Golden Island Adventure (1)

The legendary "Golden Pirate" Woonan was said to have possessed mountains of gold piled high within his fleet, illuminating the nighttime sea as brightly as day. But later, Woonan suddenly disappeared. It was said that he hid all his treasure on an island before dying.

Such a legend still circulated convincingly throughout the East Blue, and many pirates continued searching for that island. It was said that one of Woonan's companions had once drawn a treasure map, and whoever obtained it would be able to find that island—the island said to contain a dazzling mountain of buried gold.

In the East Blue, the Straw Hat Pirates' ship, the Golden Merry, was heading toward the East Blue entrance to the Grand Line after leaving Syrup Village. Although Kaya had prepared them with over a week's worth of food before they set sail, Luffy had eaten it all in just three days. They had caught plenty of fish along the way, but even that had not been enough for Luffy alone.

Everyone felt that Luffy's stomach was a bottomless pit. No matter how much food he ate, he never seemed to get full.

"Ah, I'm starving to death!" Luffy, already unable to bear his hunger, lay on the deck and complained.

"When was the last time we ate?" Zoro, lying beside Luffy, could no longer remember how many days it had been since their last meal.

"Let me show you the fishing skills of Usopp, King of Fishing!" Usopp had barely finished bragging when the fishing rod in his hand moved. Everyone watched eagerly as Usopp reeled it in, only to sigh in disappointment at the empty bottle hooked onto the line.

"I wonder who ate all our food in just three days?" William said irritably.

"Me!" Luffy admitted without hesitation that he had devoured all the food by himself.

"You've actually got the nerve to admit it!" William rapped Luffy on the head with a fist infused with a trace of Armament Haki. In his eyes, Luffy was the best "punching bag" for practicing Armament Haki.

"Ow!" Luffy cried, clutching his head.

"I must be out of my mind. Otherwise, why would I team up with this bunch again?" Nami looked speechlessly at the group of fools. If William had not repeatedly stopped her, she would have taken the treasure and run off long ago.

"You'll get used to it after spending enough time together. But it looks like some rats have snuck aboard!" Before William could say anything, the three thieves appeared on the deck with a sack of treasure slung over each shoulder, preparing to flee to the ship docked beside the Golden Merry.

"My treasure!" Nami nearly went mad as she watched her treasure get robbed.

"Captain, we're being robbed!" William had no interest whatsoever in the three petty thieves before them, so he could only leave it to Luffy. After all, Luffy had eaten all the food by himself and left everyone starving.

"Gum-Gum Rocket!" Luffy stretched out his arm and grabbed the other ship, then launched himself forward without even dodging the bullets fired at him in panic.

"What kind of monster is this guy?" The three thieves were so frightened by Luffy's strange body that they huddled together. They had seen many powerful people, but never anyone who was not afraid of bullets.

However, William stared suspiciously at the three uninvited guests' ship. Under normal circumstances, a ship like that rarely appeared alone in waters so far from land—though the Straw Hat Pirates were an exception, since they had not had any other ship to choose from at the time. Sure enough, farther away on the other side of the Golden Merry, a pirate ship much larger than the Golden Merry was waiting.

"Luffy, be careful! It's Golden Lion Shiki!" With his sharp eyesight, William saw a lion-faced man standing at the bow of the other ship, radiating a terrifying aura. It immediately reminded William of the legendary Flying Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki. But he had clearly forgotten that Luffy and the others could not possibly know who Golden Lion Shiki was. Though he was a legendary pirate, he had disappeared for more than twenty years.

"Captain Eldoraggo... is he going to use that devilish attack?" If Luffy had filled the three thieves with the fear of the unknown, then now they felt only despair.

Boom! A powerful laser cannon struck the ship, and the resulting shockwave made the Golden Merry shake violently. William lost his footing and fell into the sea.

Normally, William would never make such a rookie mistake. Even if he accidentally fell overboard, he could use Moon Walk before hitting the water. But he had clearly been stunned by the legendary Flying Pirate Golden Lion Shiki. That was one of the great pirates said to be on par with Gol D. Roger.

As William fell into the sea, Zoro jumped in directly, followed closely by Nami. Zoro was there to save Luffy, while Nami was going to save William. Of the entire Straw Hat Pirates, William and Luffy were the only two Devil Fruit users, yet they had both fallen into the sea at once.

This time, William experienced the terror of the sea for himself. Once his entire body was submerged, he found that he could not move even a single inch. If Nami had not come to save him, he would likely have sunk into the deep sea like a stone statue.

"Luffy, who's this kid?" After Zoro pulled Luffy back onto the Golden Merry, he discovered that Luffy was holding a child.

"No idea!" Luffy did not know why he had brought the kid back either. He had merely saved him on instinct.

"William, how did you end up falling into the sea too?" Usopp asked curiously. He remembered that William had a technique that let him move through the air, so this should not have happened.

"Who was that Golden Lion Shiki you shouted about just now? How could he scare you that badly?" Nami knew that ordinary people could not frighten William. Yet the moment he merely "recognized" the other side, he had been frozen stiff with fear.

"A legendary pirate who once drove Pirate King Gol D. Roger into a corner and destroyed half of Marine Headquarters. But I think I must have mistaken him for someone else!" William said apologetically.

"What?" Everyone was startled upon hearing that, completely ignoring William's latter remark: "But I think I must have mistaken him for someone else."

"Are you talking about Captain Eldoraggo?" the child Luffy had rescued asked.

"Who are you? Are you with those people from earlier?" Zoro looked suspiciously at the child, his expression enough to make an ordinary kid cry.

"My name is Tobio. I was captured by Eldoraggo while I was out at sea on an adventure... no, I was trying to infiltrate their group." The young Tobio stubbornly refused to admit that he had been captured, instead claiming that he had been infiltrating the enemy. But only Luffy would believe such a lie.

"As long as he's not Golden Lion Shiki, it's fine. They actually dared to rob us? Luffy, I'm going to kill them!" William said after regaining his strength. He had actually been frightened by a pirate who merely looked like a lion. Just thinking about it was humiliating, so he decided to take revenge.

If he remembered correctly, the pirate named Eldoraggo should have been a character from one of the anime movies. He should have the treasure map of the legendary "Golden Pirate" Woonan.

"That's right, we're pirates!" Luffy also felt that it was ridiculous for pirates like them to be robbed by other pirates.

"Hurry up and take my treasure back!" Though Nami still feared that laser attack, she had to take the risk for the sake of her treasure. Besides, she would not have to deal with the enemy herself.

"You've got to be kidding! Didn't you see that terrifying attack just now?" Usopp firmly objected. Though he did not know exactly what had happened, that attack had been far too terrifying. If the Golden Merry had been hit directly, it probably would have been blown to pieces!

"I think I smell food?" Zoro suddenly said out of nowhere.

"That's right, it's food!" Luffy, who had just been thinking about how to get even, was immediately drawn in by the scent of food. Recovering the treasure was completely forgotten.

"Then let's fill our stomachs first. How are we supposed to beat the enemy while starving?" William did not take Eldoraggo seriously at all, so he was in no rush. Besides, he really was starving.

"That's right, let's eat first!" This time, Usopp agreed wholeheartedly. For one thing, he was hungry too and needed food. For another, it might help them avoid fighting a powerful enemy. Maybe by the time Luffy and the others had eaten their fill, they would not even be able to find the enemy anymore.

"Set sail! Our destination is delicious oden!"