The Great Voyage: The Props Master on the Straw Hat Ship

You should know that while the amount of gold he found on Skypiea wasn't as much as Nami's, it was still quite valuable when converted to real estate...

It might be more than the assets left by Kaya's parents in their hometown of Xiluobu Village.

Well, he's a genuine self-made millionaire. If he returns to his hometown to find Kaya after the adventure, it will be a triumphant homecoming.

With so much wealth of my own, I won't be accused of being a kept man anymore!

Thinking about this, Usopp felt incredibly happy.

"We now have more funds on board than ever before, and we can now properly plan some things that we never thought about before."

Link was eating the fruit and desserts Sanji had brought him when he spoke.

"I think the most important thing right now is to find a shipyard and some professional shipwrights to give Merry a full check-up."

He made this suggestion,

"After all, with Merry's performance, it's no problem to take us across the East China Sea, but on this Grand Line, it's obvious that Merry is struggling a bit."

"Although it can still carry us forward now, what if we encounter bigger storms or more dangerous catastrophic weather in the future?"

"We're only on the first half of the Grand Line now. It's said that the second half is even more dangerous, and the Going Merry would have a hard time withstanding such storms," ​​Link said, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Merry, who was carrying this group of people, really needed a good rest.

"Then let's find the best shipyard in the world, give the Going Merry a complete overhaul, and add equipment where needed and upgrade the configuration where necessary!!" Usopp thumped his chest loudly, speaking with great pride.

He's certainly not short of money now; when a man has money, he speaks with his back straight.

"Just ahead of us on this route is an island called Water Seven, where a shipbuilding company called Carrera is said to be located."

"It is said that the company's owner and the city's mayor, Mr. Iceberg, was the eldest disciple of Mr. Tom, the world's number one shipwright. Now, his Carrera Company is also the world's number one shipbuilding company."

"If it's there, it should be enough to meet our needs for upgrading and modifying the Merry."

Link pointed out the way forward for everyone.

"The world's number one shipwright's apprentice, the world's number one shipbuilding company?!"

The fact that he was named the world's number one twice in a row made everyone's eyes light up.

Indeed, if it were such a place, it could certainly provide the Going Merry with maximum enhancements.

Luffy immediately slapped his forehead and made a decision right there:

"Yosh, it's decided! The next island we're going to is Water 7!!"

"It's Water Seven? How could you hear that?!"

"Hahaha, they're all the same, they're all the same!!"

A cheerful atmosphere filled the ship again.

At that moment, everyone clearly felt the weightlessness caused by the gradual descent of the Meijer.

"We can already see the ocean!"

Everyone gazed down at the sea below, which still shimmered even under the night sky.

"Indeed, if you really want to see the sea, you have to look at the blue sea below."

As they were talking, they saw the Merry land at what appeared to be a port.

"Everyone, I've found what looks like a port down there. This should be a small island. Let's go take a look."

Merry’s soft voice came through.

"Okay."

Others are not necessarily a problem.

only……

"Is this really an island?!"

As Merry drew closer to the port, the others suddenly sensed that something was amiss.

The atmosphere here... it doesn't seem like an ordinary island, does it?!

Pfft! !

The Merry crashed into the sea, splashing up layers of water.

"I landed safely at sea, so I've made it back to the ocean safely, but..."

Zoro stared intently at the pitch-black surroundings. "Why do I suddenly have this uneasy feeling?!"

"Indeed, the atmosphere here is too quiet, unlike the usual nighttime atmosphere on an island."

Robin also shared her opinion, "Any normal island should have lights on in the houses and noise from pubs and restaurants at night. In other words, it should have some human touch."

Sanji lit a cigarette for himself.

"But here it's too quiet, as if you're deliberately not allowed to speak, as if you've entered a prison or a military base."

0. Requesting flowers........

"Hey, you're not trying to say we've crashed into a naval base, are you?"

Usopp chuckled dryly, "How could this be? We can't possibly be this bad..."

clap clap clap! !

One searchlight after another shone down from the cliffs beside them, illuminating the Merry.

"Waaaaah?!!"

The piercing sound of horns echoed throughout the night sky and the island.

No, it can't be called an island anymore.

Usopp stared blankly at the rows of naval personnel in white uniforms standing on the cliff face, his mouth agape.

"Moldy..."

Having just come from such a wonderful place as the Sky Island, I'm already facing such a hellish start?!

Is the difference between heaven and hell really just a matter of a single thought?!

For the first time, Usopp experienced the cruelty and uncertainty of this sea.

"It looks like we really have landed inside a naval base."

Robin said calmly, "I wonder if they'll riddle us with bullets?"

"Huh? Are we going to be shot?!"

Chopper's face turned pale with fright.

0 ....

"It's probably possible."

Zoro scratched his green head. "After all, we have two great pirates with a bounty of over 100 million Berries on our ship, plus other crew members with tens of millions of Berries. We're a group of pirates that the Navy finds quite troublesome and fearful."

"Moreover, our bounty notice states that there is no limit to whether we are killed or alive. Just to be on the safe side, they might actually take such coercive measures against us."

After Zoro finished speaking, Nami covered her face and shouted, "Don't make such dangerous connections!!"

She was frantic, yelling, "We need to think about how we're going to get out of here!!!"

"Merry, fly up again and take us away from here!!"

Nami pounded on the railing and shouted.

"I'm so sorry everyone!!"

Realizing she had made a mistake, Merry was so frightened that she tried to start the engine and leave again.

Then~

"This should be the Navy's G8 branch fortress, right?"

Link looked around and saw the "G8" logo engraved on the building next to him.

On the Grand Line, all the fortress branches are preceded by the letter "G" followed by a number. The difference between them and the branches in the Four Seas is this letter.

Because it represents the entire Grand Line, it's an abbreviation for Grand Line.

"Do you know this place, Link?"

Luffy turned his head and asked.

"Ah, this place is also called Nabaron Fortress. I heard that the commander of this place is Vice Admiral Jonathan, who is a close friend of Admiral Akainu."

Link stroked his chin and replied.

"The lieutenant general... and the general are good friends..."

Usopp and Chopper both exclaimed in unison, "That's way too dangerous!!"

"Is this the kind of person we can handle right now?!"

Nami was very skeptical, but it was no use.

"Oh? A lieutenant general?"

Zoro was somewhat interested; a Marine Admiral-level figure, and a strongman second only to the Admiral level.

He must be quite adept at using domineering aura, right? Perhaps he'd be a formidable opponent?!

Admiral, Akainu...

Robin's heart skipped a beat when he heard the name.

She had not forgotten the tragedy that occurred on Ohara Island, where not a single resident survived.

The mastermind behind all of this is none other than Akainu, who is now an admiral!

174 [Sesame Lock]! A skilled chef?! Everything is for the sake of eating meat!!

When Ohara was evacuated, all the island's inhabitants were taken away on a small boat.

However, Akainu, who was then a vice admiral, used the excuse that "there might be scholars who escaped on the ship," "if they escape, all our efforts will be in vain," and "better to kill ten thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free," to bombard the small boat and all the Ohara residents on board!

In order to complete their mission and eliminate what they called evil, they even wiped out civilians...

This naval admiral left a very deep impression on Robin.

So, the officer in charge of the Baron Fortress, who is his close friend, must also be no ordinary person.

"The last time I saw news about Nabaron Fortress was in the newspaper. It seemed to report that two so-called excellent chefs from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise had recently been assigned to Nabaron Fortress."

"It seems like a meal costs over a million Berries; the chef must be amazing."

A meal costing over a million Berries?! What an amazing chef?!

Sanji immediately raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

He always had a feeling that these two chefs were no good. What, a meal costing a million Berries?!

Unless these two chefs were corrupt and embezzled, or they were the kind of showy but incompetent cooks.

Simply piling on expensive ingredients will only result in a subpar dish, even if it tastes slightly better! However...

"An amazing chef?!"

Slurp!!

Luffy, standing nearby, swallowed hard, his eyes gradually turning into large, fleshy shapes.

"That sounds pretty good!"

Chopper, Usopp, and Nami: "!!!"

"Hey, Luffy, you need to get this straight!!"

The cowardly trio desperately pleaded, saying that this concerned their safety and they had no choice but to do their utmost.

However--

"It's okay."

Luffy chuckled and turned to the three of them, saying, "We've never been to a naval base before, so let's just consider this a little exploration."

The cowardly trio: "..."

Are there any idiots exploring inside a naval base?!