Infinite Dream Departing Cocoyasi Village
Shortly after the Infinite Dream left Cocoyasi Village, a large sailing ship slowly approached.
This was a luxurious and well-guarded travel ship, three stories high and about five times the size of the Infinite Dream.
Once a specially designed gangway connected the two ships, a group of lavishly dressed individuals entered the restaurant.
Sitting at the front counter and sipping tea as usual, Icey looked up at the group, feeling puzzled.
Their travel ship didn’t seem to lack food, and they certainly didn’t look like dangerous pirates.
“Wow! Hello, hello! Are you the captain of the sea restaurant Infinite Dream, Mr. Icey?”
The first to enter was a young woman in a feathered coat, her long, slender legs exposed. She had the standard voluptuous figure of a One Piece beauty.
Seeing Icey, she excitedly rushed over, “It must be you! You look just as handsome as in the newspaper!”
Following her, the men and women behind her gasped in surprise.
“Oh! The blue-haired girl folding napkins into castles must be the water goddess Aqua! She’s stunning!”
“Focus, people! Muscles and strength are what real men value! Mr. King, could I get your autograph?”
“I heard you punched half an island to pieces. Is that true?”
…
This bizarre scene left Icey, Aqua, and King a bit bewildered.
“Newspaper? What newspaper?”
Icey slowly put down his teacup, catching the keyword in their conversation.
“Ah, you haven’t seen it yet?”
The young woman pulled a fresh newspaper from her indescribable cleavage, holding it out to Icey with both hands.
Who keeps newspapers in such places…
Despite silently mocking her, Icey took the newspaper.
If he guessed correctly, it was likely their defeat of the Black Cat Pirates and Captain Morgan had made the news.
Opening the still-warm newspaper, the vivid headline immediately caught his eye.
“Rising Stars of the East Blue! The Mysterious Restaurant That Defeated the Buggy Pirates and Black Cat Pirates – Sea Restaurant Infinite Dream!!”
Following the headline were illustrations from their battles at Orange Town in the Conomi Islands, Fossa Town, and the Black Cat Pirates’ base, along with detailed descriptions.
Skimming through it, Icey noticed that although most of it was true, the descriptions were somewhat exaggerated.
For example, “Shocking! Juggling Buggy the Clown and Sending Captain Kuro Running for His Life, The True Identity of the Restaurant Owner Icey is…”, “Summoning Floods to Drown a Town, the Measurements of the Blue-Haired Goddess Aqua”.
Next to these were descriptions of King: “Silent Thunder Roars, This Man’s Rage Evaporated an Entire Beach in an Instant!”
The bold text, paired with King’s stern, imposing profile, really conveyed an intense sense of pressure.
The person in charge of East Blue newspapers certainly knew their craft.
No wonder this group was so excited.
Notably, there was no mention of Captain Morgan’s collusion with the Black Cat Pirates, likely due to deliberate suppression.
That was standard Navy procedure.
Ignoring the women surrounding him, Icey glanced at the other two directions in the restaurant.
Upon realizing these were fans, Aqua immediately switched from bewildered to boasting mode, starting to brainwash—no, preach the benefits of the Axis Cult.
King remained much calmer. Apart from his naturally stern face, this situation of being misunderstood and idolized as a strongman was his daily life back in the One Punch Man world.
Yes, he was quite used to it!
“Mr. Icey, Mr. Icey, how did you defeat Captain Kuro? That vile pirate once plundered my hometown. You’ve done a great service for the East Blue!”
The constant barrage of questions from the women began to annoy Icey.
This was a serious sea restaurant, not a fan meet-and-greet!
“First of all, welcome aboard. But if you don’t have any business, please leave. We need to run our restaurant.”
Icey patted the table, quieting the chatter.
“We do have business! We’re here to eat!”
“Yes, we’re so excited to taste food made by the heroes who defeated great pirates!”
Their enthusiastic response made Icey feel at ease. “Then please take a seat and wait a moment.”
“King, keep an eye on things. Aqua, come with me.”
He stood up and walked into the kitchen, with Aqua reluctantly following.
“Raise the prices to triple when they order,” Icey instructed as he tied his apron.
Cooking was just a side gig for him. He’d be worked to death if the prices were fair with so many people.
“But they came specifically to see us,” Aqua said, blinking her wise eyes, unable to understand.
“That’s why we charge more. They won’t mind. If they do, kick them out,” Icey replied.
People who could travel on a luxury ship in pirate-infested seas likely wouldn’t mind spending extra.
“But, but…” Aqua still felt uneasy.
“You get half of the profits.”
Instantly, Aqua’s eyes lit up, “Then raise it ten times. Three times is too little for me to calculate on my fingers.”
“… You never cease to amaze me.”
Icey suddenly felt this shameless goddess had even more flexible morals than he did!
As he had guessed, those outside didn’t lack money. Even at ten times the usual price, they didn’t bat an eye!
While Icey, Aqua, and King were busy serving their generous customers…
Goa Kingdom, Windmill Village, Makino’s Bar
The villagers sat together, drinking beer, with today’s newspaper on the bar.
“I can’t believe Icey and Aqua caused such a stir in less than a month out at sea.”
The village chief beamed with pride. These were people from their village!
“It’s quite remarkable. They seem to have found reliable companions.”
Makino, standing at the bar, smiled gently.
“Ha ha ha! Look, the sail we built is on the front page! Infinite Dream is famous!”
Three carpenters, beaming with joy, held up the newspaper, proudly showing the silhouette of the Infinite Dream.
“Aqua did great too, though I wonder if her intelligence has recovered a bit.”
Happy for Icey and Aqua, the other villagers couldn’t help but worry about Aqua’s mental state.
While Windmill Village was lively and cheerful, the atmosphere was more tense in the bandit Dadan’s house.
“That damn bastard! So powerful, yet he still tricked us out of our treasure!”
“Sabo, when we set sail, we’ll make him pay back double!”
Ace and Sabo, recognizing Icey’s face in the paper, were fuming.
Next to them, Luffy stretched his rubber hands to cover his face, hiding his bright smile.
Recently, he had shared a sake cup with Ace and Sabo, becoming sworn brothers. Seeing his two brothers so angry, he didn’t want to reveal his true thoughts:
Icey and Aqua were indeed amazing, and they found incredibly strong companions, just like real great pirates!
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