Chapter 8: The Beginning of the Venture

At this moment, in a certain sea area of the East Blue.

A large three-masted sailing ship, with sails painted with playing card patterns and a brown bear head on the bow, was sailing steadily.

The clown-dressed swordsman held a Bounty in his hand and said coldly, "Monkey D. Luffy, you are the one who snatched the Captain's woman. Even if you can defeat Arlong, you are definitely no match for me."

Then he shouted to the navigator, "Hey, change course, head straight for the Konomi Islands; the person we are looking for is there."

"Yes, sir."

The clown drew his long sword with a *shing*, pointed it at the sky, and shouted loudly, "I will never forgive anyone who brings shame to Captain Da Xiong Wang!"

……

The sun was shining brightly, and seagulls circled over the sea.

Luo Di and Ka Li Na went to the place in the port where ships were sold. After Ka Li Na's bargaining, they finally bought a single-masted sailboat for 550,000 Berries.

The ship had already been brought out from the dock and was now moored at the port. It looked to be about fifteen meters long. It had no power system and could only rely on sails and oars to move. The rooms were also very simple, with a few hammocks hanging in the narrow space.

Luo Di and Ka Li Na boarded the ship and raised the sails. Ka Li Na used the nautical chart and compass to determine the course, while Luo Di took the helm and sailed toward the next island on the way to the Grand Line.

The next island on the chart was the Four-Leaf Clover Islands. In his memory, after Lu Fei set out from Windmill Village and met the deserter king, the second location was Shells Town.

He had just looked at the nautical chart; it only showed the approximate locations of the islands and lacked the precise landmarks of his past life.

What was shown in the anime he watched was merely a drop in the ocean, and only now, being in the midst of it, did he realize its vastness. Now that Lu Fei had a bounty, it meant he was already preparing to take Nami away from Arlong Park, so the probability of encountering him was extremely small.

Luo Di took out a fishing rod and started fishing. Since there were no refrigeration tools on the ship, they did not buy fresh meat. Anyway, there was everything in the sea, so there was no need to worry about food shortages.

Ka Li Na looked at the nautical chart for a while, observed the weather for a bit, and after confirming that everything was fine, she took a fishing rod and went to sit next to him to fish together.

"Captain, you have to be careful; you must not fall in," Ka Li Na said. "It's very troublesome for an Ability User to fall into the sea, and you are such a big guy, it would be hard for a little girl like me to save you."

At this moment, Ka Li Na was barefoot, wearing a white T-shirt with a strawberry print on her upper body and denim hot pants on her lower body. Her purple hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and she looked content as she enjoyed the fine weather of the day.

But soon, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

She noticed Luo Di staring at her chest.

Ka Li Na said indignantly, "Hey, if you want to look, you should be like everyone else and look secretly. Even if you are the captain, isn't it too rude to be so blatant, hey!"

Luo Di shrugged, "Such a good figure is meant to be appreciated; you don't lose anything by letting me look."

"Hmph, I can't be bothered with you." Ka Li Na glanced at Luo Di from the corner of her eye, thinking that this guy's lecherous nature was indeed the same as ever. However, what he said seemed to make sense; a figure is meant to be appreciated by others, and one doesn't lose anything by letting them look, but he shouldn't think about any more excessive demands.

Thinking of this, she deliberately puffed out her chest.

*Swish! *

The moment Ka Li Na puffed out her chest, a giant sea beast suddenly emerged from the water. It looked like an eel, its red eyes bursting with fierce light, and saliva dripping from its mouth. Just the half of its body that was exposed exceeded the length of the sailboat.

Ka Li Na: (｡ò∀ó｡)

"Help!!!"

Ka Li Na screamed in panic, but all around was the vast, empty sea. The only response she got was the whistling sea breeze, the circling seagulls, and Luo Di, who was still fishing.

"Hey, Luo Di, look!" Seeing Luo Di still fishing leisurely, Ka Li Na felt inexplicable terror.

"Oh ho, caught one." Luo Di shouted in surprise and suddenly pulled up the fishing rod. A jellyfish was hooked on the line, which surprised him greatly.

At the same time, the sea beast opened its bloody maw and charged rapidly toward their position. Ka Li Na was so scared that she froze in place, clutching her head with both hands. But the sea beast suddenly stopped in mid-air, then went through a series of convulsions, and finally fell back into the sea, splashing waves.

Luo Di tossed his dagger into the air, and Star Platinum caught it steadily. It dove into the sea, and when it came out, it was holding the head and a small section of the sea beast's body, which it placed on the sailboat.

"I ask you, how have you managed to survive in the East Blue for so many years? You've seen nothing of the world," Luo Di remarked.

"My voyages were basically following large fleets; there were always people escorting us, and I've never sailed alone before," Ka Li Na pouted.

She looked at the sea beast's head on the deck, the corners of her mouth curling up, "I've never eaten sea beast meat before. Hehe, let me cook it."

In Luo Di's memory, Ka Li Na also went to the Grand Line later and even served as a diva on the ship of the Golden Emperor Gild Tesoro, possessing infinite potential. Now that she had followed him, her destiny should have changed as well.

The current Ka Li Na could not only navigate but also cook and do laundry for him; she was simply the ceiling of secretaries. He had found this crew member at the very beginning of his venture, which was an absolute steal.

It was just that her combat strength was too weak; her physical fitness was only that of an ordinary human. In this world where perverted monsters were everywhere, it was very difficult to survive.

Let's see if there's a chance to get her a powerful Devil Fruit in the future.

Ka Li Na finished cooking, and the two sat on the deck eating. Luo Di continued to gorge himself, drinking the rum he had bought from Goa Kingdom, feeling incredibly satisfied.

"Luo Di, since you want to form a pirate crew, shouldn't you recruit more crew members?" Ka Li Na asked.

Luo Di nodded, "That's for sure. Sailing has never been a one-person game; it requires a team where everyone performs their own duties. Let's see when we get to the next island."

Now that Roger had started the Great Pirate Era, countless people from all regions were flocking to the sea. He only needed to show off his skills in any small town to find quite a few crew members.

But small fries would just be cannon fodder if they went to the Grand Line. Those who wanted to go to the Grand Line with him had to be prepared.

It would be best to recruit crew members of different races so that he could also experience the diversity of species.

I should also marry a few more wives; a remarkable man like me must never hang himself from a single tree.

Luo Di thought to himself, lit a cigar, puffed away into the sea breeze, and enjoyed the comfort of a full meal.

In his past life, due to work reasons, long-term sedentary behavior and lack of exercise led to obesity and problems with various health indicators, but that was the helplessness of a wage slave.

In the pirate world, even the physique of an ordinary person was incomparable to those of his past life. The habits of his past life were not a problem here at all.

Illnesses like those of Roger and Whitebeard were also caused by having experienced certain events and battles.

After half a month of crazy training, he felt that he had grown a bit taller, his height reaching just over two meters, his muscle lines were more defined, and the sense of fluctuation within his body was becoming more and more intense, faintly possessing a surging momentum.