Hody shouted at the Straw Hat Crew on the Merry.

Luffy replied, "I'm Luffy."

Usopp quickly added, "I'm Usopp."

Luffy: "Our pirate flag is freshly made."

Usopp: "I drew the pirate flag."

The two spoke back and forth, causing Hody to show disdain.

Usopp's behavior not only made Luffy look disgusted.

Can Yue and Zoro, who were observing from the side, frowned.

In such a situation, Usopp's actions would make outsiders feel that the Straw Hat Pirates' captain lacked authority.

Outsiders would naturally not respect such a pirate crew.

Of course, Can Yue knew that Usopp was not mature yet and had no malicious intent; he simply wanted to show off, so he would discipline him slowly later.

Meanwhile, Iron Fist Hody was solely focused on the beauty beside him. Moreover, Usopp's childish behavior led him to dismiss the Straw Hat Crew as a garbage pirate group with no threat.

Therefore, the Marine Captain did not carefully observe the appearances of the pirate crew members.

He directly ordered his subordinates to fire, while he, along with the beauty, walked towards Baratie.

~

The warship opened fire, and Luffy immediately jumped up, turning into a rubber balloon to block the attack.

Because the distance to the warship was too close, the cannonball's acceleration was too fast, causing Luffy to misjudge the trajectory of the rebound.

It flew directly into the chefs' resting room at Baratie.

Everyone covered their faces.

Luffy stared blankly, exclaiming, "It's over!"