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Chapter 24: The "Failed" Reconnaissance Mission
1,170 Words
Two hundred meters off the coast of Syrup Village, a two-masted sailboat flying a skull and crossbones flag bobbed on the waves.
On the ship, dozens of figures were scattered around, all of whom looked very different from ordinary sailors.
Some were burly and tall with bulging muscles, some were as thin as monkeys, and some were covered in tattoos and crisscrossing scars.
But they had one thing in common.
Most of them had fierce expressions and bloodthirsty glints in their eyes. They were clearly cutthroats who had been through countless battles.
On the high seas, such people are called pirates.
That's right.
They were the true reflection of the vast majority of pirates on this sea, feared and loathed by countless villages.
The fact that they were lingering in the waters surrounding Syrup Village suggested only one possibility: they had found a target worth plundering.
"It's confirmed. This group stopping here definitely has something in mind."
In a secluded corner of the ship's side, Zoro quietly withdrew his gaze and turned to face the blue-haired girl.
He looked at the girl sitting upright on a small wooden tub, her hands resting on her knees, and asked in a low voice:
"What should we do next? Go out and kill them all?"
"Why do you only know how to recklessly charge in? We're here to conduct reconnaissance. Do you even know what reconnaissance is?"
Upon hearing this, Ganyu was so angry that she stood up.
As she spoke, she poked his forehead with her finger, hoping to make this brute a little smarter.
Zoro grabbed the mischievous little hand and frowned. "Then tell me what to do."
"Obviously. We stay undercover, wait for the key figures to talk, and then steal information."
Ganyu tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't, so she simply let him hold it. She didn't care about such small details.
"Tch. You're not that smart."
Zoro released her hand, pushed her aside, and sat on the still-warm wooden tub.
"Then I'll sit here and wait. You can find somewhere else to go."
He waved his hand in a rather domineering manner.
Upon seeing this.
Ganyu glanced at him longingly, but didn't insist that he give her back her seat.
After all, she had been sitting for a while; it was time to let him sit.
She never saw herself as a woman who needed to be deferred to. She didn't even really consider herself a woman.
However, in her previous life, she was from a mountain town and never had the habit of just standing still.
And so.
After hesitating for a moment, she gently gathered the hem of her qipao with both hands, leaned against the wall, and slowly squatted down.
After squatting, she squinted her eyes like a cat, exhaled slightly, and looked incredibly content.
This position was very comfortable.
There was silence for a moment.
Ten minutes or so passed.
Ganyu's breathing gradually evened out. Her face was pure and beautiful; she had actually fallen asleep.
"Is this what she calls 'reconnaissance'?"
Seeing this, Zoro's lips twitched. He felt indignant but couldn't express it.
We were supposed to be doing reconnaissance, but this woman was just sleeping soundly.
How can she sleep so soundly? He was envious.
Thinking this, Zoro unknowingly fell asleep as well.
Splash. Splash.
The waves pounded tirelessly against the hull. The bright moon quietly climbed to its zenith.
Time flew.
Ganyu was awakened by the coolness on her face.
She was stunned when she opened her eyes.
Instead of the blazing sun overhead, there was a star-studded night sky.
"..."
Ganyu remained silent for a full minute.
"Hey!"
She jumped up and slapped the sleeping swordsman across the face. "You bastard, how come you're asleep too!"
It was unbelievable. The two people who came out to scout were both asleep.
Luffy and Nami must think something happened to them and are searching frantically right now.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Zoro slowly opened his eyes, his voice tinged with weariness. He even yawned.
Strange, why does my face hurt?
Ganyu grabbed his collar and shook him violently. "All you do is sleep! Don't you know it's already dark?"
"Let… go…"
Zoro was shaken so hard he saw stars and almost passed out again. The woman was incredibly strong; he couldn't break free.
Fortunately, Ganyu let go on her own.
She knew how strong she was and worried she might accidentally scramble his brains.
Moreover, she was actually a little guilty, because she herself had fallen asleep.
However, since she was the first to wake up, she naturally had unlimited say.
"I've already found out the situation. The captain's name is Jango. They are under orders from a man named Kuro on the island to attack Syrup Village early tomorrow morning!"
"Huh? Such comprehensive intelligence? Did you tie up their captain and interrogate him?"
Bombarded with this intelligence, Zoro's weariness vanished. He stared at Ganyu in disbelief.
Just how much had this woman done while he was asleep?
"There was no interrogation… I just happened to overhear their conversation…"
A faint blush crept onto Ganyu's pretty face. She raised her hand to tidy her hair, covering the unnaturalness in her expression as she lied.
What Zoro didn't know was that she had actually woken up only a minute earlier than him.
As for the information, it was all from watching the anime in her previous life.
"Enough talk. Now that we've gathered the information, let's head back. Luffy and Nami must be worried sick!"
Ganyu turned her head away, pretending to be unhappy, and urged him on.
"Alright. Shall we go back the way we came?" Zoro stood up and stretched. Feeling guilty, he seemed quite obedient.
Under the moonlight.
Two figures, like ghosts, bypassed everyone and silently jumped off the boat.
Just before they plunged into the sea, Ganyu's fingertips condensed with icy blue light, and she flicked out an ice spike.
With a crack, an ice path about half a meter wide instantly froze on the sea surface, catching both of them steadily.
The ice path only extended for about ten meters, but their steps never faltered.
Every time Ganyu stepped off the ice, a new ice track unfolded ahead.
The seawater touched by the soles of her short high heels instantly froze. The icy blue trails continued to extend across the inky black sea.
After creating a road of ice more than ten times, the two returned to the shore of Syrup Village from the sea, which was more than 200 meters away.
As soon as the two landed, they saw a boy wearing a straw hat lying on the beach, fast asleep.
"Luffy?"
Ganyu and Zoro both exclaimed in surprise.