"Let me see!"
"... 'Treasure before, Sea God'? What the hell is this?!"
Luffy asked with a completely confused face.
"This is 'Sea God's Sacred Treasure Before'. Not only can you not read the characters, but you even read them in reverse order, you country bumpkin!!"
Kyle's voice came over, full of disdain.
Luffy's reading skills were on par with misreading 'For Ladies Only' as 'Women's Treasure'.
"What is 'Sea God's Sacred Treasure Before'?!"
Everyone turned their gazes towards Kyle.
"There's the character for 'treasure'. Could it mean actual treasure?!"
Sanji stood in front of the wooden barrel, stroking his chin and asking curiously.
"Could be, it really might be! Otherwise why have the character for 'treasure'? And there's 'Sea God' too. Maybe it's treasure offered to the Sea God!!"
Ace immediately added, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Just moments ago he was thinking he must seize any chance to show off, and now the opportunity came so quickly.
He recognized all these characters, so explaining their meaning should be simple, right?
Surely no one understands every character but doesn't know what it means? Surely not?!
Yet, Kyle's words the next second made his face instantly fall.
"Bro, I suggest you go read a few more books!"
"I can allow your ignorance, but don't speak it out loud!!"
Kyle swept his gaze over everyone and calmly spoke:
"'Sea God's Sacred Treasure Before', also known as a 'Floating Sake Barrel'! It's offered to the Sea's guardian deity to pray for safe voyages. There's no treasure inside, it only contains some sake and preserved foods!"
"It's said sake that has been beaten by the waves becomes exceptionally mellow, but you must pray before drinking it!"
"And according to custom, after drinking, you must put new offerings into the empty barrel and let it continue drifting!"
"Hah~ So it really is sake?!"
Zoro chuckled lightly and walked towards the wooden barrel. Just as Zoro was about to open the barrel, Luffy immediately shouted:
"Zoro, what are you doing?"
"Didn't Kyle just say you have to pray before drinking it?"
"Huh?!"
Zoro turned his head and looked sideways at Luffy, laughed, and said:
"Sorry about that! I, for one, never pray to gods or worship Buddhas!!"
"That's true. I also never pray to gods or worship Buddhas. What I just said was merely an introduction to the floating sake barrel. Others may follow the custom, but we don't need to!"
Kyle also calmly chimed in.
"And... whether what's inside is really sake and dried rations is not necessarily certain!"
"Huh?! Kyle, didn't you just say..."
"Don't ask! Hard to explain to you. Just watch!!"
Before Sanji could finish, Kyle cut him off.
Looking at the floating sake barrel before him, a slight smile curled at the corner of Kyle's mouth.
This scenario felt very familiar!!
In the original story, after Luffy and the others left Water 7, they encountered a similar situation.
They also found a floating sake barrel on the sea, but that one wasn't an ordinary one; it was something Moria used to mark his prey.
Currently, Moria had already retreated into the Florian Triangle sea area, and they weren't very far from the Florian Triangle now.
Therefore, Kyle had reason to suspect this floating sake barrel might also be Moria's doing.
As for whether it really was or not?
Opening it would tell!!
Zoro, who doesn't pray to gods or worship Buddhas, approached the wooden barrel and began untying the ropes.
The moment Zoro opened the lid, the inside of the barrel suddenly erupted in a violent explosion, sending the unprepared him flying backwards.
A streak of red light shot out from the barrel, flew into the sky, and exploded with a bang upon reaching a certain height, dyeing the entire sky red.
Everyone on the ship was dumbfounded.
Weren't they supposed to contain sake and dried rations?
How did it become light and an explosion?!
"Just as I thought."
Kyle narrowed his eyes slightly, spoke softly, a smile appearing on his lips.
Well then, after entering the Florian Triangle, they wouldn't need to search for Thriller Bark themselves; it would come to them.
Kyle had been wondering how to find Moria after entering the Florian Triangle, as the area wasn't small, and that guy Moria drifted around on Thriller Bark everywhere, like a sea drifter.
Now it was easier. They only needed to enter the Florian Triangle; the rest could be left to the proactive Moria!
Nearby, Zoro was now cursing under his breath.
Indeed, not praying to gods or worshiping Buddhas was the right call!
This Sea God harbored harmful intentions towards him!!
If only there were real gods in this world, he would have to make them test how sharp his blades were!
"Since there's no sake or dried rations inside, let's prepare some food ourselves. I'm a bit hungry."
Kyle spoke, then slowly walked towards the ship's cabin. He stopped when passing Sanji, patted Sanji's shoulder, and gave him a smile.
"Sanji, this arduous task is entrusted to you!"
After saying that, Kyle continued forward. Seeing this, everyone else followed suit.
Before entering the cabin, they all first went to Sanji's side and all patted his shoulder.
"Sanji, it's up to you!"
"Sanji, we're counting on you!!"
"Sanji..."
Only one person was an exception. Zoro walked straight towards the cabin, stopped just before entering, turned his head to look at Sanji.
"Pervert cook, remember to make it tasty!!"
After saying that, he walked straight in, leaving only his back to Sanji.
(╬▔皿▔)╯!!
A vein bulged on Sanji's forehead, gritting his teeth.
"You damn moss-head, you've gone too far!!"
Just as Sanji was about to put cooking aside and go inside to kick Zoro a few times first, a voice came, instantly dispelling the anger on his face.
"Sanji-kun, we'll leave it to you then~"
!!
"Yes, Kuina-sama!!!"
...
Two days passed in a flash.
Creak!!
The cabin door opened. Ace walked out sleepily, stretched, and was just about to enjoy the beautiful, warm sunlight but felt the surroundings seemed a bit dim.
A look of bewilderment appeared on Ace's face. He looked up to see the sky was dark and gloomy, with almost no light visible.
"Huh?! Is it still not dawn yet?!"
"Seems I got up too early!!"
Saying this, Ace suddenly revealed a mocking smile.
"Hah, in terms of hard work, which of those guys can compare to me?"
"The instinct to strive is etched into my very bones, which is why my biological clock makes me get up before dawn!"
"The early bird catches the worm!"
"Let me get something to eat, then I'll come right out to train!!"
"Working a little harder than them every day, accumulating over time, who can stand against me??"
"Hehehe..."
Without the slightest hesitation, Ace immediately entered the cabin, went to the dining room, pushed the door open, and walked straight in.
Yet, the scene before him the moment he entered made him freeze in place.
He saw the dining room's hanging lamp was extremely bright, and ahead, several pairs of eyes all looked over at him. Ace was completely baffled and instinctively spoke:
"How come all of you got up so early today?!"
...
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