Breeze, sea, and rising sun.
A thin layer of crisp mist shrouded the heavens and the earth. The morning light of the rising sun scattered across the sea, the waves shimmering.
On the vast azure sea, early seabirds chirped incessantly. From time to time, a seabird would dive into the ocean like a fighter jet, snatch a fish, and soar away.
However, even the most elite warriors made mistakes. There were always a few unlucky seabirds that never resurfaced.
Thinking to themselves, they must not have checked the almanac before setting out that day!
While this wasn't an exceptionally rare spectacle, it was enough to excite Kong Tai and his companions, who were just setting out to sea.
Creeeak—!
The wooden cabin door let out a muffled groan, startling the seabirds preening on top of the cabin.
A plump man in a white chef's uniform, wearing glasses, emerged with a tray in his left hand, holding two glasses of juice.
Seeing Kong Tai lounging on a deck chair at the bow, he hurried over and placed the juice on the coffee table next to Kong Tai.
"Kong Tai, see how my homemade lemon-apple juice is."
"Mhm! Thanks, Ah Hua."
Kong Tai put down the navigation book in his hand and looked up at Ah Hua, who was standing beside him, offering a gentle "thank you."
At that moment, a head with a flashy, unconventional hairstyle suddenly popped out from the edge of the crow's nest on the mast, shouting down.
"Ah Hua, where's my juice!"
Ah Hua pushed up his glasses and looked up calmly. "In the kitchen. Get it yourself. Do you think you're Kong Tai or Kuina, expecting me to bring it out for you?"
"You cook should be serving us, the combat personnel."
The flamboyant youth scrambled down the mast and stood on the deck in the middle of the ship, shouting provocatively.
Ah Hua's veins bulged on his forehead as he heard this. He lunged at the flamboyant youth wearing leather pants.
"A Luo, are you looking for a fight?"
He thought to himself that they were already at sea, and he shouldn't be impulsive; he needed to be mature and calm.
But this guy A Luo always found trouble on the ship, constantly pushing his buttons.
Just then, a young man with a pouty mouth, wearing a denim jacket and jeans, and a cowboy hat, walked out of the second-floor room. If he weren't a bit chubby, he would have looked like a true cowboy.
He hurried down the stairs and pulled the two apart.
"You two bicker every day, arguing since you were kids. You're out at sea, can't you just settle down?"
"Ah Tao, mind your own business."
"Today, I'm definitely going to let this guy know who the second strongest on this ship is."
Ah Hua rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight A Luo.
Ah Tao looked at them speechlessly.
So eager to claim second to last place, why don't they try challenging Kuina!
Speaking of Kuina, she arrived.
Kuina, dressed in a pink kimono and slippers, ascended from the stairs next to the cabin. Water droplets still clung to her dark blue hair.
She wiped her hair and walked calmly past Ah Hua and the others, casting a brief glance at them as she passed.
That single glance immediately made the three of them stand at attention.
A Luo and Ah Hua, who had been confronting each other, even struck a pose of close friends, left shoulders touching right shoulders.
They feared neither each other nor Kong Tai, but they were terrified of Kuina.
Each of them had grown up being beaten by Kuina, leaving them with psychological scars.
If Zoro hadn't arrived later, their experiences might have been even more miserable.
Only after Kuina reached the bow did they all collectively heave a sigh of relief and wipe away beads of sweat.
Ah Luo and Ah Hua, who had been embracing, suddenly remembered their embrace after a moment.
Then, with looks of disgust, they quickly released each other.
As if they had embraced something terrifying, they retreated a few steps, exchanged glances, snorted simultaneously, and turned their heads away, spitting on the ground.
"Ah—!"
"Pah—!"
Ah Tao looked at the two of them and sighed.
As the third strongest on the ship, he didn't get this much attention.
He shook his head, reached into his pocket, took out a cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth.
Chaa—!
He lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled a smoke ring with considerable swagger.
Then, holding his head high, he arrogantly walked past Ah Hua and his companion towards the cabin.
Wasn't the juice delicious?
It was.
Very delicious.
Sweet and sour, and very good to drink.
Kong Tai lay lazily on the deck chair, raising his cup, swirling it gently, and then taking a sip.
He smiled as he watched the three clowns below.
He had to admit, Ah Hua had a good talent for cooking. He loved to eat since he was young, which led to him always being overweight.
Even sending him to a sword dojo didn't help him lose weight.
A couple of years ago, this guy returned home to inherit his family's restaurant and became a chef. Before setting sail, he was already a renowned chef in the area. When Kong Tai invited him to go to sea, he was reluctant.
According to him, he enjoyed a good life at home and had no intention of suffering at sea with Kong Tai.
In the end, it was Kuina who persuaded him to come.
No one knew what methods Kuina used, but the next day he showed up with a bruised and swollen face, crying and begging to be taken on the ship.
Alas! How miserable.
Seeing his earnestness, Kong Tai reluctantly agreed.
Little did Ah Hua know that Kong Tai had subtly, intentionally or unintentionally, let Kuina know about his desire to invite him to sea.
A hint of smugness crept onto his face as he thought about it.
As for A Luo, no one knew what he had gone through in the past few years to become this flamboyant youth.
Perhaps it was for love.
Not long ago, this guy was preparing to marry according to his family's arrangements.
Upon hearing that Kong Tai was going to sea, he rushed with Ah Tao, who was about to inherit his family's shipyard and become a sea king, to find Kōshirō.
When Kōshirō found Kong Tai, he was already looking for a ship.
Now, here it was, a timely rain!
He agreed on the spot.
They were all childhood friends, so it wasn't for Ah Tao the shipwright and his family's heavily discounted ships!
Next, he spent all his and Kuina's savings over the years, and even borrowed several million Beli from Kōshirō, to pay for the shipbuilding.
This was even with Ah Tao's family charging only for the material costs.
He, a dignified transmigator, had to borrow money to build a ship.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but apologize in his heart to all his fellow transmigrator predecessors.
He was truly disgracing the transmigator community.
The ship was a fast sailboat with a lateen sail on the mainmast and a transom stern, featuring a ram's head at the bow.
As for the ram's head, it was naturally a imitation of the Merry Go.
Anyone who had watched One Piece wouldn't want a ship like the Merry Go!
Not only did he have the ram's head, but he also had a fruit orchard on board, replacing the orange trees with lemon trees.
Above the deck, the cabin at the rear was two stories high. The first floor was the kitchen, and the second floor was for steering and resting.
The bedrooms, storage rooms, and toilets were all below deck.
Like the Merry Go, this ship didn't have a steering wheel. It steered by operating rudder levers left and right to move the stern rudder boards.
As for cannons, because he felt they were useless up close and couldn't reach far away, their range not even as far as his slashes, he only installed one large cannon in the forward cabin. None were installed on the sides.
This saved space and reduced weight, making the ship's navigation lighter and faster.
In the forward cabin, besides this single cannon, there was also a capstan for the anchor and some essential maritime supplies.
Kong Tai's gaze swept across the entire ship as he pondered.
Lookout A Luo, helmsman and mechanic Ah Tao, chef Ah Hua.
As for navigator, he himself was the navigator. He had read countless books on navigation over the past decade, and it wasn't in vain.
While he might not be as skilled as Nami, he was confident enough to handle general natural disasters.
Moreover, his current spatial domain could extend to a radius of twenty meters, enough for him to carry the ship through the air.
Hmm! What else was missing?
Then his eyes lit up, and he looked enlightened.
Ah, he was missing a doctor!