Luffy doesn't care about any of that.
Like a wild beast unleashed, they plunged into the food street, eating their way from one end of the street to the other.
Grilled Sea Kings skewers, octopus in sauce, fried sea urchin, grilled banana alligator, sea salt caramelized fruit...
His rubber stomach was like a bottomless pit; he ate half the food at the stall and still wasn't satisfied.
"Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!"
Luffy puffed out his cheeks and reached for a string of skewers before even swallowing what was in his mouth.
Sanji forgot about scolding him and stood in front of a high-end food stall, his eyes shining as he looked at the two-meter-long silver sea bass.
"This fish only exists in the deep sea below 500 meters in the North Blue, and it dies as soon as it's brought out of the water, so it's impossible for it to be transported to the shore alive... How did you manage to do it?" Sanji asked the stall owner.
The stall owner, a short, stout middle-aged man, grinned upon hearing this:
"We have special transport ships with interiors that can simulate the deep-sea environment."
"Don't even mention sea bass, I can get you any deep-sea creature you want to eat."
Sanji was stunned.
"But only if you can afford it." The stall owner sized him up, his tone becoming more mercenary.
Sanji patted his pockets and remained silent.
Nami was haggling with a jewelry vendor at the next stall. The two argued heatedly over the difference of ten Beli, and in the end, Nami bought an aquamarine bracelet at cost price.
"Don't people here ever get angry when they try to bargain?" Nami belatedly remarked.
"The first rule of trade on Hachinosu: voluntary transactions and fair treatment. Anyone who engages in forced buying or selling or causes trouble will be invited in for questioning by the patrol team."
The stall owner smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"The tea is terrible, really."
Luffy finished eating, he suddenly remembered his important task.
He stopped a vendor who was counting money and asked, "Uncle, do you know where Roy is?"
The vendor's smile froze instantly.
He quickly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Luffy's face twice, his eyes shifting from enthusiasm to wariness, his hand subtly resting under the counter.
"Who are you? What do you want with Lord Roy?"
"I'm Luffy, Roy's friend. Tell him I'm here, he'll definitely see me."
"Friend?" The vendor's hand had already touched the button, and his expression became increasingly strange.
Luffy was about to explain when he heard footsteps behind him.
Six patrolmen suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Luffy.
"You just said you're Lord Roy's friend?" The leading patrol captain was a muscular man with a short knife at his waist.
"Yes, we met in the Foosha Village."
Luffy grinned, completely unaware that he had been mistaken for a suspect.
" Foosha Village "?
"Never heard of it."
The patrol captain sneered.
"Who is Lord Roy to know a nobody like you?"
He had barely finished speaking when the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates arrived.
Zoro and Sanji stood on either side of Luffy, both with their muscles tense, ready to strike at any moment.
"What do you want?" Sanji asked in a deep voice.
"This is our territory. Do we need to explain ourselves to you when we question suspicious individuals?" The patrol captain reached out to grab Luffy by the collar.
Luffy's smile vanished.
"Don't touch me."
His voice wasn't loud, but the seriousness in his tone made the patrol captain's hand freeze in mid-air.
For some reason, the short man in the Straw Hat in front of him suddenly sent a chill down his spine.
The patrol captain gritted his teeth and continued to stretch his hand forward.
"Stop."
A clear, melodious female voice came from outside the crowd.
All patrol personnel stopped simultaneously and turned their heads in unison.
Kuina stepped out from the crowd.
She wore a black combat suit in the style of Hachinosu, with a long sword in a white scabbard at her waist. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her eyes and brows exuded a natural, imposing presence.
"Lord Roy sent me to pick them up."
Kuina waved to the patrol captain.
"All of you, step back."
The patrolmen immediately put away their weapons and respectfully stepped aside.
Zoro froze the moment Kuina appeared.
He was standing to Luffy's right rear, and it felt like he had been struck by lightning, all the blood in his body rushing to his head in that instant.
His hand holding the knife was trembling.
"Gu... Kuina?" Zoro's voice squeezed out from his throat, so broken it was almost inaudible.
Kuina turned to look at him and smiled slightly, "Long time no see, Zoro."
Zoro's pupils contracted sharply.
Countless faces flashed through his mind.
Kuina from the Shimotsuki Village dojo, the Kuina who told him on the ladder, "Girls will be weaker than men when they grow up."
Kuina, lying motionless on the wooden floor of the dojo, and Tashigi, whom we later met in Loguetown.
Tashigi has a face that looks exactly like Kuina's.
But Tashigi is not Kuina.
The way the person in front of me looked at me, the way she held the knife, the posture she adopted while standing there—
Even the curve of her lips when she called out " Zoro " was exactly the same as the girl in his memory.
"You..." Zoro's throat seemed to be blocked by something, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence.
"Are you really Kuina?"
"What, do I have to kick you like I did when we were kids before you believe me?" Kuina chuckled.
Zoro suddenly reached out and stopped her from getting closer.
His expression was extremely complex, a mixture of shock, doubt, and a hint of fear he himself was unaware of—he feared it was some kind of illusion, that this person would disappear at any moment.
"What's the score of our sword duel?" Zoro asked, his voice hoarse.
"Two thousand and one losses, zero wins," Kuina answered quickly.
What's the name of the knife you're using?
" Wado Ichimonji."
What's hanging at the entrance of the dojo?
" Isshin Dojo "
Zoro stood there, as if all his strength had been drained away.
His lips were trembling, and something hot was welling up in his eyes, but he didn't let it fall.
"So..." His voice was so low that only Kuina could hear it, "You're still alive."
"Yes. I'm still alive."
Kuina stepped forward, stood in front of him, and looked up at him.
"I'm sorry, Zoro."
"But if it weren't for that faked death back then, you wouldn't be where you are today."
Zoro didn't speak, but gritted his teeth, determined not to show any weakness in front of this woman.
Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates watched this scene from the sidelines, not daring to breathe.
"Fake death? What fake death?" Luffy asked in a low voice.
Kuina turned around, reverting to her clean and efficient demeanor:
"Let's go first, we can talk as we walk."
She led the group through the commercial street and towards the core area of Hachinosu.
On the way, she briefly explained what happened back then.
"That year I fell down the stairs, but Lord Roy saved me. Not only did he save me, he also told me that if I continued to stay in Shimotsuki Village, I would never become the World's Greatest Swordsman in my lifetime."
"So you conspired with your master to stage your own death?" Zoro's voice came from behind, tinged with coldness.
Kuina glanced back at him. "What else?"
"If I had known you were still alive back then, I probably wouldn't have fought so hard."
" Zoro, are you sure?"
Kuina stopped, turned around, and looked him straight in the eye.
"We still have an agreement to keep! I haven't let my guard down for a single moment these past few years."