One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 322 is like a story come to life.
a.

The Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.

"I want to eat meat!"

"Hey, why is the port here so small?"

"So many bubbles! Is this the soap bubble unique to Chambord?"

"We've finally made it out of that Devil's Triangle area. Thankfully, we didn't encounter any danger."

"This is so SUPER~ exciting!"

The Straw Hat crew, who had just landed the Sunny in the Sabaody Archipelago, were excitedly looking around at the bustling scene.

Yes.

After leaving Alabasta, the Straw Hat crew never stopped their adventures.

They traveled to the desolate sky islands, passed through Water Seven where they met the shipwright Franky, and then traversed the Devil's Triangle.

And now, they have finally arrived here—the Sabaody Archipelago, a landmark even in the long journey of the Grand Line.

"After crossing here, we'll reach the new world—the seas where those guys live."

Even Zoro, who is usually relatively calm and composed, couldn't help but grip the sword at his waist at this moment.

His mind was still replaying the battle between the Serpent and Hawkeye that they had witnessed in Alabasta—although the Den Den Mushi's disconnection at the end of that battle prevented him from witnessing the final outcome.

But for him as a swordsman, it was still enough to guide his way.

"I heard Elbaf sank. I wonder how Master Donley and Master Brogy are doing."

Meanwhile, Usopp, standing nearby, was also worried: "We need to buy supplies quickly, and it would be best if we set off for the New World tomorrow."

"That's very difficult."

Reiju, who was walking alongside Sanji beside him, smiled upon hearing this: "To reach the New World, without Germa's 'Red Line Crossing Device,' the ship needs to be coated—even the most skilled coating craftsman would need at least several days to complete the coating."

"Coating?" *N
Apart from Nami, who had done her homework beforehand, and Franky, who was the shipwright, most of the Straw Hat crew members were clearly clueless about 'coating'.

And it was precisely when Reiju was explaining to the Straw Hat crew what coating was.
"Hey, sir, this meat looks delicious. Give me ten servings, one of which I'll eat right now!"

The captain clearly had no interest in the details of the upcoming voyage and had already rushed to a certain stall, drawn by the aroma.

"Oh, buddy—you have a good eye! The barbecue here is the best on this second island!"

The man selling grilled meat was clearly quite pleased, nodding as he handed Luffy a piece of grilled meat.

"Mmm, mmm. Delicious!"

Luffy hurriedly tore off a piece of roasted meat and put it in his mouth, and then his eyes immediately blazed with golden light like the sun.

"Uncle, would you like another hundred? Two hundred!"

"Are you an idiot!?"

With a loud bang, Luffy, who was obsessed with meat, was instantly knocked to the ground by Nami's punch: "Just buy one or two pieces to try. We still need to buy other supplies. We don't have that much money to spend on food with such a short shelf life!"

"Coco is Nami, it's really delicious."

"Shut up!"

With the true captain, who held the reins of the ship's finances, speaking up, Luffy could only cower like a wronged monkey.

The man selling barbecue wasn't angry at all. He simply put the remaining nine pieces of barbecue into soap bubbles and handed them to Nami and Luffy, saying with a smile, "Hmm, by the way, young man and young lady, you look like you're pirates, right?"

"what"

Nami panicked for a moment upon hearing this, but quickly calmed down.

They had encountered this question more than once during their voyage, so she certainly knew how to answer it.

No, we are just travelers passing through.

Nami waved her hand, about to deny it.

But the bullied monkey next to her spoke first: "Uncle, you have good taste! We are pirates—I am the man who will become the Pirate King!"

Nami: "."

What to say?

She felt that this guy's thought process accounted for at least half, no, ninety percent, of the responsibility for all the hardships and displacement along the way!
"Oh! I knew it!"

But to Nami's surprise, the barbecue vendor burst into laughter upon hearing this: "It's been a long time since I've seen such obvious pirates like you. You dare to land on the island at this time of year. You must be quite the remarkable pirates."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Nami immediately noticed something unusual about the words.

The attitude in this man's words clearly showed that he was not as afraid of pirates as an ordinary civilian.

"Uncle, do you see pirates often?"

While realizing that there was a lot of information in the man's words, she also noticed another problem: "I just heard you mention Island Number Two—but isn't this Island Number One?"

"Haha, you guys didn't know?"

After hearing Nami's words, the uncle didn't hide anything.

"I used to be a cook at an underground auction house on Island Two, so I did see pirates quite often."

He briefly explained the situation.

Simply put, he does indeed frequently encounter pirates—he worked here back when the island was a lawless place, rife with human and organ traffickers and slave auctions.

"But as you all know, the 'Rooster' of the Twelve Zodiacs and the 'Star Lord' himself once descended here."

"At that time, the number one island in the Sabaody Archipelago was sunk, and almost all the auction houses and trading places in the lawless zone suffered a devastating blow—well, although the island was successfully preserved at the time, it was thus reduced from number two to number one."

As he spoke, he pointed to the red earth continent not far behind him: "Look, that's the trace of that battle."

Upon hearing his words, Nami, Luffy, and the Straw Hat crew who had also walked up behind them all looked up.

Sure enough, they then saw the hideous, enormous 'cavity' on the Red Line continent not far from Sabaody.

"That was left behind by the Star Lord."

Clearly, after the barbecue vendor's explanation, they also recalled the report they had seen back then.

That enormous void was clearly the mark left by the Star Lord's first appearance on the sea, when he pierced through the Red Earth Continent.

For them, who have lived their lives listening to the stories of the twelve zodiac signs.

Seeing that mark again now feels like a story coming to life.

but
"A lawless zone. I've heard of that."

Hearing this, Nami hesitated—she had done her research before coming to Sabaody Archipelago and had heard that some areas of the archipelago seemed to be quite chaotic.

But
Why now?

She surveyed her surroundings. At this moment, the second island of the Sabaody Archipelago, where they were, showed no signs of being a lawless zone.

On the contrary, there are vendors operating like this barbecue uncle everywhere, as well as a small number of shops that appear quite formal.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't resemble a 'lawless zone' at all.

Upon hearing this, the uncle's expression became even more smiling.

"In that incident, the Celestial Dragons who were kidnapped were eventually killed by the Twelve Zodiac Signs, which directly caused the World Nobles to no longer dare to come to the Sabaody Archipelago to enjoy themselves. As a result, most of the trade in the illegal areas of the entire island declined."

"Although pirates still occasionally come here, because the Sabaody Archipelago is located very close to the Holy Land and the Marine Headquarters, they don't dare to be too ostentatious. Instead, they are quietly looking for some coating craftsmen. In short, the situation on the island has become much more stable."

He said that.

That's right.

In fact, the Sabaody Archipelago hasn't changed much for pirates since before.

The only difference is that the Celestial Dragons no longer run rampant here. Because the Celestial Dragons no longer set foot here, the illegal industries closely related to them have lost their protector and their biggest customers, and thus have gradually declined.

Since there was no longer an opportunity to win over and make contact with the Celestial Dragons, many nobles and royalty from various countries also chose to give up on Sabaody Archipelago.

This directly led to the entire island becoming peaceful and safe.

"Uncle, you seem very happy—your previous income should have been much higher, right?"

At that moment, Reiju suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"Ah, yes."

The middle-aged man was taken aback at first, then nodded nonchalantly: "The income was indeed higher before, but..."

In his mind, he recalled the Sabaody Archipelago—especially the evil and sordid things that happened in the underground auction house where he worked.

At that time, his income from serving those powerful and wealthy people was indeed much more substantial, at least ten times higher than it is now.

But
"It's better now than those days."

He said it seriously.

“.”*N
Seeing the uncle's serious expression, the Straw Hat crew didn't continue the topic.

"By the way, sir—you just said we 'landed on the island at this time of year.' What did that mean?"

Nami changed the subject and continued asking.

"Oh, you really didn't know?"

Upon hearing this question, the barbecue uncle replied seriously, "Recently, for some reason, the people from that 'Star Hunting Force' have been quite active in the Sabaody Archipelago, especially Colonel Smoker, the 'White Hunter' who belongs to 'Black Xie'—he often leads teams to clean up the island, and many pirates hiding here preparing to go to the New World have been captured."

As he said this, he looked at the Straw Hat crew: "If you're not careful, you'll get caught too."

"Smoker is that guy!?"

Upon hearing this name, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro all changed their expressions.

On the contrary, the other members who joined the pirate crew later were a little confused - they had never heard of this name.

"Huh? Um-Um Smoker? Who's that?"

At that moment, Luffy, who was chewing on grilled meat, asked with some confusion.

The original Straw Hat crew of four: "Are you an idiot?"

After a while.

"Oh!? It's that guy who smokes?"

After being physically reminded by Nami and the others, Luffy, whose head was covered in bumps, had obviously remembered Smoker—he still remembered strong people, especially strong people like Smoker who had once suppressed him to the point of almost being unable to fight back.

"Wasn't that guy in Loguetown? How did he end up here? He's like a persistent ghost!"

Nami and Usopp were also frowning, clearly having a headache.

Even after so much time has passed, the thought of Smoker's abilities still gives them a headache.

The others also had their brows furrowed.

Reiju, who was once Germa's number two and had the clearest understanding of the situation on the high seas, said solemnly, "No, although I don't know how powerful that guy Smoker is, the real key issue is probably not him, but the 'Star Hunter Squad'."

She said softly.

As soon as the words were spoken, apart from Luffy, who was looking at Usopp with a curious expression and asking 'What is the Star Hunting Force?', everyone else...

The remaining members of the Straw Hat crew also looked solemn.

"An elite force formed to counter the Twelve Constellations, reportedly bringing together top talents from the Navy and the World Government."

"It's really a headache to have someone like that operating on this island."

Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and silently exhaled.

"but."

But then, his gaze turned sharply to the barbecue vendor beside him: "Uncle, you must have something else to say to us, right?"

He grinned, but his words carried a sharp edge.

"Even if a normal person isn't afraid of pirates, they wouldn't provide so much 'information' to strangers, would they?"

He directly pointed out the key suspicious points about the barbecue vendor.

Normally, even if this uncle had worked in an underground auction house before, he wouldn't be afraid of pirates.

However, not being afraid of pirates and being willing to help pirates are clearly two different things.

But now, the information provided by this uncle has clearly reached the level of being helpful.

"Ah, young man, don't be so nervous."

Upon hearing this, the barbecue uncle laughed heartily: "I did intentionally remind you about the Star Hunting Force, but it wasn't of my own volition—I was just making some extra money."

"Extra income?"

"Yes—a big shot on the island told us 'people' who used to work in lawless areas that when we encounter some pirates who seem decent, we can direct them to a bar."

The barbecue vendor grinned and said, "That bar has access to the island's best coating artisans, and it also gathers all sorts of intelligence. I think you'd be interested, right?"

"For just 1000 Berries, I can tell you where that bar is!"

The Straw Hat Crew: "."

A bar specifically designed to direct pirates?
I have to say, it sounds suspicious no matter how you look at it, right?
Who would go to a place like that?
"Oh! That sounds interesting!"

Before their thoughts had even settled, they heard their captain's excited voice.

"Let's go, let's go there!"

(End of this chapter)