Chapter 94

"Woah! What a weird animal!" Ace said, watching the Yagara bulls people use for transportation in Water 7. Currently, Ace, Hepha, and Doppol were inside the first building they arrived at after walking from the ship; the Rental Bull Shop.

It was soon obvious to them that traveling around Water 7 would be much faster by riding one of the bulls people in Water 7 use for transport. There were bridges and sidewalks that they could use to walk to their destination, but that would require a lot of time and walking.

"I wonder what they taste like. Do they taste like cows?" Ace said, wondering out loud. It seemed that Yagara Bulls were smart, seeing how those close to Ace shivered after hearing his words and shuffled further away from him.

"I don't think they would taste good," Doppol said, humoring Ace's thoughts.

"We're not short on money," Hepha said, interrupting Ace's rather senseless musing. "Let's rent one for each of us."

Hepha went ahead first and looked for the owner of the Rental Bull Shop to do exactly what she said. Ace and Doppol followed, carrying the bags of gold with them. Ace grinned to himself seeing the amount of gold they were carrying. Surprisingly, he still remembered much of the One Piece anime in his past life. They were currently carrying more gold than Luffy, Nami, and Usopp did.

"Yo, Doppol," Ace said, nudging Doppol with a ridiculous grin on his face. "How much do you think our gold will turn into?"

"I'm not really sure," Doppol said honestly. "Hopefully, this is more than 500 million…"

"I'm sure it's more than that!" Ace said.

"It definitely is more than that," Hepha said, offering her thoughts to the conversation. "Anyway, I'll handle the negotiation later. I'll make sure we get the proper amount."

The three of them stopped their brief conversation when they arrived at what seemed like the reception area of the Rental Bull Shop. The one behind the counter was a man, and behind him was a huge aquarium that was large enough to fit more than a dozen Yagara bulls.

"Welcome!" the man said to Hepha, since she was the one in front of the group. "Here to rent some bulls?"

"Yes," Hepha answered. "We need three. How much for each one?"

Before the man answered, Ace noticed how he glanced at the bags they were carrying. A not so subtle glint in the man's eyes let Ace know what the man was about to say next.

"I see you're carrying something so… heavy!" the man said, with a business-like grin. "Tell you what. I'll let you guys rent my best bulls! Yagara bulls can't carry the bags you have with you, after all."

"How much will it cost?" Hepha asked with slightly narrowed eyes, squinting at the man.

"Err… since you guys will be renting three, I'll give you a discount!" the man said, backpedaling a bit after feeling Hepha's gaze. But, it seemed the man still had a sliver of courage. "500,000 Berry for each!"

"500,000 Berry each, huh? Now, that's funny," Hepha said as she leaned closer to the man, who in turn retreated a bit. "You expect me to believe they're that expensive?"

"Err… like I said, they're special!" the man said, already sweating bullets. "No one usually rents them…"

"Special? What, they shit gold or something?" Hepha asked with a grin, which seemed to unnerve the man even further.

"I… I see now that you don't want to rent the special bulls!" the man said, clearly backpedaling to avoid trouble with Hepha. "How about the standard ones? My bulls are tough and I'm sure they can carry your bags! They only cost 5,000 Berry each!"

"That's more like it," Hepha said as she stopped putting pressure on the man, much to his relief. "We'll take them."

"G-Glad to be of service, good ma'am!" the man said before preparing the bulls they rented.

In seemingly no time at all, Ace, Hepha, and Doppol were now standing in front of the bulls they rented. They had unique colors, so they were easily distinguishable. But, the most surprising thing was that they were different from the bulls they saw earlier.

The two bulls in front of Ace, Hepha, and Doppol were certainly not the same as Yagara bulls. The fish in front of them was large and their heads looked like a dolphin's but with the sharp teeth of sharks. Unlike the Yagara bulls, they did not look friendly at all.

"What are they?" Doppol asked the owner of the Rental Bull Shop.

"These are Rabuka bulls," the man said. "Like I said, Yagara bulls can't carry the bags you have with you. Honestly, I don't know how you're carrying bags that look that big and heavy…"

The owner of the Rental Bull Shop was indeed impressed at how Ace and Doppol were able to carry two bags each that were much bigger than their whole body. It was a rather comical sight.

"We're strong! HAHAHAHA!" Ace said.

"Strong? More like monstrous," the man said under his breath. "Anyway, these Rabuka bulls are much bigger and stronger than Yagaras! You can be sure that they can carry your bags along with you to anywhere in Water 7."

"Thanks, old man," Hepha said before handing him a stack of Berry. "Do we need to go back and return them to you after we're done with them?"

"No need," the man said. "They're trained to return here after being given some food. So, just do that when you want them to return."

"We'll be sure to remember that," Doppol said with a little nod.

"I'll take the blue one!" Ace said, already getting on the head of the Rabuka bull he chose. He put the two huge bags he was carrying on the Rabuka bull's back.

"I'll take the brown one," Doppol said. "You ride with Ace, Hepha."

"Yeah. Can't be too safe with our gold," Hepha said with a smirk at Ace.

"Oi, I'm not that clumsy!" Ace said, but he wasn't really offended.

"No, you really are," Hepha said. "Your brother Luffy picked it up from you, I'm sure."

"...HAHAHAHA! Maybe you're right!" 

Ace then turned away to look at the city in front of them. He was excited to see the beautiful city of Water 7 from his own perspective. He guessed that the best way to sightsee the place would be on one of these bulls they were riding.

"Alright, let's go!" Ace said, and the Rabuka bulls somehow understood him. They went forward and started their peaceful ride along the canals of Water 7.

The three of them were awed at the beauty of Water 7. The clean water carried with it the scent of the sea. Despite being a city, Water 7 feels strangely like home for people who spent most of their time at sea. 

It was a city built around water, after all. The people living in it were unique too. The three of them realized it as they rode the canal around what seemed like a residential area.

"Ahh, what a beautiful lady!"

Ace, Hepha, and Doppol looked up to see a man peering out of a window, staring at Hepha. He then took a flower from seemingly out of nowhere and held it towards Hepha.

"Fair lady, would you do me the honor of taking you to dinner tonight?"

Ace and Doppol tried their best to hold back from smiling and chuckling at seeing Hepha stare deadpanned at the man that wanted to take her on a date.

"...what the hell is wrong with that dude?" Hepha asked no one in particular.

Hepha was about to say something to the man that brazenly asked her out when they saw a hand from behind him peek out and pinch him by the ears, pulling him back inside the house. A moment later, a woman peeked out from the same window.

"I'm so sorry for that! Please excuse my husband," the woman said with an embarrassed smile. "Men here say that as something like a greeting."

The three of them nodded a little to show gratitude and sympathy to the woman as they rode away. 

"...must be tough," Doppol said. "The women here with husbands like that…"

"Not as tough as you," Ace said to Doppol. "Look at you! You're not even slightly seasick anymore!"

"Well, these bulls are probably the reason for that," Doppol said. "They're very… stable!"

"Ahh, we forgot something," Hepha said suddenly. "We didn't ask anyone where the bank is!"

"We can just ask people later. I'm sure we'll run into some as we go," Ace said before his nose caught a smell. Ace started sniffing the air. "Hey… I smell food!"

"We just ate. How are you hungry already?" Doppol asked.

"What do you mean? I'm always hungry," Ace said with a playful grin. "But it's not just that. When there's food…"

"There are people," Hepha said, finishing Ace's sentence. "I see what you mean. Let's follow your nose, Ace!"

"Leave it to your amazing and powerful Captain!" Ace said, jutting a thumb to himself in pride.

Ace and his Rabuka bull took the lead as they followed the scent of food. A few minutes later, Hepha and Doppol also started smelling the scent of freshly cooked food in the air.

"Smells like… meat?" Hepha said.

"It definitely does." Doppol agreed. "But… I can't tell what kind."

"Which means we probably never ate one before. Whatever they're serving," Ace said. When they rounded a corner, the three of them found themselves in what seemed like a shopping district. People on both land and water were buying from shops that lined the street.

"That must be where the smell came from," Doppol said as he pointed to a shop that sold strange looking meat that looked like water balloons.

"You're right!" Ace said as he sniffed the air. "I'll check it out, hehe!"

"Don't forget what we came here for, Ace," Hepha said, reminding Ace of their purpose.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm not that forgetful," Ace said as he went to the shop that sold meat. He jumped down from the Rabuka bull's head. When he got there, he asked the lady running it. "How much for one of these… meat things?"

"You must be new here, huh?" the kind lady asked Ace with an equally kind smile.

"Yeah, we just arrived here," Ace said, answering her question. "This place is great!"

"I'm glad you think so!" the kind lady said with a smile before pointing at what she's selling in her shop. "This is called water-water meat! It's really good! Cooks from Pucci come here to buy these!"

"I'll buy ten!" Ace said, handing the lady a few Berry as payment. "Is this enough?"

"More than enough, sir!" the lady said. But, before she could give Ace his change, Ace stopped her.

"Keep the change," Ace said, much to the lady vendor's surprise.

"Oh…! In that case, I'll just give you five more for free," the lady said, handing Ace fifteen water-water meats that were tied on one end. "Will that be all?"

"Ahh! We need a little help, actually," Ace said, and the vendor seemed eager to help him. "We need directions. And a map, I think. You know a place where we can exchange money?"

"You'll have to go downtown for that," the lady said before pointing in the distance. "There's a bank there. You'll have to go up there by riding a water elevator."

"I see."

"As for maps, you can check out that place," the lady said before pointing to a shop on the opposite side of the shopping district. "That place sells maps along with books. I'm sure they have a map of Water 7!"

"Thanks for the help!" Ace said before going back to the Rabuka bull he was riding on.

"No problem, sir! I hope you enjoy your stay here in our city!"