— — — — — — —
"Kuina! Zoro! You heard Red Queen, right? Take a break. After lunch, we'll officially set foot in Foosha Village!"
"Today's lunch will be this fish! I'll cook it myself later!"
Renzo called out to the two who were still sparring nearby.
"Got it!"
"Seriously! I don't know what you're thinking! You've had us drifting at sea for months! We should've stopped at a few islands already—I'm so bored!"
Kuina knocked Zoro back with a strike, then quickly followed up with three more moves, easily defeating him. She sheathed her Wado Ichimonji and walked toward Renzo, complaining along the way.
"Damn it... I lost again! I need to train even harder!"
Zoro, frustrated, slammed his fist on the deck before putting away his sword and helping Renzo prepare for cooking.
"Mmm… This fish tastes great! Next time, let's catch a few more!"
During lunch, Renzo took big bites of fish, enjoying the taste.
"Also, we really need to find a proper cook! Having me cook all the time just doesn't feel right!"
Renzo was clearly dissatisfied.
He tried to recall if there were any good female chefs around this time period… but nope, couldn't think of any.
As for male chefs? No way!
Thanks to a certain perverted cook, Renzo had no interest in male chefs.
"What do you mean?! I help out too!"
Kuina protested.
"I've been the one washing dishes this whole time!"
Zoro added.
"Well, isn't that only natural?" Renzo shrugged.
If you're not cooking, then you help out and clean up afterward.
Perfect division of labor!
"By the way, why did you choose to come to Foosha Village? Is there something special here?"
Kuina asked curiously.
Zoro also looked over, interested.
"Heh!"
Renzo smirked. "There are a few interesting people here."
"But more importantly, I told you there's a pirate here who knows both Armament Haki and Observation Haki. Our main goal is to learn Haki from him!"
In Grey Terminal, there was an old man named Naguri—once a great pirate who had learned Armament Haki.
Apparently, he also learned Observation Haki and had even awakened Conqueror's Haki.
He had once challenged the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, but was easily defeated and got separated from his crew.
Since then, Naguri had been recovering in Grey Terminal, spending years building a ship. His goal was to set sail again and reunite with his lost crewmates.
"Haki, huh? What kind of power is it?"
Kuina and Zoro had heard Renzo mention it before, so they were eager to learn more.
"You'll find out soon enough! No point explaining it now."
Renzo shook his head and continued, "Besides, training Armament Haki requires a strong body as a foundation. Without it, you'll just hurt yourselves. So, your physical training must continue."
---
A few hours later…
Their yacht finally arrived at Foosha Village's port.
"We're here!"
"Ahh, finally back on solid ground! This feels amazing!"
The moment they stepped onto land, both Kuina and Zoro couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Who could blame them? Anyone would feel the same after spending over three months at sea.
"Alright, let's head to the tavern first. We need to restock our supplies!"
With that, Renzo led Kuina and Zoro to the tavern, where they met Makino.
She was indeed beautiful.
Unfortunately, Renzo was still too young. Even if he wanted to flirt, it wouldn't work.
To her, he'd just be a kid.
"Welcome! What would you like to order?"
Makino greeted them warmly.
Her gaze lingered on Renzo for a few extra seconds—this was the first time she had ever seen such a cute young boy.
"We're travelers passing through. We'd like to buy some supplies. Here's the list!"
Renzo handed her a pre-written shopping list.
Of course, he could have used his ability, Fantasy Creation, to make everything himself.
But for regular supplies, he couldn't be bothered wasting his mental energy.
Even if his mental energy recovered over time, there was no need to waste it on trivial things.
Plus, it was good experience for Kuina and Zoro.
If they ever got separated in the future, they needed to know how to handle these things on their own.
"Got it! Please wait a moment. There's quite a lot on this list, so I'll need some time to gather everything. Some of these items will have to be bought from other stores in town."
Makino smiled as she looked over the list.
"Thanks, I appreciate it!" Renzo nodded.
"Makino! I want some milk!"
At that moment, a child's voice called out from outside. A young boy with short black hair, wearing a red vest and a straw hat with a red-striped band, ran inside excitedly, looking at Makino with a carefree expression.
"Oh, it's Luffy! Hold on, I'll get it for you right away!"
Makino smiled as she poured a glass of milk for Luffy, then went off to prepare the supplies for Renzo and his crew.
Meanwhile, Luffy curiously examined Renzo and his group, his eyes lighting up when he noticed the swords hanging from their waists.
"Hey there! I'm Luffy! I'm the man who's gonna be the Pirate King!"
"Are you guys from outside the village? You have swords! Are you pirates? Are you strong?"
Luffy's face was full of excitement.
"Huh?" x2
Kuina and Zoro exchanged strange looks.
Why did that sound so familiar?
The next moment, Kuina seemed to remember it first and turned to Zoro with a teasing grin.
Zoro, on the other hand, immediately frowned. Clearly, he was reminded of the unpleasant memory 'Why are you GAE?'.
But then, an idea came to him, and he smirked at Luffy.
"You want to be the man of the Pirate King? You serious?"
"Of course!"
Luffy, completely unaware that he was walking into a trap, nodded without hesitation. "I'm Luffy! I'm gonna be the Pirate King! Hmph! Cool, right? Awesome, huh?"
"Awesome!"
Zoro nodded seriously, giving Luffy a thumbs-up.
"Super awesome! I really admire guys like you!"
At that moment, he felt incredibly satisfied—so this was how Renzo had felt when messing with him before!
Damn, this felt good!
Watching the other guy act like a total idiot—wait… that didn't sound right.
"H-hold on! Luffy's not an idiot! I'm not one either"
Realizing he had almost insulted himself, Zoro's face darkened again. He turned and shot Renzo a glare.
Renzo just chuckled. "You're the one overthinking things. How is that my fault?"
"But I gotta say, nice work, man! Learning from me and using my own tricks on someone else. Feels good messing with people, doesn't it?"
As he spoke, Renzo walked over to Zoro and playfully nudged him with his elbow.
Zoro: "..."
"What are you guys talking about?"
Luffy looked confused. But a moment later, he shrugged it off and turned to Renzo with a bright grin.
"Hey, hey! I'm about to go find Ace. Wanna come?"
"Ace is super strong!"
"Oh? Sounds good!" Renzo nodded.
He told Kuina and Zoro to stay and handle the supplies with Makino, then wait for him on the ship. He promised he'd be back soon.
With that, he followed Luffy out of the tavern.
"Damn it! That bastard senior! Going out to have fun without us! That's so unfair!"
Zoro complained unhappily.
"I feel like he has a reason for going… What if the person he's looking for is someone Luffy already knows?"
Kuina said thoughtfully.
From what she knew, Renzo never did things without a purpose.
There was no way he'd just follow some random kid he just met.
"Huh? You think so?"
Zoro scratched the back of his head, confused.
"Don't even try to figure it out. With your brain, you'll never get it!" Kuina waved him off dismissively.
Zoro instantly flared up. "Damn it! Kuina, you wanna fight?!"
"Heh… You'll lose."
"You—!"
---
Meanwhile, Renzo followed Luffy up a mountain. From a distance, he could see a house standing at the top.
In front of the house, there were two boys.
One had freckles.
The other was missing a front tooth, wearing a formal little suit and a round top hat.
"Luffy! You're too slow! We were about to leave! And who's that with you?"
Ace shouted from afar, his eyes filled with wariness as he stared at Renzo. His gaze lingered on the sword at Renzo's waist for a few extra seconds, his guard even higher.
"Oh! This is Renzo! He just arrived in Foosha Village! He's really strong! I brought him here to meet you!"
"Hehe! Ace, where are we going for today's adventure?"
Luffy asked with a cheerful grin.
.
.
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---
Yo~
Hope you're enjoying the story!
Just a heads-up: I won't be posting tomorrow (April 29th) — Gotta head to the capital with my team to pick up some sensitive parts for my graduation project — especially the electrical stuff, so I need to be there myself.
The day after (April 30th), I'll update as usual thou! Still the same — 200 stones for one bonus chapter — so drop your stones and I'll post all the normal chs plus the bonus that day.
...
{ +80 advanced chapters are available at: patreon.com/_Coreal }