Captain Hopperdy

"Seriously? What a coincidence."

"Moonlight, you..."

"Damn, they're people! Save them!"

Hearing this, Usopp and the others looked at Moonlight speechlessly. Big bro, your slash was way too accurate.

In the vast sea, they had somehow collided with people. What were they supposed to do now?

"Hm?"

Moonlight looked at the two people drawing closer in the distance. One had passed out, while the other was dragging him along as he swam toward them.

"You bastards, what do you mean by using sharks to kill people?"

Once Johnny got closer, he pointed at Moonlight and the others and shouted.

"Get up here."

Luffy stretched out his arms and grabbed both men onto the deck in one go.

"It's you two?"

Zoro looked at them with surprise written all over his face.

These two were the punks he had once saved. He had never expected to run into them here.

"Big Brother Zoro!"

The moment Johnny saw Zoro, his eyes lit up. He immediately tossed Yosaku aside and cried out in delight.

"Big Brother Zoro, why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that. Why are you two here?"

Zoro pointed at them.

"Ah, big bro, ever since you saved us that time, we turned over a new leaf and reformed completely. We decided to head out to sea and become great bounty hunters, so we found a boat and traveled along the coast. But unfortunately, we lost our way, drifted all the way here, and then... you know the rest. Your friend killed Yosaku with a shark, boohoohoo..."

As he spoke, Johnny began to cry.

"This man wasn't killed by Moonlight, and he isn't dead either. He's merely malnourished and has scurvy."

At that moment, Nami stepped forward, checked him over, and spoke.

"Scurvy?"

Johnny froze.

"What's scurvy?"

Luffy could not help asking.

"He's not dead?"

Zoro let out a sigh of relief. These two counted as his friends, after all. If one of them had really been killed by Moonlight, he would have been devastated.

"Scurvy... I've heard of that illness. It happens when someone suffers from long-term nutritional imbalance and can't meet their body's needs. Especially out on the open sea, it can lead to scurvy over time. It's an extremely dangerous condition!"

Usopp muttered. He really did know about it.

"Is there a way to save him?"

Moonlight asked Nami. More than anything else, this was what concerned him most.

Though he hated Pirates, he did not want to accidentally kill a good person.

Even if it had nothing to do with him at all.

"Yes. Usopp, go get some limes. He's only lacking nutrition. Once he replenishes it, he'll be fine."

Nami told Usopp.

Usopp nodded and quickly brought out some limes, squeezing their juice into Yosaku's mouth.

Half an hour later, Yosaku's complexion improved, and he woke up.

He first looked at Johnny in confusion, then spotted Zoro and was instantly overjoyed, lunging toward him!

"Big Brother Zoro! I never thought I'd meet you in the vast sea, this..."

But halfway through his leap, his body went limp, and he fainted again!

He had collapsed again!

"I only just brought you back to life. If you want to recover fully from scurvy, you'll need several days of rest. What are you showing off for?"

Nami was left speechless.

"That's great, brother. You're okay."

Johnny cried emotionally and thanked Nami profusely.

"Alright, since he's fine, let him recuperate here."

Zoro said.

"Looks like we need to find a cook for the crew."

Luffy stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Yosaku and Johnny's predicament had thoroughly alerted him. It was already an urgent matter.

"Splash..."

Just then, the sound of violently churning seawater suddenly rose from the waters ahead. Everyone was startled and looked over, only to see a large warship appearing in their sight, surrounded by several smaller ships guarding it like escorts.

That emblem was unmistakably the Marines!

And they were moving incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, they had already drawn close!

"It's the Marines! Run! It's a whole Marine fleet!"

Once they got closer, everyone saw them clearly, and Usopp was the first to cry out.

"Tch, so we ran into the Marines?"

Zoro's expression was cold, but his face remained unchanged.

"I didn't expect to run into the Marines. What do we do now? There are too many of them!"

Nami's face was grave. Looking at the Marine force before them, even she could not help panicking.

"The Marines? Whoa, what a huge ship!"

Luffy, meanwhile, was thrilled as he stared at their ship and shouted excitedly.

"Captain Hopperdy, Pirates have appeared ahead!"

At the same time, aboard the large Marine warship, a Marine reported to a handsome man wearing an iron fist and a white suit.

They had already spotted Luffy's ship.

This man was Captain Hopperdy. Beside him stood a beautiful, elegant lady. The two had been chatting pleasantly, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. Hopperdy was extremely satisfied. If nothing unexpected happened, this beautiful lady would be his tonight.

Hearing the report, he asked casually.

"What Pirates? How many are there?"

"It's a Pirate Flag we've never seen before, with a Straw Hat on it. There are seven of them."

The Marine reported truthfully.

"Pirates with only seven people? They're just small-time Pirates. Since they've run into me, Captain Hopperdy, blast them to pieces."

Hopperdy smiled casually. Seeing the lady before him looking somewhat worried at the mention of Pirates, he said indifferently.

"There's no need to worry. They're just a few small-time Pirates. How could they possibly be a match for us Marines? Let's go to the Sea Restaurant and enjoy some fine wine and food."

With that, Hopperdy invited the lady.

"Hehehe, Captain Hopperdy, you truly are a hero. You're so impressive. Those Pirates are unlucky to have run into you. The Sea Restaurant? I've heard of it. It's an incredible restaurant, and the food there is absolutely delicious."

The lady immediately smiled, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Hopperdy.

"Please."

Hopperdy felt utterly refreshed, as if his life had reached its pinnacle.

"Fire!"

After Hopperdy left, the Marines immediately gave the order and opened fire on Luffy's ship.

A cannonball instantly hurtled toward them!

In their eyes, a ship like Luffy's could be blown apart with a single shot!

And in accordance with Marine benevolence, they would fire one warning shot first!

"Not good, they attacked!"

"A cannon? Don't let it hit us, or our ship will get blown away!"

"I'll cut it apart!"

As the cannonball flew toward them, Usopp and Nami shouted. Zoro drew his swords, ready to slash the cannonball apart.

Moonlight merely smiled. He had already seen Luffy making his move!

"Gum-Gum..."

Luffy took a long breath, and his body suddenly expanded, becoming enormous and filled with incredible elasticity!

The cannonball struck him as though it had hit cotton, completely ineffective. Then Luffy's body sprang back and sent the cannonball flying!

"Whew, that scared me!"

Seeing this, Usopp let out a sigh of relief.