Chapter 129"I'm starving, Sanji!""Food! I want meat, lots and lots of meat!!"The fierce battle with Aokiji had almost completely drained him of all his energy. A strong feeling of hunger, like a tsunami, washed over him, even overriding the pain of his injuries."Just wait here obediently."Sanji, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, grumbled but didn't slow his pace, turning and rushing into the kitchen."Usopp, you come help too. Zoro, you Marimo, don't just stand there, come help carry ingredients.""Huh? Why should I listen to you?"Zoro crossed his arms, looking displeased, but seeing Luffy's miserable state, he clicked his tongue and followed them into the kitchen.Vivi and Nami hadn't known much about Robin's past before, but with Aokiji revealing everything, the girls' delicate sympathy immediately showed, and they gathered around to comfort her.Chopper had already transformed into his robust human-beast form, taking out his medical kit and anxiously shouting, "Luffy, don't move around, your injuries need to be treated!"However, Luffy couldn't hear him. Hunger drove him, like a wild beast sniffing out food, his nose twitching, crawling towards the dining room, following the aroma.Hungry, so hungry.It was foreseeable that there would be many more such battles in the future.Should there be a way to store food?Luffy was very clear about his physical condition; as long as there was a continuous supply of food, it meant a continuous supply of energy.After the battle, it was time to reflect, but this made things difficult for Chopper."Hey, Luffy, wait for me, don't move yet."Chopper, holding bandages and a medicine box, anxiously chased after him on his short legs.Luffy had many temporary bandages on his body. The injuries left after the battle with Aokiji were more numerous and severe than the sum of all the injuries from battles with enemies since they set sail.Cuts and frostbite from ice shards, as well as bruises from the clash of Haki, covered his body.But at this moment, Luffy only had food in his eyes.Sanji was very experienced in this regard, and soon, a fragrant smell wafted from the dining room, making Luffy's eyes light up.He swayed to his feet, his Rubber arm suddenly stretching into the dining room, grabbing a whole giant roasted beast leg, and swallowing it in one go.He kept moving while gnawing.He was still on his study plan with Robin and couldn't be too far from her.So, he went straight to Robin, who was quietly sitting on a deck chair, and sat down with a thud, his hand still reaching into the dining room for food.Robin was wrapped in the orange cotton coat Namihad just given her. Although her face was still a little pale, seeing Luffy devouring food with such vitality, a gentle and relieved smile involuntarily bloomed on her lips.That smile carried a sense of peace.Luffy's cheeks were stuffed, and he mumbled to Robin:"Robin, don't worry too much. That ice block uncle, I feel like he's not that bad.""If he really wanted to catch us, he definitely wouldn't have let us go in the end. He seems to care about you quite a bit?"Robin nodded gently, her gaze somewhat distant.In her understanding, Kuzan was indeed one of the few Marines who still upheld what was called justice.Letting the young Robin go back then might have been due to his wavering stance on the Buster Call, or perhaps..."He inherited Saul's will.""Saul?"Nami was clearing ice shards from the deck with Vivi. Hearing this unfamiliar name, she turned her head curiously.But after asking, she felt a bit abrupt and cautiously glanced at Robin, "Ah, I'm sorry, Robin, did I ask too much?"Robin smiled. Now, surrounded by her companions, she didn't seem to mind revealing those heavy past events.She pulled her cotton coat tighter and said in a calm and gentle voice, "It's alright, Nami. Saul was my only friend in Ohara when I was little, a Giant Race Navy Vice Admiral."A Giant Race Navy Vice Admiral friend?These words attracted Nami, Vivi, and even Usopp, who had just walked over, and Chopper, who had just poked his head out of the kitchen.Why did these words, all known individually, sound so abrupt when put together?Robin briefly recounted how Saul was deemed a traitor for questioning the justice of the Buster Call, and how, at the last moment, he protected her, letting her escape on a small boat, and shouted to her:"The sea is vast, you will definitely meet companions who will protect you."The deck fell silent, with only the sounds of Luffychewing food and the waves.Nami and Vivi's eyes were a little red.Girls were more sensitive in this regard.But...Luffy looked at Usopp and Chopper, who were also teary-eyed, and couldn't help but complain, "What's wrong with you guys?""Bad Straw Hat.""Rubber Man.""So heartless!"Luffy gasped, two small hands, he didn't know when, had already pinched his waist. It was clearly Vivi and Nami."The past is the past."Robin recounted her past without hesitation. Looking at her companions sitting around her, her gaze finally fell on Luffy, who was buried in his food but secretly perked up his ears, and her smile grew warmer."Now, what saved me is Luffy, it's you all, it's everyone on the going merry. This is my home."...After sailing for a while, Usopp, who was on lookout, suddenly shouted:"Hey, everyone, look ahead! There's a lighthouse!"Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a solitary lighthouse standing on a reef on the distant horizon, its top emitting a faint but steady light."A lighthouse?"Luffy's attention was instantly captured. He swallowed the meat in his hand in a couple of bites and excitedly jumped up, "Let's go see! Let's go see!""Okay!" Little Merry responded.Soon, the rudder turned slightly under her control, and the Merry tilted slightly, deviating a little from its original course, heading towards the lighthouse.Lighthouses in the sea are common, but there's no city nearby. What's the purpose of this lighthouse?As the lighthouse got closer, a simple small wooden house could be seen below it.As the Merry slowly approached, the door of the wooden house creaked open a crack, and a blonde, round-faced little girl with pigtails and bright red lipstick peeked out.Chapter 186 Luffy Sets His Sights on Enies LobbyA blue-furred rabbit with long ears tied up was crouching at her feet.When she saw the massive Merry and the various people on deck, especially Luffy covered in bandages, she immediately shrank back, screaming in fright:"Oh no, Kokoro, pirates are here!""What's all this about pirates? Let me see!" a slightly hoarse, lazy female voice replied."Oh, is it a lady?!" Sanji's eyes were practically sparkling.Accompanied by the clinking of bottles, a figure emerged from inside the house.Beneath long, curly golden hair was a face made somewhat saggy by age and alcohol, heavily made up, yet unable to hide the weariness of time.She had a large beer belly and unsteady steps. As she was about to step out the door, she actually kicked the threshold.Bang!This sound also broke Sanji's heart.Why, why?!Kokoro, having tripped, was sprawled on the ground, her wine bottle miraculously unbroken.Drunk, she looked up, her face confused, and asked the startled little girl:"How did I get here?""Why is she a drunkard?" Luffy looked at the woman called Kokoro and couldn't help but complain, "Is it okay for the lighthouse keeper in a place like this to be so drunk in broad daylight?"There were two drunkards on their ship.At this moment, Nika also poked his head out, drunk. Who's calling me?Nami sighed helplessly, jumped off the ship first, and went to help Kokoro up. "Are you alright, old lady?""How rude, little girl!"Kokoro grinned, revealing a set of not-so-neat teeth. She first tilted her head back and gulped down some wine before looking at them with hazy, drunken eyes. "Who are you calling an old lady? I am a true lady."Chopper remembered a certain lady, and seriously nodded, "Dr. Kureha said the same thing!"Everyone disembarked, their eyes drawn to the railway tracks not far away."Are those train tracks?" Luffy asked."Are you talking about the Puffing Tom?""Is Puffing Tom the name of that train?" Namiasked casually, helping the swaying Kokorotowards a nearby wooden chair."That's right! That's right!"The blonde little girl, seeing that Kokoro seemed fine, became lively again and eagerly answered, "Isn't it amazing? There's a train that travels on the sea here!""Also, my name is Chimney, and this is Gonbe!" She pointed to the blue-furred rabbit at her feet."Hello, my name is Luffy."Luffy introduced himself simply, then eagerly asked, "Where does that train go?"Kokoro burped, but answered directly, "It departs from Water Seven and passes through Spring Queen Town - St. Poplar, Gourmet Town Pucci, and Carnival Town."She took another swig of wine and added, "The train tracks also connect to Enies Lobby; there's a special train that goes there.""Enies Lobby? What kind of place is that?" Luffyasked."It's a place you pirates wouldn't want to go," Kokoro said, her murky eyes glancing at Luffy with a hint of deeper meaning.Don't want to go?Luffy, on the contrary, was very interested.Perhaps because of Nami's politeness, or perhaps Kokoro herself was easygoing, after learning that Luffy and his crew wanted to go to Water Seven to build a ship, this seemingly unreliable lighthouse keeper actually fumbled out a crumpled letter from her bosom and handed it to Luffy:"Here, take this. Go find Iceburg, the mayor of Water Seven. Oh, everyone calls him Iceburg. He's my brother Tom's apprentice. If you need anything, you can ask him for help, just say Kokoro sent you.""Kokoro is a really good person.""Well, I just find you pirates to my taste."Kokoro held several bottles of wine in her arms, which Luffy had snatched from Nika.After bidding farewell to the drunken old woman of the lighthouse and the lively little girl, the Merry set sail again, heading straight for the renowned shipbuilding city.Water Seven.Not long after.As the Merry delved deeper, a magnificent, unimaginably grand water city gradually unfolded before everyone's eyes.Water Seven was very peculiar; it looked like an island, but it was actually a city.This was a famous water city on the Grand Line. The city was circular as a whole, with a huge port gate marked with numbers. Next to it was a massive outlet, constantly gushing out waterfall-like water.Luffy really wanted to play, especially with that huge drainage channel that looked like a water slide, but after his study plan with Robin, he had to study with Nami. Currently, Luffy was in a Q&A session with Nami about navigation knowledge.Luffy expressed his genuine desire to use the drainage channel as a slide, and Nami immediately pinched his soft spot at the waist."You landlubber, don't even think about it!" Namikneaded Luffy's face.Luffy pouted, but his gaze followed the giant walls upwards, where layers of buildings, crisscrossed by massive waterways, were divided into different areas. These waterways converged upwards, all the way to the giant fountain at the very top.
