Cherreads

Chapter 25 - Chapter 24: Choose One

"Ohhh, he has thrown Don Krieg out of here!"

"Well done!" said another, congratulating him.

The civilians were happy, but they quickly started leaving the restaurant to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between the restaurant and the Krieg Pirates.

Amidst the commotion, Oliver was frozen for a moment until he snapped out of it and headed to the table where Zoro and Usopp were sitting.

"That was quite a hit," Zoro said.

"I could have done that," Usopp lied.

Oliver was thinking about the two options in front of him, since he had just made Arlong Park more difficult.

'Damn it, damn it. All because I tried to get ahead of things,' Oliver lamented.

"Sanji-san, I'm really sorry, I didn't think that he…" Gin apologized while touching his shoulder.

"Don't apologize for feeling guilty," Zeff spoke. "We cooks here have acted according to our own beliefs."

"Boss, are you protecting Sanji too?! Why?" Patty asked.

"That's right, this is all his fault! If it weren't for him, who knows what would have happened!" another cook said, referring to Oliver.

"He wants to destroy our restaurant!"

"Oi, Sanji! You're not doing this just to take the Boss's place, are you?!"

"This is what you've always wanted, am I wrong?!"

Each of the cooks started blaming Sanji.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, YOU IDIOTS!!" Zeff shouted, silencing the rest. "Have any of you ever been truly hungry? Have you ever gone days without food or water at sea? Do you have any idea what that agony is like?"

"What do you mean, Boss?" a cook asked.

"I don't have time to talk about the past. Don Krieg is going to come back for the restaurant, so if you want to leave, just use the back door," Zeff told them.

"I'll stay and fight! I won't let them attack the restaurant!"

"Me neither! This restaurant is my home!"

"Yeah! I've got nowhere else to go!"

As the cooks declared they would fight for the restaurant, Luffy was talking to Zoro and Usopp while Oliver remained silent.

"He's a good guy, right?" Luffy said with a smile.

"I don't care! Let's just get out of here already!" Usopp said fearfully.

"Relax, the enemy is just a bunch of sick people," Zoro said, referring to Don Krieg's pirates.

"Yeah, and besides, I have to fight that guy! If he's that strong, I'll have to do it sooner or later. By the way, Gin..." Luffy spoke to him. "You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but you've been there, haven't you?"

"I still can't believe what happened to us," Gin said, holding his head. "On the seventh day there, I'm not sure if it was a dream or if it was real. It happened too fast—our fleet of 50 ships… was destroyed by a single man!"

"You've got to be kidding!"

"What did you say?!"

"JUST ONE MAN?!"

Everyone present couldn't believe Gin's words—that a single man was capable of destroying 50 ships.

"Before we even realized it, our ships were sinking one after another. If it hadn't been for the storm, our main ship would have been destroyed too. I don't even know how many ships made it out—it was a nightmare," Gin recalled.

"When we saw that man's eyes, it felt like we were already dead. I don't want to remember those terrifying Hawk Eyes!" he said, completely terrified.

"WHAT?!" Zoro was shocked upon hearing that name.

"Then it must have been Hawk Eyes," Zeff said.

"HAWK EYES?!" the cooks shouted.

"You said his eyes were like a hawk's. That's proof enough. Judging by what he did to your ships, it had to be him!" Zeff said, shocking many.

"H-Hawk Eyes?! Who is he?" Usopp, impressed, asked since he didn't know.

"Yeah, I wonder that too," Luffy said.

"That's the man I'm looking for," Zoro told them, drawing their attention. "Ever since Johnny told me about him, and now this..."

As they talked, Oliver was deep in thought about what to do.

"Out there, those sea wolves are coming aboard the pirate admiral Don Krieg's galleon like zombies! They're the wildest pirates in the East Blue! If you want to dream, do it when this crisis is over!" Patty shouted.

'I choose Arlong Park.'

[Path chosen]

[Blocking Baratie Path]

[Mission: Defeat the Arlong Pirates and rescue Cocoyashi Village]

[Reward: 51,000,000 Belly, Talent Gacha Token, and Devil Fruit Gacha Token]

'It was my mistake, so I have to fix it.'

"WHAT THE HELL?!" everyone shouted.

All of a sudden, Don Krieg's galleon was effortlessly sliced into three pieces, making the sea stir violently.

"Damn it! Nami, Yosaku, and Johnny are still outside on the ship!" Zoro shouted.

"Crap! It might already be too late!" Usopp yelled.

"Raise the anchors!" Zeff ordered.

Everyone ran out of the restaurant to look for the Going Merry, but they didn't find it. Instead, they only saw Johnny and Yosaku floating in the sea.

"ANIKI!!" both swordsmen shouted as they swam.

"Yosaku! Johnny! Are you guys okay?" Luffy asked.

"Where's the ship? What happened to Nami?" Zoro asked.

"Aniki, she's gone," Yosaku said.

"NAMI-ANEKI…!!"

"...SHE TOOK ALL THE TREASURE AND RAN AWAY!"

Both swordsmen shouted, shocking the entire crew.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" everyone yelled upon hearing the news.

'And she left just when I changed the enemies at Arlong Park,' Oliver thought. "Yosaku, Johnny, get on."

The two swordsmen grabbed his hand and climbed aboard the Baratie.

Yosaku and Johnny explained everything that had happened, every detail—including how they had thought about spying on her while she changed clothes, only for her to push them into the sea and escape with the Going Merry.

"And that's how she got away!!" Johnny shouted in complete regret.

"Damn it! She took advantage of us!" Zoro yelled angrily, punching a wall.

"That ship was a gift from Kaya!!" Usopp shouted furiously.

"Wait! I can see it! It's the Going Merry!" Luffy shouted, spotting the ship.

"I think we can catch up to her," Oliver said, seeing it in the distance.

"Where's your ship?" Luffy asked Johnny and Yosaku.

"We still have it, but..." they responded.

"Zoro, Usopp, Oliver, leave immediately! Go after Nami using their ship!" Luffy ordered the three of them.

"It doesn't matter, let her go. There's no need to chase that woman," Zoro said.

"No! Nami is going to be our navigator and no one else!!" Luffy said, looking at Zoro.

"Fine. What a stubborn captain," Zoro said. "Alright, Usopp, Oliver, let's go!"

"Zoro-Aniki, the ship is ready!" both swordsmen shouted.

"Luffy, what about you?" Zoro asked.

"I still haven't finished paying off my debt to the restaurant, so I can't leave yet," Luffy told his crew.

"Be careful. Things around here are getting weird," Zoro warned.

At that moment, the pirates started screaming at the man arriving on a small boat.

"That man is…" Zoro stared at him, recognizing his target.

"Zoro, who is he?" Luffy asked, looking at his face.

"Hawk Eyes Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro said upon seeing his goal.

The pirates looked in terror at the pirate who had attacked them.

"Bastard!! Why do you hate us so much to chase us like this?" asked one of Don Krieg's pirates.

Mihawk looked around as if it were nothing.

"I'm just killing my free time," he said, angering the pirate.

"DIE!!" the pirate shouted, firing at him with two pistols.

Mihawk drew his sword, easily deflecting the bullets.

"Did he miss?" one of the pirates said in shock.

"It was deflected. No matter how many times you shoot at him, the result will be the same. He changed the bullet's trajectory with the tip of his sword," Zoro explained. "I've never seen such an elegant sword."

"There is no strength in a sword without delicacy," Mihawk told him.

"And did you slice the ship with that same sword too?" Zoro asked.

"That's right," he replied.

"You really are the strongest," Zoro said, completely thrilled. "I set sail to find you!!"

"What is it that you seek?" Mihawk asked.

"To be the BEST!" Zoro said, tying his bandana around his head.

--

--

I would like to thank Jordan, CJ Kennedy and Albion3000 for supporting me on patreon. Thank you so much.

More Chapters