After defeating Morgan, they received a reward for clearing the stage: the crew member Zoro.
They also helped Coby join the Marines, triggering a special reward: "Friendship of a Future Marine Admiral."
Since they had cleared the stage,
Luffy, Bai Yun, and their new friend Zoro headed to the town's dock, ready to set sail once more, to the next place, to find their next companion, their next adventure.
It was still the familiar small boat. As the three boarded and slowly sailed out, Coby appeared on the dock.
He expressed his gratitude with great emotion.
A group of Marines followed behind him, but they weren't concerned with Coby thanking Luffy and the others; instead, they all saluted.
It was an unprecedented first for Marines and pirates to salute each other.
So, with a Marine admiral's Marines and pirates saluting, who exactly was righteous here? Who was evil?
This was a problem.
Once this problem was understood, establishing a new order system would no longer be an issue.
Bai Yun and Zoro sat in the back, one on each side, leaning on the boat's edge and looking at the sea.
Meanwhile, Luffy stood up and waved goodbye to Coby and the others.
And so, the small boat slowly drifted away until it disappeared from Coby's sight... A lone boat on the vast sea.
There was a serious problem.
Luffy and Bai Yun couldn't navigate, and Zoro... let alone navigating, he might not even recognize a path on land.
So, they embarked on another journey of drifting with the wind.
Actually, Bai Yun could have replicated Coby's navigation skills, but he didn't. He always felt that, before Nami joined, the places they drifted to by chance were destined... "I'm so hungry!"
Luffy and Zoro lay on the boat deck, complaining.
Bai Yun was fishing; the fishing rod was his bracelet transformed, but there was no bait. This was like Jiang Taigong fishing, waiting for those willing to take the bait.
"Hungry is hungry, but Luffy, don't try to catch birds in the sky. Be careful you don't catch one and get carried away instead."
"The fish should be biting soon."
Bai Yun instructed. Luffy didn't know why Bai Yun would say that. 'Do I look like the kind of person who would try to catch a bird in the sky and get carried away?'
"Don't just talk about Luffy, Bai Yun. You don't even have bait. How are you going to catch anything—"
"It's here!!"
"..."
Zoro was halfway through his complaint when Bai Yun directly cast his hook and reeled a fish out of the sea, slapping it right onto Zoro's face.
But an accident happened.
Bai Yun pulled too hard, and the hook flew into the sky. A bird in the sky saw the free lunch and directly bit the fish on the hook.
The hook got caught in the bird's beak, dragging Bai Yun away.
"Holy crap!!!"
Being dragged over the sea, Bai Yun was a Devil Fruit user, so how could he dare let go?
Seeing this, Zoro finally had a good laugh at Bai Yun's expense.
"Hahahaha!"
Luffy was the same, "You were just talking about me, Bai Yun. Now you're being dragged away by a bird yourself, hahahaha."
It wasn't until the large bird dragged Bai Yun far away that they realized something was wrong.
"..."
"Oh no!!"
"My fish!!" This line was clearly Luffy's.
Zoro looked at Luffy. Was that the point?
Luffy scratched his head sheepishly.
"No, it's Bai Yun!"
"Quick, go save Bai Yun!!"
As soon as Luffy finished speaking, he and Zoro each grabbed an oar and paddled quickly, heading in the direction where Bai Yun had disappeared.
"Help! Help!"
Mid-way, they encountered three guys who had fallen into the sea.
"The boat won't stop. If you want to get on, climb up yourselves."
Zoro shouted.
The instinct for survival actually made the three guys climb onto the fast-moving small boat.
"They actually climbed on."
Zoro said with a mocking tone.
Before Luffy could ask who they were, the three pulled out their knives.
"We are subordinates of 'Buggy the Clown,' feared by gods and men."
"Hand over your—"
..."Sorry, we didn't know who we were dealing with!"
"So you are the famous Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro and... and..."
"My name is Luffy."
"And Lord Luffy, haha."
The three Buggy subordinates had just pulled out their knives when Luffy and Zoro smashed them, giving them bumps all over their heads. Who were they messing with?
"Alright, you made us lose our companion."
"Row hard until you see an island."
Zoro leaned against the mast, ordering the three guys.
"Yes!"
Under their intimidation, the three could only obediently comply... Meanwhile, with Bai Yun.
"Stop!!"
"You thieving woman! Hand over the map!!!"
"Damn it! If we don't get the map back quickly, we'll lose our lives."
"That's right!! I don't want to die by the captain's cannonball."
Nami, following her destined path, had stolen Buggy's Grand Line map.
She was currently trying to escape her pursuers.
Fate's trick had swapped the person falling from the sky with Bai Yun.
"Bang!!!"
Bai Yun landed precisely between Nami and Buggy's subordinates.
"Ouch! My old back."
"Good thing I replicated Luffy's physique beforehand, or I would have been gone after that fall."
As the smoke cleared, Bai Yun and Nami met each other's gaze.
Nami's eyes lit up, but Bai Yun spoke first.
"Boss!"
"I'm here to back you up, Boss!"
Nami was stunned. 'Who are you calling Boss?! Isn't that my line?!!'
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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