"Growing over ten centimeters in a week—how on earth did you manage that?"
"What kind of martial arts training causes such a commotion every day?"
"Do you think I still have a chance to learn it?"
In the dining room, Xiano was devouring his food like a whirlwind, with plates piled into two mountains beside him. In the gap between these mountains, the wrinkled old man, like an overly curious child, kept pestering him with questions.
The earlier questions had been brushed off with vague excuses.
But when he heard the last one, Xiano finally lifted his head from his plate, looking utterly exasperated.
"You're almost seventy, right? Do you really want me to be honest?"
"…" Gatt sighed deeply. "Never mind. I still want to live a few more years. I don't want to shake this old body to pieces."
"Let's get to the point," the old man smacked his lips. "The voyage has been smooth these past few days. At most, we'll arrive at Asakura Island in two hours, before sunset today."
"…"
Xiano was slightly taken aback but nodded, not entirely surprised.
If it hadn't been for the trouble caused by the King of the Near Sea, which forced the Gatt to anchor for a full day of repairs the next day, they would have arrived at this time yesterday.
"These past few days, I've really been in your debt."
After swallowing the last bite of food, Xiano looked at Gatt sincerely. "If it weren't for you providing a safe environment for me to train, I wouldn't have been able to make a breakthrough in these few days."
"What nonsense! Compared to your life-saving grace, this is nothing!"
Gatt laughed heartily. "But hearing you say that does make this old man feel pretty good, haha!"
"Oh, by the way, from now on, the Gatt will always reserve the most luxurious room on board for you and your family, free of charge! Food and drinks are on us too! This is a decision unanimously supported by the entire crew, so you have no right to refuse!"
"Only an idiot would refuse."
Xiano was never one to spoil the mood, and he joined in the laughter.
"Then it's settled. Next year when you come to Cocoyasi Village, I'll bring my whole family to freeload! Luckily, my two younger sisters don't eat much. If they were all like me, I'd probably bankrupt you!"
"You're being too modest. Honestly, just you alone these past few days have nearly bankrupted me."
"Hehe…"
As they laughed, the young man suddenly remembered that it had been exactly a week since he left home.
With two hours left before docking, he could use this time to call his family from his room before disembarking.
...…
"We're here—this is Asakura Island!"
"You can disembark here. It's too late today, so you can find an inn in the outer city to rest for the night. Tomorrow, you can head into the city and find the swordsmanship dojo you're interested in."
"We're heading to the northern docks to unload the cargo. Once we're done, we'll have to set sail immediately. I'm afraid we won't see each other again until next autumn."
At the southern dock of Asakura Island, the sailors crowded the railings, waving reluctantly to Xiano on the shore.
Old Jarte accompanied him for the final stretch of the pier.
Xiano listened carefully to his instructions, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several beggars in tattered clothes squatting at the intersections leading from the dock to the city.
Though they seemed scattered at first glance, their numbers added up to a significant crowd.
He couldn't help but speak up:
"Strange, Asakura Island is a renowned commercial hub in the East Blue, it should be quite wealthy. Why are there more beggars and vagrants here than in my hometown?"
"Naive," Old Jarte scoffed. "These are professional beggars who live in the city. They stay here all year round. The docks are bustling with activity, and there are plenty of wealthy folks coming to spend money in the city. There will always be unsuspecting outsiders who fall for it."
"These people make a fortune from it. Occasionally, there are a few truly poor souls, but they're usually those who lost everything in the gambling dens and were thrown out. They're not worth pitying."
"Alright, we're here. I'm off!"
They finally reached the end of the pier. Old Jarte patted his shoulder, said nothing more, and turned towards the bow of the ship, puffing on his pipe.
Xiano stood quietly, watching him board the ship.
He waited until the Gatt set sail and gradually became a small black dot on the horizon before turning around. He chose the left fork in the road and headed towards the outer city.
It was already dusk, the sun sinking in the west.
Looking up, he could see the twilight enveloping the distant town with its classical charm.
The main canal ran north to south through the city, lined with cherry blossom trees. The buildings along the canal were symmetrically arranged, orderly and densely packed.
It was also the season of falling petals. The river's surface was covered with thousands of pale pink cherry blossom petals, floating downstream. The evening breeze carried the delicate fragrance of the blossoms, filling even the docks with their scent.
"Prosperous commerce, beautiful scenery, and a perpetual spring-like climate—no wonder it's a tourist hotspot in the East Blue."
Walking in such an environment, Xiano's mood calmed considerably.
As he was about to leave the docks, he noticed the closed port management office next to him.
It was indeed too late today. He would find a place to stay first and come back tomorrow morning. He should be able to get the information he needed about passenger ships here.
Gatt still thought he had come to this island to study Kendo, but in reality, his goal had never changed. He intended to use the island's bustling port to find a ship to the Goa Kingdom.
Logically speaking...
After sacrificing Shanks' severed arm, he now had enough Points, so the urgency to obtain Luffy's straw hat had naturally diminished.
But, having tasted the sweetness once, who could resist the temptation of another massive haul of Points?
After all, he had a month.
Only a week had passed, and there was still plenty of time for him to make a round trip from here to the Goa Kingdom.
"Please... please, I haven't eaten for two days and nights, just a little money will do..."
A weak groan suddenly came from beside him. A grimy hand holding a metal box extended towards him. Remembering Gatt's words, Xiano ignored it and walked past.
But before he could take a few steps, the sound of coins clinking into the metal box came from behind.
Xiano instinctively turned around and saw a thin boy in a tattered Kendo uniform stopping in front of the beggar, who looked to be in his fifties or sixties. The boy carefully shook out all the coins from his cloth wallet.
Xiano's vision was far superior to that of an ordinary person, and even in the twilight, he could clearly see that they were all small coins of 20 or 50 Berries, totaling no more than two or three hundred Berries.
The beggar was clearly displeased, frowning and glaring at the skinny young boy, still stubbornly holding onto his iron box.
"I... I only have this much..."
The skinny boy looked embarrassed, suddenly remembering something. After a brief moment of hesitation, he still took out a large piece of dark, unappetizing bread from the bag on his back, tore off a big chunk, and gently placed it on top of the iron box.
"I haven't had dinner yet, so I need to save some for myself. Sorry."
The skinny boy didn't dare to look at the beggar, stammering as he spoke, "Don't judge it by its looks or smell, but trust me, it's very filling. A whole piece can last you a whole day."
Without waiting for the beggar to say anything, he quickly packed up his bag and hurried up the steps towards the city gate.
Xiano looked at the beggar.
Sure enough, the old man just picked up the dark bread, glanced at it, and without even bothering to take a bite, disdainfully tossed it aside.
Then he poured out the coins from the iron box, counted them, and spat to the side, "What bad luck, damn poor guy!"
Xiano frowned, turning his head to try and call out to the boy.
Unexpectedly, despite his frail appearance, the boy was surprisingly fast. In the blink of an eye, his figure had disappeared, and it was impossible to tell how far he had run.
Xiano stood there for a while longer, quietly watching the beggar, who was also looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Couldn't you be a bit more arrogant? Like, call me a brat and tell me to stop staring, or threaten to gouge out my eyes or something?"
Xiano suddenly said in a low voice.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" The beggar rolled his eyes, "Your muscles are terrifying. Anyone can tell you're not someone to mess with. Why would I threaten you for no reason?"
Xiano looked down, only then remembering that when he had walked out of the dock earlier, he had found the island too warm and had broken into a sweat, so he had taken off his jacket and stored it away.
Now he was only wearing a thin shirt, his exaggerated physique clearly visible.
"Sigh."
Disappointed, Xiano sighed. Under the beggar's incredulous gaze, he forcefully pried the two hundred Berry from the beggar's hand and continued on his way into the city.
He could only blame his bad luck for not stumbling upon a larger scam. He had just made a breakthrough and was still getting used to this body, finding it hard to control his strength once he acted.
Two hundred Berry was only enough to buy Nami two cheap hair clips. Beating someone half to death over such a small matter was still somewhat inappropriate.
(End of chapter)