Chapter 269: Go Explore! The Desperate Chef and the Split Up
Looking at the glaring crack on the tabletop and the smiling eyes of that man...
Madam Shyarly, who was usually lazy and composed, felt as if the marrow had been drained from her bones at this moment.
She was so frightened that her legs gave way, and she slumped directly onto the soft sofa, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"Ruined... everything is ruined..." Madam Shyarly's face was deathly pale, devoid of all color.
She extended a trembling finger, pointing first at the smiling Tatsuya, then at Luffy, who was still rubbing his belly nearby, and muttered to herself.
"Calamity stars... You are the calamity stars who will bring utter destruction to this Fish-Man Island..."
Hearing this shuddering prophecy, Camie, standing to the side, was instantly at a loss.
Her hands twisted together, her eyes filled with panic.
As a native resident of Fish-Man Island, she knew very well that Madam Shyarly's divinations were always one hundred percent accurate and had never made a single mistake.
However, the group of people before her were clearly the saviors who had pulled her out of hell at the Sabaody Archipelago two years ago!
How was she supposed to face such a cruel prophecy?
However, compared to Madam Shyarly's extreme terror and Camie's inner conflict, Nami, whose head had been full of pink bubbles just moments ago, had her focus completely shifted.
Her mind was filled only with deep regret.
Nami propped her hands on the table, staring intently at the completely cracked crystal ball, frustratedly clutching her smooth long orange hair as she complained loudly:
"Aaaaah! Why did it have to break at a time like this! I clearly still had many important questions I wanted to ask!"
Seeing Nami's exasperated, money-grubbing appearance, the smile in Tatsuya's eyes deepened.
He thought Nami just wanted to ask about gold coins and treasure.
He turned around and naturally extended his palm, gently ruffling Nami's beautiful long orange hair.
"Alright, don't worry about it."
"The future is something held in one's own hands; just go out and create it."
"We don't need to rely on a broken stone to show us the way forward."
Hearing the man's domineering yet gentle words, Nami's original frustration vanished instantly.
Feeling the warmth on the top of her head, a blush uncontrollably rose to her cheeks. She instantly became like a docile kitten, obediently lowering her head and letting out a soft "Oh."
Just as the atmosphere here was becoming a bit subtle, a commotion came from the large sofa on the other side of the cafe.
Sanji, who had just finished his blood transfusion and finally escaped life-threatening danger, let out a weak groan and slowly woke up.
"I'm saved... Which beautiful and kind mermaid lady extended a hand full of love to me?"
Sanji sat up dizzily, his mind still fantasizing about the surging, exquisite scenes from earlier, a happy, swaying smile involuntarily curling his lips.
However, when Chopper and Franky walked forward with faces full of embarrassment and told him the cruel truth...
The one who saved his life wasn't some beautiful mermaid.
But rather two human okama pirates with thick leg hair, wearing cheap lipstick and dresses.
The happy smile on Sanji's face froze instantly.
His complexion turned a deathly ashen-grey at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His entire being seemed to have suffered Medusa's gaze, instantly petrifying into a lifeless, grayish-white statue.
Thud.
The petrified Sanji knelt straight down on the hard floor, clutching his head, and let out a tragic wail more desperate and shrill than death itself:
"NOOOO—!!! My purity! My first blood! Just kill me!!!"
Just as the cafe was thrown into chaos by Sanji's breakdown, a loud rumble instantly drowned out all other sounds.
"Gurgle gurgle—!"
Luffy rubbed his completely shriveled stomach, so hungry his vision was blurring.
Suddenly, his nose, more sensitive than a bloodhound's, twitched forcefully in the air, as if locking onto some absolutely irresistible target.
"Smells so good! It's the scent of super invincibly delicious roast meat!"
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into the shape of large meat bones as he shouted excitedly.
"I want to eat meat! I want to eat big chunks of roast meat!"
Completely ignoring Madam Shyarly's trembling warnings and Camie's anxious attempts to stop him.
Luffy excitedly extended his elastic rubber arms, tracing a large arc in mid-air.
Seeing this familiar starting stance, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates, who knew their Captain's temperament well, thought to themselves that this was bad.
They immediately dodged out of the way in silent understanding to avoid being swept into a senseless disaster by this single-celled organism.
However, Luffy's movements were simply too fast.
His extended arms were like lassos, accurately scooping through the air.
He directly grabbed Chopper and Usopp, who were trying to resist and escape, and even tucked the newcomer, the skeleton Brook, under his arm before he could react.
"Hey! Luffy! Let me go! I don't want to go!" Usopp and Chopper struggled desperately, tears streaming.
Accompanied by Luffy's sky-shaking shout of "Let's go!"
He took these unlucky souls and, like a runaway wild boar, directly and brutally crashed through the exquisite shell door of the Mermaid Cafe.
Amidst flying wood chips, the group sprinted off in the direction the roast meat aroma was drifting from, leaving behind a mess.
With the forced departure of Luffy and the others, the originally crowded cafe suddenly felt much emptier.
At this moment, only Tatsuya, Nami, Robin, Zoro, Sanji, and Franky remained.
Facing this rare moment of leisure, everyone had a brief discussion.
They agreed to first explore this prosperous "Coral Hill" and personally experience the unique customs of Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters under the sea.
Since their goals were aligned, everyone tacitly split up to act.
Tatsuya put his hands in his pockets and naturally took Nami and Robin's hands.
Accompanied by the two peerless beauties on his left and right, he had a leisurely smile on his face as he quietly left through the back door of the cafe, clearly off to enjoy their world of three.
And Sanji, who had been kneeling on the ground in agony just moments ago, exploded with an incredible willpower upon hearing the words "go shopping."
He stood up shakily and, like a magic trick, pulled out a bouquet of bright red roses from his coat.
The blond chef dragged his weak body, which had just finished a blood transfusion, his eyes burning with the flames of love.
He swore he would return to that tempting Mermaid Cove to find his true deep-sea love and wash away the shame of the okama from earlier.
Zoro looked at Sanji's infatuated back and curled his lip in disdain.
He pressed one hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and strode out the door, stating he would find a decent-looking pub on these bustling streets to have a few drinks of the local wine.
As a result, this directionally challenged swordsman had just walked out of the cafe and confidently turned the first corner on the street...
...when he predictably became completely lost among the intricate coral reef buildings, beginning his long journey of getting lost on Fish-Man Island.
With no other choice, since Usopp and Chopper had been forcibly taken by Luffy...
...Franky, the hardcore cyborg, naturally took on the heavy responsibility of being the new "Zoo Director."
Clay was perched on his broad shoulder preening its feathers, while Lassoo lay at his feet.
Surprisingly, Franky didn't rush outside like the others.
He took heavy steel steps, "clank clank," and came to the side of Madam Shyarly, who was still slumped on the sofa.
"Ah! Why did everyone run off!"
Looking at the empty cafe, Camie stomped her feet in anxiety, her face full of worry.
"Have they forgotten their current situation?"
"They are still being wanted across the entire island! It's too dangerous to walk out so openly!"
"Hahahaha! SUPER—!"
Franky struck his trademark perverted pose and let out a hearty laugh, comforting the anxious Camie:
"Don't worry, little mermaid!"
"This group of ours is wanted by the whole world, no matter which corner of the globe we go to."
"We've long since gotten used to this kind of small scene!"
Afterward, Franky stopped his exaggerated movements and lowered his head, his inquisitive gaze falling on the cracked crystal ball.
He curiously extended his giant mechanical hand and pointed at the divination tool on the table:
"By the way, tall lady boss."
"Since this thing is cracked, can it still be used as long as its structure is restored and bonded back together?"
"This great me is a super powerful shipwright and inventor; maybe I can help you fix this thing."
Hearing Franky's casual words, Madam Shyarly, who had been immersed in fear, suddenly looked up.
She pulled the precious crystal ball into her arms, her cold eyes glaring fiercely at the human cyborg before her who didn't know the weight of his words.
The usually aloof and mysterious diviner rarely lost her usual elegance as she shouted at Franky:
"How could it be that simple! You iron man who only knows how to hammer and bang!"
"This is a sacred object capable of peering into fate!"
"Don't touch it with your mechanical hands!"
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