He's in One Piece, but he's also part of the Phantom Troupe.

Chapter 18 The Big Stomach

The sun shines warmly on the Black Whale.

Kuroro's complexion contrasted sharply with the weather; veins bulged on his forehead, and he was on the verge of bursting.

"No... you went to sea as a pirate, and out of all those fishermen, not a single one knew how to read a solid gold pointer?"

Kuroro looked defeated; he had miscalculated.

Bonnie lay sprawled on the table, looking utterly defeated.

"Please, you said it yourself, they are fishermen, not boatmen, so how would they know what they're talking about? Besides, finding your way in the ocean is the job of a navigator, okay?"

Bonnie seemed a little hesitant at this point.

"Um... I haven't recruited a navigator yet, so I thought I'd take advantage of yours~"

Then the two stared at each other,

"You don't have any either?" Bonnie asked uncertainly.

Kuroro nodded expressionlessly.

"If, and I mean if, you hadn't met me, how did you plan to go on the Grand Line?"

Bonnie said nonchalantly:

"Just wander around aimlessly~ Head towards the places with lots of pirates, and you'll naturally get there."

What a perfect theory! It's practically flawless. Kuroro couldn't help but give you a thumbs up in his heart.

Such a willful personality, no wonder he's only eight!

Seeing Kuroro's dejected expression, Bonnie couldn't help but ask curiously:

"But pirates usually set sail for the Grand Line, why are you going to the East Blue, the weakest sea? Are you going home?"

...I'm becoming a monk!

"We need to find the ship's navigator and historian."

Kuroro answered expressionlessly.

"Then why search in the East China Sea instead of the South China Sea?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head.

"It was from a fortune teller."

Are you very superstitious?

Kuroro's forehead veins were bulging more and more, on the verge of exploding.

"You ask too many questions..."

"Okay, okay~"

Bonnie leaned back in her chair, revealing her beautiful, alluring curves, but the next second she clutched her stomach.

"I'm hungry, when is dinner served?"

Kuroro turned and left, his face ashen.

"Open it now, Parker, go prepare her food."

Damn, I miscalculated...

I thought that bringing Bonnie aboard would allow her to act as a navigator for a while and help them find their way, but I never expected Bonnie to be such a clueless person!

Don't trust the intelligence of an eight-year-old! Kuroro summarizes his experience.

Kuroro turned around but didn't see Bonnie staring at his back with a sly look in her eyes.

……

Unable to determine the exact direction, Kuroro could only continue sailing the Black Whale due east.

Fortunately, the pure gold pointer prevents me from losing my bearings.

After Bonney has eaten and drunk her fill, Kuroro plans to incorporate her abilities into [Thief's Secrets].

This way, you can not only gain attribute points and reputation, but also give her a little nudge, killing two birds with one stone.

"Commander..." The swordsman stepped into the driver's seat.

Kuroro was puzzled by his hesitant manner:

"What is it?"

"Bonnie ate a bit too much." The knight rubbed his forehead.

"How much can a little kid eat?" Kuroro said nonchalantly.

"She's not the kind of person you can't eat, she's the special kind..."

"What's special about it?"

"She has an incredible appetite... She just ate almost our entire week's worth of food by herself."

The knight-errant smiled bitterly.

"What?! Lead the way!"

……

Kuroro looked at the plates scattered all over the floor and Bonney sitting on the floor, eating without any regard for her image.

His face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He finally understood why she had agreed to join the Phantom Troupe so quickly—she was just trying to freeload off him, wasn't she?!

"Are you Ryoko? You're eating so much!!"

whoosh-

Kuroro couldn't resist summoning the "Supreme Grand Tablecloth," and with a wave of his hand, he collected all the food on the ground into the "Incredible Convenience Pocket."

"Food! My food!"

Bonnie burst into tears.

She clung to Kuroro's leg, weeping.

"Just one bite! Just one more bite!"

"How much have you eaten? Are you here to eat like a glutton?"

"Do you even know that the Black Whale is already short of food? At this rate, we'll all be starving soon! The worst part is, we can't figure out the course and don't know where to go for resupply! What use are you?!"

"I can't help it, I haven't had a proper meal since we set sail. Just one more bite, I'll do anything you say, as long as you give me one bite!"

Bonnie has lost her mind due to the temptation of food, and now she's even willing to call Kuroro "Dad".

The food on this ship was absolutely delicious! There were so many dishes I'd never seen before!

Braised pork belly, steamed pork with rice flour, sweet and sour pork ribs, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish... they're all so delicious!!

Kuroro remained expressionless.

"Exchange intelligence for it."

"As long as you provide me with valuable information, I can provide you with this much food for every meal from now on."

Anyway, since you can replicate these foods with the Kubi (a type of cosmetic item), you can make as many as you want!

He didn't believe that Bonney, the adopted daughter of Kuma, the daughter of a Celestial Dragon, the granddaughter of the Queen Mother of the Sorbet Kingdom, and known to many high-ranking officials, was a traitor who only knew how to freeload.

"You really think you'll give me food if I provide useful information?"

Bonnie's eyes were bright and frightening.

Kuroro nodded.

"Of course, you've already been one of us, haven't you?"

"As long as you show your value, you can have food like this every day. After all... food is meant to be shared with your companions, isn't it?" Kuroro tempted.

Bonnie hesitated for a moment, but in the end, her appetite overcame her reason. The braised pork reached her brain, and she gritted her teeth and said:

"Your direction is wrong. To cross from the South China Sea to the East China Sea, besides traversing a Grand Line, you also need to cross... the Calm Belt."

"The sea is teeming with sea kings. Although your ship is enormous and can intimidate most of them, it is missing one crucial element."

Kuroro's eyes brightened slightly: "What's missing?"

"Without Seastone, only by embedding enough Seastone in the bottom of the ship can we suppress all the sea kings, successfully pass through the Calm Belt, enter the South China Sea, and find the person you are looking for."

Kuroro instantly realized that he knew about this technology. The Navy's warships used this technology to embed Seastone into the bottom of the ship, which is why only their warships could pass through the Calm Belt smoothly.

"Where are we going to find so much sea stone?"

The only major source of Seastone that Chrollo knew of was Wano Country. He couldn't very well have them go to Wano Country, which is in the latter half of the Grand Line, and then circle back to the East Blue...

Bonnie looked very hesitant, but finally gritted her teeth.

"I know where there is enough sea stone right now."

"Don't you find it strange? Smoker the White Hunter, Tina the Black Cage, and even the CP Department—so many top talents have gathered here. Their presence isn't solely for our sake."

"You mean...?"

Bonney looked at Kuroro and said, word by word, "Have you ever heard of the Heavenly Golden One?"

Kuroro's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The member states of the World Government are required to pay tribute to the Sky People every year with a vast amount of treasure proportional to their population. This treasure is usually escorted to the Holy Land of Jomalia by elite naval personnel and top experts from the CP organization."

"You knew all along!" Bonnie said with a mysterious look on her face.

"No wonder..."

Kuroro understood; no wonder so many experts gathered in such a small place as the South China Sea.

Bonnie continued:

"After the Kingdom of Sorbe took over as king, Burdog, it regained its status as the Kingdom of the North Shore, which also means that the payment of the Heavenly Gold of the North Shore has resumed."

"The treasures of heaven include the surrender of a nation's sea stone reserves."

"And the payment date... is tomorrow."

……