After leaving the Grand Line and getting away from that brutal weather, Rowan was shocked to discover just how beautiful the sea could be.
At a glance, all he could see was a vast, endless expanse of blue water.
The sea was calm at the moment, like a giant azure mirror.
Sunlight slanted down across the surface, scattering silver sparkles everywhere—bright, but not harsh on the eyes.
The water nearby was so clear it looked like glass. He could see small groups of fish swimming lazily below, their tails flicking once before they vanished into another patch of shifting light.
Every now and then, a seabird skimmed past, the tips of its wings brushing the surface and sending ripples spreading outward in rings, until they finally disappeared into the boundless stillness.
Far in the distance, where sea and sky met, the horizon blended into one color, making it impossible to tell where the ocean ended and the heavens began.
Rowan couldn't help standing on the deck and shouting in delight.
"Now this is what the sea is supposed to be like! To hell with the Grand Line and its garbage weather!"
As a modern person who had never really suffered before, he truly could not handle the Grand Line's insane climate.
It was just too miserable.
Now that he was finally seeing the peaceful East Blue, all the frustration and resentment he'd been bottling up came pouring out at once.
Watching Rowan vent on the deck, Nico Robin let out a helpless laugh.
But deep down, she couldn't help feeling a little envious—envious of the world Rowan came from.
She understood very well just how peaceful his world had to be. Otherwise, it would never have produced someone like Rowan, someone so pampered and so unused to hardship.
Compared to that, her own world was an absolute mess.
At that moment, Nico Robin genuinely wanted to overthrow the World Government as soon as possible and turn her own world into one as peaceful and tranquil as Rowan's.
So she decided it was time to put a little pressure on the Revolutionary Army—and on Dragon himself.
If all he ever did was sweat nervously, when exactly was he planning to overthrow the World Government?
Someone clearly needed to light a fire under them and make them move faster.
She really wanted peace that badly.
…
Two more days passed, and Rowan's group successfully arrived at the sea restaurant Baratie without running into any trouble at all.
That left Rowan a little surprised.
"Wasn't the world of One Piece supposed to be crawling with pirates? Why haven't I seen a single one this whole time?"
Robin couldn't help saying, "The East Blue is known as the weakest sea. It also has the fewest pirates, so not seeing any is perfectly normal."
"As for the Grand Line… you were holed up in your own world playing games and reading manga every day, so of course you didn't see any pirates."
"In reality, we ran into pirates several times while sailing through the Grand Line."
"But Lord Hashirama dealt with them all already."
Rowan turned to look at Hashirama. Was that true?
Hashirama laughed heartily and said, "They were just a bunch of small fry. Nothing worth mentioning."
Hashirama may have pacified the age of chaos with Wood Release, but that didn't mean Wood Release was all he knew.
Besides Wood Release, he was highly skilled in plenty of other jutsu too. After all, his chakra natures were Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Yang.
Even Sage Mode wasn't beyond him.
Against pirates, all it usually took was a single Water Dragon Bullet to blow both ship and crew apart.
He didn't even need to use Wood Release.
To keep Rowan safe, those pirates had been wiped out from hundreds of meters away before they ever got close.
So it was only natural that Rowan hadn't seen any pirates along the way.
"Alright, fine."
Rowan didn't dwell on it for long. The moment their ship docked with the Baratie, he hurriedly boarded the restaurant.
Compared to pirates, what he really wanted was to try the food here.
"Welcome to the sea restaurant Baratie. May I ask how many gu—pfft—"
The moment Rowan stepped inside, he saw a burly chef rubbing his hands together as he walked over. Before the man could even finish speaking, a blond man with curly eyebrows came sprinting over out of nowhere and kicked the chef flying.
The chef shot across the room and slammed into the cabin wall with a thud, landing in a heap.
Without even glancing at the man he'd kicked away, the blond curly-brow dropped to one knee in front of Nico Robin, a rose clenched in his teeth.
"Beautiful lady, welcome to the sea restaurant Baratie. I am your personal chef, San—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, a black frying pan smacked right into his face, sending him flying too.
"I've told you how many times already—stop harassing the customers here, you damn brat, Sanji!"
The man holding the frying pan was none other than Zeff, the owner of the Baratie.
And the blond curly-brow who'd just been smacked away was Sanji, future member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
"You damn old geezer, are you trying to kill me?!"
Sanji didn't stay down after getting launched. Instead, he sprang back to his feet with a kip-up and started roaring at the top of his lungs.
More importantly, the rose in his mouth still hadn't fallen out.
How the hell was he doing that? Rowan truly couldn't figure it out.
Also, Rowan had seen that hit very clearly.
Zeff had not held back at all. When Sanji got smacked in the face, his head had visibly deformed a little.
And yet now he looked perfectly fine—full of energy, like he hadn't been hurt at all.
It was ridiculous.
If that had happened to someone on Earth, they'd be looking at a severe concussion at minimum, maybe even permanent damage.
If they were unlucky, Zeff would be on the floor begging them not to die.
It drove home a point Rowan had already realized several times over: humans in the One Piece world were not the same as humans on Earth.
Faced with Sanji's loud complaints, Zeff simply kicked him flying again.
"My apologies, guests. Please forgive the spectacle. How many of you are there?"
Even after punting Sanji away, Zeff still remembered to apologize to Rowan's group.
He really was trying his best. Rowan almost felt touched.
"It's fine, it's fine." Rowan waved a hand. "There are three of us. Please give us a good table."
Zeff nodded. "Please follow me."
Then he personally led them to a nice seat by the window and handed the menu to Rowan.
Rowan scanned it a few times. There were well over a hundred dishes listed—main courses, snacks, desserts, specialty seafood. It was enough to make anyone dizzy, and his indecisiveness kicked in instantly.
He set the menu aside and asked curiously, "It's our first time here. What's your signature dish?"
"Obviously the seafood risotto."
Before Zeff could answer, Sanji walked over and said bluntly, "Old man, go handle something else. I'll take care of this table."