Blade Emperor, Sword Saint: Baratie

"985,"

"986,"

On the deck of the Golden Merry, Luffy and Zoro were squatting with weights on their backs, grunting with effort. Nami, who was also exercising nearby, and...

"Why do I have to join too?!"

Facing a tearful Usopp, Roman, who was also exercising with weights, lifted an eyelid.

"You want to fight me too?"

"If you win, you don't have to listen to me—"

"Forget it, I practice martial arts from the heart..."

...It felt like déjà vu.

"Hahaha~~"

"Nami, what are you laughing at?"

"As the saying about 'friends' goes," Nami said, laughing at Usopp, whose legs were cramping beside her, "I feel happy when I hear that you're having a worse time than me."

"This friendship is too realistic."

However, complaining was useless. After completing Roman's prescribed training volume, the others still had the energy to chat and laugh, but the poor Usopp didn't even have the strength to roll over.

"This isn't what I imagined..."

Pirate life shouldn't be about feasts, revelry, storms, and battles...

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime."

While steering the Golden Merry and simultaneously controlling two 'paper arms' to open a merchant ship behind them, Roman lifted an eyelid.

"Usopp, your physical fitness is only 0.8 Nami's level. I didn't expect that."

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean 0.8 Nami's level..."

Nami, who had just finished bathing, was indignant. When did she become a unit of physical fitness measurement?

"Because your physical condition is the most representative of an ordinary pirate's level among us."

Roman replied earnestly.

"Otherwise, how about I change it to 0.04 Luffy's level?"

"Never mind... that would be too demoralizing."

"But it's okay, your potential should be more than this."

Roman looked at Usopp.

"You've probably just never had systematic training before, which is why you seem so... weak. Now that you're starting to train and develop your physical potential, I believe you'll soon surpass 1 Nami's level..."

"That's enough, Roman! Don't use me as a standard unit..."

The days of sailing were actually not grand or glamorous or exciting at all.

Most of the time, it was just the boundless sea, with no storms or other ships. And to prevent Luffy from messing around, Roman formulated a detailed training plan every day to eliminate their excess energy. However:

"I think we need a pirate flag."

Everyone, including Roman, nodded in agreement with Luffy's serious suggestion.

After all, they now had five members! It was time to fly their own banner!

"Ta-da~~"

"How do you like this one I drew?"

To be honest, although it could still be recognized as a skull flag, "This guy clearly has no artistic talent."

Usopp stated the truth.

"No, from a certain perspective... it can also be considered art."

Nami said, lost in thought.

"A pirate flag is a symbol of deterrence, isn't it..."

Zoro said speechlessly.

"This isn't so much a pirate flag as it is a kindergarten doodle."

Roman rubbed his temples. If they actually hung this thing, the other party would die laughing before the fight even began... No, on second thought. Perhaps this was actually one of Luffy's strategies?

Showing weakness...

No, no, Roman shook his head.

Luffy normally wouldn't have the brain cells to think about these things!

"Forget it, leave the drawing to me."

As the only 'artist' among them, Usopp readily took the brush. However:

It wasn't that he drew badly, but rather: a skull with a long nose, a slingshot on one side, and leg bones on the other. He even added a star effect...

Bang! Bang!

"You drew yourself, didn't you?"

After being punched by both Luffy and Zoro, Usopp had to redraw a 'Straw Hat Pirate flag', which surprisingly impressed the others.

"That's a good drawing."

"I can't believe it's the same design..."

Comparing it to Luffy's drawing, it was like the difference between a seller's photo and a buyer's photo.

"Hmph, not only am I good at drawing, but I'm also good at shooting—I can hit the mark with every shot!"

After demonstrating by blowing up a small rocky outcrop exposed on the distant sea surface with one shot:

"Alright, from now on, you're our ship's 'Sniper' and 'Painter'."

Luffy waved his hand, assigning Usopp two positions.

?

"Hey,"

Roman looked up at the paper cranes flying in the sky. One of them flew towards the small rocky outcrop that Usopp had just blown apart. After circling a few times:

"I have good news and bad news, which do you want to hear?"

??

"The bad news."

Facing Luffy's choice, Roman nodded.

"The place you just blasted has someone resting there. —You hit some bystanders."

Oh, that...

"Then what's the good news?"

Luffy and Usopp, with expressions of stoic despair, anxiously asked.

"The good news is, those two don't seem to be dead yet."

"Damn it, I was just a little bit short..."

When Roman and the others turned around, a swordsman jumped out of the ruins of the stone slope, shouting about 'an eye for an eye'. He was promptly taken down by Luffy with one move...

"Joseph, pull yourself together!"

After rescuing the other person, they discovered they were former 'colleagues' of Zoro, and both were his devoted fans, named Joseph and Johnny, who were Pirate Hunters. However, one of them was unharmed, while the other had a pale face, and the wound on his stomach was even bleeding. But:

"This looks like scurvy?"

It wasn't the cannonball fired by Usopp that injured the other person, but rather:

"What is scurvy?"

Facing the questions from the Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro trio, Nami had to educate them:

"Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of Vitamin C in the body. Prolonged insufficient intake increases the fragility of capillaries, leading to bleeding under the skin and mucous membranes, medically known as scurvy. All it takes is..."

"A bit of this will do."

Roman had already brought out a glass of orange juice and handed it to the other hunter, Johnny, telling him to feed it to Joseph.

"Fresh vegetables, citrus fruits, and lemons can all prevent scurvy, but if your diet is unbalanced during long voyages, you'll end up like him."

As Roman spoke, he glanced at Luffy.

"Especially you, Luffy. —You only eat meat, and it wouldn't be strange if you got a bunch of weird diseases someday."

Guys like him were definitely models of the 'Three Highs' in his past life!

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry..."

"Alright, I'll cook."

Roman rolled his eyes. Although he could control his 'Paper Arms' to cook while improving his Devil Fruit proficiency, however:

"Honestly, the number of times I've cooked recently is almost as much as my entire past life... my previous total."

In the ship's dining room, watching Luffy and the others—including the recently rescued Johnny and Joseph—devour the food he made, Roman rubbed his chin, once again doubting his own cooking skills.

It didn't make sense. I'm not Liu Angxing, and I didn't put anything like poppy husks in it...

"Delicious!"

"I bet you'd say even potato stew is delicious, wouldn't you?"

Roman no longer wanted to hear the opinions of these guys who all had 'iron stomachs'; he tapped his plate with his cutlery.

"I think we need to recruit a professional cook."

"A good cook can not only make delicious food but also balance nutrition, and even subtly strengthen the eater's physique through food..."

This wasn't a fantasy; in this magical world, many foods possessed incredible power, granting tangible strength!

Devil Fruits were among the best.

"So, where can we find such a cook?"

In response to Zoro's question, Roman pointed at Nami with his cutlery.

"Of course, we should ask the person with the most sailing experience among us,"

"As someone who's always been active in the East Blue, Nami should know if there are any cooks there, right?"

"I know, but—"

Nami, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin, thought for a moment, then took out a sea chart and spread it open, pointing to a sea area.

"On our route slightly to the north,"

"There's a very famous ship in this sea area called the 'Baratie.' If you need a cook, you could check there. But I don't know if they'll be willing to join us."

As she spoke, Nami's finger paused.

On the mainland next to that sea area was an inconspicuous small village:

Cocoyasi Village.

Time flies so fast, our enjoyable journey is about to end...