Girl in Distress

It was early morning.

The Straw Hat crew had begun their day's activities.

"Wo, have you seen my Magic Conch?" Aaron asked anxiously as he rummaged beneath and around the bed, while Wo sat calmly on top of it.

"Meow!" Wo lazily called out, his eyes quietly darting to the side.

Clearly, the culprit had already been identified.

But Aaron had always been rather scatterbrained, and he failed to notice Wo's unusual behavior. He turned the cabin upside down, looking so frantic that he seemed to have lost his mind.

Where exactly was the Magic Conch?

Wo glanced at Aaron from the corner of his eye. Seeing that Aaron was not watching him, he quietly withdrew his head into his shell.

"Meow!" Wo happily cried as he looked at the object inside his shell.

It was none other than the Magic Conch!

The moment Aaron had taken it out, Wo had noticed that the deep-sea aura emanating from it was even purer than Aaron's. So he had hurriedly stashed the Magic Conch in his shell, intending to study it carefully.

But only Wo's species existed in the deep sea. What exactly were that kid and this conch? Wo wondered.

Wo was absolutely certain that only the sea snail race existed in the deep sea.

With Wo's weak physique, despite being related to Den Den Mushi, if any other animals had existed in the deep sea, he would have long since been eaten as food. How could they possibly have built a nation in the ocean?

Fortunately, that was in the past. Even if other creatures really did come to the deep sea now, the sea snail race would not fear them. With their generally advanced brains, Wo's nation already possessed a terrifying level of combat power.

Otherwise, Wo could never have come ashore. He would have been crunched like a sunflower seed by a Sea King along the way.

Damn it... If I hadn't run into that Sea King, I wouldn't have lost my things! And with the tools I have now, it's impossible to analyze this conch... Seriously, why was a creature on the level of a Sea King in the original route?! What were those old geezers at the Academy of Sciences even doing?! They didn't investigate something this important! If I hadn't brought some equipment, this prince would have died there! Wo thought indignantly.

Next time, this prince will bring out the national treasure! I'll show you muscle-brained bipedal creatures what it means for technology to be power! Wo gritted his teeth as he recalled the humiliation of being knocked out and taken away by humans with nothing more than anesthetic.

But there was no way to return to the deep sea now. He could only take things one step at a time... Wo thought helplessly.

So, my primary mission now is to gather enough parts to return home. My secondary mission is to study that kid and this conch... Hm?!

Just as Wo was deep in thought, he suddenly felt his enormous spatial shell shaking violently, as though there had been a massive earthquake.

What... is happening? Wo was shaken so badly that he felt completely disoriented.

"Oh! Aaron, is this the mascot Den Den Mushi you bought?" Outside the shell, Luffy picked up Wo's shell and curiously shook it.

"Yeah, that's Wo," Aaron replied without looking up. He was practically dismantling the cabin by now. "Luffy, have you seen my Magic Conch?"

"Huh? Nope." Luffy turned to answer Aaron, but his hand did not stop moving.

Clatter!

Then he heard something fall out.

"Hm?" Luffy looked back. "Hey, Aaron, is this your Magic Conch?"

"Hm?" Hearing Luffy's words, Aaron abruptly turned around and saw the Magic Conch bobbing up and down in Luffy's hand. "Yes! That's it! Luffy, where did you find it?"

"On the floor." Luffy pointed beneath his feet.

"That's strange. I definitely searched there already... Ah!" Aaron slapped his forehead. "I lent it to Wo earlier. The Magic Conch must have fallen out of Wo's shell."

Luffy looked at the conch in his left hand, then compared it to the opening of Wo's shell in his right.

So... was this a four-dimensional snail shell?

"So that's how it is. This guy's pretty amazing too!" Luffy looked at Wo's shell in surprise, then handed over the conch.

"Yeah, Wo really is amazing..." Aaron nodded in agreement and took the conch. After checking it for damage, he tucked it into his clothes.

"But Aaron, your body is really convenient. You can put anything inside it..." Luffy looked at Aaron with some envy.

Back in Foosha Village, Luffy had been extremely envious of this ability of Aaron's.

Well, because Aaron's body was similar to a sponge, it could absorb and store almost anything.

It could be considered one of Aaron's innate abilities.

It was absolutely not a setting the author had made up on the spot after noticing the plot hole of Aaron stuffing the Magic Conch into his chest without causing even the slightest bulge!

"Not bad... It really is pretty convenient," Aaron said with a silly grin.

"That means you can carry lots of meat around with you..." As Luffy spoke, drool unconsciously ran from his mouth.

"Uh..." Aaron's entire body stiffened. He said helplessly, "Luffy, how many times have I told you? Any food put in my body gets digested immediately, no matter how much there is. I told you back in Foosha Village, didn't I?"

"Did you?" Luffy scratched the back of his head. "I don't remember."

"Honestly..." Aaron covered his face.

"But Aaron, what are you keeping inside your body right now?"

"Um... the Magic Conch and a glass bottle. Just those two things."

"Huh? Why don't you put your shovel and bug net in there too?"

"The bug net is too big, so I can't fit it in. As for the shovel..." Aaron paused before saying helplessly, "I discovered that if I put the shovel inside, its special functions slowly disappear..."

"I see..." Luffy nodded as if he understood, but Aaron knew Luffy definitely had no idea what he was talking about.

"So what does that mean exactly?" Just as expected.

"Ah, forget it. Aaron, make me some hamburgers! It's been so long since I had your hamburgers. I'm craving them like crazy!" Before Aaron could explain, Luffy waved a hand and looked at him expectantly.

"..." Aaron sighed, then smiled at Luffy. "Sure!"

"Nami, aren't we at the Grand Line yet?" Luffy sat in his special seat and turned back to ask Nami.

Nami helplessly put down her newspaper. "It's only been two days since we left Loguetown. It'll still take several more days to reach the Grand Line, so just wait patiently."

"Okay! Hehehehe!" With the Grand Line so close, Luffy had become unusually patient.

"Hey! There are tons of birds off the starboard side!" Usopp suddenly called out.

"A huge flock of birds?" Luffy looked up at Usopp in the crow's nest.

"Yeah, and there's something huge on the sea too, but I can't make out what it is."

"A fish?"

"I don't know. I can't tell whether it's a ship or a fish..." Usopp adjusted the focus on his sniper scope, but he still could not see clearly.

"I've heard birds gather around big fish," Sanji said at that moment.

"A big fish!" Luffy's eyes lit up at the mention of one.

"Luffy, catch that fish for lunch," Sanji said.

"Okay!" As he spoke, Luffy stretched his arm back. "Gum-Gum Harpoon!"

"Ah! Got it!" Luffy leaned back and reeled in his right arm.

"Wait! How are you going to bring it down?!" Seeing the hand drawing closer without slowing down, Sanji panicked and immediately crouched.

Thud!

Then the fist knocked Zoro, who had been sleeping on a sun lounger, into the water.

"Hmm hmm hmm~" Aaron hummed as he bounced around on the balls of his feet at the stove. His shovel moved like nimble fingers, dancing through the frying pan.

"It's done~ Hm?!" Aaron stared at the hamburger, which seemed to be glimmering, for a long while before saying in disbelief, "Did I... improve again?!"

After thinking for a moment, he turned back to the stove.

He was going to make another batch to see whether he had really improved.

Tap tap tap tap!

Hearing footsteps outside, Aaron said, "Hey, Luffy, you came just in time. I just made a hamburger. It's one of my recent masterpieces... Who's this girl? She looks pretty pale?" Aaron turned around and discovered that Sanji was carrying a girl with a bluish-white complexion.

"This child was picked up by Luffy from a ship. She looks like she's fleeing from trouble," Nami answered.

"I see..." Aaron nodded after hearing Nami's answer.

"But we should quickly make something for this young lady to eat. She must be starving," Sanji said as he headed for the stove.

"Wait, Sanji!" Aaron stopped him. "Try my hamburger. It should be more suitable!"

"Aaron, someone who has been starving for a long time shouldn't eat food that's too greasy," Sanji said tactfully.

"Don't worry! How could a hamburger I make possibly be the same as anyone else's?" Aaron said with rare pride. "Try it. My hamburger is different!"

"...All right." Remembering Aaron's bizarre cooking, Sanji nodded hesitantly.

Without further hesitation, Aaron immediately tore the hamburger on the table into portions and fed them bit by bit into the girl's mouth.

The girl's survival instinct was quite strong. The moment she felt something at her lips, she immediately began chewing on her own.

Before long, the entire hamburger had gone into the girl's stomach. Sanji placed her on a crate nearby, and everyone stared at her.

In less than fifteen minutes, the girl's eyelids began to tremble. She slowly opened her eyes, dazed for a moment, then suddenly widened them and sprang up!

Bang!

She headbutted Usopp, who had leaned in too close, and knocked him down.

"Yeah! I did it! I really improved!" Seeing that the girl had awakened so quickly, Aaron jumped about in celebration.

If Aaron's hamburger from earlier were quantified, it would look like this in his eyes:

Aaron's Hamburger: Rapidly replenishes most energy, rapidly restores stamina, slightly accelerates cell activity.

Simply put, the hamburger had become a powerful stamina-restoring potion.

Fortunately, Aaron had an indescribable talent for hamburgers. Otherwise, he would not have been able to tell what was different about the hamburgers he made.

Though this was not the direction of improvement Aaron wanted for creating a hamburger people would never get tired of eating, it was still progress. That was what mattered most.

As long as he knew he could improve, it was fine. Otherwise, upgrading the shovel just to make an endlessly enjoyable hamburger... felt a little like relying on an external object.

"Hm?" Apis finally woke up upon hearing Aaron's cheers. She looked around, and the peaceful, harmonious atmosphere eased her tense heart somewhat. She could not help clenching her fist. "How lucky!"

"Ah!" Hearing Apis's cheer, Aaron stopped bouncing around. He flashed sixteen brilliantly white teeth. "Hi, my name is Aaron, Copperfield Aaron. What's your name?"

"Hm?!" Apis looked warily at the blond boy. "Shouldn't you introduce everyone else before asking someone else's name?"

"Huh?!" Aaron froze. "But I already gave you my name."

"I don't know their names yet!" Apis said, pointing at the people around them with her cheeks puffed out.

"Oh..." Aaron scratched his head, not sensing anything wrong, then began introducing them one by one. "That orange-haired girl is Nami. The one cooking is Sanji. The one lying over there with three swords is Roronoa Zoro. The one you knocked down is Usopp. And there's Wo. He's sleeping in the cabin right now, so he can't come out." Aaron finished explaining in one breath. "As for that one wearing the straw hat—"

"My name is Luffy, and I'm the captain of this pirate ship." Luffy flashed a huge grin.

"Pirates?!" After hearing Luffy's explanation, Apis's heart, which had just settled back in her chest, leaped into her throat. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes lost focus.

She had fainted again.

"Hm? Why did she faint?" Aaron looked at Apis in confusion.

"Maybe Luffy calling himself a pirate scared her. Pirate isn't exactly a good word," Nami explained.

"Hey, Luffy, what are you planning to do with this girl?" Zoro asked.

"Hmm... What should we do..." Luffy scratched his cheek in slight distress. "Forget it, we'll talk about it tomorrow! Aaron, hurry up and make hamburgers!"

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot!" With that, Aaron hurried back to the stove and got busy with Sanji in front of the frying pan.

.