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Inside the restaurant, a drunken Aqua, in a manly sleeping pose, kicked off the blanket covering her and, after scratching her exposed belly, turned over and continued to sleep soundly.
Invisibly, faint holy white light gathered, transforming into pure power and entering Aqua's body.
Seeing this for the second time, Zyhark couldn't help but marvel.
Sleeping like a dead pig and still getting stronger, even in the monstrous world of pirates, she's truly in a league of her own, isn't she?
But then again, considering Aqua herself is an absurdly strong goddess, and thinking about how this unparalleled talent was compensated for with her intelligence, the envy and jealousy in his heart faded a bit.
Really, considering King, who was studying how to steer the ship on the deck, isn't he in a worse situation?
Without a comparison, there's no harm done. At times like these, the role of the ordinary human, King, becomes apparent!
The refreshing cool sea breeze blew in from the large doors on either side of the restaurant, carrying the Endless Dream towards its destination, Cocoyasi Village.
Several hours later, Aqua, with her blue hair spread out, finally "came to life" from her deep slumber.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she appeared utterly terrified and panicked.
"Red wine! Where's that old geezer trying to steal the decade's worth of red wine gifted to me by Makino?!!!"
Aqua, engulfed in divine flames, without further ado, stormed up to the second-floor cabin.
Her oppressive aura left Zyhark and King staring blankly at each other.
Watching Aqua disappear from view, King earnestly asked, "Is Aqua-san always like this when she wakes up from drinking?"
"There's no need to doubt, whatever strange things that person does are within the realm of possibility."
Zyhark leisurely sipped his tea and slowly said, "If I'm not mistaken, she probably had a nightmare."
Familiarity breeds understanding, and sure enough, a normalized Aqua soon came back down.
She was seen gratefully clutching a bottle full of red wine to her chest, rubbing it against her cheek while murmuring, "It's alright, it was just an inconsequential dream."
Witnessing the whole process, King looked back at Zyhark with newfound admiration in his imposing eyes.
The journey continued smoothly.
Perhaps because their reputation had spread among pirate hunters and then to the pirates of the East Blue.
For several hours, they encountered no pirates daring to come seeking a free meal.
Zyhark sighed, recognizing the difficulties of running a maritime business: fame does indeed have its drawbacks.
During their downtime, Aqua remained reliably unpredictable, creating occasional disturbances;
King, through browsing past newspapers, diligently gathered information about the pirate world.
But soon, the long-time homebody couldn't stand the solitude and pulled out his game console, which had come with him through the crossover, and challenged the overly confident Aqua to a fighting game.
Zyhark couldn't be bothered with these unreliable companions and, with his legs crossed, lay back at the front desk, enjoying his tea while reading the latest East Blue newspaper.
[Navy Colonel Moss led a team to repel the ferocious and brutal Black Cat Pirate Crew on Loguetown, successfully protecting the attacked residents]
"Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates is quite a strong pirate in the East Blue, isn't he? To be repelled so easily?"
In the original story, Kuro had killed over fifty hitmen, even daring to attack a navy ship to massacre its crew in order to pretend to be dead and plot for the Kaya family's fortune as a butler, a brutal pirate combining intelligence and strength.
Now, without wasting three years pretending to be a butler, his strength might even surpass that of the original story.
To repel such a man, who exactly is this Colonel Moss?
Looking at the news illustration, Zyhark was certain this person didn't appear in the original story.
Even so, Zyhark didn't dwell on it.
With so many naval officers in the East Blue, it's unreasonable to expect to know every new face.
That's just unrealistic...
After finishing the rest of the news, Zyhark looked up.
He saw King sitting alone in front of the game console, engrossed in an unknown dress-up game for girls.
As for the self-proclaimed goddess with extraordinary talent, who had vowed to defeat King thoroughly,
She was now squatting in the corner of the restaurant, her eyes dim with tears, utterly lost in self-doubt.
King had defeated her so utterly with just two fingers that even secretly giving herself several blessings of the goddess didn't help!
...
Two days passed in this mundane yet slightly noisy manner.
During this time, the maritime restaurant finally welcomed several groups of customers, mostly legitimate merchant fleets.
Even the pirates who came were very disciplined and paid their bills without fuss.
Having defeated the Buggy Pirates with a bounty of over ten million, their fame had thoroughly spread in the nearby seas, and with King's intimidating presence, ordinary pirates dared not provoke them anymore.
Finally, on the morning of the third day of sailing, the Endless Dream welcomed the "legitimate" customers Zyhark had been eagerly anticipating!
"Open your eyes wide and see clearly, I'm a pirate, and you still want to charge me for a meal?!"
A burly pirate with a full beard shouted arrogantly, slamming his iron club onto the restaurant's floor, creating a hole.
"Oh?"
Zyhark, who was ready to collect payment at the front desk, suddenly perked up, even forgetting to sip the tea in his hand.
"Here it comes, the long-missed commotion!" Aqua clenched her fists, eager to join the fray.
King, who had just carried a case of beer from the kitchen, stood still, his heartbeat accelerating.
Perhaps because Zyhark and Aqua were there, his heart didn't race to the point of engine noise.
The ordinary customers dining around remained relatively calm, only warily watching the troublemaking pirate.
Iron-Mace Semo, with a bounty of 5 million berries, not bad...
Zyhark found this person's bounty poster in the East Blue Pirate Bounty Booklet and, after confirming he could capture him for a reward, slowly stood up to stretch his limbs.
Semo, taking the initiative, said, "Captain Zyhark of the Endless Dream, I know you're strong. Many high-bounty pirates have fallen by your hand."
"Knowing that, you still dare to dine and dash here?" Zyhark found it a bit odd.
Hearing this, Semo swung his iron club confidently and smirked, "Others might not dare, but it doesn't mean all pirates in the East Blue are cowards."
"To tell you the truth, I joined Captain Kuro's mighty crew a few days ago. Now, I'm an officer of the Black Cat Pirates!"
Hearing the name of the Black Cat Pirates, the customers who had managed to stay calm were suddenly startled, hurriedly leaving their meal money on the table and fleeing the restaurant to quickly distance themselves with their ships.
Compared to the Buggy Pirates, who rarely ventured out to sea and stayed in towns, the Black Cat Pirates, known for their widespread looting and killing, were far more terrifying!
Seeing customers lose their composure at just the mention of the Black Cat Pirates, Iron-Mace Semo's brutal face wore an unbridled look of provocation.
"Ha ha ha, dare to lay a hand on me and see if the Black Cat Pirates don't tear this maritime restaurant to shreds!"
Bang!
The moment his words fell, a fist carrying an afterimage descended from above.
The arrogant Semo had no time to react before his head and hefty body were smashed into the floor, creating a burst of flying wood chips.
"I've never heard such a strange request before."
Looking at Semo, who had fainted with his eyes rolled back, Zyhark withdrew his fist, dusted off the ash on his palms, and signaled King to tie him up and take him away.
It didn't matter if it was a black cat, a white cat, or a calico cat; money delivered to the door is always welcome, right?!
After this brief interlude, the Endless Dream continued sailing towards Cocoyasi Village.
As the customers who witnessed the entire event spread the word, the nearby Black Cat Pirates soon learned that their newly joined officer, Iron-Mace Semo, had been captured by a maritime restaurant.
At a certain port, the pirate ship of the Black Cat Pirates, the Bezan Black, slowly raised its anchor, the pirate flag with a black cat emblem fluttering in the sea breeze.
"Heh, just a mere maritime restaurant owner daring to capture one of Captain Kuro's people."
In a dimly lit room, Captain Kuro sat in the main seat, hands resting on his knees.
His dark gaze lifted to adjust the glasses that had slipped down his nose.
The round glasses flashed, revealing his ferocious and vicious eyes.
"Our next target is on Conomi Islands; let's set out and see for ourselves, this person who defeated Clown Buggy!"
...
Since they were not pirates needing to evade the navy, the Endless Dream's course was not hidden, making it easy to predict and determine.
So, by the next noon, the Black Cat Pirates' ship, the Bezan Black, had successfully located and caught up with the Endless Dream.
Bang!
The restaurant's side door was kicked open violently, and a group of fearsome pirates entered in succession.
"Welcome, are you here to eat or drink?"
Sitting at the front desk, drinking tea and reading the paper, Zyhark appeared calm, seemingly unsurprised by the arrival of the Black Cat Pirates.
Aqua and King stood beside him, one on each side.
Creak, creak.
The sound of boots stepping on the wooden floor came from the entrance, as the fully armed pirates made way.
The black pirate cloak fluttered slightly, and Captain Kuro, dressed in a suit and combed back hair, wearing round-frame glasses that should have added a scholarly touch, exuded an unmistakable aura of cold-bloodedness and cunning.
"We're not here to eat or drink; we're here for someone."
Kuro stopped about five or six meters from Zyhark, accustomed to adjusting his glasses with his black-gloved right hand, "The person you captured yesterday, Iron-Mace Semo, is my subordinate. Could you please release him?"
"Unfortunately, he tried to dine and dash, so we were planning to hand him to the navy," Zyhark replied, smiling lightly at Kuro.
"I'll cover his bill," Kuro stated.
"That will be 5 million berries," Zyhark said earnestly.
Hearing such an exaggerated amount, Kuro instinctively thought this was surely a scam, but then realized it was precisely Semo's bounty. His expression darkened immediately.
"Captain Zyhark, I presume? You must not have heard of me, Kuro, before?"
As his words fell, the sound of boots tapping the wooden floor vanished in an instant, and Kuro's figure disappeared from sight.
Shadow flitted, a chill in the air, and when Kuro reappeared, he was just a few meters in front of Zyhark!
This was his most proficient assassination technique, Silent Step.
"Sorry, I run a legitimate business and don't quite follow the pirate scene. Are you famous?"
Zyhark raised his arm, covered in a beginner level of Armament Haki, blocking in front of him, effortlessly stopping Kuro's clawed hand.
The cold gleam of the claws reflected on his serene face, revealing a hint of dominance.
Seeing his swift attack so easily blocked, cold sweat formed on Kuro's forehead.
After a few seconds of silence, he slowly retracted his clawed hand and stepped back several paces.
Just as he was about to speak, a roaring sound echoed in his ears.
Kuro looked up, only to find the man with three fearsome scars over his left eye, standing behind Zyhark with crossed arms, staring at him with a murderous gaze!
The long-absent sense of oppression caused his pupils to shrink suddenly, instinctively sensing intense danger.
This maritime restaurant was much stronger than he had anticipated!
"So it seems, I was a bit presumptuous."
After suppressing his shock, Kuro turned to his subordinates, "Get the money, let's get our person back."
The pirate subordinates, still dazed from the conflict, complied almost reflexively, running to their ship to bring back 5 million berries and placing it on the restaurant's table.
Once the money was received, Zyhark released the bound pirate, Semo, back to them.
"Captain Kuro is quite straightforward. In that case, the damage to my floor and table caused by your subordinate won't need compensation from you."
Zyhark glanced at the floor hole patched up by Aqua with a small mallet and smiled, "Thank you for your patronage, and you're welcome to visit again."
On the Black Cat Pirates' side, Semo, excited to see his captain, was about to speak when Kuro's glare silenced hi, leaving him trembling in place.
"Let's go."
Knowing it would be difficult to gain an advantage here, Kuro led his men away, disheartened.
"Captain Kuro, why let that guy off so easily? He didn't show you any respect at all!"
Back on their ship, Semo's courage grew, voicing his opinion on the maritime restaurant's "arrogance."
"Don't you want to know why I bothered to bring you back, Semo?"
Kuro's voice was calm and indifferent.
"Because I'm a valuable subordinate, of course!" Semo answered confidently.
Pfft.
Her response was met with five cold blades piercing his heart.
"Because I wanted to personally execute you, a worthless piece of trash with no use at all..."
(End of Chapter)