“Shahahaha! You two are pretty lucky. Ships rarely pass through this route. On average, only one comes by every three months.
Hachi! Bring over some food and water! Don’t let these two lucky fellows die here!”
Seeing Sanji and Zeff’s skeletal bodies and cracked lips, Arlong had already roughly guessed what had happened.
“Lucky? If this counts as luck, then I’d rather be unlucky for the rest of my life…”
Zeff remained sprawled weakly on the rock without even opening his eyes. It was only after a little sugar water was fed into his stomach that he barely regained some energy.
“Don’t say that. Look on the bright side, at least you’ve been rescued, haven’t you?”
The ship’s doctor aboard Arlong’s vessel also examined their physical condition. Although both were in terrible shape, neither was going to die.
When he learned that the two had been stranded here for a full eighty-three days, his first reaction was not belief, but suspicion that their lack of food, dehydration, heatstroke, and various other factors had caused them to hallucinate.
After all, according to their account, they had gone without food for two whole months. That was simply not something an ordinary person could survive.
Zeff was one thing, but even the child beside him had managed to hold on.
If Judge had been here, he would have understood what had happened. Although Sanji displayed none of the traits of a superhuman, Sanji was actually the most perfect creation according to Judge’s ideals.
It was precisely because of the Lineage Factor hidden within his body that Sanji had also managed to survive.
Several more days passed after Zeff and Sanji were taken away from that rock.
“Boss Arlong, this man… is a pirate. Red-Leg Zeff, captain of the Cook Pirates.”
“What about the brat?”
“We couldn’t find any information on him. He’s probably just an ordinary child.”
“A pirate gave all the food he had to this child? Interesting. Did this guy suddenly discover his conscience?”
After their assignment to the East Blue was confirmed, Arlong and the others’ intelligence network had also begun extending into the region. Had this been a couple of years earlier, Arlong usually would not have recognized a pirate with a bounty of only a few tens of millions.
“According to him, he has no intention of remaining a pirate. He wants to change careers and become a chef, then open an ocean-going restaurant in the East Blue.
He’s a good cook. Aside from takoyaki, his food tastes better than Hachi’s.”
An ordinary person who suffered such a disaster at sea would need several months of recuperation to recover their health, even if they survived.
But Zeff was a pirate who had spent some time adventuring on the Grand Line and ultimately escaped unscathed; his foundation was still there.
On the first day, he could only drink sugar water and milk to replenish his energy. On the second, he began eating liquid foods. After three to five days, he had already recovered enough to move around.
Perhaps because he had not cooked in so long and was worried his skills might have grown rusty, he borrowed Arlong’s kitchen and prepared an enormous feast.
Hachi watched him throughout the entire process, both because he wanted to observe Zeff’s culinary skills and because he wanted to prevent him from trying anything underhanded.
However, Sanji was the one who enjoyed the meal most, so they stopped being wary of the one-legged man.
After spending several days together, Sanji had also become familiar with everyone aboard the ship, and he could not help becoming curious about something.
“Um… excuse me… are there any Mermaid among your crew?”
Mermaids and Fish-Men came from the same kingdom. Sanji was curious whether any of Arlong’s companions were the legendary beautiful mermaids.
A chorus of laughter answered Sanji. It was hardly a taboo subject. Plenty of people wanted to behold the beauty of Mermaids, let alone a child.
“Never thought a brat like you would already be thinking about that. But you’re going to be disappointed. There aren’t any Mermaids on our ship right now.
If you can reach Fish-Man Island someday, you’ll have a chance to meet them as long as you obey our rules.”
“Rules?”
“Boss Arlong, you should use the proper terminology at a time like this. They’re called the laws of the Ryugu Kingdom…”
“That’s right, that’s exactly what I meant. We’re actually very peace-loving. As long as you don’t harbor any improper intentions, you’ll come away from the Ryugu Kingdom thoroughly satisfied with your trip.
But if you have any wicked ideas, the depths of the sea will become your final grave.”
Zeff took out a portion of his treasures as thanks to Arlong for rescuing them, then asked Arlong to make a slight detour and drop them off near a renowned shipyard in the East Blue.
Zeff planned to commission a ship here and turn it into his future restaurant, while that annoying brat Sanji would become the first partner of his kitchen.
Although it was called a detour, it did not delay them for long. Arlong soon returned to Cocoyasi and continued running his amusement park, occasionally checking on Nami’s studies.
Nothing particularly significant seemed to have changed in Cocoyasi Village. The only difference was that the hulking Jack was gone.
Jack had always been the quiet and taciturn sort. Unlike Hachi, he had never enthusiastically mingled with the local residents, so not many people paid attention to him.
But Jack’s departure also demonstrated one thing: this was not the Fish-Men’s country. Although they had temporarily leased this land, they would eventually leave.
When Arlong went to check Nami’s homework as usual, Nami asked him a new question.
“Will you leave too?”
“Of course. This is merely where I’ve been assigned. Personnel transfers are common on Fish-Man Island. Even I don’t know where I’ll be a few years from now.
Maybe I’ll return to Fish-Man Island for a new post, or perhaps I’ll oversee a new amusement park project in another sea area. His Majesty Nereus is very pleased with me at the moment. You could say my future is exceptionally bright.”
In Arlong’s eyes, Nami was also an important factor in his promotion, so he answered nearly every question she asked.
“After you leave, will you ever come back?”
“That’s hard to say. The world is a vast place. Perhaps in a couple of years, I’ll retire and spend the rest of my days on Fish-Man Island.
It’s a wonderful place. My younger sister runs a café there. Although she sometimes causes me a great deal of anxiety, she’s still my little sister, after all.”
Nami would never utter the words “Shyarly’s Big Brother,” which would send Arlong into a fit, so Arlong did not particularly mind talking to her about his sister.
“What’s wrong? Worried about us parting in the future?”
“Of course not. But if you leave, who’ll bring me books?”
Nami was grateful to Arlong. The arrival of these people had improved Cocoyasi’s surroundings and brought prosperity to the area.
And to Nami, Arlong could be considered a supporter of her dream.
The notes, books, Log Pose, and various drawing tools Arlong had brought her had all benefited Nami immensely.
Although they did not spend much time together ordinarily, she could always run into him whenever she went outside. If Arlong were to suddenly vanish from this place one day just like Jack, Nami would still be very reluctant to see him go.
“That’s easy. Why not consider joining my kingdom? Then we’ll have plenty of chances to see each other.”
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