Picked Up at Sea (Fifth Update)

Going Merry restaurant.

At this moment, everyone sat gathered together. Sanji continuously brought food out from the kitchen, while the newly hatched little fellow and Luffy wolfed down the feast before them, eating to their hearts' content.

Strangely enough, although the little fellow looked small, it certainly lived up to its round body. It ate almost as fast as Luffy, yet its size did not change at all no matter how much food went into its stomach. It was downright absurd!

Zero stared at the little fellow, looking somewhat lost in thought.

Questions kept surfacing in his mind. What exactly was this little fellow?

Shouldn't it normally have produced an inanimate object like the Startled Dragon? This little fellow could eat and fly, so it was clearly not the same kind of thing. Could it have come from another world?

He racked his brains without finding any clues, so he simply stopped thinking about it and picked up the morning paper.

Usopp, beside him, asked Zero, "Zero, where did that thing come from? It eats so much!"

Without even looking up, Zero replied, "Picked it up at sea."

Usopp said, "Really? That's so unusual!"

Zero said, "..."

At that moment, the little fellow seemed full. It even let out a satisfied burp, flapped its wings, and wobbled over to Zero's shoulder. It poked its head out to look at the newspaper in Zero's hands, seemingly studying what was written on it.

Seeing how close the little fellow was to Zero, Nami could not help smiling. "Zero, look how attached it is to you. Why don't you give it a name?"

Hearing that, Zero put down the newspaper and turned to look at the little fellow. It happened to turn and look at him too, as if wondering why he had stopped reading.

"A name... Let me think—"

"That guy is amazing! It's so tiny but eats so much. Let's just call it Big Eater! Hahahaha!"

Luffy spat out the bone left in his mouth as he laughed, then did not forget to pick up another chunk of meat and shove it into his mouth.

Zero directly ignored him and tapped the little fellow's head with a finger. "I've decided. I'll call you Little Red Sparrow!"

Luffy said, "Little Red Sparrow? It doesn't sound as good as Big Eater..."

Nami said, "Um, are you sure you don't want to change it? That name feels..."

Nami wanted to say that the name was a little too straightforward, but—

"Eep!"

It seemed to know that it had a new name. The little fellow, now Little Red Sparrow, cried out happily and kept rubbing its head against Zero's cheek, as though it had become even closer to him.

"No need. Look, isn't it quite happy with it? Right, Little Red Sparrow?"

"Eep!"

"Fine..."

Nami spread her hands.

Usopp spoke up as well:

"Little Red Sparrow, huh? It does seem to suit you. How about it? Want to follow the great Captain Usopp? I can make you a brave warrior of the sea too!"

"Eep!"

"Zero, what did it say?"

"Sorry, it doesn't seem interested. Hahaha!"

"How could this be..."

At that moment.

Luffy looked at the newspaper and cried out in surprise, "Isn't that Koby?"

"Koby?"

Roronoa Zoro, who had been resting with his eyes closed, looked over. Zero also noticed the photo in the paper. At the front stood Marine hero Vice Admiral Garp, facing the wind, while Koby and Helmeppo trembled as they clung to each other behind him, forming a stark contrast.

Vivi asked curiously, "Do you know that guy?"

Seeing that his companions were all interested, Zero told them about what had happened between himself, Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Koby. Then he gave a thumbs-up and praised him. "Don't let Koby's small size fool you. I believe he'll become a very impressive Marine someday!"

"Hahaha, I think so too."

Luffy and Roronoa Zoro both strongly agreed with Zero. Even Little Red Sparrow on Zero's shoulder nodded seriously, as though it understood what they were talking about.

A few days after the Going Merry left Whiskey Peak, the Straw Hat Pirates were still sailing across the sea. However, according to Nami's observations of the Log Pose, Little Garden seemed to be just ahead.

On the deck.

Sanji brought over drinks and told everyone to enjoy this leisurely moment. So Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Usopp laughed and drank together. Little Red Sparrow stood firmly atop Karoo's head nearby, one bird and one cup, drinking with great gusto.

But after only a few drinks, Karoo's eyes went unfocused and he collapsed to the ground. Little Red Sparrow gave him a disdainful glance, then continued greedily guzzling the drink in front of it.

"Karoo can't even drink as much as Little Red Sparrow! What a loser! Hahaha!"

"Yeah, yeah! Little Red Sparrow is amazing! Sanji, get it another cup!"

"Coming right up!"

"Eep!"

"..."

From the second floor, Vivi watched the scene and felt that Luffy and the others were being far too carefree. There was still an extremely dangerous journey ahead of them. Was it really okay for them to be this distracted?

Zero, beside her, seemed to see through Vivi's thoughts. He smiled lightly and said, "Vivi, it's fine. An atmosphere that's too serious only makes people nervous. Then there's no fun in fighting when the time comes. I rather like this. Hahaha!"

"Fun?"

As soon as Vivi asked, she saw Zero flip over the second-floor railing and leap down, joining the laughing crowd below.

When Little Red Sparrow saw Zero arrive, it stopped drinking and hopped onto his shoulder instead. It chirped "eep eep," as if telling him that the drink was delicious and urging him to try it too.

Vivi suddenly felt a headache coming on. She began to doubt whether asking them to escort her to Alabasta had been the right choice.

Fortunately, Nami later came out from the second-floor room. She handed Vivi a drink and talked her through it, finally calming her down and making her feel less anxious.

Not long after Vivi's mood settled, she followed the Straw Hats' gazes and saw a white dolphin leaping across the sea. Only when it approached the Going Merry did she realize that the dolphin was dozens of times larger than the ship!

Then, amid her confusion, Luffy suddenly rallied everyone into action. Taking advantage of the enormous waves raised by the dolphin, they surged forward at greater speed and forcibly shortened a journey that should have taken dozens of minutes into just a few!

Watching the joyful expressions on every Straw Hat Pirate's face, Vivi seemed to vaguely understand what Zero had meant by fun. She even began to feel a hint of anticipation, wondering what kind of adventures they would have on the journey ahead!

Finally, not long afterward, everyone saw an island emerge from the sea, shrouded in swirling mist. It was the mysterious island known as Little Garden!

The Straw Hat Pirates were overjoyed, but few of them knew that they would soon encounter not only many dangerous creatures, but also a race feared by everyone on the Grand Line—the Giant Tribe!