Chapter 46 – Baratie 09.

[Chapter Size: 2181 Words.]

Third Person POV

Baratie, East Blue.

...

...

"Hm? Where's Mihawk?" Luffy asked, seeing only some ice debris in the water, with no sign of the swordsman.

"He left. He said he would wait for a better challenge next time..." Kuina said, crossing her arms, wondering why Yamato seemed as red as a pepper beside her.

"Anyway, it was a great fight. Let's check on Zoro and the others," Luffy said, eager to assess the condition of his swordsman.

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"But before that, why is Shirahoshi like this, and I'm not talking about her current size, which returned to normal..." Luffy said as he walked toward Zoro and saw the princess crying.

"Buaaaawwww. I'm useless, I can't even rescue Luffy-sama!" Luffy raised his eyebrows hearing her cry and this strange reason.

"She wanted to rescue you in the sea, but Reiju was faster, and as you can see, that seemed to upset her, telling herself that she doesn't help at all..." Kuina explained beside him.

Luffy sighed, deciding to deal with Zoro first before calming the princess.

"Alive?" Luffy asked, opening a smile as he observed the swordsman, covered in bandages, on the deck.

"Of course, Captain," Zoro grumbled with a touch of annoyance.

"I'm glad about that, Zoro. You even surprised the greatest swordsman in the world; don't disappoint him in the future then," Luffy commented.

"Of course, I impressed him. I'll surpass him one day!" Zoro declared confidently.

"Hahahaha. That's great. But anyway, Shirahoshi and Megalo are gigantic now. It's time to conceal their true sizes, but before that." Luffy turned to the huge mermaid beside the ship, still drawing shocked glances from those who didn't know her. A mermaid of this size was a unique sight in the world, and almost no one had seen her before Luffy summoned her with a card, as she was kept in his room.

"Shirahoshi, can you swim down and retrieve the boats from the seafloor?" Luffy asked, making her stop crying and look at him with some kind of hope.

"Hm?! Shirahoshi can be useful? Of course! I can, Luffy-sama, so I'll go get them!" She answered confidently and joyfully, eager to have the chance to be useful to her captain.

"Take Megalo along; I believe it might be quite heavy for you to do it alone, and do it one ship at a time." Luffy commented.

"Sharky! Sharky! Sharky!" Megalo quickly confirmed his willingness to help.

As Shirahoshi and Megalo dove into the water, creating a large amount of foam, Luffy turned back to the restaurant. Besides his crew, only Zeff and Mihawk's employees had the chance to witness the true form of the mermaid princess. Krieg was dead, and Gin, present at the scene, had fainted when the impact of Yamato and Mihawk's attacks collided, causing him to recoil and hit his head on one of the walls.

"I hope there won't be rumors of a giant mermaid on my ship after I leave here..." Luffy said in front of Zeff and the others, but everyone understood the implied threat in his words.

"How dare you threaten us!" Patty shouted angrily at Luffy.

"Quiet, Patty. The boy has his reasons for that. Mermaids are not seen frequently on the surface of the sea, especially one of this size, and disclosing this information would certainly bring many problems. But don't worry, kid; among my employees, not a word about what they saw today will be spoken." Zeff spoke frankly to Luffy, who nodded satisfied.

"That's good. I care about my comrades," Luffy declared calmly.

"I hope you'll take care of the smelly brat here in the same way," Zeff said, pointing to Reiju, who was a bit wet after rescuing Luffy and Yamato.

"I NEVER SAID I WAS LEAVING, OLD MAN!" She shouted back angrily.

"Of course, I'll never allow my cook to be harmed," Luffy replied to Zeff as if it were the most obvious thing.

"I DIDN'T SAY I WOULDN'T GO WITH YOU ANYWHERE?!" Reiju shouted even more furiously, being ignored.

"That's good, then I'll leave her in your hands. I hope she won't cause too much trouble..."

"OLD MAN!"

"Don't worry, you'll receive news about her soon. It won't be long before she's in the newspapers."

"YOU!"

Some people looked admirably at this scene.

"Brother Luffy knows how to recruit someone!" Jhonny and Yosaku shouted with admiration, watching the scene.

"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU INVITE SOMEONE!" Nami shouted, giving two punches to each of the idiotic bounty hunters, who fell unconscious to the ground right after.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the deck.

"Yamato, pull yourself together!" Kuina said to Yamato, who was still in a corner with a red face.

"It's just that... it was my... first... kiss..." She said embarrassed.

"Hm? What the hell happened down there?!" Kuina exclaimed.

"Ābrītsos people gīmigon skorkydoso naejot emagon iā lot hen kirimves, nyke hope ēzi iā jehikagrī future," the strange woman said.

"I agree, dear..." Said her husband beside her.

"OW!"

"Are you also wondering what's happening with them, Chouchou? It doesn't even seem like they had some inhuman fights just moments ago..." Usopp said, lost. Everything seemed to be returning to normal for these strange people, interacting with each other with their different personalities.

*BOOOM!*

At that moment, the water suddenly rose with Shirahoshi and Megalo bringing the Marine boat from the seafloor in front of the restaurant. She descended again and brought up the poor old Going Merry, now named Black Pearl, despite having the same appearance.

"Let's drain the water from the ships first to continue our journey," Luffy declared as soon as he saw the ship.

"My clothes!" Nami couldn't help but complain since her wardrobe was covered in water at that moment.

Luffy just nodded but noticed something looking around amid various debris from Don Krieg's old battleship.

"You guys are in charge of cleaning the water. Unfortunately, I can't use my powers for that, so I'll delegate this task to you. Meanwhile, I'll hunt down the remaining Krieg pirates. Lami should be here soon, and we'll make sure she brings more money with Krieg and his gang." Luffy said, smiling.

"YES!" Nami couldn't help but swap her bad mood for enthusiasm, displaying large sparkling dollar sign eyes.

"You take care of getting the water out of the boat; I'll deal with the pirates, then." Luffy determined because he was the only one capable of performing such a task by flying.

Without wasting time, his wings and hair grew, and in the next moment, he disappeared, utilizing the 30 times greater speed provided by the Moa Moa no Mi. Luffy flew towards the scattered wreckage in the sea around the area, where Krieg's lackeys still awaited news from their captain, unaware that he had been dead all along. Some were beginning to suspect it and tried to flee to avoid further trouble, but Luffy surprised them quickly, capturing them before they could react. He turned them into miniatures and placed them inside a cage that he quickly improvised in the restaurant.

"Hm?"

"AHHH!"

"Cau disappeared! Hm?!"

"What's happening!"

Screams were heard, and pirates vanished one after another, leaving the place in silence.

It didn't take long for Luffy to catch everyone, and he returned to the restaurant, putting Gin with Krieg's body together. As soon as he did that, he went to Shirahoshi and Megalo, returning them to their reduced sizes. Once he finished, everyone else seemed to have finished draining the accumulated water inside the Marine ship.

When Luffy regrouped with his crew, Zeff approached them.

"Today seemed like a very strange day, but I'm glad we're still alive, even after everything we've seen. Come, I believe you want to eat a bit and rest before continuing your journey. Our restaurant will provide some meals on the house, especially because we wouldn't know what would happen if you hadn't shown up," Zeff announced as things seemed to have calmed down for Luffy and the others.

"We won't reject your kindness, then," Luffy declared shamelessly, as he was quite hungry after fighting so much, especially since his stamina, after using the regeneration of the eikons, consumed most of his strength. He entered, and everyone followed him back into the restaurant.

Luffy didn't even care about being delicate because he had almost died a while ago; all he wanted was to eat and drink freely to replenish his energy thanks to Zeff's kindness.

"Luffy, do you think that cook will go with us?" Usopp asked next to him as they returned to the routine of eating a lot like before, but unlike before, all these dishes were free.

"Hahaha, of course, I don't even plan on leaving until she leaves with us."

Luffy said, earning a skeptical look from some of the group who didn't believe Reiju would leave with them.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen.

"Reiju, you brat, your crew is eating too much!" Zeff complained, beginning to regret proposing something like this since the losses were enormous now.

"They're not my crew!" The woman shouted.

"No matter how you deny it, in that man's eyes, you're already one of his comrades..." Zeff said calmly, surprising Reiju.

"What? How can you be sure of that?" She said suspiciously without the tone of anger.

"The moment I saw him, I knew you were destined to leave with them." Zeff said, crossing his arms.

"Hm?! But I said no; I still have my debt to you, old man!" She growled.

"Silly girl, you would never stay here for long. Your life is at sea, and I'm sure you've found your right companions for that. And screw that debt; I consider it paid a long time ago. I am your father, am I not?" He said, smiling, and the kitchen fell silent at that moment.

"Old man..." Reiju murmured, surprised and touched by the revelation. A pause settled in the kitchen as she absorbed the magnitude of what she had just heard.

"What, do you think of staying your whole life in this restaurant? Don't you have your own dreams and goals?" He questioned, maintaining the same smile and challenging her to refute those words.

"I..."

"Come on, Reiju, you want to go with them, admit it!" Patty taunted her with a mocking smile beside him.

"Miss Reiju, I believe you should follow your heart..." another cook said, and others also gave their words of encouragement.

"I... I don't know," she said, sounding unsure.

"Come on, Reiju, he has decided even if you deny it. You will leave by the end of the day on that stolen Marine ship; I'm sure of it," Zeff said.

"I... I must ask him again first!" Reiju said and turned, leaving the kitchen and heading to the now empty restaurant with a single table filled.

"Monkey D. Luffy!" She said, approaching, gaining the attention of Luffy and the others, as they didn't expect her here, let alone in such a manner.

"Hm?! Reiju, did you finally decide to join us at the table? It's boring with you in the kitchen while we're all gathered here, eating!" Luffy declared with a smile.

"Let me ask! Do you really want me to go with you?! Do you really want me as your comrade and the cook of your ship?" She asked with a serious tone.

Luffy stared at her after those words, and his smile grew even wider.

"Of course, you've been my companion since the moment I laid eyes on you; there's no escaping that," he said, crossing his arms.

"..."

"..."

"Alright, I'll go with you, but I have my own goals. I hope you don't expect me to accomplish them! I'll talk about them later," she said with the same serious tone and continued.

"Now, I'll finish my things and see with the old man what I still need to do before boarding with you..." Before Luffy could speak, she turned and walked away from them.

"He really did it..." Nami said with unbelievable eyes.

"Luffy-Sama is very charismatic!" Shirahoshi celebrated.

"There's no way that's just charisma!" Kuina complained.

"But Brother Luffy is so cool!" the bounty hunters shouted with shining eyes.

"Tsk." Zoro grunted.

"This is unexpected..." Usopp murmured.

"I always knew she was our future cook, so it was just a matter of time until she accepted my invitation," Luffy declared, not caring about the suspicious looks he was getting.

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Author here:

* I am still pondering whether Reiju's acceptance into the crew seemed forced. I could try to make this moment feel more natural, but the narrative at Baratie needs to be concluded. Otherwise, the next chapters will consist mainly of dialogues, which may seem less authentic. I apologize if this transition seemed abrupt to you. The intention is to maintain the flow of the story, so I appreciate your understanding.

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