"Heyyo——Aaaaah——!"
Luffy was lying on the bow, stretching lazily.
"What a nice day!"
As he spoke, Luffy ran from the bow to the stern and looked out at the sea.
"Is the Grand Line just over there in the distance... or is it over here... over here..."
Luffy excitedly ran to various positions on the boat and looked at the sea in different directions.
Just as Luffy was yelling, a figure walked behind him...
Bang——
"It hurts!"
Luffy now had a "cute" bun on his head.
Lock withdrew his sandbag-sized fist from Luffy's head: "Can you be quiet for a while!"
Luffy covered the bump and said with a nonchalant smile: "Wali-Wali (Sorry, sorry)!"
Then he put his hands on his hips and said, "But finally, a cook has joined us. The next step is to bring Nami back."
Luffy raised his hands excitedly: "We can start heading towards the Grand Line!"
As soon as Sanji heard Nami's name, he held his chin and recalled her with an obsessed look on his face: "Ms. Nami~"
"As long as I think of her beautiful appearance, I feel so happy~"
"I think I'll see her soon~"
Lock thought Sanji's current gentleman act looked a bit like a lovesick fool. Still, as a One Piece fan, he couldn't deny Sanji's true charm came out later in the story. In his heart, Lock also supported Sanji and Pudding—since they were one of the few couples who could truly see love in each other's eyes. Lock quietly decided: When the time comes, I'll make sure they end up together.
"Hey, Johnny, we're almost there—where Nami is."
Luffy asked Johnny with a smile as he sat on the edge of the bow with his hands on his legs.
Johnny pointed at Luffy and said loudly in excitement: "You are so naive, so naive!"
"Do you know that we are getting closer and closer to Arlong's territory?"
Johnny paused, grasped his trouser legs tightly, adjusted his mood, and then said to everyone:
"The big sister's eyes were fixed on Arlong's photo at the time. The matter was definitely not as simple as Nami's!"
Johnny's forehead was covered with sweat. He said in a worried tone, "Big Sister Nami might be planning to kill Arlong and get the 20 million Berry reward!"
"She broke into Arlong's base while we were still here and she said nothing!"
"It's about time to eat..." Luffy said to Sanji with a laugh.
Sanji nodded: "Yes."
Lock knew Nami still carried the pendant necklace he had given her, so he wasn't too worried she'd fall into danger.
Johnny couldn't help but shed tears as he looked at the three who were unmoved, "You don't know Arlong, do you?"
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, asked disdainfully: "Arlong? Who is that..."
Luffy: "I don't know him."
Lock replied calmly: "I know, but I don't know him."
Hearing this, Luffy sat cross-legged next to Lock and asked: "Lock, you actually know Arlong! What kind of guy is he? Is he famous? Is he strong?"
"He's a fishman who likes to bully the weak to prove his strength. He once caused trouble in the Grand Line and is quite infamous. As for whether he is strong or not, you'll experience it yourself when the time comes..."
Faced with Luffy's three consecutive questions, Lock answered one by one.
"Mermaids? Come to think of it, I heard there are beautiful mermaids on Fishman Island in the Grand Line~"
Sanji's eyes sparkled with love just imagining it.
"Merce-man? Does it look like this?"
Luffy pulled out a drawing board from somewhere and proudly showed the others a sketch.
Luffy's own drawing →
"Hahahaha – what a masterpiece."
Sanji pointed at Luffy's "artwork" and laughed.
Lock suppressed his laughter and gave Luffy a thumbs up: "My evaluation is that the painting is 'not bad.' Keep up the good work, Luffy..."
Seeing everyone laugh, Johnny immediately snapped: "I'm telling you guys, do you think this is so easy?"
But the three kept laughing. Johnny sighed helplessly and said, "Forget it, I'll start from the beginning..."
He paused, then explained: "The reason why the Grand Line has become the graveyard of pirates... is because of the three major forces ruling it."
"One of these three major forces is the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea.'"
"Shichibukai?"
Johnny lowered his head and placed his hands between his legs: "In short, they are pirates recognized by the government."
Sanji frowned in confusion: "What is that? Why are pirates recognized by the government?"
Johnny explained: "The Seven Warlords gain recognition from the government by handing over a percentage of their plunder. To other pirates, they're just government dogs. But they are very strong. The Hawkeye Mihawk who defeated Zoro is one of the Seven Warlords."
"That's amazing! There are seven such people!" Luffy exclaimed, clapping his feet.
"Not quite, Luffy. Among the Seven Warlords, Hawkeye is the strongest, and the second is Kuma. The others... well, you'll see." Lock explained.
"So that's how it is. I thought they were all equally powerful..." Luffy nodded in thought.
Johnny continued: "Among the Seven Warlords, there is a leader of the Fishman Pirates named Jinbei."
"On par with Jinbei, the pirate who once committed all kinds of arson, murder, and looting on the Grand Line is Fishman Arlong!"
Hearing this, Luffy's imagination exploded again and he eagerly drew on the board, trying to sketch Arlong's portrait.
Squeak, squeak, squeak——
"Is this what he looks like?" Luffy showed the drawing to the others.
Luffy's own drawing →
Sanji complained: "You just stood up the fish-man you drew earlier."
Lock looked at the abstract sketch and said: "I think it's well drawn. Quite realistic."
Sanji: "How do you know he looks like this?"
Lock chuckled: "Because Luffy's paintings are faithful. He looks like this."
Sanji: "..."
Johnny said loudly: "...He already rules 20 villages and towns, and his strength far exceeds that of Don Krieg!"
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San