Sailing: His comprehension is against the sky, and he comprehends the Eight Gates at the beginning.

As usual, Zoro was the first to discover the island.

Hearing the commotion, the others rushed to the bow of the ship, gazing at each other across the sea.

Right in front of the Merry, an island shaped like several large cacti gradually came into view.

As the Going Merry drew closer, Luffy and his crew could see that the island's coastline was densely packed with people.

Looking at the people gathered on the shore, the people on the boat were immediately puzzled.

What are those people doing?

Why do they all gather on the coast?

Luffy smiled slightly, his gaze falling on Vivi and Mr. 9, and said.

"Just ask them and you'll find out."

From the moment Vivi and Mr. 9 saw the island, they both looked like they had something on their minds.

Their original plan was to lure Luffy and his crew to the island, capture them, and earn a bounty. However, after witnessing Luffy's terrifying abilities, they began to worry about how the people on the island and they themselves would die.

When Luffy brought it up, both of them looked nervous and uneasy.

"They are welcoming you. The people in our town are very hospitable and will warmly welcome and entertain any guests who come from afar."

Vivi's forehead was sweating, and she said nervously.

Although Luffy knew perfectly well who those people were, he still pretended to be unaware.

He leaned close to the nervous and uneasy Weiwei and questioned her.

"Welcome to our guesthouse?"

"Didn't you say there was no food left in your town? You even sent you to hunt Labs to provide food for the town."

"A town that can't even feed itself is going to offer its surplus grain to welcome guests?"

After Luffy finished speaking, Vivi broke out in a cold sweat.

"That...that's because..."

Weiwei stammered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.

Mr. 9 also looked tense and fearful, not daring to utter a sound.

"I remembered."

Just then, Zoro suddenly blurted out something.

Upon hearing this, the others all turned to look.

"Remember what?"

Zoro then came to Vivi and the other woman's side and looked at them, saying something.

"Back then, when I heard you refer to yourselves as Mr and Ms, it sounded familiar."

"You...are from Baroque Works, aren't you!"

Both Weiwei and the other woman were startled upon hearing this and instinctively asked.

"Why do you know?"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two realized they had let something slip and became even more nervous, falling silent.

The others, however, became even more confused.

"Baroque Studio? What's that?"

Zoro's eyes held a hint of reminiscence as he explained.

"Baroque Works is a large criminal organization that engages in various criminal activities."

"The members all refer to each other by code names and do not know each other's identities."

"Even higher-ranking officials keep their appearance a secret from the public."

"I heard that no one at this Baroque Studio even knows who the owner is."

Upon hearing this, the others were immediately taken aback.

Weiwei and her companion were ashen-faced and remained silent.

Then Zoro continued.

"Back when I was a bounty hunter, this organization invited me to join, but I declined."

As he spoke, Zoro looked at Vivi and the other woman with cold eyes.

"So it seems that all those people on the shore are assassins from Baroque Works!"

(ceeb) "You two, are you trying to kill us?"

Zoro drew his sword in a flash, the cold light reflecting off Vivi's face, causing her to tremble involuntarily, her eyes filled with terror.

The others looked worried and hesitant.

Usopp was the first to back down.

"What should we do then? Let's not go to this island, let's go to another island instead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Nami, who was usually the most daring member of the group, refused to answer.

"No! We can only know the direction to the next island if we record the magnetic field of this island."

"We must now land on this island."

Sanji lit a cigarette and said casually.

"There's no other way, so we'll just have to kill them all!"

Zoro agreed to the suggestion and drew his sword, pointing it at Vivi and the other woman.

"Then... let's start with these two!"

Upon seeing this, Weiwei's pupils trembled, and her face showed fear.

Seeing the cold light of Zoro's sword gradually approaching, Vivi suddenly screamed.

"no!"

Zoro replied coldly upon hearing this.

"Hey! You can't just say no and expect me to! I'm the one holding the knife right now!"

Seeing that Zoro was not backing down, Vivi suddenly appeared in front of Luffy and pleaded with him.

"I can't die now."

"Please, I still have things I need to do."

"Everyone...is waiting for me!"

Luffy looked into Vivi's eyes.

There was no fear of impending death in her eyes, but rather boundless hope and determination.

A strong desire to live and a determination to accomplish something.

"Luffy, don't believe her. This woman has lied to us time and time again. She's definitely lying this time too."

Zoro frowned angrily at Vivi and tried to persuade Luffy.

Please!!!

Weiwei's voice choked up, and tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face.

She bit her lip tightly, her eyes filled with intense hope and determination.

This scene moved even Nami and Utano Chiko.

Women's innate intuition told them that Vivi wasn't lying this time.

"Luffy..."

The group murmured Luffy's name, trying to plead with Vivi on his behalf.

Before they could even speak, Luffy's voice rang out.

"Zoro, put your sword away!"

Zoro gritted his teeth and shouted in a insistent tone.

"Luffy!"

Looking at Vivi's tear-filled eyes, Luffy suddenly smiled and said...

“I’ve said it before, I believe she’s not a bad person.”

Vivi was taken aback upon hearing Luffy's words.

She stared blankly at Luffy, her eyes filled with confusion and gratitude.

She didn't know why Luffy trusted her so much, but this trust moved and touched her deeply.

Vivi said in a choked voice.

"Thank you, Mr. Luffy."

At this moment, Nami, who was standing nearby, came over and asked in confusion.

"Who...who exactly are you?"

She always felt that this woman was definitely not simple.

Weiwei wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and apologized.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you who I am."

"This will cause you trouble."

Seeing that Vivi was unwilling to say more, Luffy and the others did not ask any further questions.

Instead, they shifted their focus to the Whisky Hill, which was getting closer and closer.

Zoro placed his hand on his sword and asked Luffy.

"Luffy, what about those guys?"

Luffy smiled and said.

"Since they're going to host a banquet to welcome us, let's attend the banquet first and then talk about it!"

"After all, they've prepared such delicious food and wine, we might as well take advantage of it."

...

Whiskey Hill, on the coast.

"welcome!"

"Welcome to the Grand Line."

Welcome to our town.

As the Going Merry slowly approached, the hospitable "townspeople" of Whiskey Hill greeted Luffy and his crew with enthusiastic smiles from afar.

Luffy and his crew all looked extremely excited and joyful, greeting the townspeople warmly.

After Luffy and his crew landed with Vivi, a man with three strands of curly hair on each side walked over and said something.

"Welcome, cough cough... Ma-ma-ma..."

The man cleared his throat in a beautiful, almost operatic voice halfway through his sentence.

After clearing his throat, he continued speaking.

"Welcome, I am the mayor of this town, Icarum."

"You may be surprised! Whisky Hill is a town with a rich music and brewing culture, and hospitality is a proud tradition of our town."

"Our prized wines are as inexhaustible as the sea."

"Tonight, we'd like to host a banquet to welcome you all. Would you... Ma-Ma-Ma... possibly do us the honor of joining us?"

Upon hearing that they had been invited to the banquet, Luffy and the others were incredibly excited and cheered with joy.

“Great, we’re willing.”