One Piece Gunslinger

Although Li Ang had no experience running a tavern and knew nothing about brewing, as a resident of the Great Foodie Empire, he certainly knew a thing or two about cooking. His wine was questionable, but his food was absolutely top-notch. He'd show these villagers the might of one of the nine major cuisines of his Great Foodie Empire—the canteen cuisine.

That being said, the usual staple foods were nothing more than noodles and fried rice. As for more complex dishes, like Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Chicken, and Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce, they were simply impossible to prepare without ingredients. Even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice, let alone Li Ang. On this isolated island, the only ingredients available were common grains, fish, and some meat raised by the villagers.

So those dishes can only be made occasionally when the ingredients are available. As the saying goes, "those who live near the mountains eat from the mountains, and those who live near the sea eat from the sea." Basically, the menu consists of fried rice, noodles, and various kinds of boiled fish, braised fish, sweet and sour fish, etc.

And sure enough, thanks to Li Ang's culinary skills, the tavern really became a huge success. Now it's the most popular place among the villagers.

So, after another year of training, with Li Ang getting up early every morning to practice kicking and wielding his sword, doing everything from weighted runs to push-ups, how much has his strength increased?

The answer is zero; there was absolutely no growth.

In the first few months, Li Ang felt that he was just not working hard enough and that he had not been cultivating for long enough, so he could not see any results.

Several months later, I finally realized that it wasn't that there was no effect, but that there was absolutely no effect.

Then Li Ang remembered a fact: both Li Ang and Leon were, in terms of their origins, Earthlings. They weren't Super Saiyans, and their superhuman strength couldn't be achieved through so-called training.

No matter how much you train, you can only reach the level of the world's top athletes, which is already the limit that humans on Earth can achieve.

Leon is an agent who has reached the limits of human potential. After being given Leon's physical abilities, Li Ang could never train beyond the limits of human potential.

So even if you practice for a year, or even 10 or 100 years, it won't have much of an effect.

Just as Li Ang came to understand this, fate began to play tricks again.

A large ship of unknown allegiance is sailing toward Maple Village.

Chapter Three: The Beginning of Destiny

Led by Fran, Leon arrived at the other side of the island.

Surprisingly, Li Ang recognized the ship and the people on board.

"Holy crap! It's them!" Li Ang exclaimed in surprise when he saw the ship preparing to dock.

Fran asked curiously, "Does Brother Leon know them? Who are they?"

At most, they're acquainted; almost every One Piece fan knows them well, if not more. Although many details haven't been revealed in the manga, people have managed to dig up everything from Oda's few words.

Regardless of its size, number of sails, or number of cannons, the sheer size of this ship, with its massive local dragon adorning its entire length, is enough to capture attention.

The bow of the ship is the head of a dragon, and the body of a dragon is printed on the hull, extending all the way to the stern.

They are the Revolutionary Army, another major force in the world besides the World Government and pirates!

The leader was none other than Luffy's father—Monkey D. Dragon!

Both Xiong and Ivankov were present with Long, indicating that this occurred before Ivankov went to prison and before Xiong's rehabilitation began.

However, the ship has suffered extensive damage, indicating that its current location was not part of the original plan.

Before he could answer Fran's question, the system, which had been silent for so long, suddenly spoke in Leon's mind:

Main quest triggered: Set sail.

Hey kid. After two years stuck in this godforsaken place, it's time to set sail. There are only a few options for setting sail: join the Navy, become a pirate or bounty hunter, or join the Revolutionary Army.

Since you've been agonizing over not going to sea for so long, why don't I help you make a choice? Now the opportunity is in front of you; joining the revolutionary army might not be such a bad idea.

Mission objective: Use every means possible to join the revolutionary army.

Mission Rewards: One "Short Gun" (yes, the one you pick up when you enter the village and fight the chainsaw; a shotgun called "Short Gun"), plus 5 shotgun shells. Also unlocks more items in the shop.

This surprised Li Ang. He had always assumed the system was mute, since it didn't speak and was just a store with nothing in it. He hadn't expected that after two years of not going to sea, it would be so impatient that it would seize the opportunity to issue a mission.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it's just an old-fashioned shotgun that you can get at the very beginning of the game. It has a slow rate of fire, high recoil, and slow reload, but it is indeed a powerful weapon in the early game.

Not only is it powerful, but it also has a wide area of ​​effect, capable of knocking away ordinary enemies. It can be used until you obtain the divine weapon "Striker".

This reward alone was incredibly tempting for Li Ang. Before he even knew how to get the Bisetta, he was rewarded with a shotgun with even greater power. It was truly amazing.

Furthermore, the previous shops only offered basic items, with more weapons and items unlocked as the game progressed. It seems this mechanism has been retained here as well.

Although Li Ang recognized the revolutionaries at first glance, if he ran up to them and said he wanted to join them, it would only arouse suspicion and make people wonder if Li Ang had ulterior motives.

Well, for Li Ang, this was of no use at all; he had no money to pay his respects.

"It's just going to sea. Although joining the Revolutionary Army is indeed more difficult than joining the Navy or becoming a pirate, there are always ways to solve problems. This is no problem for me." With that thought, Li Ang silently drafted a plan.

Turning to Fran, he said, "Go back and reassure everyone. I recognize them; they're not pirates. I'll bring them to the shop to greet you later. Go back and tell them we're closed today."

After getting rid of Fran, Leon walked down the mountain openly and legitimately.

Just then, the ship docked and dropped its anchor. The first to step off were Leader Long and a group of cadres.

"Who comes here? Are you a friend or an enemy?" Li Ang asked preemptively, trying to get the question out before anyone else could speak.

Before the dragon could answer, Ivankov, with his large head, couldn't wait any longer and wanted to reassure the revolutionaries that they meant no harm, "We..."

He was stopped by Long's wave before he could even open his mouth. "Interesting. We originally just wanted to dock, collect supplies, and repair the damaged hull. But now I want to ask, what if we're friends? What if we're enemies?"

Li Ang took out the pistol and said, word by word, "We have fine food to entertain our friends, and we have hunting rifles to face our enemies."

I almost said I'd serve fine wine to my friends, but then I realized that those cheap wines wouldn't be good enough for them, so I changed my mind and said gourmet food instead.

Li Ang may appear calm and collected, but he is actually quite panicked inside.

The person he was talking to was the leader of the Revolutionary Army, who gave the World Government the biggest headache, one of the most powerful men in the world, a user of the Dragon Fruit, and a revolutionary named Dragon.

Although everything was proceeding according to plan, it would be strange if he wasn't panicking. It was already quite an achievement that Li Ang could temporarily control his emotions, preventing his teeth from chattering and his legs from trembling.

Clearly, Li Ang's answer had pleased Long and the other cadres. Ivankov replied, "This is the first time I've seen such an answer. What a lovely boy. We are certainly not enemies, just a ship of travelers passing through. Such a cute boy is truly rare."

Long laughed heartily, "Haha, appearances can be deceiving! I didn't expect you to have such insight, young man. May I ask your name, and what kind of place this island is?"

"This place is called Maple Village, a secluded little village with almost no contact with the outside world." He then glanced at Ivankov and continued, "My name is Li Ang, and I run a tavern in the village. Seeing that you all look travel-worn, if you don't mind, why don't you come with me to the tavern for the night?"

Dragon's original intention was to rest on the island, repair the boat, and set sail again. However, having met such interesting people, he changed his mind. Besides, food and water on the boat were running low, so he could easily do some shopping here.

So Long took a group of people with him, while the others stayed on the ship to repair it.

Along the way, Ivankov kept asking Li Ang all sorts of questions, constantly calling him "Li Ang boy," which made it difficult for Li Ang to cope. He could only ask Long, "Is he always like this?" Only after Long intervened did Ivankov calm down.

It was also because Li Ang backed down; if he had let Ivankov continue to entangle him, he might have revealed a weakness.

Life is like a play, it all depends on acting skills. Li Ang isn't even afraid of dragons, but he's most afraid of Ivankov. Who knows when this guy will pull off some nonsensical move and catch you off guard.

Fortunately, the journey wasn't far, and we soon crossed the hill and arrived at the village.

"Oh! I couldn't see it from either side. There's a small village on the other side of the mountain!" Ivankov exclaimed in surprise after crossing the hill.

Afterwards, everyone prepared to wander around and purchase some supplies.

At this moment, Li Ang pretended to remember something and called out to everyone: "Wait, here, Bailey won't work. We generally only accept barter."

"What do we do now, Leon? We only brought Bailey, nothing else."

"Well, I guess you'll have to come to my tavern first. There are plenty of supplies here, food, water, everything. You can pay with the things on the ship when you leave," Li Ang said helplessly.

The group had no choice but to follow Li Ang to the Steam-Powered Tavern, as going back to move their belongings would be too much trouble.

To the surprise of the revolutionaries, when they pushed open the door, the tavern was not empty; instead, it was bustling with activity.

"Hey, Li Ang, where have you been? We old folks are getting impatient, aren't you going to open for business?"

"I still want boiled fish today, hurry up, Li Ang."

"Hey, fried rice, please make a big pot for us."

When Li Ang pushed open the door, it practically set the entire room ablaze.

Of course, this tavern wasn't managed by Li Ang alone; Fran was the bartender in charge of serving drinks at the front desk.

However, there was no one to replace Li Ang as the head chef. Not only were the guests waiting for a long time, but even Little Fran was getting anxious and jumping up and down. If Li Ang didn't come back soon, they didn't know what to do.

Instead, Li Ang inwardly screamed, "Holy crap!" This was completely different from his plan. He had intended to bring the Revolutionary Army members here to discuss joining the Revolutionary Army. He never expected so many people to show up today, and there weren't even many seats left.

“These friends look unfamiliar. Are you from somewhere else?” Old Luke put his arm around the shoulder of a Revolutionary Army soldier and said, emboldened by alcohol, “Then you’ve come to the right place. This is the most popular place on the whole island, with delicacies you’ve never tasted before.”

And so, the revolutionary army was surrounded by the hospitable villagers and led around to chat and drink.

These villagers were the same; they had clearly told Fran to go back and say that the business wouldn't be open today, but instead, even more people came.

Seeing this, Long could only shake his head. He had been evading the navy's pursuit for the past few days, and after finally shaking them off, they had strayed off course again. Landing on this small island was a last resort, a way to let everyone relax their tense nerves, which wasn't a bad idea.

He sat alone at the bar, asked Fran for a drink, and pondered something.

At this moment, the bear also came over, sat down next to Doragon, and said to the dragon, "You've also noticed something amiss?"

“Yes.” Dragon downed his glass of rum in one gulp and replied, “Since we disembarked, every decision we’ve made has brought us closer and closer to this tavern.”

"Although this place is remote and almost isolated from the outside world, we still subconsciously used pseudonyms. We were still worried that something might happen."

Then the dragon turned around and glanced at the members who were chatting with the villagers, as well as Ivankov, who was telling stories of great adventures and making strange movements from time to time, making his face bigger and smaller.

"I even have a feeling that the navy's pursuit, the ship's damage, and the deviation from the course were all destined to sail towards this inconspicuous island, or rather, towards this tavern."

"Dragon, you're overthinking it. But there's definitely something different about this tavern. Let's wait and see."

Chapter Four: Discussing Heroes Over Tea After Dinner

They worked until late at night, and the villagers helped each other home.

Ivankov and his companions were completely captivated by the two delicious dishes, eating bowl after bowl until they were stuffed and lay on the ground, their bellies bulging, unable to move.

Dragon watched as Fran was eventually sent away by Leon, leaving only Leon and the revolutionaries in the tavern.

Li Ang looked at everyone except Long and Da Xiong, who were all lying on the ground looking like they had eaten too much, and couldn't help but twitch his lips a couple of times.

"Is joining the Revolutionary Army a reliable option? It seems that apart from Kuma, Dragon, and Klar and Haku who follow Sabo, there aren't many normal people left." Leon couldn't help but worry about his future life.

I had to put the important matters aside for now and quickly made everyone a cup of digestive tea.

"These are tea leaves I picked on the mountain. They're good for digestion." Although Long and Da Xiong weren't full, they still offered him a cup of tea.

"Ah, Leon boy, I feel much better now. Thank you for the treat. This is the first time I've ever had such delicious food." Ivankov couldn't help but think of his days wandering in the revolutionary army.

There were no chefs, no special dishes; everyone just made do with dry rations.

"Well, don't be so polite. Actually, I..."

“Actually, you need something from us, right?” Long interrupted Li Ang and said.

“Ah, that’s right.” Li Ang was quite straightforward, seemingly unconcerned that Long had noticed something amiss. “But how did you find out?”