The warships of the New Navy are very distinctive on this sea. When the universal shipbuilding technology is still at the stage of sailing ships, the ships of the New Navy have basically moved away from sail power.
Since Vegapunk's return, the new navy's military technology has developed very rapidly. In just a few years, the new navy's weapons and equipment have been updated.
Therefore, even Usopp on the observation deck only needed to glance at the ship approaching rapidly from a distance to immediately recognize the other party's identity and origin.
"A ship from the new navy?!"
Usopp's words shocked the Straw Hat Pirates on the deck, but Luffy and the others quickly adjusted their mentality.
Nami reacted the fastest. She ran towards the cabin and shouted to her companions who were still standing there, "Stop standing there and change your clothes."
"The warship is coming soon, speed up!"
The Straw Hat Pirates knew that the destination of this trip was Wano Country, the headquarters of the new navy, so naturally they would not do anything without making any preparations.
Franky has made some changes to the appearance of the Sunny. The "lion head" at the bow has been replaced with a sheep's head that was taken off the Golden Merry. The paint color has also been changed from the original bright red and yellow to a more simple white and blue color scheme.
The pirate flag was naturally lowered long before entering this sea area and replaced with a common white sail.
In order to avoid detection by the New Navy, the Straw Hat Pirates also purchased some wigs, false beards and other things for disguise on other islands. Although the makeup may be a bit rough due to haste, it should not be a problem to conceal their identities.
As far as the Straw Hat Pirates know, there are thousands of ships traveling back and forth between the nations every day. Even if the New Navy's garrison troops are very diligent and conscientious, it is impossible for them to carefully inspect all the ships.
As long as there is no abnormality in the ship's draft, the new navy will generally release it after a rough inspection.
The relatively relaxed inspection policy is actually one of the main factors for the development of international trade.
At Nami's call, Luffy and others hurried back to the cabin, and Usopp on the observation deck quickly retreated into the tower. After a while, when Usopp walked out again, he was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face, holding a history book in his hands, pretending to be a cultured person.
The warship in the distance was approaching very quickly. When the two ships were only about a hundred meters apart, Usopp noticed that there were soldiers on the deck of the warship waving a "stop" flag at them.
"Frankie, that warship asked us to stop."
"It looks like they're planning to board our ship for inspection."
Usopp had excellent eyesight. Even without a telescope, he could clearly see the flag signals sent by the soldiers on the deck of the warship. Then, through the observation deck, the intercom Den Den Mushi transmitted a message to the power room.
The power structure of the Sunny is also different from that of ordinary sailboats. In addition to retaining the sails, part of the power source of the Sunny is "Coke".
Before entering the waters of the World, in order to ensure that the ship has a certain ability to escape in the event of an accident, the Fenglai Cannon has always been in a "ready to fire" state.
At this time, Usopp sent a message to Franky to prevent Franky from taking extreme actions.
While the two of them were talking, Luffy and the others had already returned to the deck after completing their "disguise". Luffy heard what Usopp said and said to Sanji behind him: "Sanji, calm down and stop the boat."
They had already made preparations to deal with the new navy inspection, so the attitude they showed at this time was naturally unusually cooperative.
After a while, the advancing Sunny slowly stopped, and the warship not far away saw that the Sunny was cooperating and also approached quickly. When the two ships were only a few dozen meters apart, a figure jumped up from the deck of the warship and quickly shot towards the deck of the Sunny.
"despair--"
A clear sound rang out on the deck of the Sunny, and a tall and beautiful figure appeared on the Sunny. The appearance of this woman immediately attracted the attention of all the crew members.
This is a female navy girl with short, neat hair. Judging from the tassels on her shoulders, she should be an officer. The woman has fair skin and delicate features. She exudes an intellectual aura, which is completely different from the young girls like Nami and Vivi.
As soon as they boarded the ship, the female general's beautiful eyes swept over the Straw Hat Pirates one by one. After a while, her gaze stopped on Luffy:
"Hello, I'm Nico Robin, Commodore of the New Navy's International Branch."
"Your ships have entered the territory of the Ten Thousand Nations."
"Excuse me, who among you is the captain of this ship?"
Although Robin asked this question, her eyes were fixed on Luffy, as if she had confirmed that Luffy was the captain of this ship.
Although the members of the Straw Hat Pirates are very close to each other, and Luffy has never acted like a captain when they are together, after all these years of getting along, they have actually formed certain habits or tacit understandings of behavior.
At this time, the Straw Hat Pirates standing on the deck surrounded Luffy in the center.
This was a subconscious action, but Robin noticed this detail.
Not only that, during the time Robin was speaking, she had already noticed that the people in front of her seemed to be more or less disguised in appearance.
The glasses Usopp was wearing seemed to be plain glasses; there were obvious traces of powder on the corners of Luffy's eyes; Sanji's mustache did not look like it was naturally grown; and as for Brook, who was wearing a hood and a mask on his face, he looked suspicious in every way.
The only ones with natural makeup were Nami, Vivi and the fur-tribe girl Carrot.
After all, she is a girl and she is good at makeup. Once she puts on colored contact lenses and changes her makeup, her temperament will be completely different.
As for Gallot, she has never appeared on the wanted list and does not need any disguise at all.
“Oh~oh~”
"I'm the captain, my name is Lucci!"
Luffy, the single-celled creature, almost revealed his real name, but fortunately he was not stupid enough to do that, and he changed his words in time before the words came to his lips.
As expected, Robin nodded slightly when Luffy introduced himself, then extended his hand and asked in a friendly manner:
"Hello, Captain Luqi. Your ship appears here. It should be heading to Wanguo, right?"
"If you want to go to the island, our new navy needs to conduct some simple inspections on your ship. Only after the inspection can we let you go."
"Of course, if you just happened to enter this sea area, then there is no need for inspection. You just need to readjust the route. Our new navy will escort you out of this sea area."
Although Robin's tone was polite, his words revealed a sense of urgency that could not be refused.
When it comes to the security of all nations, the new navy has revealed the domineering side of the world's most powerful force.
"Want to inspect the merchant ship?"
"Well, we are indeed preparing to enter the Wan Guo, and we know the rules."
"Would you like to examine it yourself? I can take you there."
Nami took over the conversation calmly. She actually noticed Luffy's slip of the tongue. In order to prevent her unreliable captain from saying too much and making more mistakes, Nami decided to appear in person.
"Hmm? This is..."
Robin had a clear understanding of the relationship between the primary and the secondary. When she saw Nami interrupting, she did not respond immediately. Instead, she looked at Luffy, pointed at Nami, and asked.
"Oh, she is my navigator, Mina."
"Commodore Nico Robin, how do you plan to check? Mina can take you there."
The crew members' aliases had been discussed before. Luffy, who had almost made a slip of the tongue before, was now clearly focused and responded more calmly than before. He was obviously getting into the state and role.
"Mina."
Names like Lucci and Mina are too common. Just from the names, Robin can't really feel anything.
But during this brief conversation, Robin felt a strong sense of disharmony from these people.
What does that feel like?!
Well, these people in front of me are like fresh-faced college students. No matter what kind of disguise they use, they can’t hide the clarity and naiveté in their eyes.
But that’s the weird thing, you know, this is a new world!
In a place like this, these guys with clear eyes generally cannot survive.
Moreover, when facing the new naval rear admiral, these people did not flatter and fawn like other forces.
Although Robin felt that these people were somewhat wary of him, they did not regard him as someone "superior". In their eyes, there was no awe of the new navy, and their attitude when communicating with him was also quite relaxed.
Robin hadn't seen such a person for a long time.
Robin knew very well what kind of reputation the New Navy had in the New World. Those external forces, regardless of whether they were good or evil, always acted submissive towards the New Navy.
But the guys on the ship in front of him were completely different.
Robin couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth when he noticed this, and the smile on his face became more friendly.
"Okay, I'll trouble you, Miss Navigator."
"I'll just go into the cabin and take a look. Please let Miss Navigator accompany me. Don't worry, I won't touch your things in private."
Checking ships is actually a taboo in this ocean. After all, most people don't want others to see their privacy.
Especially those who sail on the sea all year round, they always have some things to deal with.
If the new navy did not have enough prestige, who knows how many conflicts would have occurred if ordinary forces wanted to inspect other people's ships.
"Okay, come with me."
Nami nodded, extended her hand, and was about to take Robin away when Robin suddenly turned to Luffy and asked, "Captain Lucci, what are you planning to do in Wano Country?"
Luffy was suddenly called "Captain Lucci" and he didn't react for a while. When he noticed Robin looking at him, Luffy realized belatedly that the other party was asking him.
Luffy laughed and quickly explained:
"Sightseeing tour, by the way, also helps our chef fulfill his dream."
"He heard that Wan Guo's desserts are the best in the world, and he wants to come to Wan Guo to taste them himself."
The excuse had been thought of long ago. Although it was a bit nonsensical, the Straw Hat Pirates knew they could deal with the New Navy.
After all, countless people have traveled to various countries over the years.
"A cook's dream?"
Robin was stunned when she heard this, and then her eyes swept over the Straw Hat Pirates, and then her eyes fell on Sanji.
After taking a closer look, Robin smiled at Luffy and said:
"Captain Lucci must be very popular among the crew."
With that, without another word, Robin followed Nami off the deck.
Seeing Robin and Nami leave the deck, Luffy and others breathed a sigh of relief.
"call--"
In response to Robin's questioning, each of these guys was extremely nervous and focused. Although Robin was very friendly and did not show any sharpness, his sharpness left a deep impression on the crew.
Sanji saw Robin leave and said in a deep voice:
"He is truly a very perceptive general."
"You guys better cheer up."
Sanji obviously noticed Robin's gaze. The other party probably realized that he was the cook on this ship just by observing him. That's why the other party looked at him again before leaving.
At this moment, Sanji was not blinded by the beauty.
Obviously, the emergence of the new navy also brought tremendous pressure to Sanji.
Inside the cabin, Robin, led by Nami, visited one cabin after another. Those were the crew members' rooms, which were the most private parts of the ship.
Robin didn't stay in each room for long. He basically just took a quick glance and left, as if he was just passing through, looking nonchalant.
It's nothing, it's just that the Sunny is too clean.
There was no blood or dirt, nor the peculiar smell of decay that was found on other ships.
Every cabin on the ship is very bright and full of life.
On a ship like this, it was naturally impossible for Robin to find any contraband.
Judging from the cabin environment on the Sunny, Robin had actually judged in his heart that the group of people in front of him should not be pirates.
How could a pirate ship have such a cabin environment?!
But what Robin didn't expect was that there are pirates in this world who don't kill people, don't enslave people, and don't carry large amounts of munitions on their ships.
The Straw Hat Pirates are just such a group of pirates.
After checking a few cabins, Robin followed Nami toward the deck. Glancing at Nami's walking posture, Robin suddenly asked:
"Ms. Mina, a beauty like you, have you always been single?"
"It seems like the crew is protecting you very well!"
Robin's words were somewhat presumptuous, and Nami obviously did not expect the brigadier general to suddenly ask this. She paused and looked back at Robin with a confused look on her face.
Robin narrowed her eyes and smiled, and her intellectual older sister look made Nami blush when she realized what was happening.
Robin had a hint of meaning, and Nami, being a smart person, understood it.
The maritime environment in the New World has improved a lot due to the emergence of the new navy, but the sea is still a chaotic place after all.
Beauty is a resource on this sea.
Especially on the ship. If a beauty wants to survive safely on the sea, she must find the so-called "support". It is normal for a woman with weak abilities to use her body in exchange for protection.
But that kind of phenomenon did not exist on this ship. Robin observed the figures of several women on the ship, and they were all green buds waiting to bloom.
This is also an important basis for Robin to judge whether this group of people is good or bad.
At this stage, the Straw Hat Pirates have already passed the test with Robin.
(End of this chapter)
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