Gin changed into the spare clothes on the ship. As soon as he entered the room, Aqua, who was lounging on the sofa, sent him to clean the toilet.
Hearing that he had to do such dirty work as soon as he arrived, Gin, the combat captain of the pirates, almost couldn’t hold back his temper.
Since they needed to act in the Baratie, after some hesitation, he obediently went into the toilet, picked up the toilet brush, and started cleaning.
Seeing this, Aqua leisurely grabbed the chips beside her and tossed them into her mouth, a cheeky smile on her face: “These days of not having to work are really great!”
“Hello, is this the Baratie, Infinite Dream?”
The restaurant’s left door was pushed open, and under the escort of several muscular bodyguards, a middle-aged man in a suit and a dignified, elegant woman walked in with an adorable little girl.
The speaker was the elegant woman in the fringed cheongsam with permed hair.
From the single-mast boat’s flag outside, this family seemed to be nobles from a nearby small kingdom.
Business was coming, seeing Aqua still lying on the sofa, King slowly put down the dumbbell in his hand and walked over.
“That’s right, please have a seat first.”
King’s oppressive face came closer, the invisible pressure in the air making the black-clad bodyguards on either side subconsciously grip their guns and swords at their waists.
Out of professional duty, they must prevent any dangerous individuals from approaching the noble lord!
“Wow! Big brother, are you King? I’ve seen your picture in the newspaper!”
The little girl in a princess dress exclaimed, taking two steps forward and staring at King with clear, big eyes.
A bright smile spread across her little face, completely unafraid of his terrifying visage.
“You know me?” King was long accustomed to being admired.
“Sorry, since seeing the news, this child has been clamoring to meet the hero of the East Blue,” the elegant woman softly explained.
“I see, please have a seat then.”
King turned and pulled out a chair at the nearby dining table.
“Thank you.”
Coming from a noble family, the little girl lifted her skirt and thanked him before skipping to the chair and sitting down.
Seeing no malice from this man, the black-clad bodyguards retracted their hands, though they still kept a watchful eye on King, their nerves taut.
The nobleman and the elegant woman followed, straightening their clothes before gracefully taking their seats.
“This is the menu. See what you’d like to eat.”
King handed over the menu, the special version with prices ten times higher.
Whenever they encountered noble-looking or obviously wealthy customers, they used this refined menu, as instructed by Icey earlier.
Although the ingredients and cooking methods were the same, the careful presentation transformed it into a distinctly high-end dish.
That’s the value of art!
“Mommy, mommy, look, it’s Lady Aqua!”
Shifting her gaze from King, the noble little girl quickly noticed Aqua lounging on the sofa.
Hearing the respectful “Lady” title, Aqua, who was planning to slack off, instantly perked up, bouncing off the sofa.
“Adorable child, you’ve heard of this goddess’s name?” Aqua said proudly.
“Of course! The Water Goddess, Hero of the East Blue!” The little girl’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
“Can’t resist you, since you want to see it so much, I’ll show you this goddess’s specialty.”
Aqua waved her arms, opening the two folding fans in her hands, “Nature’s Beauty~”
Even though the girl had just mentioned the title…
Whoosh!
Two delicate water jets sprayed out, crowned with a rainbow.
The little girl was immediately stunned by the beautiful sight, her big eyes turning into Luffy-like starry eyes, and she clapped in delight.
Even the well-versed nobleman and elegant woman showed a look of amazement.
At this moment, Gin, who had finished cleaning the toilet, walked out slowly.
“Gin, you’re just in time, take the order to Icey and bring out the dishes.”
Aqua, unceremoniously using this cheap labor, directly ordered him around.
This wretched woman!
Despite Gin’s resentment, he still walked to the dining table and picked up the ordered menu.
‘All this is for the smooth execution of the plan!’ He consoled himself inwardly.
Until he turned and walked into the kitchen, the bodyguards behind the nobleman only then withdrew their hands from their weapons.
Compared to King, they were even more nervous this time.
Often mingling in the East Blue, they clearly recognized Gin’s pirate identity!
To be safe, the leading bodyguard stepped forward and whispered a few words to the nobleman.
Upon hearing this, the nobleman’s face changed slightly, but seeing his smiling daughter and thinking of the justice-filled news about this restaurant, he waved the bodyguard away.
“Huh? Why haven’t I seen this big brother in the newspaper? Lady Aqua, is he a new crew member?”
“And why haven’t I seen the super handsome boss who defeated the big pirates?!”
The little girl’s continuous questions showed her genuine fondness for this sea restaurant.
Aqua’s attitude was surprisingly good for this respectful little girl, patiently answering.
Seeing nothing to do, King returned to his corner—his social anxiety really was a problem!
The nobleman and the elegant woman said little during the meal, while Aqua and the three or four-year-old girl chatted warmly.
Eventually, Aqua even successfully converted the naive girl to the Aqua religion, becoming a loyal little follower.
During the conversation, Aqua didn’t forget to order Gin around, embodying arrogance.
During the girl’s anticipation, the restaurant owner Icey appeared briefly, leaving an autographed photo before returning to the kitchen.
Besides his daily training with Armament Haki using utensils, he also secretly observed Gin’s every move.
The meal ended without incident.
“The food was excellent. We’ll come again and bring friends if we have the chance.”
The nobleman wiped his mouth with a napkin, got up with his wife and daughter, and prepared to leave.
The little girl seemed very reluctant, but she walked away under her mother’s urging, looking back at every step.
Before leaving, under the nobleman’s instruction, the lead bodyguard found King in the corner and quietly reminded him of a few things.
King’s expression changed slightly, his heartbeat quickening.
Until the group left the restaurant, Aqua noticed the little girl’s doll left on the chair.
Following the principle of never doing things herself if free labor was available, she casually waved at Gin: “Gin, go and return their forgotten item.”
Gin’s mouth twitched, feeling an urge to beat this person up.
Even so, he nodded, smiling as he took the doll and walked out.
Seeing the wanted pirate chasing after them, the bodyguards again reached for their weapons.
“Your item, you forgot it.” Gin handed the doll to the little girl, his voice a bit hoarse.
“Thank you, big brother!” The little girl took the doll with both hands, sweetly thanking him.
Seeing the innocent, bright smile on her face stirred a certain emotion deep within Gin, his pupils contracting in a daze.
After a few seconds, he regained his senses and moved his lips to force a smile: “You’re welcome.”
Despite being only in his early twenties and having followed Krieg for just a few years, he couldn’t remember the last time he spoke such courteous words, feeling completely out of place.
Just like that, Gin stood at the door, watching the noble girl board the ship and disappear from sight.
“Gin, what are you standing outside for? Hurry back and clean the dishes!”
Only when Aqua urged him from inside did he shake his head heavily, turning back to the restaurant.
After finally finishing cleaning, thinking of taking a break, he was called over by Icey in the kitchen to help pound beef balls.
Thump thump thump, thump thump thump.
Soon, the kitchen echoed with the sound of pounding beef.
“Nice job, Gin, your steady force shows you’ve been training, right?”
Icey sat on a stool, sipping iced cola while chatting with Gin.
“When doing business at sea, I practiced out of boredom.”
Gin’s face was expressionless, fearing his true identity would be discovered, he subtly held back some strength.
Pretend, keep pretending.
Icey chuckled inwardly, smiling: “Not bad, at least you have a talent for hand-pounding beef balls!”
“You’re too kind, Icey.”
Their conversation paused there, leaving only the sound of the steel rod hitting the beef in the kitchen.
After a period of silence, Gin couldn’t help but speak first.
“Icey, the noble just now said you’re heroes of the East Blue who defeated two big pirates.”
“With such strength, you could do many things. Why run a sea restaurant?”
This was what he most wanted to understand during his few hours on the Infinite Dream.
The people in this restaurant were undoubtedly strong; wreaking havoc at sea would earn more than ten years of restaurant earnings!
“Just for fun, no particular reason. The sea is chaotic; doing small business is also good.”
Icey stirred the ice in his cola, calmly showing off while reminding him, “Keep going, don’t stop.”
“Oh, alright…”
Gin obediently continued, his eyes secretly examining the kitchen layout and food storage.
Over ten minutes later, fifty pounds of beef were finally pounded into a sticky meat mass.
Icey rolled up his sleeves and kicked the now-useless Gin out of the kitchen.
“For fun? That sounds nice, but aren’t you essentially bounty hunters after pirate bounties?”
Gin sneered inwardly, muttering as he left the kitchen.
“Huh? Gin, what did you say about bounties?”
Aqua’s sharp hearing caught his
words, her blue eyes blinking towards him.
Gin was startled by her keen hearing and hurriedly replied, “N-nothing, I meant you’re heroes of the East Blue who defeated pirates, so you must be close to the Navy, right?”
What? Not about bounties coming after us…
Aqua lost interest but still responded to Gin’s query: “We’re not close to the Navy. In fact, Icey killed a Navy Captain named Moss before.”
Recalling the Captain who colluded with the sinister glasses guy to oppress the residents of Frost Town, Aqua couldn’t help but get angry.
She didn’t care before, but now Frost Town’s residents were her super cute devout followers!
“I see, wait! Aqua, what did you say?!”
Gin’s whole body trembled, and his face changed drastically, unable to stay calm.
“You said you killed Captain Moss, Captain Moss of Navy Branch 153?!”
Even his words trembled.
“Should be, that guy joined forces with the Black Cat Pirates to bully this goddess’s followers. He deserved to die. Do you know him?” Aqua asked in confusion.
Meanwhile, King in the corner also looked over.
Gin clenched his fists, his eyes showing violent, savage light as he remembered something bad.
“My hometown and family were destroyed by pirates brought by that bastard!!”
Young Gin lived in a village on an island in the East Blue, with a strict father, a gentle mother, and a younger brother who had just learned to walk—a supposed happy family.
However, this happiness was utterly destroyed by a pirate invasion, all family and friends perishing in flames.
He was picking wild fruits on the mountain and narrowly escaped this catastrophe.
After endless sorrow, Gin began a wandering, fleeing life.
When he finally saved enough money through hardships to find Major Mouse (the one who colluded with Arlong to split Nami’s 100 million Beli) to report Captain Moss, the major took the money and vanished.
From then on, his heart deadened. He followed Krieg onto the pirate path, never looking back—until now.
“Though I recently heard that damned bastard left Navy Branch 153, I didn’t expect him to be killed by you…”
Gin’s eyes reddened, his expression dazed.
Blood slowly oozed from his clenched fists, dripping onto the floor.
“Such things aren’t recorded in the news, right? Wait a minute…”
Maybe because her brain evaporated some water after resting, Aqua, uncharacteristically smart, caught the loophole in Gin’s words.
“When we saved you, didn’t you say you’d call your family once you reached town?”
At this moment, King, who had been silent, stood up, the sound of his Emperor Engine gradually increasing.
“Earlier, that noble bodyguard also specifically reminded me, Gin, you’re not a merchant but a wanted pirate, right?”
Hearing this, Gin was shocked. His sentiment and agitation were instantly replaced by vicious ferocity, and killing intent surfaced in his eyes.
“Didn’t expect to be exposed so soon, in that case…”
Before he could finish, Aqua spread her hands, nonchalantly interrupting: “What’s up, Gin, just say you’re a pirate, there’s nothing to hide, it doesn’t matter.”
The simple-minded idiot goddess didn’t care if you were a pirate or a civilian, as long as she liked you and you could help her work (key point), it didn’t matter much!
“You don’t mind I’m a pirate?” Gin was shocked, forgetting to act.
“What’s there to mind about pirates? I like fun pirate crew members like those in the Red-Haired Pirates.”
Thinking of the pirates who sang and drank with her at Windmill Village’s banquet, a faint smile naturally appeared on Aqua’s lips.
Seeing Gin still dumbfounded, she stepped forward and patted his shoulder: “Stay on the ship if you want, this goddess will cover you.”
Free labor shouldn’t be let go easily!
Seeing Aqua’s sincere eyes, the power brewing in Gin’s arms dissipated, and he was thoroughly confused.
On one side was the captain Krieg he swore allegiance to, on the other was the kind “revenge benefactor” who knew his pirate identity.
At least at this moment, he didn’t know what to do.
“You seem very hesitant.”
“When you’re hesitant, no matter what you do, you’ll regret it. Since you’ll regret it, choose the easier option now~”
Aqua’s eyes lit up, a great opportunity to promote the Aqua religion!
“An easier option?”
Gin repeated subconsciously.
Though he hadn’t made his final choice, the killing intent in his eyes had long vanished.
Sensing this obvious change, Icey, silently standing behind him, quietly put away his black kitchen knife.
“Huh? Icey, when did you come out?” Aqua belatedly asked.
“Nothing, seeing you guys chatting so well, I came out to check.”
“Hahaha, Icey, let me tell you, Gin here is actually a pirate!”
“Oh, I knew.”
“What? You’re not surprised?”
“What’s there to be surprised about.”
Icey shrugged, not even glancing at Gin, turning back to the kitchen.
Though exposed, this guy still had value as bait. Before catching Krieg, his patience was boundless!
“Tch, so boring.”
Aqua flipped Icey off, looking back at Gin, “By the way, Gin, as a wanted pirate, how much is your bounty?”
“Um, nine hundred and fifty thousand Beli.” Gin answered truthfully.
Aqua was stunned, her smile turning sinister: “How much?”
“Nine hundred and fifty thousand Beli.”
“Damn pirate! How dare you mess around in our restaurant, Divine Fist!!”
Boom!
Caught off guard, Gin was sent flying by the divine flaming fist.
……
Because Icey didn’t express his opinion, Gin remained at the sea restaurant as a temporary worker.
Night fell, stars dotted the sky.
The Infinite Dream slowly sailed along its set course.
Late at night.
A figure moved stealthily to the restaurant’s kitchen on the first floor.
Relying on his daytime observations, Gin sneaked to the area storing fine wine.
His face is gloomy, and he pulled out a packet of green powder from his clothes.
Yes, this was the task given by Krieg, who specialized in poison gas guns: poison the sea restaurant, using the simplest method to get the restaurant’s treasures!
With the Water Goddess Aqua around, the Infinite Dream had no water tank for fresh water, only these fine wines.
Opening the barrel lid, Gin stared blankly at the faint moonlit wine.
After a struggle deep inside, he hardened his heart and poured all the powder into the barrel!
The simple act of stirring the wine drained his strength, and Gin’s eyes were empty as he leaned against the kitchen wall.
As a pirate, how could there be an easy choice, Aqua…
His blind loyalty to Krieg doomed the outcome.
As he staggered to leave, the kitchen door was gently pushed open.
Gin was startled, looking for a place to hide, but Aqua’s stealthy question came from the door.
“Huh? Gin, what are you doing here, sneaking a drink too?”
With the divine eyes of a goddess, she could see everything clearly even in the dark.
At this moment, Gin’s fear and panic were apparent.
“Don’t be nervous, I often sneak drinks when Icey doesn’t know. He’s sleeping like a dead pig now!”
She thought Gin was afraid of being caught drinking.
Before Gin could speak, the wine-addicted Aqua quickly scooped out a ladle of red wine.
“Wait! Aqua!”
Gin couldn’t overcome his conscience, rushing to stop her.
But Aqua, quick as a flash, had already taken a sip.
“Are you an idiot? Shouting so loudly would wake Icey, and we’d both die!” Aqua whispered angrily.
She seemed more afraid than the guilty Gin.
“Aqua, you’re okay?” Gin was incredulous.
“Don’t underestimate this goddess’s alcohol tolerance, idiot, it’s not that easy to get drunk!”
Aqua frowned, impatiently urging, “If you don’t drink, get out, don’t increase my risk of getting caught!”
She clearly misunderstood Gin’s meaning.
“Thank goodness…”
Seeing the lively Aqua, Gin breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away his tears.
The mission undoubtedly failed, but his tense nerves relaxed like never before.
Only then did Gin recognize his true feelings: This was indeed the easier choice now…
No longer hesitating, he suggested Aqua steal other better wines.
After sneaking drinks, Aqua returned to her room. Gin stood up, decisively pouring the poisoned wine into the sea.
On the second deck, Icey stood in the dark, arms crossed, watching Gin’s every move…
Here, Gin’s past is slightly enriched. If you don’t like it, please lightly criticize. He won’t board the ship; instead, he’ll stay in the East Blue doing good deeds to atone and promote the Aqua religion (not).
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