Bartolomeo, Luffy Flees, Chef Carmen

Loguetown, at the central plaza of the execution platform.

Dragon in the sky, the injured Smoker, the Straw Hat crew in the midst of fleeing, and the Moya Adventure Group watching Bartolomeo.

Some of the tourists and townspeople engaged in heated discussion, along with the numerous unlucky bystanders who had been knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki and were still sprawled on the ground.

"Keep up, let's head to your territory first."

Moya flicked his cape, and the women and officers followed. The fallen Bartolomeo immediately jumped up and chased after them, with the squad leaders close behind and the underlings swarming away in a flock.

Seeing the situation, Luffy glanced at Smoker and began to sneakily pull the Straw Hat crew away.

Smoker recovered from the sight of Moya's departing back, only to spot the Straw Hats.

"Straw Hat, I'm in a foul mood right now. Come help me vent some steam physically."

"White Vine."

A smoke lasso lashed out toward the Straw Hat crew.

"Gum-Gum Gatling."

"Three-Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon."

"Mutton Shot."

The three main combatants of the Straw Hats immediately counterattacked, only to find it had no effect, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.

Tashigi had also engaged Johnny and Yosaku, fighting two against one without losing any ground.

Usopp was being chased by a group of marines, squawking and dodging everywhere.

"White Fist."

"White Snake."

Zoro and Sanji were instantly sent flying, crashing into the buildings behind them; the walls shattered, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Zoro, Sanji, are you guys okay?"

"You dare to be distracted while fighting me?"

"Jitte: Inch-Point Strike."

In an instant, Smoker pinned Luffy to the ground, his weapon, the Jitte, pressing against Luffy's neck; the Seastone at its tip immediately sapped Luffy of his ability to resist.

"Straw Hat, your pirate career ends here. Your final destination shall be the endless Impel Down."

Luffy, gasping for air, continued to struggle powerlessly.

At this moment, the wind began to flow once more...

On Moya's side.

"Captain Moya, please, you must take me out to sea! You were just so incredibly cool!"

Bartolomeo looked at Moya with a face full of worship, stars in his eyes, drifting about like a soft worm.

"Fine!"

Moya didn't dither, agreeing directly.

"I knew Captain Moya was the best!"

The Moya Adventure Group looked at Bartolomeo, speechless.

"There is one more thing. I intend to leave these four hundred subordinates in Loguetown to merge with your gang. Is that alright?"

"No problem at all, Captain! What's mine is yours."

"Very well. This time, as we head to the Grand Line, these crew members will stay here until we find a base of operations. The Grand Line is too dangerous for them right now. Squad leaders, go and notify them."

"Yes, Captain."

"Right, tell them to contact Dis on Clockwork Island to develop trade between the two sides. Is there anyone here who wants to stay behind as the person in charge?"

"Understood, Captain." The squad leaders fell silent for a moment after speaking.

"Captain, I'll stay behind. That way, the mission to tame Rare Beast Island can be carried out," said the Beast Tamer Mohji.

"Captain, then I'll take charge here in Loguetown," the Acrobat Cabaji said hesitantly.

Looking at these two, he realized he hadn't modified their memories. Given their mindset after lingering in the East Blue for so long, it was true that they might be a bit too afraid to go to the Grand Line.

In the end, Moya agreed to their request.

The squad leaders went down to deliver the news. There was no major resistance; the weak submit to the strong, and the underlings dared not voice any complaints.

The women were certainly following Moya. The officers whose memories had been modified—Buggy, El Drago, and Mao Xiong—were definitely going with Moya, along with the new officer and fanboy, Bartolomeo.

The associate officer Gin was a fierce man; both he and Krieg had their memories modified by Moya. To become stronger, both of them wanted to go to the Grand Line.

The swordsman Golass and the needle-sword user A-Pin, the two swordsmen, went without saying; for the sake of a higher path of the sword, they certainly wanted to go as well.

As for the Cat Brothers, Moya intended to keep them by his side to cultivate them, much like the Decalvan Brothers under Whitebeard.

That left only the hypnotist and dancer Jango, whose memories had also not been altered, but Moya was quite interested in both hypnosis and dancing; how could a ship be without entertainment?

"Captain, there seems to be a cooking competition in the south of the city. Are you interested in tasting some fine food?"

"I was just looking for a cook. Let's go, let's have some fun."

The little cook Rim looked a bit dejected, pouting her lips. Weren't they enough for him?

"At sea, nutritional balance is very important. Having another cook to learn from and more variety in flavors is good, and you girls are still very important."

Moya gently tapped Rika's pouting lips and burst into laughter.

On Luffy's side.

Centered around the execution platform, the weather shifted abruptly; gale-force winds whipped up, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and rain began to fall.

A flash of lightning illuminated a figure in a green cloak, a menacing red tattoo visible on his face.

Smoker felt as if a giant beast were standing behind him, a bead of cold sweat mixing with the rainwater as it trickled down.

"Leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon."

"Nothing can stop a man from heading toward the sea of freedom!"

Dragon swung his hand violently, and Smoker was instantly sent flying by a hurricane, crashing into a wall. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

With another wave of his hand, before the Straw Hat crew could even see the newcomer clearly, they were swept by a gust of wind right next to the Going Merry at the harbor.

"Ah~ saved! How lucky! Boys, hurry up and set sail!"

"Wow, the wind even blew some food over? I don't know which idiot dropped it, haha, so lucky!"

Luffy grinned and laughed heartily, while Dragon, hidden in the shadows, felt his mouth twitch.

The Straw Hat crew pulled the anchor, hoisted the sails, and quickly set sail, fleeing Loguetown.

Meanwhile, Tashigi and the Marines carried the unconscious Smoker back to the Marine base for treatment and hurriedly reported the incident to headquarters.

South of the city, the cooking competition.

"I now announce that the winner of this cooking competition is the beautiful chef, Carmen!"

The host shouted with great passion.

"Mhm, truly excellent, very delicious." Moya wiped his mouth with satisfaction.

Using Bartolomeo's status as a gang boss, Moya had successfully secured a seat on the judging panel.

"Carmen, are you interested in boarding my ship and searching for the All Blue?"

"Who the hell are you, you brat? Don't think sitting on the judging panel makes you a big shot. Do I look like I need to follow a kid like you?"

The hot-tempered, red-haired beauty chef, Carmen, cursed bluntly.

"Then let's make a bet. If you can stand under my gaze for ten seconds, I'll give you one hundred million Beli. If you can't, you join my ship and become my cook. How about it? Do you dare?"

Moya looked at the beautiful chef with great interest.

"What? Are you looking down on me? Fine, I accept! I don't believe your eyes can kill!"

As expected, the more hot-tempered a person is, the easier it is to provoke them.

"Good, let's find a place with fewer people; I'm afraid of accidentally hurting others."

"You..."

"Alright, I have a guest. Wait a moment."

Moya ignored the irate Carmen and looked up at the clouds in the sky.

"Mr. Dragon, could you come out and meet me? Your Observation Haki has given you away. May I ask what brings you here? As it happens, I have a favor to ask of you as well."

"Meet me at the secluded spot by the harbor."

With that, the voice vanished.

He decided to take the chef Carmen along to the place where they would settle their bet.

The group hurried toward the harbor.