The Great Voyage Begins with the Celestial Dragons

"Hehehe, how about a chicken-eating contest today!"

"..."

Luffy responded to the Red-Haired Pirates' greeting with a grin, but his eyes lit up and drool dripped from his mouth after hearing the suggestion from the fat chef, Lucky.

"I want to eat chicken! I want meat!!!"

"A freshly roasted chicken! You two little ones got a good deal."

Upon hearing this, the tavern owner, Makino, came out carrying two plates of steaming roasted chicken.

She had dark green hair, wore a yellow headscarf, and layered a black shirt with an orange plaid vest, which perfectly showcased her slender and full figure. Coupled with her gentle smile, it was impossible not to feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

"Hehe, roast chicken! Roast chicken!"

Luffy shouted excitedly, his eyes only on the roasted chicken, and he even forgot about Uta next to him.

Uta, however, smiled sweetly and said to Makino:

"Thank you for your help, Sister Makino!"

"It's no trouble at all. I wish Luffy had a mouth as sweet as yours."

Makino smiled and placed the roast chicken on the prepared table. She gave Uta a deep look before standing aside with the tray in her arms.

Listening to the two little ones' innocent complaints, Makino had mixed feelings, and even felt a little guilty.

She didn't know if what she did was right. Even if it was to repay a debt of gratitude, she shouldn't have involved Uta, such a good child...

The reason Luther knew about the Song-Song Fruit was because she told Stella.

This story goes back a long time. Stella was playing in Windmill Town as a traveling singer, and we quickly became acquainted.

At that time, some small-time pirates happened to be attacking.

Although Windmill Town is Garp's hometown, there are always some small fry who don't care about that.

Stella drove away the pirates, thus saving Makino from this calamity.

I've heard Stella mention the Song Fruit, saying it's every singer's dream.

For this reason, after learning that Uta had eaten the Song-Song Fruit, she relayed the information to Stella without much thought.

She didn't know what Stella would do, but thinking that Stella was a good person and that Uta had Shanks' protection, she felt a little more at ease.

"Oh, Uta is about to lose."

Lachiru's voice pulled Makino back to reality. When she saw Luffy stuffing food into his mouth with both hands, she couldn't help but smile.

"This is really reckless..."

Compared to Luffy, Uta also eats very quickly, but he's still a chicken leg behind in terms of speed.

Just then, Uta suddenly picked up her juice glass from the table and handed it to Luffy:

Here's some juice!

"Ah, thank you!"

Luffy didn't think much of it and took the juice and drank it.

Seeing this, the members of the Red-Haired Pirates couldn't help but chuckle.

As expected, Luffy, distracted by the juice, was easily overtaken by Uta.

After Luffy finished eating again, he saw Uta standing next to Makino, smiling at him.

"You lost, Luffy!"

"Ah, the battle isn't over yet, this doesn't count!"

Luffy shouted in dissatisfaction, waving his fists repeatedly.

"Here we go again, they just won't admit defeat." Uta shook his head.

"You cheated! You're the one who lost!" Luffy retorted indignantly.

"I'm a pirate, and besides, who told you to lose focus during the duel!"

Uta pointed at Luffy and retorted in a serious tone.

"Tch, what pirate? Shanks hasn't even given you permission to be a pirate yet."

Upon hearing this, Luffy immediately made a face at Uta. Shanks hadn't even agreed to let him become a pirate yet, so how could he possibly admit that Uta was already a pirate?

"I want you to talk more!"

Uta was a little annoyed by Luffy's words:

“I’m Shanks’ daughter, unlike you. We’ve been together for years, sailing together, adventuring together. We’re partners who will never leave each other no matter what happens!”

Uta retorted loudly, expressing his true feelings.

In her small world, Shanks and his group of companions were everything.

She always believed that no matter what happened, Shanks and the others would never abandon her.

And she, Uta, has always been a member of the Red-Haired Pirates!

Watching the two children argue, the members of the Red-Haired Pirates and Makino all smiled knowingly.

The children were simply happy to be recognized by them.

Makino then walked up to Shanks and started talking about recent events:

"Shanks, I heard that Eregia is going to hold a big music party, and anyone who wants to go can go freely. Will you go?"

"I've heard about that too. It's in about two weeks, and I was just about to take Uta there," Shanks said with a smile.

He will take Uta with him, but as for Luffy, he will absolutely not take him away from Windmill Town.

Given Luffy's identity, he wouldn't want to get involved with him unless he found him very agreeable.

"I see. Then be careful on your journey."

Makino offered her usual reminder, but in her heart, she felt that things weren't so simple.

She had just revealed the Song-Song Fruit, and now the Music Kingdom of Eregia was about to hold a festival. Something just didn't seem right.

But since it was she who revealed this, she didn't dare to say anything more.

Ultimately, she was just an ordinary female tavern owner...

Shanks noticed that Makino was acting strangely, but didn't think much of it.

In his view, as long as he didn't run into Luther's gang, there was no danger anywhere else in the East China Sea.

Moreover, even if they did run into each other, having had the experience of meeting Gion last time, he was no longer worried.

Even though Eregia and Luther are on good terms, they don't have a single truly strong individual among them.

Even if Luther does come this time, they don't have any conflict, so what does he have to worry about?

Chapter 267 Falling into the Trap

The East Sea, Don Quixote.

Luther emerged from the ship's cabin looking refreshed, followed by Gion with a satisfied smile.

The two of them walking together actually gave off a particularly well-matched vibe.

"Teacher Luther! Teacher!"

Upon seeing the two of them emerge, Kuina, who is just over 10 years old, bowed slightly to them.

Luther didn't teach her much, but his kendo skills left a deep impression on her.

This also made her realize that the world's greatest swordsman is not necessarily the world's greatest swordsman, and that she still has a long way to go.

“Kuina, Hiyori and Ace miss you a lot. You can go see them when you start your independent training,” Luther said with a smile.

"I will. I have an agreement with Hiyori and the others."

Guina nodded solemnly. Although the children didn't spend much time together, they had a good relationship because of their close relatives.

She was particularly fascinated by the fact that he knew the others were also swordsmen, and that everyone was a genius and progressing together.

Whenever she thinks of Ace and the others, she always thinks of Zoro.

In Shimotsuki Village, she was the one walking ahead, while Zoro was the pursuer.

Now, Ace and his group are the ones walking ahead, while she has become the pursuer.

Thanks to this, she could better understand Zoro's feelings at the time, and she couldn't help but smile whenever she thought of her winning record.

"Hey, Luther, you'd better let me off this time. I don't want to work too hard."

On the sofa on the deck, Kizaru lay back with his usual lewd smile on his face.

While Luther and Gion were playing around inside the ship, Kizaru arrived at the Don Quixote.

When he saw Gion there, he had a bad feeling.

Recently, rumors have been circulating on the high seas that Gion is traveling with his disciples. It has been a long time since Gion and Luther appeared together.

This lineup reminded him of his days dominating the New World and ambushing the Golden Lion.

I wonder who will be unlucky this time.

"Don't worry, Borsalino, we're not here for you to fight. We just happen to be in the East Blue and want to get together," Luther said with a smile.

"Oh, that's good, that's good!"

Borsalino appeared cheerful on the surface, but his mind was racing with even more wild thoughts.

He had just returned to headquarters to report on his work when Lu De forcibly dragged him to Donghai. If it was just a get-together, he wouldn't believe a word of it.

However, he was also aware that the matter was not too serious and was likely related to pirates; otherwise, it wouldn't have been him who came.

Both he and Sakazuki can be called upon by Luther, but if it's about slaughtering pirates and fighting to the death with top-tier fighters, he definitely won't be allowed to participate.

He would only be involved in matters that are ambiguous, where it's optional to attack or not to attack, and it's merely a preventative measure.

Anyway, Borsalino was very satisfied with Luther's arrangements.

Every time they come, they give you the VIP treatment, the long holidays, and even pay you. It's practically the same as a paid vacation.