Somewhere in the East Blue,
It was the height of summer, and the blazing sun beat down on the three of them like fire.
Luffy stuck out his tongue and sprawled weakly across the deck.
"It's so hot... I'm so hungry. Zoro, do you have anything to eat?"
Zoro looked at Luffy in disdain. "A few days ago, you were the one who said you didn't want to be seen off as a hero and insisted on sneaking away without bringing any provisions. And now you've got the nerve to complain about being hungry."
"You're one strange pirate!"
Luffy looked thoroughly displeased and tried to straighten up to argue.
Can Yue suddenly raised his head toward the sky, signaling for them to be quiet.
A white seagull wearing a hat appeared above the three of them.
It slowly flew toward them in a perfectly straight line.
Can Yue raised a finger to his lips, and Luffy and Zoro immediately understood.
The three of them sat as still and dignified as giant Buddhas, barely even breathing.
The instant the News Coo prepared to toss down the newspaper, Can Yue immediately drew Demon God Slayer and slashed.
Any bird that witnessed such a sight would probably be scared out of its wits.
Half an hour later, Luffy gnawed on a grilled bird leg, his cheeks stuffed full as he asked Can Yue, "Is this really okay? I've never heard of anyone eating a News Coo before."
Can Yue ate bird breast while reading the newspaper, ignoring Luffy's question.
Zoro shot Luffy a contemptuous glance and reached for another bird leg, only for a stretchy hand to suddenly appear from the side.
The bird leg was gone! Zoro glared at Luffy, his face covered in black lines.
"I'm going to chop you up! Three Sword Style~~~"
After the farce, Can Yue gestured for the two of them to look at the bounty notices for all three of them in the newspaper.
After reading it, Luffy lay face-down on the little boat, his butt sticking up in the air, looking utterly dejected.
"Damn it, I'm obviously the captain. Why is my bounty only half of Can Yue's?"
Zoro naturally did not care. "The gap in strength is right there. What do you have to complain about?"
Indeed, after Can Yue had trained them in Armament Haki over the past few days, the two of them had gained a clearer understanding of his strength.
"But since we all consider Luffy the captain, then..." Zoro did not say it outright and merely slowly looked toward Can Yue.
Can Yue naturally understood what Zoro meant and replied with a smile, "Don't worry."
Hearing that, Zoro let out a sigh of relief. He had truly been worried that Can Yue might refuse to accept Luffy as captain because he was stronger.
If, at some crucial moment in the future, Can Yue had an opinion completely opposite to the captain's, then the Straw Hat Pirates would exist in name only.
But Luffy seemed completely unconcerned with their conversation. He was still drawing circles on the boat, venting his dissatisfaction over being the captain yet having the second-highest bounty.
After sulking for several minutes, Luffy suddenly sat up and stared seriously at Can Yue.
Zoro immediately sensed trouble and fixed his gaze on Luffy, wanting to see what he would do next.
Luffy pointed at Can Yue and declared, "I'll work hard to defeat enemies and make my bounty surpass yours within a year! So keep training my Armament Haki."
Zoro let out another breath when he heard that. If Luffy had clashed with Can Yue over the difference in their bounties, it would have meant he had followed the wrong captain.
Can Yue nodded. "Get ready to be beaten up. That goes for you too, Zoro."
Well then, Zoro's relieved breath was immediately sucked back in with nervousness.
Training began.
Luffy: "Iron Head! Ah, that hurts!"
Zoro: "...Steel Chest! Damn it!"
The sky gradually darkened, and the brightness of day slowly faded from the sea's surface.
Luffy and Zoro had already been beaten unconscious and were now sleeping soundly.
Can Yue sat beside them as though in deep meditation, cultivating his Haki while thinking.
After reaching the next island, the three of them would face their first enemy, Clown Buggy.
Though Can Yue remembered this guy as being weak, his instincts made him deeply suspicious of Buggy's true strength. That fellow was probably not simple.
The next day, in the waters roughly a dozen nautical miles from Orange Town.
Luffy started complaining again. "I'm starving to death!!! Is there a News Coo for me to eat today?"
Just then, a huge bird flew overhead.
Before Can Yue could make a move, Luffy launched himself upward with a Gum-Gum Rocket.
As a result, he became firmly lodged in the beak of the giant bird, which was larger than their little boat.
It flew straight into the distance.
Zoro covered his face while Can Yue was left speechless.
Can Yue turned to Zoro and said, "Chase it!"
"Alright!" Zoro rowed with all his might, sending the little boat forward as fast as a jet boat.
After some time, Zoro was panting from exhaustion when he suddenly realized something. He turned to look at Can Yue, who was sitting calmly beside him, and asked in confusion.
"Can Yue, why aren't you rowing?"
"This is your training. Try coating the oars with Armament Haki now."
"I... Damn it! Waaah!"
Feeling the sea breeze created by the boat's rapid movement, Can Yue muttered, "It's pretty cool."
Zoro: ...
On the streets of Orange Town.
A lively young beauty with short orange hair, a short skirt, and high-heeled sandals was being chased by a group of thug pirates.
"You damn woman, hand over the nautical charts!"
"Otherwise Captain Buggy will kill us. Stop! Don't run!"
Just as the girl was about to be caught by the pirates and something unspeakable was about to happen.
"Ah!!!!!"
With a cry from the sky, Comrade Luffy fell straight down and smashed into the fodder pirates from Buggy's crew.
And just like that, Luffy and Nami met.
On Orange Town's shore, Zoro gulped down air. It seemed he was still just barely short of dying from exhaustion.
Can Yue acknowledged Zoro's effort, but he also offered his next suggestion.
"Your Haki release duration is acceptable, but only the front third of the oars was coated with Armament Haki. Keep working at it."
Zoro did not even have the strength to argue. He lay flat on the ground, questioning his life.
Just then, an enormous flash and explosion suddenly erupted from the center of town.
The powerful destructive force caused an entire row of buildings throughout the town to collapse.
"With such a huge commotion, Luffy should be over there!" Zoro said as he recovered a little strength and stood up.
"Mm, go take a look first. I'll be there shortly." Can Yue intended to look for clues about Buggy on the island, so he replied that way.
"Okay!" Zoro did not think much of it and immediately rushed toward the site of the explosion.
After Zoro left, Can Yue began considering what to do next.
I'll gather information from the local townspeople first.
With that thought, Can Yue used his sense of smell to keenly detect that many townspeople were gathered together along the island's western coast.
Thus, the silver-haired handsome man headed toward the residential area on the western coast.
Meanwhile, people in other parts of the Grand Line gradually saw the bounty posters for Can Yue and the other two.
Although their bounties were not high yet, they still caused quite a stir in the East Blue, the weakest sea.
Inside a bar on an island in the East Blue, a group of people discussed the Straw Hat Pirates.
"They were given bounties because they killed a Marine Colonel."
"They've got guts, openly going against the Marines. Though that Morgan was pretty notorious too."
"The place where they caused trouble is close to where Clown Buggy lives. Do you think there'll be some conflict?"
"Hahaha, if that happens, it'll be quite a show. I'm really looking forward to the next newspaper."
Before you continue