The First Section: Long Ma's Dragon Flute

  A gentle breeze and bright sunshine, with clear skies as far as the eye can see.

  Shen Bao lay on the deck's lounge chair, basking in the sun. In his hand, he was playing with a glossy black horn flute. This was the Dragon Flute, which had been automatically contributed by the sword master Long Ma after his recovery.

  There is also a rather wonderful little story about this dragon flute.

  The story tells of two despicable swordsmen who use a dragon flute to summon a flying fire dragon, burning and killing everywhere. They often pretend to drive away the invading fire dragon at the last moment, gaining great reputation and admiration from the people. However, how can one walk along the riverbank without getting their shoes wet? In the end, they were exposed by a wandering swordsman with extraordinary skills during an operation, and the fire dragon was also beheaded.

  By now, everyone should have understood. No mistake, this swordsmanship superior swordsman is Long Ma, and it was this battle that established the reputation of "Dragon Slayer Warrior" Long Ma. As for the Dragon Summoning Flute that lacked the Fire Dragon, it naturally became Long Ma's spoils of war, and after passing through several hands, it fell into the hands of the evil captain.

  "This dragon flute has a special structure, its material is like gold but not gold, like wood but not wood, and it's extremely durable. I used all my strength to pinch it, but couldn't leave any marks on it. Based on my over 10 years of gaming experience in my past life, this should be a summoning treasure with quantity restrictions but no limits on usage times. It should allow me to control a giant dragon and use it as I please. But where can I find a giant dragon?"

  He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard Kurokas' voice beside his ear, interrupting his train of thought: "Captain, this is your Nine-Tongue Orchid wine, please drink slowly."

  As soon as Shinpachi opened his eyes, he saw Kurukuras standing beside him in a Hawaiian-style outfit, with a cup of blue-green bubbly drink on the small white table to his right.

  Since Kurukurus became a bartender (this sounds so awkward!), his specialty - mixing drinks, was quickly discovered. Whether it's brandy, rum, vanilla sweet wine, or plum wine, or even grape juice, he can configure them one by one and make them perfectly excessive.

  "All right, you can go now. Bring another glass of tequila over to Nana." Shuibao closed his eyes again.

  "Yes, sir." Kurokas bowed and backed away. The effect of the Mother Nest's fruit was truly remarkable; the configuration of the Dragon Tongue Orchid was quite intricate and complex, and a single cup would take up nearly half a day of his time - even he himself didn't often make it. But when he heard Shino say those words, he naturally obeyed without wondering why he was willing to follow this person's orders.

  "Oh my, Captain! You're so sly! Sneaking a taste of the finest absinthe!"

  Suddenly, a complaining voice with ups and downs came to Erpin's ears. Without opening his eyes, Shen Bao's mind directly depicted a dragon horse wearing a white Japanese samurai uniform, savoring the just-served Dracaena with relish.

  This master swordsman has a personality that's a combination of Luffy and Zoro, fearless of heaven and earth, with a coarse and rough demeanor, seemingly only becoming agile during battles, but normally having a lazy and insolent appearance.

  Long Ma took a sip and immediately exclaimed in a daze: "And what's even more heartbreaking is that you actually asked Kurokas to send only one portion to Nana, without even thinking about the lonely sailor who was waiting for your comfort!"

  Facing such a weird and sarcastic remark, Shen Bao helplessly shook his head. Although he could have ordered Long Ma to go down forcefully, he didn't want to do so.

  Firstly, he never treated his mother's body as a slave or servant, but rather as the closest and most loyal partner.

  Secondly, doing so can easily damage the character of Ryoma, as top-notch swordsmen are often unconventional and independent. If he loses his unique personality and becomes a yes-man, it will be detrimental to his growth from Japan's number one swordsman to the world's number one swordsman.

  Imagine if there was no proud Sorro, would he still be that powerful swordsman of the Three Knives Flow? Without the spirit of a knight, would Sanji still be that Black Leg Sanji?

  So, Shan Bao replied helplessly: "Long Ma, you've just recovered from your illness. Although the Dragon Tongue Orchid is brewed with various herbs and is good for blood circulation, it's still a liquor after all. It's better not to overindulge!"

  "Are you still saying 'don't be greedy'?! Cunning old man, who doesn't know that you've already decided that Kurokas will return to the Twin Siblings Lighthouse after I fully recover?! It's really puzzling, we're clearly partners yet have to separate, and he gets to stay on the ship to savor this unparalleled fine wine, isn't it an extraordinary delight?"

  Facing Long Ma's inquiry, Shen Bao could only shake his head and smile bitterly. It wasn't that he was idle and looking for trouble, but rather because without Kurokas' care, Whale Lab might crash into the mountains and die; secondly, without Kurokas' life-saving Roger Captain, it would be absolutely impossible to conquer the Great Navigation Route, and indirectly, there wouldn't have been Roger's surrender, opening up the era of pirate supremacy at his execution!

  "This is the super background of the entire Pirate King era! If only because of Luffy's gluttony, the result would directly lead the entire world into another strange and chaotic current, with severe consequences that even Shanks dare not think about."

  Changing history without having the power to do so is a behavior that even the most brain-dead time traveler wouldn't engage in.

  "Of course, Shen Bao wouldn't reveal his deepest secrets so easily. He just smiled and said, 'What's wrong, worried that we don't have enough companions? Long Ma, you're too sentimental. Don't worry, I've already made arrangements for the crew on the ship. All those fine wines are prepared to recruit people.'"

  Upon hearing the captain's words, Long Ma, being thick-skinned, was easily distracted and shouted: "Partner? Who doesn't know that Captain, your requirements for partners are unreasonably high! Quickly tell us, what kind of person can gain your approval!"

  "Haha, the heavenly machine cannot be revealed!" How could a captain with such an evil sense of humor easily give away the answer.

  "Hurry up and tell me, you damned captain, or else I'll drink all your tequila in one gulp!"

  "How dare you! Are you actually threatening me, the captain?!"

  "Gulp, gulp." This was a loud swallowing sound.

  "Shut up, leave some for me!" Shen Bao couldn't sit still anymore. Alas, Long Ma's recovery of his agility was not something that this clumsy fish-man could match. Flapping left and right, flying up and down, he would only get further away from the beautiful Dragon Tongue Orchid.

  "Knock, knock."

  "Alright, I'll say it! You stop drinking now." Xīn Bǎo's eyes rolled around, "This time the partners we're going to recruit are two giants."

  "Dong dong......"

  "Oh no! You've drunk it all up! Ryoma, you're going down too!!!"

  ………………………………

  Guess who the new crew member is? Pirate fans should be able to think of it soon. Hehe.