[U.T] Ch 15: Easy-to-Fool Idiots!

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With the help of his Trait System, Luen didn't even need directions to find Rika's family restaurant.

Luffy, his mouth stuffed full of food, saw Luen walk in and quickly swallowed his bite. "Did you get it?"

"Buggy took it." Luen held up a piece of paper with scribbles on it.

"Buggy? Who's that? Is he strong?" Luffy asked curiously.

"He's got a bounty of 15 million Berries. For the East Blue, that's not bad." Luen replied with a smirk.

"15 million Berries? If I take him down, does that mean my bounty will be that high too?" Luffy's eyes lit up at the mention of a bounty.

"Maybe." Luen watched Luffy's excitement and couldn't help but smile.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"Alright! Then let's go take down this Buggy guy and get the sea chart back!" Luffy rolled up his sleeves, fired up for a fight.

"Wait, you're really going to pick a fight with an entire pirate crew just to increase your bounty?" Zoro sighed, feeling like he'd joined the wrong ship.

Before Luen had arrived, he had already confirmed with Luffy that, aside from Luen, he was the second official crew member of this so-called pirate crew.

And their "pirate ship" was just a small boat docked at the harbor.

Now, they were about to wage war on Buggy's crew just for a bounty? He didn't fear the fight, but wasn't Luffy being a little too reckless? Where was the dignity of a captain?

"It's not just for the bounty. If we want to reach the Grand Line, we need that sea chart he stole," Luen pointed out. "You want to be the world's greatest swordsman, right? You won't find that title in the East Blue. Only in the Grand Line can you fulfill your ambition."

Zoro smirked. "Alright then! Buggy's head is mine!"

Luen chuckled. "Awesome!"

Yep, two ridiculously easy-to-fool idiots.

After finalizing their plan, Luen enjoyed a hearty meal at Rika's restaurant.

Thanks to his Beast Physique (Blue) trait, his appetite wasn't as monstrous as Luffy's, but it was still several times that of a normal person.

Luckily, since Luen and his crew had taken down Morgan and freed the town from his tyranny, the grateful townspeople rushed to Rika's restaurant with all the food they could offer.

Luen wasn't one to be polite in times like these—accepting their gratitude by eating their food was the best way to keep the festive atmosphere going.

Watching him eat the food they had brought, the townspeople smiled with satisfaction.

After the meal, the local Marines—who had recovered from being knocked unconscious by Luen's Conqueror's Haki—showed up.

Unlike the original story, there was no need for Luffy to put on a ridiculous act to get Koby into the Marines since Luen had already dealt with him.

The Marines, while not arresting them, politely asked Luen and his crew to leave town as soon as possible.

Also, Luen hadn't forgotten an important detail—without preparation, Luffy and Zoro had nearly starved to death at sea.

So after stocking up on supplies, the three of them headed toward the Straw Hats' "temporary pirate ship."

"Set sail!" Luffy shouted from the bow, full of energy.

Zoro took the oars, rowing the small boat away from the harbor.

As they sailed away, the Marines at the harbor saluted, thanking them for saving the town. The Straw Hat Pirates officially set off on their next adventure.

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"Luen, how much longer till we reach land? I'm getting sick of apples—I want MEAT!" Luffy whined, looking exhausted.

"Quit complaining. If it weren't for Luen, we wouldn't even have apples. I still can't believe you want to be Pirate King but didn't prepare any supplies for sailing," Zoro scolded.

"...Uhhhh! Where is my Meat?" Luffy only had one name in his head now, and that was MEAT.

"Luffy, I'm not a professional navigator, so I can't predict the exact time we'll arrive." Luen studied the sea chart.

With Navigation (White), he could handle sailing through calm waters, but estimating exact travel times? That was best left to someone with real talent—like Nami.

Taking a bite of an apple, he pondered the situation.

Thanks to Morgan's oppressive rule, the townspeople's supplies had been nearly drained. Their boat also lacked proper storage, so bringing lots of meat wasn't an option.

At sea, vitamin deficiency could lead to scurvy, so affordable, easy-to-store, nutrient-rich apples were the best choice.

"Ohhhh~! Let's eat that instead!" Luffy suddenly shouted while staring at the sky.

Luen and Zoro turned to look—it was a bird.

"Hah? How are we supposed to catch that? I can't fly." Zoro frowned.

"Watch this! Gomu Gomu no Rocket!" Luffy stretched his arms, grabbed the mast, and launched himself into the air with a rubber-powered slingshot move.

"Ah, makes sense." Zoro had almost forgotten this reckless idiot was a Devil Fruit user.

Luffy might actually be useful for once—maybe they could finally get some real food.

Luen, on the other hand, just smirked knowingly.

A second later—

CHOMP!

The bird snatched Luffy's head in its beak.

"AHH! Help! HELP!" Luffy's screams echoed through the sky.

"You idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro's face twisted in rage as he started rowing furiously, trying to chase after the bird.

They were supposed to eat the bird, not the other way around!

[Plot Bird] Trait: A bird that moves the story forward.

"Hey! You there, stop the boat!" x3

As Zoro struggled to keep up with the bird, three people waved desperately from the sea ahead.

Luen's smirk deepened.

These must be the Buggy Pirates lackeys who got tricked by Nami and lost both their loot and their ship.

"Bad timing! We're busy! Get on yourselves!" Zoro shouted, still rowing like mad.

The three rejects, terrified of getting rammed, used all their strength to scramble onto the boat just in time.

"You trying to kill us?!" x3

They yelled angrily.

"You still made it, didn't you?" Zoro grinned.

"Hey! We're part of Captain Buggy's crew! Hand over this boat—it's ours now!" one of them demanded, brandishing a sword.

"Hah?" Zoro turned to them, his face suddenly wild and menacing.

— — —

"..."

"Hahaha! We totally didn't recognize you were the legendary 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro! And the recently infamous 'Sky King' Luen! It's an honor!"

Now thoroughly beaten, the three Buggy Pirates lackeys, faces bruised and swollen, had taken over Zoro's rowing duties, grinning awkwardly as they paddled.

"You idiots made us lose track of our captain. Just keep rowing forward," Zoro ordered coldly.

"Y-yes, sir!"

"No worries," Luen said, smiling at the sea chart. "That direction happens to be exactly where we need to go."

As expected—even though Luen had stocked up on apples to prevent Luffy from starving, the rubber idiot's craving for meat still led him straight into his inevitable fate.

And that bird's destination?

Buggy's current base—Orange Town.

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