Several months ago, on the boundless sea, two people dressed in special costumes flew back and forth in the sky.
They were a man and a woman. The man was wearing a flashy red combat suit and had an even flashier platinum cloak draped over his shoulders.
On the chest of his bright red shirt, there were two huge "66"s.
Compared to him, the woman beside him seemed much more normal.
After all, compared to a man dressed in bright red men's clothing, a girl wearing pink clothes isn't anything strange.
However, there was one striking feature about this woman: her thighs.
Of course, this woman's thighs were indeed white, long, and sexy, but that alone wasn't enough to make her special.
On the front of her thighs, two large black "66" patterns added a unique charm to the girl.
People seeing this girl for the first time will likely focus their attention on the 66 on the Root her thighs while examining her sexy combat outfit.
Then I kept thinking, what does that 66 mean?
Is this a record of 66 men "slayed," or a single instance of 66 men "slayed"???
Getting back to the main point, at this very moment, Reiju and Ichiji of the Vinsmoke Family are leaping across the sea.
Just as she was rushing about, for some reason, Reiju suddenly frowned.
"Ichiji!"
She said.
"Go back and report first. I plan to continue tracking Saint Gawain's trail!"
"Why."
Upon hearing this, Ichiji frowned without any emotion.
"Didn't we already observe in Mock Town? That Celestial Dragon was more decisive than we imagined; Mock Town has already been reduced to ruins."
As for the gold mentioned in the newspapers, most of that gold was invested in Water 7 by the Celestial Dragon.
As for the remaining gold stored in Golden Town, it has been firmly controlled by members of the Black Ice Terrace under the Dark Bird banner.
The Black Ice Terrace members even reached a cooperation agreement with Admiral Sakazuki of the Navy, to the point that different Vice Admiral under Admiral Sakazuki's command would be stationed and patrolling Golden Town every week.
In such an environment, we simply cannot steal that gold. No matter how precious the legendary gold may be, it could never become an asset to our Vinsmoke Family.
On the contrary, it is not appropriate for us to have a conflict with the Dark Bird now, as Father has been deeply immersed in the research and development of Lineage Factor recently.
Therefore, Reiju, there is no need for you to continue tracking the Dark Bird Ship. If you truly wish to leave the team temporarily, you must give me a reason."
At this point, Ichiji looked at Reiju expressionlessly, staring into Reiju eyes as he pondered the meaning of Reiju departure.
Faced with Ichiji's scrutinizing gaze, Reiju opened her mouth with the same expressionless face.
"Admittedly, we can hardly gain any special benefits from the places where the Dark Bird has passed."
But I must emphasize one point, Ichiji.
Haven't you noticed that the layout of the islands that the Dark Bird passes over changes drastically?
Just as we are now rushing back to our family to remind our father to devote his energy to securing an environment that belongs to us in the emerging landscape of Golden Town.
I strongly suspect that the places Saint Gawain will visit next will also form new ecological environments!
He is very keen on cleaning up the original social environment of the islands, and if we can grasp the dynamics under his rule as soon as possible, we can intervene in the Underworld of those new ecological islands faster than others!
In some ways, every island Saint Gawain visited was wiped out by our assassins' hideouts.
This is hurtful to us, but if we put ourselves in their shoes, it is also hurtful to every major member of the underworld, including the Joker.
If we can unify the islands that the Dark Bird has traversed faster than the Joker, then we can capture a larger market share than the Joker and his group!
At this point, Reiju waved firmly at Ichiji.
"From now on, we will split up. You go home and tell your father about the news from Mushroom Valley Town."
As for me, I will follow behind the Dark Bird Ship and take control of the many territories under its Dark Bird Ship as soon as possible.
I will not fight against the Dark Bird, nor will I violate Dark Bird rules.
"I simply bought a portion of the houses on this island after Dark Bird left, designating it as the new base for our assassin organization!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Reiju decisively left Ichiji and flew towards the direction of the Dark Bird.
Watching Reiju's departing figure, Ichiji remained silent for a full two minutes.
Two minutes later, Ichiji pursed his lips and continued rushing towards his family.
As for Reiju, she hung slowly behind the Dark Bird Ship, about 300 nautical miles to the left Dark Bird Ship, following the Dark Bird Ship's trajectory.
During this process, Reiju also made many new friends.
For example, there were many intelligence agents hanging behind Dark Bird like her, such as Baby 5, and Stussy's subordinates.
Through their constant tracking, people like Reiju quickly grasped all the rules and regulations under Gawain, and they also quickly integrated their own existence into Gawain rules.
Reiju originally thought that she would stay behind Dark Bird until Dark Bird returned.
She never expected that a certain variable... would appear for her!
In a certain sea area of East Blue, there sits a very interesting ship.
On the deck of that ship, there was a large three-story house!
From a distance, it doesn't look like a ship; it looks more like a floating villa.
This is Baratie, a famous culinary Holy Land in the East Blue and a floating restaurant!
This restaurant has a rather... well... long history.
A quick count reveals that this restaurant has been established for eight years.
Speaking of this restaurant, one must mention its owner, the Cook Pirates, who were one of the legends of the East Blue thirty years ago!
As a pirate who managed to earn a bounty during the Rocks era, and who was also able to venture into the Grand Line and escape unscathed during that time.
Red-Leg Zeff, the captain of the Cook Pirates, was naturally regarded as a lifelong idol by countless pirates in the East Blue.
Keep in mind that things were very different thirty years ago Koby to five years later, when bounties skyrocketed and even Buggy the Clown was worth over three billion dollars.
If you convert a bounty from thirty years ago to today's value, you'd need to add at least one zero to the end of the figure to make it seem appropriate.
So, Red-Leg Zeff is quite a powerful being after all.
As for why he's called Red-Leg Zeff, it's because he has exceptionally good legwork.
If his foot hits an enemy, it can shatter them, causing tons of blood to gush out!
After Zeff returned from the Grand Line, this story became the mainstream view in the East Blue Sea, and everyone regarded Zeff as one of the living legends of the East Blue.
After all, there are far too many pirates who head to the Grand Line, and 99% of them never return.
Even if the remaining one percent return, they will be barely clinging to life; some will be disabled, while others may not even have the strength to walk.
In such an environment, Red-Leg Zeff stayed on the Grand Line for a full year, and then he actually returned unscathed!
He didn't lose any limbs, just two scars; he didn't even lose any of his men!
In that case, Zeff is truly a legend, because there are very few pirates like Zeff in the East Blue!
Therefore, even before the establishment of the Baratie, Zeff did not intend to return to the Grand Line, and his pirate crew was still a dominant force in the East Blue!
Eight years ago, on a rather gloomy day...
Zeff led his Cook Pirates to rob a merchant ship sailing from the North Blue.
This posed no challenge for Zeff. Before long, Zeff had killed all the guards and then dragged everyone on the ship onto the deck.
Facing a large group of terrified people, Zeff revealed a cruel smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen, hahaha, I am the legendary chef, Red-Leg Zeff!"
From this moment forward, you are all my ingredients!
If you just put all your gold and jewels in my wok and let me cook to my heart's content!
Your safety will be guaranteed!!!
As soon as he finished speaking, Zeff immediately dispatched people to begin the routine money-collecting journey.
This process was very easy. Merchant ships at sea were already used to being robbed. Anyway, it was the boss's goods that were lost, and as long as we were alive, we would still have value to be exploited by the bosses.
But this seemingly ordinary robbery became extraordinary because of a sudden bolt of lightning in the darkness.
Just as the lightning struck, Zeff vaguely saw a face that showed absolutely no fear!
The lightning briefly disappeared, but Zeff still followed the dim light and looked toward the face.
He was a Little Boy of about eight or nine years old, dressed in an ill-fitting sailor outfit. He had blond hair and a flashy hairstyle that covered half of his face.
What's particularly noteworthy is that this child's eyebrows are curled.
Seeing the deathly calm on the boy's face, Zeff became interested and decided to have a chat with this bold kid.
But before he could put it into practice, another bolt of lightning struck their merchant ship.
With a single strike, the raging thunder caused enough damage to sink the merchant ship.
But this was just the beginning; a violent storm erupted in the next moment, completely overturning the entire ocean!
Faced with the storm, Zeff wanted to rely on his own strength to escape.
But for some reason, he remembered the deathly stillness in that blond boy's eyes!
"Hmph, you little brat with death in your eyes, now you can truly die!"
He did think that way, but only for a moment.
The next instant, Zeff had already pounced on the blond boy.
Grabbing the blond boy by the waist and pulling him tightly into his arms, Zeff faced the churning sea and cursed fiercely at the boy in his arms.
"If you show a suicidal look at yourself at sea, you'll be cursed!"
Your retribution has come, you brat!!!
After saying just one sentence, a towering wave slammed Zeff and his companion into the sea. After a long period of unconsciousness, they miraculously drifted to an unknown island.
There was no food on the island, only sand and stones, and two trees with very unpalatable bark.
You ask how they knew that tree's bark tasted bad?
Of course, only those who ate it all would know.
And so, Zeff and the blond boy fell into an endless hunger, a hunger that made Zeff dream of eating the blond boy alive, even in his dreams.
Even the blond kid himself felt that he would be eaten by Zeff sooner or later.
When you're truly starving, you don't need any mental preparation to eat people.
And so it went until the very end, when they actually started eating people, and there were only two of them...
So, did Zeff eat the blond kid?
Eight years later, in the dining center of the Baratie, a ruddy-faced Red-Leg Zeff is using his only remaining foot to stomp on the table in front of him and shout at the diners around him.
"Come on, come on, guess this question! Whoever guesses correctly gets their meal for free tonight, haha!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zeff laughed and picked up the flask. Everyone thought he would drink heartily until his beard and clothes were soaked with water.
Surprisingly, Zeff's drinking motions were extremely subtle!
The liquor flowed gently into Zeff's mouth like a trickle, and his beard and clothes remained as neat and new as ever.
Seeing this, a sixteen-year-old boy not far away, looking helpless, wiped his face in frustration.
"Even when the old man is drunk, he never gets his chef's uniform dirty."
After saying that, the young man smiled, picked up the wine jug, and clinked glasses with the old man. At the same time, the other diners began to speak.
"Zeff, you've told this story a million times already!"
Everyone knows you sawed off your own leg and ate it!
Although this is truly a heroic thing, no matter how heroic it is, it won't get any more interesting if you tell it a thousand times!
You just want to get tonight's dinner free, don't you?
After the diners shouted, they laughed and drank with Zeff.
Sitting at the head of the table, watching the diners' happy expressions, Zeff blinked emotionally.
These are the diners who deeply love my cooking, and they are also my lifelong friends.
I... I really can't bear to part with them!
Even if it's hard to let go, some decisions still have to be made!
With this determination, Zeff put down his glass and, with a moved expression, continued to shout at the crowd.
"Haha, yeah, I just wanted to get my meal for free today!"
Those of you who have been invited to our restaurant today are all our regular customers, so of course I'm going to treat you to a big meal.
Because tomorrow, the Baratie will officially disband!!!
"Long live!"
"The boss is treating!"
"Dry and beautiful... huh?"
"Wait a minute, isn't something wrong?!"
Zeff had barely finished speaking when the people around him, who were celebrating, suddenly realized what was happening.
Did Zeff just say that the Baratie is going to close down?!
Bang!!!
Suddenly, someone slammed their hand on the table in front of them, breaking it in two.
"Hey, old Zeff, what do you mean by that!"
Are you really going to give up, you old codger?!
"Garp!!!"
Seeing the old man slam his fist on the table, Zeff roared angrily.
"You bastard, you can talk, but don't smash my table!"
"It's just a table, I'll just replace it with one from my warship!"
Old man, you'd better answer my question already, are you sure you want to break up?
If you stop running the restaurant, where will this old man find such delicious food?!
As one of the most loyal diners at the Baratie, Garp's question represented the questions of most of the diners, so after he finished speaking, all the diners present looked at Zeff.
Seeing the diners' reluctant gazes, Zeff sadly shook his head.
"Hey, I'm not kidding, the Baratie really can only open here."
As you all know, the Dark Bird Ship is about to pass through this area, and I must take my crew and find a safe place to hide.
After all, although we are cooks, we are also brave men of the sea. I, Zeff, once had a bounty on my head!
As for pirates, that Celestial Dragon shows no mercy. I, an old man, want to live a few more years to pass on my skills to those brats behind me!!!
Happy National Day.
I drank quite a bit with my family today. I was thinking of taking a day off to rest, but emboldened by the alcohol, I decided to write this down instead...
Sigh, when will writing finally get a break?
365 days a year without a break, that feels so painful, meow~.