After leaving Shells Town, their small ship once again sailed toward their next destination. Beneath the midday sun, the sea of East Blue appeared calm. The blue sky stretched endlessly without a single cloud, while the sound of the waves continued striking the hull in a steady rhythm.
Luffy sat casually near the small house on the ship, leaning his back against the wall while gazing out at the sea.
"So, Nami, where is this Buggy guy now?"
After learning that the Grand Line map Nami had intended to steal from Marine Branch 153 had already been stolen by a pirate named Buggy, Luffy decided to find the pirate and take the map back.
The map was quite important to them. Besides helping determine their direction when entering the Grand Line, having it would also reduce the risk of them getting lost in waters that were far more dangerous.
There was another reason that made Luffy interested in Buggy. If the pirate with a 15 million Berry bounty was indeed strong enough, Luffy could copy him into the Simulation and use him as a training opponent.
Lately, most of the opponents he had already copied were beginning to lose their usefulness. Luffy had grown accustomed to facing multiple opponents at once, so the pressure they provided was no longer as great as before.
Garp's copy was still an exception.
Luffy still used it to train his Haoshoku Haki. Every time he finished fighting his grandfather, he felt that his Haki had become slightly stronger. However, in a direct fight, the difference in their strength was still far too great. Luffy would still go down after a single punch, although now he could at least avoid one attack before being hit by the next.
Besides that, he had also begun trying to awaken Kenbunshoku Haki. Inside the Simulation, Luffy closed his eyes and tried to avoid attacks solely by sensing the presence and emotions of his opponent.
There had been no visible results so far, but Luffy felt that his method was correct. He only needed to keep training.
Nami thought for a moment before finally answering.
"According to the rumors going around, he now controls a town called Orange Town, which is located on Organ Island."
Buggy was actually already on Nami's list of pirates whose treasure she wanted to steal. Because of that, she had been gathering information about the group from the very beginning.
"So, how long do you think it will take us to get there?" Luffy asked.
Nami opened the map and spread it out. She checked their current position, then estimated the distance to Organ Island. Luffy also stood up and moved closer to look at the map from beside her.
"Where are we now?"
"We're here."
Nami pointed at a spot on the map, then moved to a picture of an island.
"And this is Organ Island. Judging by the distance, we might get there in about four days."
"Heh, that's pretty far."
"Yeah. And that's only an estimate under optimal conditions. If we encounter bad weather along the way, it could take longer."
Nami explained at length so that Luffy could understand the conditions of their journey.
"You seem pretty confident in your navigation skills."
Luffy smiled. Most of Nami's explanations were still difficult for him to understand, but he could see that the girl truly mastered her work.
"Of course. That's one of the abilities I'm most proud of besides stealing. You won't find a better navigator than me in East Blue."
Nami puffed out her chest proudly.
"Nishishi! Looks like I've found the best navigator, then."
Luffy grinned widely while holding onto his straw hat.
"Of course."
Nami answered confidently. Without realizing it, she had begun to feel comfortable being around Luffy. The boy was friendly, innocent, and cheerful, completely different from most of the pirates she had ever met.
After talking for a while about the sea and various things about navigation that Luffy did not yet understand very well, Nami entered the small house on the ship to draw a map and record their route.
Meanwhile, Luffy sat beside Zoro, who had been asleep the entire time. He took a fishing rod out of his Inventory and began fishing to pass the time.
Not long afterward, he managed to catch several fish and put them into a bucket.
That was when Zoro woke up. He raised both arms, stretched his body, then let out a long yawn.
"Haaah... that was a good sleep."
Zoro saw Luffy fishing and walked over to him.
"Did you catch enough?"
"Not bad. See for yourself."
Luffy pointed at the bucket, which was already filled with several fish.
"Oh, you're pretty good."
"Do you want to try?"
Luffy pointed at the fishing rod he was holding.
"Yeah, sure. I don't have anything else to do either."
Zoro sat beside Luffy. He still looked curious as he examined the fishing rod. Luffy then took off his straw hat, put his hand inside, and pulled out another fishing rod.
Zoro accepted the tool and examined it.
"Even though this is the second time I've seen it, it's still amazing."
"Pretty amazing, huh?"
"Yeah. Is that also part of your Devil Fruit's power?"
Zoro dipped his bait into the water.
"Not really. It's more accurate to say I got this ability from someone."
"So, it's not magic like you said?"
"No. I said that just to mess with Nami."
Luffy laughed mischievously.
Zoro merely shook his head slightly before returning his attention to the water in front of him.
"By the way, I want to ask you something. Are you a swordsman?"
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
Luffy turned toward him in confusion. From the very beginning, he had fought using his fists, just like his grandfather. So he did not understand why Zoro thought he was a swordsman.
"The wound Morgan had. You were the one who did that, weren't you?"
Luffy nodded, then finally understood what Zoro meant by the question.
"Ahh, that?"
"That wasn't a flying slash like you imagined."
There were indeed not many swordsmen in East Blue who were capable of using flying slashes yet. However, stories about swordsmen who could cut ships in half or unleash slashes from a distance could still often be heard.
Zoro himself had once heard his teacher talk about the ability of a swordsman to cut what he wanted to cut and not cut what he did not want to cut. Because of that, he had briefly assumed that Luffy was a powerful swordsman capable of unleashing flying slashes.
"It's a martial art that turns the human body into a weapon. It's one of the techniques I've already mastered. It's called Rankyaku."
Luffy raised his hand.
"People usually use it with their legs, but I modified it so it could be used with my hands."
Luffy then explained several other techniques he had mastered. Zoro listened carefully, interested in the martial arts techniques he had never heard of before.
"So there are martial arts techniques like that? I had no idea."
"If you want, I can teach you. But not now. The space inside our ship is too limited."
Luffy put his hand into his straw hat and took out the Rokushiki training book from his Inventory, then handed it to Zoro.
"For now, you can read this first so you can understand the techniques better."
Zoro accepted the book and looked at its cover curiously.
The journey continued beneath the blue sky of East Blue. The three of them spent their time with their respective activities, while the ship slowly carried them closer and closer to Organ Island.
Before they knew it, four days had passed.
Ahead of them, the land of Organ Island finally came into view.
They had arrived at Orange Town.