Luffy looked heartbroken at the hole in the hat in his hands, then turned toward Buggy. Both his arms stretched backward.
"Damn you, you bastard!"
Buggy had barely climbed to his feet when he heard a shout of "Bazooka!"
At the same time, two palms slammed heavily into his chest.
An immense force erupted in an instant. He felt as though a pirate ship had rammed into him, and just like that, he flew into the sky.
Xia Chen raised an eyebrow at the sight.
"Not bad, Luffy. You took care of Buggy all by yourself this time, without anyone's help!"
But Luffy was still feeling very down. He stared blankly at the straw hat in his hands, no longer even interested in riding the lion.
"Luffy, stop pulling that long face. Just ask Nami to patch up your straw hat!"
"Huh?"
(☆▽☆)!
"Xia Chen, is that true? Nami can mend straw hats?"
"Of course. Don't underestimate our navigator. She can do all sorts of things! But she went looking for treasure after coming up here, so you might have to wait a bit!" Xia Chen said with a faint smile.
"That's great!"
With that, Luffy hopped up too, then began rocking hard on the lion's back.
When Nami came up after stealthily moving all the treasure, she was greeted by this wondrous sight.
A lion was doing a strange dance with four people sitting on its back. Three were the ones she knew, while the other huddled fearfully off to one side like a quail.
At the sight, Nami could not help asking blankly:
"Where's Buggy the Clown?"
"I sent him flying!" Luffy said happily.
"You... sent him flying???"
Nami's eyes widened. That was a notorious pirate with a bounty of fifteen million Beli!
If he could handle fifteen million, then could he handle Arlong's twenty million too...
In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Nami's mind, but in the end, she voiced none of them.
"All right, since we've accomplished what we came for, it's time to set off!"
Xia Chen slowly rose to his feet on the lion's back.
"By the way, Nami, Buggy has a chart of the East Blue here, doesn't he?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
"It's a secret!" Xia Chen gave her a meaningful smile.
Hearing that they were leaving right away, Luffy pouted unhappily beside them.
"What? I haven't had enough fun yet!"
"The townspeople aren't here right now. Once we get tired of playing, there won't even be anywhere to get food. We'll have to fend for ourselves."
"Besides, there isn't much meat left in my space. If we don't head to the next island to restock, we won't have enough to eat!"
Xia Chen looked at Luffy as he spoke calmly.
Luffy immediately stopped moving when he heard that, then said to Xia Chen with a serious expression:
"Then let's hurry up and go!"
Watching how quickly Luffy changed his tune, Xia Chen could not help clicking his tongue in wonder.
It seemed Luffy had no trouble sorting out his priorities when meat was involved!
"By the way, Nami, my straw hat got punctured. Can you fix it for me?"
"Huh?" Nami paused at Luffy's words, then nodded and said:
"Sure!"
"Really? Thank you so much!"
Luffy grabbed Nami's hands as he spoke excitedly.
"Hey, don't squeeze so hard! That hurts!"
"Oh, sorry..."
Some time later~
A thunderous roar rang out aboard Buggy the Clown's pirate ship.
"What? You left a bag of treasure for the islanders?"
Nami grabbed Luffy by the collar and shook him fiercely as she spoke.
"Yeah. They'll need Beli to repair the damaged buildings on the island, right? Leaving them a bag of treasure isn't a big deal!" Luffy explained.
"What do you mean, it isn't a big deal? That was my treasure!"
"Treasure I worked so hard to get to support myself, you know?"
As Nami spoke, she kept plunging Luffy's head into the water and hauling it back up.
"Th-then go... ask them... for it back!" Luffy said indistinctly.
"How could I possibly do something like that, you idiot!!!"
"Hahaha..."
Watching this, Xia Chen and Zoro could not help laughing aloud.
Just as Xia Chen had guessed before, being part of the Straw Hat Pirates really was a lot of fun!
He looked forward to the days ahead even more...
A few days later~
Xia Chen and the others finally spotted a new island, much to their delight.
Luffy in particular was practically drooling at the sight of the island, constantly muttering:
"Meat, meat, meat!"
The meat in Xia Chen's space had run out two days ago, and they had been filling their stomachs with fruit ever since.
The blandness was practically killing them. Even Xia Chen felt that way.
This also strengthened a resolve of his.
He would have to stock more meat in the System Space from now on. Otherwise, there really would not be enough to eat.
Some time later, the ship slowly pulled up to shore.
They all jumped straight down. Luffy ran around excitedly, still muttering about meat.
Zoro stepped onto solid ground and sighed.
"It's been so long since we were on land!"
Nami took out a nautical chart and studied it.
As for Xia Chen, all his attention was focused on the system notification he had just heard.
[Ding! Successfully checked in at Syrup Village. Obtained Conqueror's Haki (beginner)!]
"Huh?"
Whatever he wished for really did come along. He had just been wondering why he had not gotten Conqueror's Haki from a check-in, and now it had appeared on the very next island.
Nice, nice. I'm very satisfied with this system's ways!
With that, he had all Three Types of Haki. All he had to do now was slowly improve them.
At this point, he ought to count as something of an expert, right?
As Xia Chen pondered, a shout came from a distant hill, drawing his gaze over involuntarily.
"Hey! You pirates dare come to the village ruled by me, Captain Usopp?"
"Don't you know that if each of my eighty million subordinates spat once, they could drown you?"
At the same time, countless flags began rising from the bushes on the hill, making for a somewhat imposing sight.
Seeing the slightly bewildered looks on the four of them, Usopp thought he had intimidated them, so he continued:
"But I'm a merciful pirate. If you're willing to retreat immediately, I can show you great mercy and let you leave!"
With that, Usopp quietly watched Xia Chen and the others, looking thoroughly imposing. Only the sweat running down his forehead suggested that he might be feeling a little unsure of himself.
Xia Chen almost laughed at the sight.
Usopp certainly lived up to his reputation as the king of tall tales!
But... even a tall tale needs to sound somewhat convincing!
Eighty million subordinates? Why don't you just fly into the heavens?
Looks like I might have to teach Usopp how to bluff, so he'll learn there's always someone better out there!
At that thought, a slight smile appeared on Xia Chen's lips, and he said to Usopp...