Chapter 22

"Compass, map, ruler, uh, food supplies, gas, what else are we missing?" Rowan asked as he scratched his head.

"I think this should be alright, Rowan. Our destination is not that far away; just a straight course to Baratie!" Carina said.

"I doubt it. I mean, isn't Baratie a moving restaurant? How are we going to locate it? Look, it's not even shown on the map!" Rowan sighed at Carina's optimism. "Hmm, why don't we just go to a town instead? Won't it be easier that way?"

"Nope! If you want a capable chef to join our crew, Baratie is the way. They are quite famous for their top-notch culinary art and battle prowess, which make them ideal for our requirements." Carina explained as she took the map from Rowan's hand. "And in terms of locating it, you don't have to worry too much. They coated the exterior with white color, so it is quite easy to spot them from a distance, due to the reflection of light."

Although Rowan was skeptical, he had no choice but to listen to Carina. Unlike him, she has roamed around the East Blue since young, and acquired much information that he doesn't have. Additionally, She is their navigator of his ship; if she says so, it's probably true.

For the past 6 months, Rowan and Carina have been adjusting and modifying their plan. In order to enter the Grand Line, they required at least 3 more crew members: a chef, to provide them a balanced diet on the sea, a doctor, to treat any injuries, diseases, or any other health abnormalities on the ship, and a shipwright, to ensure that the ship won't collapse during their sail.

Carina shared the information regarding Baratie to Rowan, the floating restaurant, full of capable chefs. They were hoping to recruit a formidable chef there, as well as enjoy the delicious meals that Baratie is famous for.

"Alright, set sail!" Rowan called out, as he himself pulled on the rope. Although he was the captain, he had more strength than Carina; it was more suitable this way.

As Prominence left the shore, Rowan's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, Carina, how much Beli do we have?"

Hearing Rowan's inquiry, Carina quickly took out a stack of Beli from her pocket before counting.

"Uh, around 50 thousand?" Carina said dejectedly. "My dream of having luxurious life! Ah, what a pity!"

"Hmm... didn't you say that Baratie's meals are quite expensive?" As Rowan mentioned, Carina slouched even more.

"Yep. From what I recall, a full-course meal costs over 10 thousand Beli at least..."

"Noo. Unless we get to convince a chef to join our crew right away, we will be broke in just a day there! This is conflicting..."

"Ah, whatever." Rowan scratched his head, before giving Carina a thumbs up. "Well, if it turns out that we don't have enough, you just got to steal for us. Problem solved."

"Ah, Rowan, you are a genius!" Carina returned thumbs up to Rowan with a huge nod. "I hope that we encounter lots of riches, shishishi!"

___________

After 3 days of sailing, they still didn't sight Baratie or any other floating building. All they had was a boring and uneventful sailing.

"Didn't you say that locating Baratie is easy?" Rowan deadpanned.

"Ehe!" Carina held out her tongue while lightly knocking her head. Sighing, Rowan looked around, trying to see where they were.

"Hm? Is that a land that I'm seeing right now?" Rowan squinted his eyes as he sighted an island.

Carina opened a map and looked intently. "Judging by my skill, the land in front of us should be Syrup village!"

"Syrup village?" Rowan tilted his head. "So I'm assuming that they sell syrups?"

As the Rowan pirates approached closer to the island, a booming voice was heard suddenly.

"Muahahaha, I bid you my welcome to the base, owned by me, the man of 30 million Beli, Grimheart Rowan!!!" The voice stated in a menacing manner. "I currently have 100 billion henchmen situated here, waiting for my orders to strike! If you fear for your life, retreat immediately!!"

At the same time, the pirate flags arose all around them, all revealing Rowan's old jolly roger of bald skull with halo.

Rowan and Carina sweatdropped at this.

"Huh?! Don't tell me that you were the fake one all along!!" Carina faked a surprise as she exaggeratedly covered her mouth and pointed her finger at Rowan.

"Yes, yes." Rowan simply rolled his eyes.

"I will give you 3 seconds!" The voice continued on. "One... two... two and a half.... two and a half and a half's half... why aren't you running away??!" The voice cried as Prominence continued to approach the island.

"FINE!! Take the assault of my henchmen!!! Attack!!!" The voice screamed, and at the next moment, Rowan and Carina saw the rocks flying towards them. Not even bothering, Rowan simply punched each stone back to where it came from.

"Oww!!"

"Ouchy!!"

"Oof!!" The stones crashed into someone, and child-like screams were heard.

"Mission failed, mission failed, retreat immediately!!" The voice screamed as the kids hurriedly ran away from the view.

"So captain, what shall we do now?" Carina asked casually as Prominence safely landed on a shore. "We still have enough food supplies left."

"This village seems relatively safe in comparison to other islands." Rowan shrugged. "We didn't encounter any marine on our entry into this island, which means that the village must be secluded. Wait. Hmm..."

'Doesn't this mean that this island will be perfect for identity washing? Literally what I was looking for a year ago!' Rowan realized the irony. He found his dreamland, only after giving up on it.

"Well, why don't we check out? Who knows, we might find some very rich and kind person who might be willing to 'donate' us." Rowan smirked, which earned heartfelt nods from Carina.

They anchored Prominence on the shore, before landing on the sand.

"H-halt there!! Do not approach any further, intruders!!" The same voice, that they heard just moments ago, returned.

Looking up, Rowan found the boy with messy curly hair and a ridiculously long nose, aiming his slingshot towards them.

'A slingshot? That seems impractical. Why slingshot when there literally exists a gun?' Rowan tilted his head in confusion, but decided to keep his guard up just in case. 'Right, this is One Piece world. Anything is possible. Are we going to be seeing some robot transformations like Gundam too?'

"Heh, so you are Grimheart Rowan?" Rowan said to the boy. "Wow, haha. I am so scared. 30 million Beli pirate, pointing his slingshot at me."

Carina was rolling on the ground, laughing so hard that she could barely breathe.

"T-that's right, you better be!! I, the great Uso-, Rowan, will end your life if you don't obey me!!"

"Alright. Do you know who I am?" Rowan grinned, as he thought of the most ridiculous name he could think of. "My name is Monkey D. Dragon! Muahaha, I have the power of monkey on my right, and dragon on my left! Grimheart Rowan? He's nothing but a little weewee, playing in a bathtub!"

"Ahaha, Monkey D. Dragon! That's a good one, alright!" Carina's laugh intensified even further, as tears sipped out of her eyes. "Just imagine the worst criminal, Dragon's full name being Monkey D. Dragon! Hahaha!!"

"Hahahaha, what kind of name is that!!" Usopp laughed, before shaking his head. "I will say one more time! Leave now-"

Before Usopp could continue, Rowan simply threw a simple punch out of irritation, backed by his bounce force, to the cliff on the right.

*BOOM* His fist left a huge dent, and Usopp's jaw opened wide. Out of fear, his brain processed the situation at an insane speed.

'The unnatural force with blunt sound, a well-known characteristic of... the owner of Bounce Bounce fruit, Grimheart Rowan!!' As Usopp came to a realization, he immediately ran away while screaming in fear.

"Well, that was easy."