One Piece: The Salted Fish Fruit

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"These bastards are too noisy!" A young man in a suit who was pouring drinks for a beautiful woman nearby complained when he saw this, but then his eyes fell on the only woman in the area, and he instantly moved over, kneeling on the ground with a face full of affection.

"My beautiful lady! Your enchanting fragrance is so intoxicating! And my love has come so suddenly! Now your beautiful figure has deeply captured my heart! I have something I want to say to you! I wonder if you agree!" A man in a black suit with short blond hair was looking at Nami with heart-shaped eyes, his love overflowing.

Mabi silently lifted Nami's chair and carried her away along the way. She then placed her own chair over there, sat down with an air of authority, touched her throat with her fingers, and began to mutter softly.

"Your Highness, what would you like to say?"

"Huh!" The people around exclaimed, looking at Maggie's voice and then at Nami, who was equally shocked.

"Beautiful lady, please marry me! I'll make you a sumptuous breakfast!" Upon hearing this, the man in the suit's eyes lit up with love, and he made a move to pounce on Maggie, wanting to hug her tightly in a loving embrace.

"But!" Maggie gently pushed the other person's body, her voice shy yet alluring.

"But what!"

“But I’m a man!” Mabi roared in her original rough voice.

"Ah!" The man in the suit felt as if ice water at 30 degrees Celsius had been poured over his head, and he mechanically looked down at the person he wanted to hug.

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" After he realized it, he bent over, lowered his head, and lay on the ground, dry heaving as if he wanted to vomit up the food he had eaten yesterday.

Maggie stepped forward and patted him on the back to comfort him, "Young man! Do you still stand by what you said?"

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" The other person felt the stroking on their back and heard the deep male voice, and immediately felt a chill run down their spine, their whole body trembling, and their nausea intensified.

"Hey! What are you all doing! You're all huddled together with your arms crossed." Maggie looked up and saw Zoro, Usopp, and Luffy huddled together with their arms crossed, and Luffy even stretched out his arms to tie the other two tightly together, making them tremble.

"Um! Um! Mabi, you're not really that kind of person, are you?" Nami asked cautiously.

"Ah? That kind of person?" Mabi was momentarily stunned, but then spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You guys don't really think I'm that kind of person, do you?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" they said in unison.

"You know about Luffy too?" Maggie asked curiously. "Even if it's just the three of them, you understand."

"I just feel very scared!"

"I go!"

“Your voice just now was truly unbelievable,” Nami continued.

"Pfft! Nami, you have to believe me. I only used my charm to stop him just now to get you out of a tight spot. As for my voice, it's just a kind of ventriloquism, something I learned from an old man when I was little." Mabi wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and hurriedly explained. If the misunderstanding continued, it would become a fact, and how would she ever face anyone again!

"Yes! Yes! We believe you!" Nami nodded her little head, but her gaze towards Maggie was still strange.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! And you guys?" Mabi asked the three people in the distance.

The three of them exchanged a glance, slowly released each other's hands, and sat down.

"If you dare treat me like this, I'll kill you!" Zoro roared viciously.

"Zoro, you actually doubted me! Who's afraid of who!" Mabi replied with Zoro's voice coming from her throat, leaving Zoro standing there dumbfounded.

"You! If you dare treat me like that, I'll tell Kaya!"

"Mmm~~" Mebi's nasal sound was drawn out.

Usopp was immediately struck by the fearful voice that had dominated him for over a decade, his face contorted in pain. Then, as if remembering something, a sinister smile crept across his lips.

"Fine, I admit it!"

"Ugh! Ugh!" The man in the suit lying on the ground felt even more nauseous after hearing this.

"Usopp, you son of a bitch! You screwed me over!" Maggie yelled, her voice tinged with Usopp's rage.

"Hahaha! Mabi, you actually have this ability? Are you also a Devil Fruit user? You'll be our actress from now on! It's settled then, hahaha!" Luffy was overjoyed to see Mabi's skills, and he laughed happily as it aligned with a profession he had in mind.

"Let's have a feast! Let's have a feast! Hahaha!"

"Who is Luffy?" Mabi asked, even though he knew the person vomiting on the ground was someone he knew, he still asked anyway.

"Him? He's the chef I found. He's going to be a pirate with me." Luffy stopped drinking and said seriously. Then he asked the old man leaning against the wall with two foot-long beards, a prosthetic right leg, and a chef's hat that was 1.2 meters tall.

"Is he an older man?!"

"Yes, I didn't want him anymore! Take him away right now!"

"I told you, I won't leave!" the man replied, straightening up and silently lighting a cigarette.

"Haha! I'll make you my chef!"

"Handyman! Come back with me to work!" He grabbed Luffy by the neck and dragged him towards the kitchen.

"I want to eat!" A resentful voice came from the kitchen.

Chapter 3 Teacher Zeff

Night falls! The sky is filled with countless stars! A sea breeze carries a wisp of moisture, and the waves crash and lap against the ship, causing a slight sway. Inside the cabins, the sleeping crew roll over to find a comfortable position and continue their slumber. The floating restaurant in the distance has already closed for the night, with only a few windows still lit up. Even the sentry at the very top of the mast seems to be dozing off.

“It’s time.” Mabi sat atop the watchtower, guarding the view, and murmured as she looked out at the window with only one light remaining. Then, she picked up two bottles of liquor beside her and leaped into the air. Her toes barely touched the ground as if something in the air was supporting her, propelling her body forward as she continued to jump.

"Teacher Zeff is still awake!" Maggie jumped into the sea restaurant and leaped through the skylight that Luffy had made during the day. She saw the old chef from earlier that day sitting on the bed, staring straight at Maggie as she jumped in, without any surprise on his face.

"Haha! I never thought a lazy bum like you would set sail to pursue your dreams. A man should pursue his dreams and venture onto the Grand Line." Zeff laughed heartily, stood up, and walked to the table to sit down.

Mabi put down the drinks, turned around, and skillfully took two wine glasses and a box of dried fish from the cabinet by the wall before returning to the table and sitting down.

After hearing this, Mabi looked helpless and poured herself and Zeff a glass of wine, saying, "Teacher, I'm helpless too. My dad just drugged me, threw me into a box, and sent me out, and told me I'm not allowed to go home for three years."

"Haha! Who told you to always want to be a lazy bum? Even if you were my kid, I'd kick you out. How can a man not have dreams?" Zeff picked up his glass, took a big gulp, and laughed.

"My dream is to be a lazy bum." Mabi looked longingly at him; that was the life she wanted.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!" Zeff was choked by Mabi's words and coughed repeatedly! His two golden braided beard stood up straight with anger.

"And what about you now!"

"Now?" Mabi looked up at the sky and pondered. At first, she had nowhere to go and only thought about going to sea with Luffy without a clear goal. Since Luffy wanted to become the 'Pirate King', she would help him realize that dream. As for herself, she never thought about it.

Suddenly, Mabi, who was still in a daze, became serious.

"My new dream is to be the saltiest salted fish if I'm going to be a salted fish!"

"Pfft!" Zeff, who had just taken a sip of alcohol, immediately spit it out in one gulp.

"Bastard! I'll kick you to death!" He slammed one hand on the table and lashed out at Mabi's head with his prosthetic right leg. The drinks on the table didn't even flutter, showing that the force was precisely concentrated on his left leg, without any reduction in power.

"Teacher, don't get so angry! Getting angry is bad for your health. A smile makes you ten years younger, and the more you smile, the healthier you'll be." Mabi leaned back, her body horizontal on the floor, enjoying the strong wind in front of her, before straightening up and laughing.

"My body has always been in excellent condition, you don't need to worry about it. It won't break down for a hundred years! None of you bastards want to go to sea. At least your bastard senior brother has a dream, he just doesn't want to go to sea. But you, you bastard, don't even have a dream. If this continues, I'll kick you to death sooner or later." Zeff stomped on the floor and sat down again to vent his anger. He was already quite satisfied with his disciple, who, from Maple's earlier dodge, was difficult to harm even at full strength. In just a few years, Maple had surpassed him. Whether Maple wanted to go to sea or not, such a body could survive even on the Grand Line.

“Sanji, my senior?” Maggie looked up, recalling the moment they first met.

"Chirp! Chirp!" Several seagulls flew by under the blue sky.

"Mabi, wake up! Wake up! I think I hear someone calling for help!" Little Kaya, who was only seven or eight years old, pushed the little boy lying on the deck and shouted.

"Stop messing around, Kaya, let me sleep a little longer!" the little boy Mabi muttered, turning over and heading to another computer room to continue sleeping.

"Hmph! If you don't get up, I won't make you dried salted fish." Little Kaya tilted her head and got angry.

"I heard someone talking too! Captain, could you please take the boat over there?" Little Mei immediately stood up and asked the captain seriously.

"But what if they're pirates?" The captain asked, troubled. He had also heard the cries for help at sea, but many others were being robbed.

"It's alright, I'm here. I'm a Devil Fruit user, after all." Maggie waved her arm and laughed confidently.

"Okay, I'll do as you say! Switch course and rescue them!"

"Red-Leg Zeff!" The captain turned pale upon seeing the person in need of rescue. As a captain of a merchant ship, he naturally knew about the pirates who roamed the oceans and wanted to avoid offending them. Although the emaciated man before him was completely unrecognizable, his chilling silhouette was still clearly visible through his signature braided mustache.

"We can't let them on board! If they regain their strength, they'll definitely kill us!" the captain roared. Even though he knew they couldn't possibly fight now, he still refused. As for Maggie, he said that even if he had the ability, he could only bully small-time pirates and couldn't beat such a vicious pirate.

"Please! Please! We only need a little food and water. He hasn't eaten for months because of me. Just a little water and food will do. We won't get on the ship." A little boy next to Zeff knelt on the ground and desperately cried for help. If they left this ship, they would definitely die. Now, even if it meant death, they couldn't let them leave.

"This?" The captain was immediately troubled. If it were an ordinary person starving like this, they would have already rescued them, but the infamous pirates made them stop. They were just an ordinary merchant ship and could not possibly deal with pirates who had recovered their strength.

"Captain, give me the first-aid medicine I need when I'm hungry, and enough food for three people for ten days. I'll stay here and have Kaya notify their merchant ship to come and pick us up later." Little Meibi saw that they had already made their choice and said this so as not to put them in a difficult position.

"Mabi!" Kaya exclaimed eagerly upon hearing the captain's words and Mabi's desire to go forward.

"Kaya! I heard you've forgotten that I'm someone no one wants to hurt. Come find me in ten days without worry," Maggie said, pulling Kaya aside.

"But!" Kaya felt much relieved after recalling Mabi's past experiences, but she was still a little uneasy looking at the frighteningly withered body in front of her.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Mabi patted Kaya on the shoulder and carried the items across the wooden planks.

“Come pick me up in ten days!” Mabi waved to Kaya and jumped onto the reef.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the other person said hurriedly.

Mabi watched as the boy in front of her, who looked similar to herself but appeared withered, hurriedly thanked her. He seemed oblivious to the scratches on his skin caused by his eagerness, his eyes fixed on the food in Mabi's hand.

"Slow down, drink some liquids first, don't eat so much." Mabi pulled the bread that the other person was stuffing into his mouth and handed him a bottle of milk to drink first.

"Kid, aren't you afraid of me?" Zeff, having regained some energy, sat cross-legged on the ground and asked Mabi, who had a peaceful expression.

"Afraid? Of course I'm not afraid! But you won't attack me, will you? After all, there's a living food reserve here." Mabi teased, and the little boy lying next to her recovering his strength suddenly shivered and rolled away.

"Haha! Haha!" Zeff laughed, his dry muscles twitching slightly, and his lusterless beard bounced up and down.

Back to the present, Mabi came to her senses.

"Don't worry, Teacher Zeff. I know everything about Sanji's situation. With Luffy around, he'll definitely be able to leave smoothly to pursue his dream. Besides, even if he doesn't go, I'll drag him away anyway," Maggie said firmly, thinking about how to get rid of this stubborn senior.

"Really? Your captain certainly has big dreams. You have so much faith in him." Zeff glanced sideways at him and picked up the drink Mabi had poured for him.

“Definitely! Some people have such great personal charisma that they unconsciously gain people’s trust. I believe Sanji will be no exception.” Maggie affirmed, without saying the next sentence, “Well, he’s the chosen one of the plane.”

"Then I'll watch how you get Sanji on board. If you can't, I'll kick you to death!" Zeff glared fiercely at Maggie.

"Haha! Just you wait and see, Mr. Zeff, we will definitely do it." Mabi laughed and stood up to leave. After all, this voyage was not like the previous ones that only lasted ten days or half a month and then came back so that they could meet often. Before leaving, she wanted to have a good talk with her teacher, because she didn't know when the next time would be.

"Get lost! The farther away the better!"

"Haha! Mr. Zhepu, your hobby has never changed. I'll take all the salted fish you collected with me. Yours is still the best, although it can't compare to my daughter Kaya's cooking." Mabi turned around, rushed to the cabinet, took out all the salted fish, hugged them to her arms, and ran outside.

"Get out! You lazy bum, get out of here!"

"Thump! Thump!" Only a slight whooshing sound rang out, but it didn't affect anyone.