Speaking of which.
Uncle Zeff truly lives up to his reputation.
Eighteen unique and incredibly delicious dishes, all crafted single-handedly in just about an hour.
Good thing I secured him for the ship back then.
Otherwise, where could I find such an amazing chef?
The rest of the crew was immersed in eating and drinking, having Zeff in charge of the kitchen made each mealtime the most relaxing and delightful moment for everyone.
"Heh..." Zeff crossed his arms, grinning as he watched the scene unfold.
As a chef, he didn't need anything else; seeing his friends devour the food in silence was the best praise and recognition of his culinary skills.
However, at that moment.
"Brrr! Brrr!!!"
The dining room's communal Radio Snail suddenly rang excitedly, the sound sharper and more urgent than usual.
Hmm?
What's going on?
Shano, puzzled, got up, ready to pick up the receiver, while the crew instinctively looked up, watching closely.
"Hold on a second, Captain."
Smoker suddenly spoke up, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be a call from the Navy."
"The Navy?"
Everyone was surprised, and Nami was skeptical: "Seriously, cigar man, the Navy? How would they even know our number?"
"They don't need to know."
Smoker instinctively reached for a cigar to light it, but under Zeff's disapproving gaze, he quietly put it back.
"Besides normal communication signals, the Radio Snail has two other special reactions."
He spoke with noodles and chopsticks hanging from his mouth as he explained, "One is sudden wailing, caused by surrounding emergency distress signals, which anyone can send; it's quite common."
"The other is like this current situation, a technical method possessed only by large powers like the Navy Headquarters. It amplifies the signal over a wide area and attempts to contact all Radio Snails in the vicinity. Generally, it cannot pinpoint exact targets and is used when scanning an area incrementally."
"Eh?"
Nami's eyes widened, "I didn't know that, that's interesting. So, does this mean the Navy roughly knows which sea area we're in now?"
"That's quite normal."
Smoker spoke in a deep voice, "After all, we showed up in Alabasta a few days ago; they could deduce our route."
But that doesn't mean the warships could easily encircle them.
After all, a ship isn't a stationary target; it constantly changes position, so you can't just shrink the encirclement.
Navy has always faced a major challenge in catching pirates: figuring out how to pursue them through the vast ocean without losing them.
Just knowing the general area is largely ineffective.
"Let's just answer first and see what happens."
Shano shrugged indifferently and picked up the receiver.
It's odd that someone from the Navy urgently wanted to talk to him; he was rather curious about what the other party was up to.
"Hello?"
A serious voice came through the receiver, "This is a Navy Headquarters communicator, under orders to search for the Endgame Pirates in this sea area. All those connected should cooperate; if you aren't related, you can hang up. However, if you have any leads on the Endgame Pirates, you're welcome to provide them... "
"This is Shano speaking."
Shano calmly replied, "Who's your superior? What do they want with me?"
"You're Sha... huh?"
A surprised shout came from the other side, "Mr. Garp! Please come quickly, the person on the line claims to be that Shano!"
"Really?"
Garp's murmuring voice was heard, "Won't it be another fake? In the past hour alone, there've been several pranks. These mischievous bastards, humph, if it weren't for them..."
"Old man Garp?"
Shano raised an eyebrow, interrupting.
"Oh?!!!! This voice, it's so familiar and endearing, sounds like the real deal. Haha, give the phone to me!!"
Bang!
The next moment, the Radio Snail's face suddenly twisted, transforming into a rough visage with a dog-hat on.
"Hey! Long time no see, it's me, Garp!"
With a half-eaten donut sticking out of its mouth, the Radio Snail chomped happily while bellowing with laughter:
"Finally found you, Shano, you little rascal! Getting in touch with you sure is a hassle!"