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"Rowen! You're back! Did you find the map?"
Thanks to the System, Rowen didn't even need to ask for directions; he found Rika's family restaurant easily.
Luffy, whose mouth was currently stuffed full of food, saw Rowen enter and quickly swallowed.
"Buggy took it," Rowen stated, unfolding the piece of paper he held.
"Buggy? Who's that? Is he strong?" Luffy asked curiously.
"He's a pirate with a 15 million Beri bounty. For the East Blue, that's decent enough, I suppose," Rowen replied with a faint smile.
"15 million Beri?! If we take him down, will my bounty be that high too?" Luffy's eyes lit up at the mention of a bounty.
"Maybe," Rowen chuckled, seeing Luffy's reaction.
Yep. Hook, line, and sinker!
"Yosh! Then let's go beat up that Buggy guy and take back the map!" Luffy declared, rolling up his sleeves, full of fighting spirit.
"Hey! Are we really going to war with a whole pirate crew just for a bounty?" Zoro exclaimed, suddenly feeling like he'd boarded a ship of fools.
Before Rowen arrived, he'd confirmed with Luffy: besides Rowen, he was the second crewmate.
And their 'pirate ship' was just that tiny little boat docked at the harbor.
Now, they were about to fight Buggy's crew over a bounty? While Zoro wasn't afraid, wasn't Luffy being way too reckless? He didn't act like a captain at all!
"It's not just about the bounty. We need that map to get to the Grand Line. You want to become the World's Greatest Swordsman, right? You can't do that staying in the East Blue. You have to go to the Grand Line to achieve your ambition," Rowen pointed out calmly, looking at Zoro.
"Yosh! Buggy's head is mine!" Zoro declared, instantly fired up with fighting spirit.
Heh. Two ridiculously easy-to-manipulate idiots.
Rowen smiled inwardly.
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After setting their course, Rowen enjoyed a hearty meal at Rika's restaurant.
Possessing Beast Strength (Blue), Rowen's appetite, while not comparable to Luffy's, was still many times greater than an ordinary person's.
However, thankful that Rowen and the others had defeated Morgan and saved the town, all the residents eagerly brought ingredients from their homes to Rika's restaurant.
Rowen naturally didn't stand on ceremony; being overly polite in such situations would just ruin the mood.
Watching Rowen eat the food they brought, the townspeople all smiled happily.
Afterwards, just like in the original story, the Marines who had been knocked out by Rowen's Conqueror's Haki woke up. They came to Rika's restaurant, informed Rowen's group they wouldn't be arrested, but requested they leave town as soon as possible.
Unlike the original story, however, Koby the clown was already dealt with by Rowen, so Luffy didn't need to put on a clumsy act.
Plus, Rowen hadn't forgotten how unprepared Luffy and Zoro were in the original story, nearly starving to death at sea.
So, after gathering some necessary supplies, the three of them headed to the Straw Hat Pirates' temporary "ship."
"Set sail!" Luffy yelled energetically, standing proudly at the bow.
Zoro took the oars, steering the small boat away from the harbor.
Rowen held the sea map, directing their course.
As Rowen's group sailed away, the Marine soldiers from the town's branch stood at the harbor, saluting them in gratitude for saving their town, watching the Straw Hat Pirates depart.
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"Rowen, how much longer till we reach land? I'm getting kinda sick of apples. I want meat," Luffy whined listlessly, looking over at Rowen who was studying the map.
"Complain less. If it weren't for Rowen, we wouldn't even have these apples. I can't believe you want to be King of the Pirates but didn't prepare any supplies for the voyage," Zoro sighed, exasperated with Luffy.
"Well, I'm not a professional navigator. I can't accurately predict our arrival time," Rowen stated, looking at the map.
Navigation (White) was only good enough for sailing in calm waters. Accurately predicting arrival times was a job for truly talented individuals like Nami.
Rowen then picked up an apple and took a bite.
Shells Town's resources had been nearly depleted under Morgan's oppressive rule.
And their small boat lacked any means of preserving food, so stocking up on a large amount of meat was impossible.
When sailing, getting enough vitamins was crucial to prevent scurvy. Therefore, apples—cheap, relatively long-lasting, and nutritious—were the best option.
"Got it! Let's eat that!" Suddenly, Luffy looked up at the sky and shouted.
Zoro and Rowen followed his gaze. It was a large bird.
"Huh? I can't fly. How are we supposed to knock that down and eat it?" Zoro asked, his eyebrow twitching.
"Watch this! Gomu Gomu no... ROCKET!" Luffy grabbed the mast, stretched his arms back using his rubber elasticity, and launched himself into the sky.
"Oh, right." Zoro almost forgot their unreliable captain was a Devil Fruit user.
Maybe Luffy is useful for something after all. At least he can help improve the menu.
Rowen, however, wore a strange, knowing smile.
The next moment—
CHOMP!
The large bird accurately snatched Luffy's head in its beak.
"AAAAHHH! Help me!" Luffy's panicked screams echoed down.
"IDIOT! What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro yelled, his face contorting in anger. He started rowing frantically, chasing after the bird carrying Luffy away.
You wanted to knock down the bird to improve our meal, and instead, you became the bird's meal?!
——
Trait (Plot Bird): A bird that advances the plot.
——
"Hey! You boat over there! Stop!" While Zoro desperately rowed after the bird holding Luffy hostage, three figures adrift in the water ahead started shouting.
Rowen looked at the three men, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Buggy Pirate grunts, robbed of their treasure and boat by Nami, right?
"Damn it, survivors now of all times?! Hey! No time for you guys! Get yourselves onboard!" Zoro yelled while still rowing furiously.
The three castaways looked terrified as the small boat bore down on them, then scrambled with all their might to climb aboard just before impact.
"Are you trying to kill us?!" the three yelled at Zoro once they were safely (relatively) onboard.
"Surprised you actually made it," Zoro smirked.
"Hey! We're part of the great Captain Buggy's crew! Stop this boat right now! It's ours!" the leader of the three Buggy pirates threatened, drawing his sword.
"Huh?" Zoro turned, his expression shifting into a feral snarl.
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A Few Moments Later.
"Hahaha! We had no idea you were the famous 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro, sir! And the legendary 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen, whose name is already spreading across the seas! We are so incredibly sorry!"
The three Buggy pirates, now sporting bruised and swollen faces, had taken over rowing duty from Zoro. They rowed diligently while offering fawning, sycophantic smiles.
"It's your fault we lost track of our comrade. Just keep rowing straight ahead," Zoro ordered coldly.
"Yes, sir!"
"Don't worry. That direction happens to be our destination anyway," Rowen commented, looking at the map with a smile.
Yep. Just as expected. Even though I prepared apples so Luffy wouldn't starve, his craving for meat still led him to get his head bitten by a bird.
And that bird's destination was, of course, the Buggy Pirates' current base of operations:
Orange Town.
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