Delicious Beyond Compare, A Must-Try

Time passed slowly.

The group spent three pleasant days like this.

Until the morning of the fourth day, the banquet continued without pause.

During this time.

The human towns and villages around Cocoyasi Village that had also been ruled and oppressed by Fish-Men.

After confirming that the Fish-Men had truly been completely dealt with, they too joined the banquet one after another.

And everyone expressed their most sincere gratitude to Will.

Many even took the initiative to offer up the last of their savings, hoping to give it as a token of thanks.

Will accepted the thanks with a smile, but politely declined the money the villagers offered.

Because he had already found a vast amount of treasure in Arlong Park.

That was the true spoils that belonged to him.

By midday.

The banquet began again.

Will, Nami, and the others sat around a table somewhere in the village, enjoying the various delicacies before them.

Will turned his gaze to a freshly served plate of steamed fish, picked up a piece with his chopsticks, and tasted it.

The moment he swallowed.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up the plate of steamed fish and handed it to Nami and the others beside him, saying seriously:

"This dish is excellent, the flavor is incredibly fresh. You must try it."

Seeing Will praise it so highly, Nami, Carina, and the others curiously picked up pieces of fish to taste.

Then they too couldn't help but brighten up, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Clearly, the fish was indeed exceptionally delicious.

Everyone ate and drank with relaxed, joyful expressions.

A Jian, sitting beside Will, was already flushed red from drinking.

Suddenly.

A Jian turned to look at Will, his face carrying the heat of alcohol as he earnestly entrusted:

"Will, I'm leaving Nami in your hands from now on."

"Don't ever let her get hurt or cry again, or I won't let you off easy!"

"Ken-san!"

Nami's face inexplicably flushed red at these words, and she quickly tried to interrupt: "What are you saying!"

Will was taken aback for a moment, then his expression turned equally serious as he nodded in agreement:

"Don't worry. No one can hurt her in front of me."

A Jian nodded in satisfaction: "Good."

Nojiko, resting her chin on her hand, watched the two men across from her with a smile: "How interesting."

"Ken-san really does look like an old father."

Carina couldn't help teasing Nami as well.

"You two too..." Nami said, looking helpless.

The table was filled with laughter and cheer.

After lunch, the banquet gradually drew to a close.

After that.

Nami disappeared somewhere, nowhere to be seen.

With some free time, Will and Carina returned to the ship.

They continued sorting through the treasure and spoils obtained from Arlong Park earlier.

Along with the large amounts of food and drink generously gifted by the villagers.

After dealing with the miscellaneous tasks.

The two lay back leisurely in deck chairs, sipping carefully mixed iced juice.

Will stared at the blue sky and white clouds above, and a thought suddenly crossed his mind about those scumbag Marines from before.

After a moment of contemplation, he abruptly sat up straight and turned to ask:

"Carina, do you know where those Marines came from?"

"I mean, the exact location of that so-called Marine Branch 16."

"Marine Branch 16?"

Carina pushed her sunglasses up to her forehead, looking surprised as she said, "Why are you asking about that?"

She couldn't help but chuckle as she added, "Don't tell me you're planning to go wipe out the remaining Marines there."

Will said nothing in response, simply watching her in silence.

"Eh?!"

Seeing this, Carina understood his meaning at once and shot up in astonishment:

"No way, Will, you're actually serious about going to the Marine branch to pick a fight with those Marines."

"I'm definitely going."

Will raised an eyebrow and calmly analyzed, "That Rat Captain who was leading them has been over here for several days without returning."

"Even if the people at Marine Branch 16 are slow on the uptake, they'll probably notice something within another day at most."

"When that happens, they'll likely send more Marines to check things out."

"To keep those Marines from causing trouble for the villagers here after we leave,"

"we need to go deal with them first, to eliminate the problem once and for all."

Hearing this, Carina sank into thought and murmured to herself, "You've got a point. Those Marines didn't seem like good people at all."

"And with that Rat Captain's sneaky personality, it's basically impossible that there's anyone decent left in Marine Branch 16."

"If we just leave them alone, those Marines will definitely come here and harass the villagers."

Realizing the issue, Carina still said regretfully, "Too bad I don't know exactly where Marine Branch 16 is."

"To pinpoint its location, I'd need to ask around a bit."

She hadn't spent much time operating near the Konomi Islands before, so she knew little about the local Marine intelligence.

To figure it out, she'd have to seek out some specialized information brokers.

After all, the exact location of a Marine branch wasn't common knowledge.

Will frowned slightly and was about to say something.

"I know where Marine Branch 16 is!"

Just then, Nami suddenly ran up from the gangplank onto the deck, speaking earnestly to Will.

She had been cheerfully heading over when she happened to overhear Will's words by the ship, and she couldn't help but worry too.

So when she heard Carina didn't know the exact location, she quickly hurried onto the ship to chime in.

She didn't even have time to show off the new tattoo on her arm that she'd originally planned to display for Will and Carina.

"Where is it?" Will asked directly without wasting words.

Nami answered immediately, "It's on a small island in the nearby waters."

"I secretly followed them there once before, but since there were quite a few Marines stationed there, I couldn't sneak in."

Back when she accidentally discovered the Marines meeting with Arlong and his crew, she had already taken action.

But she'd never been able to fully investigate.

Plus, with the pressure of needing to gather 100 million Berries at the time, she didn't have the time or energy to keep pursuing it.

In the end, she had no choice but to give up.

"About how long would it take to get there from here?" Will asked in detail.

Nami quickly added, "If the wind is right, about half a day."

"Then there's no time to waste." Will made the decision without hesitation:

"Let's go explain the situation to the villagers now, say our goodbyes, and then set sail directly for Marine Branch 16!"

"Mm!" Nami and Carina had no objections and nodded in agreement.

Afterward.

The three returned to Cocoyasi Village.

They seriously explained the issues and risks of the Marine branch to A Jian, Nojiko, and the other villagers.

Only then did the villagers realize that things might not be completely over yet.