One day later~
Somewhere in the East Blue, aboard the Going Merry.
"Hey, Luffy, what the hell did you draw?"
The corner of Xia Chen's mouth twitched as he looked at the pirate flag Luffy had drawn.
Are you sure that's really a skull?
"Usopp, you draw it. This idiot captain's useless!"
"Wahaha, I knew it! When something important comes up, you've got to leave it to me!"
"All right, leave it to me!" Usopp promised, thumping his chest.
A while later, everyone smiled in satisfaction at the pirate flag Usopp had drawn.
"Hey, that's definitely a lot better than Luffy's!" Zoro remarked from the side.
"Definitely, definitely! Hahaha..."
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a gust blew in from the distant sea, and everyone aboard seemed to sense something as they looked in a certain direction.
An island shrouded in clouds had appeared on the sea ahead.
"Th-this is...?"
Shock flashed in Nami's eyes, and she continued:
"There's no mistaking it. That's Treasure Island, an island said to hold a huge amount of treasure!"
"(☆▽☆), treasure?" Luffy excitedly climbed onto the bow and stretched his neck to peer into the distance. Then he said to Nami:
"Then let's hurry over! I can't wait to hunt for treasure!"
Some time later, the Going Merry slowly approached the shore. After dropping anchor, everyone went ashore together.
At the same time, a familiar, pleasant sound rang out in Xia Chen's mind.
[Ding! Successfully checked in at Treasure Island. Indestructible Vajra Body upgraded to intermediate!]
The instant the system notification ended, Xia Chen felt an incredibly powerful force surge from deep within his body.
It even made him stumble, leaving him a little unsteady on his feet.
Seeing this, Zoro couldn't help asking, "Hey, Xia Chen, what's wrong? Don't tell me you're hungover from last night? You're that much of a lightweight?"
"Heh, when it comes to drinking, even ten of you couldn't keep up with me," Xia Chen said disdainfully.
But he really did need to sit down and adjust to the energy constantly surging through his body, so he told everyone:
"I'll guard the ship. You guys go ahead!"
With that, he appeared aboard the ship and walked into the cabin without looking back.
"What's that guy up to?" Zoro still looked suspicious.
Luffy said, "Well, if Xia Chen isn't coming, let's go ourselves! Treasure, treasure, here I come!"
As everyone gradually disappeared into the island, Xia Chen finally adjusted to the enormous surge of power within him aboard the ship.
After carefully assessing himself, Xia Chen discovered that his physique was now at least three times as strong as before the breakthrough.
That might not sound like much of an increase, but Xia Chen's original physique had already been extremely powerful.
Besides, having three times his original physical strength wasn't as simple as one plus one plus one equals three.
Now, he could handle ten of his former self at once with ease.
His strength had taken a huge leap!
Honestly, though, this Indestructible Vajra Body was seriously badass!
By Xia Chen's current estimate, his physique was now about on par with Luffy's during Onigashima, and might even be a little stronger.
If the advanced Indestructible Vajra Body gave him an equally large boost later, it would be even stronger than Big Mom's Iron Balloon physique.
All he could say was that this had been a massive boost in strength.
It gave him even more confidence to face the battles ahead.
He had been in the world of One Piece for a while now, but he still hadn't tested just how strong he was at full power!
All his current estimates of his strength were deductions based on his knowledge of the original story.
Whether that was actually the case remained to be tested.
At that thought, a faint smile appeared on Xia Chen's lips.
I'm getting a little excited!
After spending a whole day bored out of his mind aboard the ship, Xia Chen finally heard Luffy and the others returning. He slowly made his way out onto the deck.
When Luffy saw Xia Chen, he began shouting:
"Hey, Xia Chen, you really missed out by not coming today! We saw loads of interesting stuff, like an old guy growing out of a chest..."
Xia Chen listened quietly, chiming in now and then with a remark or an exclamation of amazement.
Laughter and cheerful chatter rang out aboard the Going Merry...
The next day, Xia Chen was still asleep in the cabin when he heard shouting outside. He walked out with bleary eyes.
The moment he came out, he saw Luffy and Usopp bowing ninety degrees to someone.
"Johnny?"
Xia Chen spoke in confusion. He still had some recollection of Zoro's two little followers.
But what's going on here?
After going down and asking Zoro, Xia Chen learned the whole story.
In short, Johnny thought Luffy and Usopp had caused Yosaku's death.
That was why this was happening.
Xia Chen walked calmly over to Yosaku. By then, he had remembered this part of the story.
He said to everyone nearby:
"Hey, whatever it is, talk about it later. Go into the cabin and bring out Nami's fresh tangerines right now, or this guy really will die!"
"Y-you mean Yosaku isn't dead?"
Hearing this, Johnny asked Xia Chen excitedly.
"Right, not yet. But that might change in a moment!"
"So... get moving already!" Xia Chen shouted that last sentence directly at Luffy and Usopp.
These two idiots. Can't they read the situation and do something?
"Yes! We'll go right away!" They instantly straightened up and ran into the cabin.
Xia Chen turned to look at Yosaku and said calmly:
"He has scurvy. Simply put, it's because he hasn't been eating properly during a long life at sea."
"That causes a nutritional imbalance, and eventually leads to this illness..."
Some time later, after Luffy and Usopp fed Yosaku fresh oranges, his complexion slowly began to improve.
Seeing this, Johnny's eyes instantly lit up. He lunged over and hugged Xia Chen's leg.
"Big brother! I'll never forget this life-saving kindness..."
"Get off me..."
"So, a balanced diet at sea is very important, understand? Otherwise, all sorts of problems can crop up!"
Xia Chen sat aboard the ship, teaching Luffy and this bunch of idiots some basic common sense.
"All right, in that case, let's find a cook!" Luffy suddenly stood up and declared loudly.
"Exactly! That makes a lot of sense!"
For once, not a single person objected to Luffy. After all, what he said really did make sense.
Hearing this, Johnny spoke up from the side:
"If you're looking for a seafaring cook, there's a place I can recommend!"
"Really? Where?"
Johnny narrowed his eyes and said each word distinctly:
"The sea restaurant Baratie!"