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Chapter 32: The Voyage Begins!
"Not tired."
Luffy and Zoro shook their heads almost simultaneously, their faces brimming with irrepressible excitement. "Just thinking about setting sail on a pirate ship right now makes me too excited to sleep!"
"Ganyu, you understand that feeling, right!"
"Uh..." Ganyu blinked, looking at the two excited men before her.
To be honest, she understood their feelings.
Owning a pirate ship was like a person owning their first car, or a family owning their first house; it had extraordinary significance.
But...
Aren't you forgetting something?
"What is it?"
Luffy and Zoro asked.
Ganyu slowly stood up and extended a slender finger, pointing diagonally upwards.
"Look, isn't there a pirate flag missing up there?"
Luffy and Zoro looked up at the same time, following the direction she was pointing.
The top of the mast was bare, with only the lonely sea breeze blowing past.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that!"
Luffy suddenly clapped his hands, his eyes shining with excitement. "What should we do? Where do we find a pirate flag now?"
"Logically speaking, a pirate flag just needs a black cloth with a design painted on it, right?" Zoro mused, rubbing his chin.
He had seen many pirate flags when he was a pirate hunter, and most of them were made that way.
"Alright! Let's go find one on the island right now!"
Just as Luffy made his decision and was about to jump off the ship, a voice suddenly came from a distance.
"Wait for me! Don't set sail just yet!"
The voice was very distinctive and familiar. The three of them looked up in surprise.
"Usopp?"
"Huh? Wasn't he on the ship?"
"Wait, he hasn't said he wanted to join us yet, so of course he's not on the ship."
"What? I thought you already invited him to join."
"Not yet." Luffy shook his head, watching the figure get closer and closer, a smile involuntarily lifting the corners of his mouth. "It's not too late now, isn't he here?"
A short while later.
Usopp, out of breath and carrying a large bundle, climbed onto the deck. "Thank goodness... Thank goodness I made it in time. You weren't about to leave right away, were you?"
His gaze swept over Ganyu and the other two, his face showing a look of anticipation and hesitation.
"Not yet, Nami is still sleeping. We were just about to draw our pirate flag." Seeing how tired he was, Ganyu walked over to help him unload the bulging bundle.
Good grief, it's packed with so much stuff! Her hand sank in a bit when she tried to lift it.
"A pirate flag?"
Hearing this suggestion, Usopp's eyes lit up, and he confidently patted his chest. "I'm the best at drawing, I guarantee I can draw a perfect pirate flag for you!"
"Are you really sure you can do it?" Luffy looked at him suspiciously. Zoro didn't speak, but his expression also clearly showed he wasn't convinced.
"It'll definitely work, just you wait!"
As he spoke, Usopp quickly opened his bundle.
It was stuffed with all sorts of items. Clothes, toiletries, pots and pans, manual tools... It was as if they had moved his entire house over.
"You brought a lot of stuff." Zoro's mouth twitched; it was the first time he had seen someone bring so much stuff to sea.
"I packed up everything in my house and brought it!"
Usopp said as he searched. "This time, I'm determined to become a true warrior of the sea and return victorious!"
Soon, he found a roll of black cloth and a bucket of paint among the pile of clutter.
Under the curious gazes of the three, Usopp skillfully spread out the black cloth, picked up a brush, and dipped it in the white paint.
He observed the cloth with full concentration, occasionally stepping back a few steps to check the effect.
"How is it? Not bad, right?" A short time later, Usopp proudly displayed his finished work.
A skull and crossbones flag wearing a straw hat fluttered in the sea breeze.
The image wasn't particularly vivid, but it was well-done in that it was standard: two-thirds of the flag was covered by a pure white skull, wearing a straw hat identical to the one Luffy wore.
After looking at it, the three nodded, expressing great satisfaction.
Luffy took the pirate flag, climbed the mast, and hung it himself.
"That's great!"
"At least it's starting to look like a pirate."
"Not bad."
The three people below watched this scene, dumbfounded, and couldn't help but smile.
"Mission accomplished, I'll be going now. I hope we can meet again on the high seas someday."
Usopp looked up, then satisfactorily packed his luggage, preparing to get off the ship.
"Where are you going?" Luffy asked, watching the scene before him.
"Of course, this is my own ship."
Usopp pointed to the small boat moored on the shore, forcing a smile. "Take care, everyone, see you next time."
"What are you talking about?" Luffy scratched the back of his head, looking at him in confusion.
"Of course... I'm saying goodbye to you idiots! Don't you know we might never see each other again on the vast sea..."
Zoro interrupted rudely, "Stop talking nonsense and get on the ship already!"
"Huh?" Usopp's body trembled, his gaze shifting stiffly to Luffy.
Luffy looked at him and said, word by word, "Aren't we... already partners?"
"This..."
Usopp was completely stunned.
Just as he was about to speak, he noticed that Luffy, Zoro, and Ganyu had all turned away to do their own things.
"It's about time. I'll go wake Nami up. Luffy, you go lower the sails."
"Great! We can finally set sail!"
"Zoro, go retrieve the anchor. Uh... you should be able to manage that on your own, right?"
"Who do you think you are? Tell me how to get it."
On the deck, Usopp watched the three of them spring into action, momentarily at a loss.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, didn't ask his question.
Just then, a hand gently patted his shoulder, and Ganyu's voice came from beside him.
"Let's go check the armory, it's just below the bow. There's a ship cannon there, Usopp, can you go test it out?"
Hearing the key phrase "ship cannon," Usopp's eyes immediately lit up, his expression turned serious, and he saluted the blue-haired girl.
"Roger, Captain!"
With that, he dashed off towards the armory located in the basement.
Ganyu tilted her head slightly, her beautiful face full of surprise. What did he just call her?
Hearing this, Luffy immediately shouted, "You bastard, who are you calling Captain?!"
"Uh... sorry... I accidentally called you by the wrong name, but it feels like it's not wrong either."
"Nani, what are you talking about!"
"Two idiots." Ganyu shook her head, watching the two start fighting again, and let out a small laugh.
About ten minutes later.
All preparations before departure were finally completed and, under Luffy's command, the Going Merry set sail!
...
On the deck, after the Going Merry had been sailing on the sea for some time, the crew's excitement about the new ship gradually faded, and they began to seriously discuss their next destination.
"A cook?"
Hearing his partners' suggestion, Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Isn't there the 'Sweet Rain Restaurant'? Why do we need a cook?"
"She's not a cook. Have you ever seen a chef who can only roast meat?" Zoro said, speechless.
He was really tired of eating roast meat for every meal, but he just couldn't find a chance to say it.
Ganyu glanced at him, pursing her lips, seeing through his little scheme but not exposing it.
She pondered for a moment, then turned to Luffy. "Luffy, although what he said is harsh, we really do need a professional cook, otherwise all those delicious ingredients Kaya gave us will be wasted."
According to the original story, the next stop should be the Baratie, a seafood restaurant where the next crew member, Sanji, was waiting for them.
Ganyu deliberately brought up the topic of finding a cook to steer the pirate ship towards Sanji's location, just like in the original story.
Seeing that the crew was leaning towards finding a cook, Luffy had to temporarily set aside his original idea of finding a musician.
"Then let's go find a cook!"
He said, clapping his hands.
"But where do we find one?" Usopp raised his hand and asked.
Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought, and the deck instantly became quiet.
Suddenly.
Just then, a cry of grief came from the bottom of the Going Merry.
"You pirates, all of you get out of here! I'm going to kill you!"
Everyone was stunned and looked at each other, not knowing who was shouting from the bottom of the ship.
They had just set sail, where did these enemies come from?
Before they could figure it out, a short-haired man wearing sunglasses jumped onto the deck, wielding a large machete, and rushed straight at them!
"Huh?" Usopp was shocked. The target of this man's attack was actually him!
Fortunately, Luffy reacted quickly, taking a step forward and swiftly extending his rubber arm, punching the man out of mid-air and onto the ground.
With a loud clang, the large machete flew out of his hand and landed on the deck.
"Don't cause trouble on my ship!" Luffy looked at the man, his face showing unusual anger.
"That scared me to death! Where did this guy come from? And why did he try to cut me?" Usopp's face was pale. He had almost been cut down by a guy who jumped onto the ship for no reason. He was terrified.
"Perhaps you offended someone first?" Ganyu gave him a meaningful look.
Not long ago, she had sent Usopp to the armory to test the ship's cannon, and shortly after, a cannon shot was heard.
If nothing unexpected happened, that shot had likely hit the man who had now boarded the ship in a rage.
"What do you mean?" Usopp was confused, not understanding Ganyu's meaning.
But he soon found out.
"Huh? Aren't you Johnny? Isn't Yosaku with you?" Zoro felt that this person looked vaguely familiar, and after taking a few steps closer, he realized it was indeed someone he knew.
Yosaku and Johnny were two bounty hunters he had once saved by chance, and they had interacted briefly.
"Zoro... Big Bro?" The man who had been knocked to the ground by Luffy heard Zoro's voice and cried out in surprise.
"What? So you're one of us." Luffy walked over and tried to help Johnny up, but Johnny slapped his hand away.
Johnny sat up from the ground and glared fiercely at Luffy and the other crew members, excluding Zoro. "It's all your fault! Yosaku was already sick, and I put him on a big rock to rest, but then you guys hit him with a cannonball..."
"What?!"
Usopp's eyes instantly widened.
The shot he had fired during the test had indeed been aimed at a large reef, which meant he had really hit someone!
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami's expressions instantly froze, not knowing what to say.
"Is... is... is he dead?" Usopp stammered, filled with guilt.
"No, not at all."
Johnny covered his face in distress. "But he had just regained consciousness, and now he's passed out again."
Now it was clear that most of the people on the ship were Zoro's companions, and they didn't seem to have done it intentionally, so he couldn't pursue the matter further.
"Phew..." Usopp breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness he's not dead, thank goodness he's not dead."
Poor Usopp, he had just set out to sea and already thought he had committed murder.
"You said your companion is sick, do you know what illness he has?" Ganyu asked.
"No idea at all..."
Johnny said dejectedly. "He was fine a few days ago, but somehow, he suddenly turned pale and kept fainting..."
Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp exchanged serious glances.
This sounded exactly like the symptoms of a fatal disease, and they didn't have a doctor on board.
Nami and Ganyu exchanged a look and sighed at the same time.
These idiots are hopeless.
"Nami, I'll go to the storage room to prepare some orange juice. You can have them bring Yosaku on board."
With that, Ganyu turned and headed towards the storage.
"Orange juice?"
Everyone was confused.
Luffy mumbled, "Orange juice now?! Ganyu, get me a glass too!"
Thwack!
Nami sent him flying with a punch, then explained, "You guys, you call yourselves bounty hunters and pirates... Yosaku's symptoms couldn't be clearer, he has scurvy!"
"Scurvy?"
"It's a common illness for people who sail on the sea for a long time without eating fruits and vegetables."
"I see. So Ganyu said she was going to make orange juice because she wants to drink orange juice?"
"You're the only glutton on this ship, you idiot!" Nami said, kicking one of her captains in the face.
...
Soon after, the dying Yosaku drank the orange juice personally squeezed by Ganyu and miraculously regained his vitality.
Nami was dumbfounded. "That's way too fast!"
Ganyu was also surprised.
Logically, it should have taken at least a day or two to recover, but this man stood up immediately after drinking it.
The physical constitution of people in this world is truly extraordinary.
"That's right, I'm fully recovered. Thank you so much, Big Sis Nami and Big Sis Ganyu!" Yosaku thanked them profusely.
"Big Sis..."
Ganyu and Nami froze almost simultaneously, exchanging dangerous glances.
Neither of them liked this title, just to different degrees.
Yosaku felt a shiver run down his spine. He sensed two terrifying killing intents, one of which was as powerful as a Sea King's, as if a monster was staring at him.
So scary... Did he say something wrong?
At the critical moment, Zoro stood in front of his subordinate and slapped him on the head. "Idiot, shut up if you don't want to die! If you piss that woman off, even I can't stop her!"
"Uh... Yes!" Yosaku immediately stood at attention, instantly obeying the order.
He would never dare to offend a woman that even Big Bro Zoro couldn't afford to provoke.