Arrival at Baratie

"Is this D really that important?"

Robin's thoughts drifted back to Ohara's destruction. The Marine Vice Admiral who had saved her had also had a D in his name.

Rubick shook his head. "I don't know. But whatever our enemies conceal, we expose. Whatever our enemies want to do, we oppose. Whatever our enemies oppose, we do."

Robin pressed on. "Then, Mr. Rubik's Cube, with your current strength, you'd struggle just to survive at sea. How are you going to find this destined person?"

Rubick pointed through the wall toward Roger's Execution Platform in the Square. "I have a feeling that person will appear on Roger's Execution Platform. The East Blue is the end, but it's also the beginning. My feeling is that this person will set out from the East Blue and eventually reach Laugh Tale."

Robin had already had more than enough shocks that night, and she was slowly calming down now. "So our cooperation means helping you translate the Poneglyphs, right?"

Rubick smiled. "Of course. Ours is a pure revolutionary friendship. Although, if we wanted to take it a little further, that wouldn't be out of the question."

Rubick had admired Robin in his previous life. What young guy wouldn't like an intelligent, mature woman like her? Unfortunately, now that he had transmigrated, he was two years older than Robin.

Still, Robin was not only taller than Rubick, but also more mature mentally. There was no denying it: the more people experienced, the more they matured.

People like Rubick, who were nearly thirty yet hardly any different from twenty-year-old kids, had been everywhere in his previous life.

Robin had uncovered some remarkable information that day. She turned to leave, smiling before she went. "Mr. Rubik's Cube, winning me over won't be that easy. But I agree to our alliance."

Heh, little boy. Hurry up and grow up.

Rubick smiled too. Nothing could be better than not having to follow Robin to the Grand Line. The levels over there were far too high. Someone like him, who hadn't even left the beginner village, really wasn't suited to getting by there.

Besides, what he wanted to do now was travel around the East Blue and start building up favor with the main cast ahead of time. He could visit Foosha Village first, for instance, and see when Luffy planned to set sail.

Otherwise, if he missed the timing on that vast sea, getting everyone together again would take some doing.

The next day, before dawn had even broken, Rubick slipped out of his room and headed for the Marine Branch's front gate.

After spending nearly a year in Loguetown, Rubick knew that every day at this hour, Smoker would lead a group of Marines out of the branch for a morning run through town, patrolling his jurisdiction at the same time.

Rubick's plan was to wait at the entrance, copy Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit when he came out, then head to the docks and board a ship out of Loguetown to begin his own adventure.

Rubick was afraid of dying, after all. After thinking it over from every angle, he had finally decided it would be safer to copy a Smoke-Smoke Fruit before leaving.

"Move, move, move!"

"Get running, all of you!"

"Show the people of Loguetown what we're made of!"

The familiar voice rang out as Smoker led a group of Marines out of the branch at a run. As the saying went, employees took after their boss, and the Marines under Smoker looked distinctly elite.

After copying the Smoke-Smoke Fruit from a distance, Rubick wasted no time and headed straight for the docks.

At this hour, there was no way any passenger ships would be departing. Rubick intended to take Hardy's merchant ship. It delivered supplies to the floating restaurant Baratie every day, so it always left Loguetown very early.

Taking Hardy's merchant ship was the smartest choice if Rubick wanted to leave quietly. If Macron caught wind of anything, Rubick might have to go to considerable trouble.

He bought a ticket and boarded, squeezing into the hold alongside the cargo. There were other people taking the merchant ship as well. From their clothes, they looked like laborers. Every one of them wore a blank expression, and some were dozing with their eyes half-closed.

Rubick sat in a corner and took out his wallet. There were only 50,000 Beli inside. Yes, after Ace of Spades had been handed over to the Marine Branch, Macron had taken all the money.

Maybe I should try being a bounty hunter too.

As Rubick thought about it, he reflected that even a hero could be brought low by a single missing penny. Having no money for food really was miserable. With his appetite, 50,000 Beli wouldn't even feed him for a week.

With a sigh, Rubick sat cross-legged and began to doze as well.

"We're here, we're here! Hurry up and get the hell off my ship!"

The first mate entered the hold and struck an iron basin hard with a stick, producing a harsh, clanging racket.

Rubick rolled his slightly sore neck and stood up. He stretched, then followed the laborers off the ship.

Squinting as he adjusted to the dazzling sunlight, Rubick stood on the deck and examined Baratie before him.

It looked just like it did in the anime: a round hull with three stories, the topmost naturally housing Captain Zeff's room. Its bow and stern were designed to resemble a fish. With a two-tiered sail at each end, this was the floating restaurant Baratie.

"All right, stop gawking. We're here."

The first mate urged Rubick off the ship. Rubick didn't argue with him, though he did feel that this 10,000-Beli trip had been rather unpleasant.

It wasn't noon yet, but plenty of ships, large and small, were already moored nearby. They all seemed to have come to eat at Baratie, which also showed just how good business was here.

He entered the restaurant. The first floor was fairly spacious, with several round tables in the middle and smaller tables for four along the walls. There weren't many diners on the first floor yet, so Rubick picked an empty table and sat down.

"What would you like to eat, sir?"

A waiter in a black three-piece suit approached. His golden blond hair reached his ears, parted to one side and covering his left eye. The outer end of his exposed right eyebrow curled clockwise.

A cigarette hung from his mouth, and he didn't care in the slightest whether its ash might drift down and disturb the customers' meals.

"Bian Rou and Ban Mian."

Sanji gripped his pencil tightly with both hands and said stiffly, "We don't have those."

"Braised chicken or pork trotter rice."

"We don't have those either."

Rubick was about to try again when Sanji slapped a menu onto the table. "This is your first visit, isn't it? Take a look at our menu before ordering."

Rubick glanced over the menu. Well, damn. A little pricey.

"Seafood fried rice. Five portions."

Sanji couldn't help asking, "Can you finish all that? Wasting food isn't acceptable."

"If my wallet allowed it, I'd order ten. Stop fussing and get to work. Oh, the clear soup is free, right? Bring me a big bowl."

With a snap, Sanji broke the pencil in his hands. "One moment."