Chapter 22: Sword Emperor and Sword Saint, Sea Restaurant.

"985,"

"986,"

On the deck of the Going Merry, Luffy and Zoro were doing squats with weights on their backs. Meanwhile, Nami was also training...

"Why do I have to join too?!"

Facing the tearful Usopp, who was also training with weights, Roman lifted his eyelids.

"Do you want to fight me too?"

"If you beat me, you won't have to listen to me—"

"Forget it, I'm training from the bottom of my heart..."

...A familiar scene.

"Hahaha~~"

"Nami, why are you laughing?"

"That saying about 'friends' is so true:" Nami, who was also training, laughed as she looked at Usopp, whose legs were cramping, "Hearing that you're worse off than me makes me happy."

...

"This friendship is too realistic."

However, complaining was useless. After completing the training set by Roman, the others still had the energy to chat and laugh, but poor Usopp didn't even have the strength to turn over.

"This is not what I imagined..."

The pirate life should be about banquets, revelry, waves, and battles...

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime."

While steering the Golden Merry, Roman also had to control two 'paper arms' to steer a merchant ship behind them. He lifted his eyelids.

"Usopp, your physical strength is only 0.8 Nami level, which I didn't expect."

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean by 0.8 Nami level..."

Nami, who had just taken a bath, was not happy. Since when did she become a unit of physical strength?

"Because your physical fitness is the most representative of the average pirate level among us."

Roman answered seriously.

"Otherwise, how about I change it to 0.04 Luffy?"

"Forget it... that's too discouraging."

"But it doesn't matter, your potential should be more than that."

Roman looked at Usopp.

"You probably just never had systematic training before, so you seem so... weak. Start training to develop your physical potential now, and I believe you will soon surpass 1 Nami level..."

"Enough, Roman! Stop using me as a standard unit..."

---

The days of sailing were actually not grand or exciting at all.

Most of the time, it was just an endless sea, with no waves or other ships. And to prevent Luffy from fooling around, Roman made a detailed training plan every day to eliminate their excess energy. However:

"I think we need a pirate flag."

Faced with Luffy's serious proposal, everyone, including Roman, nodded in agreement.

After all, they now had five members! It was time to fly their own flag!

"Ta-da~~"

"How about this one I drew?"

...

Well, although it could still be recognized as a skull flag, but:

"This guy, it's obvious he has no artistic talent."

This was Usopp speaking the truth.

"No, from a certain angle... it can also be considered art."

This was Nami, deep in thought.

"A pirate flag is supposed to be a symbol of intimidation..."

This was Zoro, speechless.

"This is more like kindergarten graffiti than a pirate flag."

Roman rubbed his temples. If they really hung this thing, they could make the enemy laugh to death without even fighting... No, on second thought, maybe this was actually Luffy's strategy?

Feigning weakness to the enemy...

No, no, no, Roman shook his head.

Luffy usually didn't have the brain cells to think about these things!

"Forget it, leave the drawing to me."

As the only 'artist' among them, Usopp took the brush without hesitation. However:

It couldn't be said that it was badly drawn, but: a skull with a long nose, a slingshot on one side, and a leg bone on the other. He even added a star effect...

**Bang! Bang!**

"Isn't this drawing completely of yourself?"

Usopp, who was simultaneously punched by Luffy and Zoro, had to redraw the 'Straw Hat Pirate Flag,' which made everyone else look at him in a new light.

"Not bad at all."

"Hard to believe it's the same design..."

Comparing it with Luffy's drawing, it was like the difference between a seller's showcase and a buyer's reality.

"Hmph, I'm not only good at drawing, but also at shooting—I can easily hit the target every time!"

After demonstrating by blasting a small rock protruding from the distant sea with a cannon:

"Great, from now on, you're our ship's 'sniper' and 'artist.'"

Luffy waved his hand, giving Usopp two positions.

"Huh?"

"Hey,"

Roman looked up at a few paper cranes flying in the sky, one of which flew towards the small rock that Usopp had just blasted. After circling a few times:

"I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"

??

"Bad news, I guess."

Faced with Luffy's choice, Roman nodded.

"The place you just blasted with a cannon, someone was resting there. —You hit a bystander."

Oh no...

"And the good news?"

Luffy and Usopp, looking anxious, asked.

"The good news is, those two people don't seem to be dead yet."

———

"Darn, just lost by a little bit..."

When Roman and the others turned around, a swordsman jumped out of the rubble of the rock, shouting for 'blood for blood.' He was knocked down by Luffy in one move...

"Joseph, pull yourself together!"

After rescuing the other person, they found out that they were Zoro's former 'colleagues,' and both were his fans, named Joseph and Johnny, the pirate hunters. However, one of them was unscathed, while the other had a pale face, and the wound on his stomach was even bleeding. But:

"This is scurvy, right?"

It wasn't Usopp's cannonball that injured him, but:

"What is scurvy?"

Faced with the trio's question, Nami had to explain:

"Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C in the human body. Long-term deficiency increases the fragility of capillaries, leading to subcutaneous and mucosal bleeding, medically known as scurvy. You just need to..."

"Supplement with this."

Roman had already brought out a glass of orange juice, giving it to the hunter named Johnny to feed to Yosaku.

"Fresh vegetables, oranges, and lemons can all prevent and treat scurvy, but if you have an unbalanced diet during long voyages, you'll end up like him."

Roman said, glancing at Luffy.

"Especially you, Luffy. —Only knowing how to eat meat, it's no wonder you'll get all sorts of strange diseases."

This guy would definitely be a 'three-high' (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol) example in his previous life!

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry..."

"Alright, I'll go cook."

Roman rolled his eyes. Although he could control his "paper hands" to cook and improve his fruit proficiency at the same time, he couldn't help but complain:

"Honestly, the number of times I've cooked recently is almost as many as... in my previous life."

In the ship's dining room, Roman watched Luffy and the others, including the recently rescued Johnny and Joseph, devouring the food he had prepared. He touched his chin and once again doubted his culinary skills.

It doesn't make sense. I'm not Liu Angxing, and I didn't put anything like poppy shells in it...

"Delicious!"

"I bet you'd say it's delicious even if it were just potato stew, right?"

Roman no longer wanted to hear the opinions of these guys with "iron stomachs." He tapped his plate with his knife and fork.

"I think we need to recruit a professional chef."

"A good chef can not only make delicious food but also balance nutrition and even subtly strengthen the eater's body..."

This is not a fantasy. In this magical world, many foods possess incredible powers that can give people real strength!

Devil fruits are the best example.

"So, where can we find such a chef?"

In response to Zoro's question, Roman pointed his knife and fork at Nami.

"Of course, we should ask the person with the most sailing experience among us."

"As someone who has been active in East Blue for years, Nami should know where to find a chef, right?"

"I do know, but—"

Nami wiped her mouth with a napkin, thought for a moment, and took out a map. She pointed to a sea area.

"On our slightly northern route,"

"There is a famous ship in this sea area called the 'Baratie.' If we need a chef, we can check it out there. But I can't guarantee they'll be willing to join us."

As she spoke, Nami's finger paused.

Next to that sea area, on the land, there is an inconspicuous little village:

Cocoyasi.

So soon, the pleasant journey is about to end...

----

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