"Seriously, that Hawkeye guy, he actually left without waiting for me."
Rustle-
The sea breeze kept blowing against Naruto's face, sweeping his long golden hair back.
"Hey, you, swim faster."
As he said that, he gave the creature beneath him a punch.
"Ooo…"
Under Naruto's butt was a turtle head larger than an average merchant ship.
This is a giant sea king.
After receiving this punch and sprouting a big lump on its head, the sea king let out a whimper of grievance but had no choice but to obey Naruto's command and pick up speed.
Strictly speaking, Naruto didn't have his own ship.
Most of the time, he either rode sea kings, walked on the sea himself, or hitched a ride on someone else's ship.
There are three ways to get to Paradise from the New World.
Most pirates would choose to coat their ships at Sabaody Archipelago and then cross the Red Line underwater.
Of course, people could also go directly over the Red Line, but that required submitting an application to the World Government and abandoning their ship.
For Naruto, the third method was the most practical-
That is, crossing the Calm Belt directly.
However, this method was usually only viable for Marine warships equipped with seastone bottoms and steam power. Ordinary ships would not only lose propulsion in the Calm Belt, but also risk being attacked by the giant sea kings lurking there.
Naturally, this was exactly Naruto's preferred way of crossing.
There wasn't much else here, but there are plenty of sea kings.
After witnessing Naruto punch another sea king of similar size to death and then eat it, this turtle sea king immediately became obedient.
Feeling the sea breeze grow noticeably stronger, Naruto sat back down on the sea king's head and subconsciously pulled out the flask containing Rayleigh's treasured liquor.
Just as he was about to pop the cork and take a swig, he realized it was completely empty.
"Those guys… seriously."
Looking at the utterly dry flask, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
Now, he was completely out of supplies and needs to find a place to restock as soon as possible.
For a heavy drinker like him, being deprived of alcohol felt like having ants crawling all over his body.
But speaking of alcohol, Naruto was reminded of his 'crossing' experiences.
'Thinking back, both times I 'crossed' worlds happened after getting drunk. Could that be the key to traveling between the two worlds?'
'Too bad I didn't have any booze on me now to test the theory.'
"Ugh… this is torture…"
…
East Blue, on a pirate ship with a white sheep's head as its figurehead.
"Everyone, look… the Baratie, a floating restaurant! What do you think?"
Johnny, the bounty hunter wearing sunglasses, enthusiastically introduced the massive ship ahead to the Straw Hat Pirates.
"Whoaaa!!"
Luffy and Usopp's eyes sparkled as they gazed at the enormous vessel.
Compared to this floating restaurant, Going Merry looked like a tiny fish next to a whale.
Just then, a Marine warship sailed past them.
"...Pathetic."
The Marine Lieutenant on board glanced at the shabby pirate ship he'd never seen before and scoffed disdainfully.
"Let's hurry up and go~"
At this time, his female companion walked over, not even sparing the Going Merry a glance, and started to act coquettishly towards the Marine Lieutenant.
The Marine Lieutenant couldn't be bothered to waste time on the Straw Hat Pirates and ordered his men to fire a cannon to sink them before turning to head toward the Baratie.
Boom!
The cannonball shot toward them, and the crew's expressions darkened… except for Luffy, who kept grinning at the incoming projectile.
"Gomu Gomu no… Slingshot!"
Luffy grabbed two parts of the ship with his hands and used his torso to block the cannonball.
Then, his body stretched rapidly from the impact, the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi fully manifesting as he turned himself into a tightly drawn bowstring… ready to launch the cannonball right back.
But just then, one of Luffy's hands suddenly slipped, causing his trajectory to veer ninety degrees sideways.
The cannonball, now redirected, whistled through the air… straight toward the captain's quarters at the top of the Baratie.
"Ah-!"
Nami and Usopp both covered their mouths with their hands, almost unable to control their screams, while Luffy's face twisted into a guilty grimace.
At that very moment, a golden-haired figure in a kimono abruptly appeared on the rooftop.
"Tch, Boss Zeff, looks like you owe me another favor."
Zeff stared blankly at the familiar figure standing by his window, and memories of the past quickly emerged in his mind.
"Y-You?! Why would a 'big shot' like you come all the way to the East Blue?"
Zeff couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at Naruto's appearance, which hadn't changed at all in over a decade. He was so stunned that he even ignored the rapidly approaching cannonball.
Naruto didn't spare the projectile a glance either. Instead, he reached through the window, grabbed a fork from Zeff's desk, and casually flicked it.
The silver fork, which is now coated in Armament Haki, shot through the air like a streak of light… piercing the cannonball clean through.
Boom!
A brilliant explosion blossomed in the sky.
But fortunately, it was still some distance away from Baratie, so it did not have any damage.
"I came all this way, and I'm starving. Boss, you going to let me eat properly or what?"
After dealing with the crisis, Naruto's gaze briefly flickered toward the straw-hat-wearing kid below before he turned back to Zeff with a grin.
When Zeff heard Naruto say this, he immediately shuddered all over, as if some deep-seated trauma had been triggered.
"Everyone… Assemble!"
He suddenly bellowed loudly.
Hearing the head chef's voice, every cook and waiter in the Baratie immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed toward the second floor.
As they ran, they grabbed whatever utensils were nearby, like spoons and kitchen knives, their faces twisted with determination.
Even though they are restaurant employees now, before joining Baratie, they had all been pirates!
But when they stormed into the head chef's room with weapons raised, they didn't see the expected scene of Zeff under attack.
"Listen up, brats! Activate NRT Special Mode!"
Every cook who heard this stiffened. Some of the older chefs saw Naruto's figure nearby and understood immediately, some even started trembling uncontrollably.
They had served under Zeff long before he became a chef and had met Naruto before.
But the younger cooks was confused, and Sanji, dressed in a black suit and had the same golden hair as Naruto, asked directly.
"Oi, old man, what the hell are you talking about?"
The NRT Special Mode… They don't know the full name, and they only know that it is a special action mode that Zeff had established for Baratie long ago.
When activated, all front-of-house staff, waiters, and breaks were canceled. Every single person had to rush into the kitchen to help… including Zeff himself.
This mode is usually triggered only when a large number of guests suddenly arrive at the same time-
But right now, the restaurant wasn't even at full capacity!
"Idiot! Shut up and move!"
Zeff roared so loudly that even his braided mustache stood up.
The NRT Special Mode, which is the short for Naruto Special Mode, existed solely because of a nightmare from Zeff's past.
Back then, before founding Baratie, Zeff had been just another pirate.
After being saved by Naruto in a chance encounter, in order to thank him, Zeff enthusiastically invited him to taste his cooking.
However, Naruto's bottomless appetite had nearly worked Zeff to death.
And even then, Naruto had only been half-full.
'This time, I, Zeff, swear to wash away the shame!'
'What kind of chef is he if I couldn't even fill up a guest?'
After his outburst, Zeff actually tied on an apron and marched toward the kitchen himself, leaving the other cooks stunned.
'Is the head chef going to take action too?!'
Meanwhile, Naruto cheerfully made his way downstairs and took a seat right in the middle of the dining area.
Before leaving, Sanji couldn't help but glance at Naruto a few more times, as if trying to figure out what was special about this guy who suddenly appeared.
And Naruto seemed to notice the other party's attention and flashed him a grin.
'It looks like I would be able to eat my fill this time.'
'It seemed riding that sea king here is worth it.'
The sea king had actually collapsed from exhaustion when almost reaching the East Blue, otherwise, Naruto would not have had to walk across the sea to get here.
Bang!
Just as Naruto was looking forward to the delicious food being served, the door of the restaurant was pushed open very rudely.