After hearing the remaining time, Luffy immediately began to calculate in his mind.
According to the information he understood from the original work, it would take at least a week for an ordinary ship to reach Marineford from here.
However, if a warship could be used, passing through the Gate of Justice and riding the Marine's exclusive currents, it would only take four days to arrive.
But for Luffy and his crew, if they used the Merry, which could reach twice the speed of an ordinary ship at its fastest, they could still reach Marineford within five days, even without going through the Gate of Justice.
Moreover, they also had Vivi and Karu.
If Karu took the others into his alternate dimension, and then Vivi carried him while flying forward...
Theoretically, they could arrive in less than a day.
Of course, continuously maintaining the Azure Luan form for maximum speed flight would be too exhausting for Vivi, and she might not be able to do it.
But if they alternated between Vivi and the Merry for their journey, two days would definitely be enough.
However, the only problem now was that they didn't know how to get to Marineford.
Just then, a flash of inspiration struck Luffy.
He thought of something that could guide their direction.
Ace's Vivre Card.
If they just followed the direction of the Vivre Card, wouldn't they be able to find Ace?
Luffy, excited, immediately took out Ace's nearly depleted Vivre Card.
Spreading it out on his palm, he saw it slowly moving in a certain direction.
Seeing Luffy's actions, the others immediately guessed something and asked.
"Should we depart now?"
Luffy looked at everyone; their eyes sparkled with endless fighting spirit, already prepared.
Except for Bonney!
Bonney had joined the Straw Hat solely to protect Kuma, and since she had just joined, she didn't have deep feelings for them.
However, Luffy didn't mind this and shook his head, telling everyone.
"Before we depart, I want to give you all a special training session to help you improve even further!"
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone was very curious and puzzled.
"Special training?! Now, except for Franky, Brook, and Bonney, training has little effect on the rest of us!"
"Yes! Is there any special training that can quickly improve strength?"
Luffy smiled faintly and said.
"Of course there is!"
"The fastest way to improve strength..."
"Is combat!"
24 "So next..."
"I will conduct targeted special training based on each of your preferred fighting styles, helping you improve to the greatest extent."
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone's bodies trembled.
Usopp was the first to nervously say.
"You... you're going to be our opponent?"
Luffy nodded slightly.
Fighting against strong opponents allows for greater improvement through innate talent.
Furthermore, each of Luffy's abilities surpassed those of the rest of the Straw Hat, so if Luffy personally fought with them, their improvement would undoubtedly be even greater.
Seeing Luffy nod, everyone immediately felt an inexplicable pressure, and they all became nervous.
Except for Uta, who had trained with Luffy before, no one else had ever fought with Luffy.
However, before training, Luffy and his crew had one very important thing to do.
That is... eat!
After flying for two days, he was already starving.
Plus, he had used Haki to resist the Empress's ability earlier, which made him feel even weaker at the moment.
The others were in a similar situation.
The battle with the Nine Snake Island warriors also consumed a lot of their energy.
Everyone looked extremely exhausted at the moment.
Just as they were about to search the forest to see if they could find any wild beasts to fill their stomachs.
They noticed a few female warriors rushing over.
Seeing the newcomers, Luffy recognized them.
The one with short yellow hair and a black and green striped snake wrapped around her waist was Margaret, the warrior of the nation.
And with her came a rather sturdy female warrior, and a very tall, somewhat Daidai female warrior.
While Luffy was recalling their identities, the three had already arrived in front of the Straw Hat.
Then, they heard Margaret say.
"We are holding a banquet to celebrate the return of the Nine Snake Pirates, and Lady Empress has asked us to invite you to attend."
Upon hearing this, Sanji was the first to beam with joy, his eyes immediately filled with hearts, and his whole body swayed in the wind.
"Ah, ah, ah… Is this true? Am I about to enter the paradise of my dreams?"
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Margaret began to speak.
"Our country does not allow men to enter!"
"So only these women and your Captain can enter our country to attend the banquet."
Sanji was fantasizing about a dreamlike scene when he was suddenly pulled back to reality by these words, and his heart instantly turned to ashes, falling to the ground with a thud.
Nami, however, asked curiously at this moment.
"Why can Luffy go in?"
"Isn't he a man too?"
Margaret looked at Luffy, her eyes filled with endless curiosity, and replied.
"This is Lady Empress's command!"
"Lady Empress said that this man is a special case and is allowed to enter the city!"
No sooner had Margaret finished speaking than Luffy instantly felt several chilling gazes directed at him.
This made Luffy shiver involuntarily.
But thinking of the banquet at hand, he immediately agreed.
"We'll attend!"
"Let's go quickly!"
"I'm starving!"
Luffy urged, then familiarly rushed towards the city.
Margaret immediately chased after him.
"Wait! You can't just run around in the city!"
The other girls, led by the two other warriors, also rushed towards the city.
Only Sanji and the others were left crying helplessly in place.
"Wuwuwu… My dream is shattered!"
Watching Sanji kneel on the ground, burying his face and crying bitterly, Zoro snorted disdainfully.
"Idiot!"
With that, he walked into the forest alone.
"Zoro, where are you going?"
"To find prey! I can't just wait to starve to death like that perverted cook!"
"Damn it! You green moss head! Do you want to fight?"
"Wait for me, Zoro! Don't go alone! We'll have to look for you again later."
...
Inside the city!
In a huge banquet hall.
It was filled with female warriors from Nine Snake Island, and in front of each person were various abundant delicacies.
But at this moment, the atmosphere inside was very strange.
Everyone had not started eating, but instead were staring intently at Luffy, who was sitting at a table, eating voraciously.
Luffy's mouth never stopped, his two hands rapidly stuffing food into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out.
This exaggerated eating style and speed surprised everyone.
The Straw Hat girls also had surprised expressions at this moment.
But they were not surprised by Luffy, but rather by Bonney's performance.
Bonney's eating habits and speed were actually on par with Luffy's.
Luffy devoured all the food in front of him in the blink of an eye.
But he only felt barely full.
Soon, he set his sights on the food in front of others.
He glanced at Margaret, who was sitting next to him, staring blankly at him, and asked,
"Can I eat this...?"
Margaret was still deeply immersed in the curiosity of seeing a man for the first time, and she subconsciously nodded, saying blankly,
"Mm! You can!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly widened her eyes.
Luffy's arm suddenly stretched out, rapidly stuffing the food in front of her into his mouth.
This scene immediately caused all the female warriors present to exclaim repeatedly.
"Can men stretch?"
"Men's appetites are so terrifying! He alone ate the portion of ten of us."
"Men look so interesting!"
"I really want to touch a man!"
Just as others were staring at Luffy in amazement, Margaret finally mustered her courage and tentatively said to Luffy,
"Um... can I touch you?"
Luffy was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and he glanced at Margaret.
Margaret, being looked at by Luffy like that, immediately thought he was going to get angry.
After all, making such a request upon a first meeting was truly too impolite.
She repeatedly apologized to Luffy,
"So... sorry!"
"I said the wrong thing!"
But what made her pause was that Luffy, after looking at her, unexpectedly agreed.
"Mm! You can!"
"Consider it a thank-you gift for treating me to food!"
Margaret's eyes brightened a few shades when she heard this, and she said in surprise,
"Really? Thank you!"
Then, she curiously pinched Luffy's arm, stretching the skin on it back and forth like rubber, revealing an extremely surprised expression.
"sugei! Men are truly amazing!"
With the start of this action, soon, a large group of female warriors gathered around Luffy, all asking to touch him and willing to exchange food for it.
Hearing that there was food in exchange, Luffy agreed without hesitation.
However, so as not to affect his eating, he specifically stretched out one arm, letting them play around with that arm themselves, as long as they didn't bother him.
After Luffy agreed, instantly, a small mountain of meat and various foods piled up on the table in front of him, packed to the brim.
And a large group of female warriors were extremely excited and gathered around Luffy's arm, stretching it back and forth.
This scene left the Straw Hat crew quite puzzled.
They couldn't understand why these people were so excited.
Only Bonney looked even more excited than those people, and she instantly pounced towards Luffy.
The small amount of food she had received was simply not enough to fill her up.
Soon, she joined Luffy, and the two of them, like a storm, swept through the food in front of them.
...
After an unknown amount of time, most of the food in front of Luffy had been devoured.
But strangely, the number of people gathered around Luffy's arm did not decrease at all; in fact, a line of people had even formed outside the banquet hall.
All the citizens, hearing that they could touch a man here, had rushed over, waiting in line to enter.
Just then, Marigold and Sandersonia led a group of warriors to this place.
Seeing such an exaggerated display, they were also startled.
But considering the national conditions of their country, they could understand.
Ignoring those people, Marigold spoke directly to Luffy,
"Man!"
"My sister wants to see you!"
"Come with us!"
Upon hearing these words, the banquet hall instantly fell silent, and all the female warriors stopped their movements at that moment.
The Empress wanted to see Luffy; they dared not delay.
They spontaneously let go of Luffy, making way for him.
Luffy was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but he still nodded and said,
"Alright!"
With that, he took a bite of the half-eaten piece of meat in his hand, stood up, and walked towards the door.
The Straw Hat crew also wanted to follow, but they were stopped by Sandersonia.
"Sorry! My sister only summoned him alone!"
"You all stay here and continue to enjoy the banquet!"
Upon hearing Sandersonia's words, the girls' expressions suddenly changed.
Their intuition told them that something was definitely going on between Luffy and the Empress.
Ultimately, they were forced to stay, but Nami quietly activated her ability, listening to the sounds on the island.
Luffy was led all the way to the main hall of the palace.
However, the hall was empty at the moment; besides them, there was no one else.
After leading Luffy to a curtain at the very end, Marigold spoke to the curtain,
"Sister, he's here!"
The Empress's voice came from behind the curtain.
"Come in!"
Luffy was a bit bewildered when he heard this, and he couldn't help but glance at the two sisters.
Then he heard a voice again from inside,
"Man, come in!"
The two sisters also gestured to Luffy at this moment, telling him to go inside the curtain.
Luffy, having no choice, lifted the curtain and walked in.
As soon as he entered, he suddenly widened his eyes, and his heart trembled along with it.
In front of him, the Empress was bare-chested, staring intently at him.
340 Looking at Luffy's face, the Empress frowned tightly, appearing very hesitant, and she did not speak for a long time.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from the direction of the hall.
"Haven't you already made a decision?"
"Then don't hesitate, tell him!"
Hearing this voice, everyone looked in that direction simultaneously.
Niu Popo was seen walking over, leaning on her snake staff.
Seeing the newcomer, the Empress immediately gritted her teeth and said,
"Why are you here?"
Niu Popo said calmly,
"I asked those few people, and I've already guessed what happened."
"This man is worthy of your trust; feel free to tell him everything!"
Hearing Niu Popo say this, the Empress and her two sisters were all very puzzled.
They didn't understand why Niu Popo trusted Luffy so much.
And at this moment, Niu Popo took out a newspaper, threw it to the Empress, and at the same time said,
"Look at this report!"
"This man, two days ago in Sabaody Archipelago..."
"Committed the act of publicly executing a Celestial Dragon!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Empress and her two sisters were simultaneously shocked.
They incredibly widened their eyes, looking at Luffy with extreme astonishment.
After quickly reading the newspaper and confirming that what Niu Popo said was true, the newspaper in the Empress's hand suddenly slipped.
After being stunned for a moment, she suddenly covered her face, her body trembling violently.
"Wuwu..."
"I didn't expect there to be such an idiot in this world!"
"There's actually someone else like him... who challenges [Heaven] regardless of his own life and death!"
After crying for a long time, the Empress finally recovered a little.
She lowered her head slightly, her mouth turned down, her face showing extreme sadness and pain, and she slowly said in a low voice,
"I'll tell you everything!"
Saying that, she turned around, pulled back her hair, revealing the mark on her back.
"Just as you said, this mark is the Celestial Dragon's slave mark!"
"We three sisters... were all once slaves of the Celestial Dragons!!!"
When mentioning those last few words, the Empress and her two sisters immediately gritted their teeth, their faces showing extreme pain.
This had already become a shadow in their hearts.
But the Empress still forcibly gritted her teeth and told Luffy about how their three sisters were captured and enslaved when they were young.
After reliving these painful memories again, the eyes of the Empress and her two sisters were filled with endless sadness and fear.
Their eyes were brimming with tears, and their bodies trembled slightly.
After the excited emotions lasted for a long time, the Empress forcibly suppressed the pain in her heart and said to Luffy,
"That's why we would rather die than let anyone see this mark."
"Once people know that we were once slaves of the Celestial Dragons, we will no longer be able to stay in this country."
"We don't want anyone to know our past!"
"Even if we have to deceive the entire country! We will not show any flaws!"
"Because we don't want to be controlled by anyone anymore!"
"Not guarding against others... is truly too terrifying!"