The next day, early morning.
At Onigashima Port, the Beast Pirates ship, responsible for transporting food and other supplies, sailed out of the port and headed toward the interior of Wano Country.
On the deck, near the mast.
Daichi sat at the base of the mast, his hands clasped under his chin, thinking about buying a house in the Flower Capital.
For this day, he had prepared for a full two and a half months, and now he had finally saved enough money and was about to own his own property.
He felt a little excited just thinking about it.
Just as Daichi was thinking about collecting rent, a young girl with a longbow on her back walked over.
"Yo, what a rare guest!"
"..."
Daichi's eyes shifted slightly upward.
Long legs... slender waist... hu—
Ding!
Automatic target lock mode activated!
The girl was wearing a slim-fit top, half white and half blue, with the zipper pulled all the way down to her navel, clearly showing her fair skin and two round curves.
Rich and generous.
After looking at her with critical thoughts for more than ten seconds, Daichi showed a satisfied smile and looked up at the girl's slightly disgusted face.
"Long time no see, Speed."
"Indeed, long time no see. You've been so mysterious these past few months, I don't even know what you've been doing."
Speed pouted.
She was in charge of buying supplies, and Daichi often asked her to buy the latest newspapers, so they became familiar with each other over time.
Speed pulled a newspaper from inside her top and threw it to Daichi.
"Here, the latest newspaper."
"Thanks."
Daichi took the warm newspaper.
Since his boss was very interested in entertainment trends and had to read every issue of the newspaper, the task of buying newspapers fell to him. This also allowed him to understand changes in the outside world.
Daichi casually opened the newspaper and raised an eyebrow at the headline.
"This is?"
"What's wrong?"
Speed leaned closer.
"Nothing."
Daichi shook his head and closed the newspaper.
The headline was about "Fire Fist" Ace, who had just entered the Grand Line and was still a fresh rookie.
It was estimated that in about half a year, Ace would arrive in Wano Country, and who knew what kind of trouble he would cause then.
"Daichi."
Speed sat next to Daichi, nudged him with her elbow, and asked in a low voice, "I heard you captured Yamato-sama?"
"Yes."
Daichi glanced at the girl.
"Bang!"
Speed slapped Daichi's strong back hard.
"You really made a name for yourself this time!"
Yesterday's battle had spread throughout Onigashima.
No one expected that even Page One and Ulti, two Headliners, would lose, yet Daichi, whose name no one had heard of, captured Yamato-sama. This truly shocked everyone.
Although there was a bit of trickery involved, it would be absolutely impossible to capture the Demon Child without a certain level of strength.
He became famous in one battle.
He was given the nickname "Demon Muscle Man."
Daichi didn't know about the nickname yet and changed the subject, saying, "Let's not talk about this. How have you been recently? Are you about to be promoted to Headliner?"
"Just one step away!"
Speed clenched her small fist and punched Daichi's chest.
"Hiss—that hurts."
Daichi rubbed his chest muscle, clearly understanding the message Speed was sending.
The girl's fist was wrapped in Haki!
Although there were no clear rules within the crew, mastering Armament Haki was the most basic requirement for promotion to Headliner.
With Haki, excellent eyesight, and archery skills, the girl was only one good deed away from becoming a Headliner.
As for himself.
"Haki..."
Daichi rubbed his smooth head.
He certainly knew about Haki's existence and its specific nature, but even after two and a half months of being in this world, he still had no clue.
Killing intent, fighting spirit, aura, etc.
Turning willpower into a weapon, that is Haki. The principle seems simple, but the actual operation is far from as easy as imagined.
He wondered when he would be able to master Haki.
Speed's eyes lit up. "Daichi, have you heard? Kaido is preparing for a distant expedition. This is our chance!"
"Haha, it's still too early."
Daichi laughed and shook his head.
He had also heard about the distant expedition. For him and Speed, it was indeed an excellent opportunity to gain merit and get promoted, but the preparations would take two or three months.
Besides, he wasn't that interested in job promotions. He wanted to save more money to buy a house and live a retired life sooner.
"Putting on an act!"
Speed scoffed dismissively. Then she thought that Daichi had just done something good, so he must have a lot of money in his pocket, and her eyes immediately changed.
According to a pirate's character, after getting money...
Speed narrowed her eyes. "Daichi, what are you going to the Flower Capital for? You're not going to the Red-Light District to play with women, are you?"
"Of course not. I have a slight mental cleanliness obsession, and even if I wanted to find a woman, I'd look for someone clean and beautiful like you."
Daichi showed an aggressive gaze, openly staring at Speed.
Now that he was a pirate, why pretend to be a gentleman?
If you want something, just say it. If you don't say it, how will others know? Maybe the girl has needs too, and if dry wood meets fierce fire, they might just hit it off.
After all, women who become pirates are like wolves and tigers, their desires no less than male pirates.
Speed rolled her eyes and said amusedly, "Alright, when you become a high-ranking officer, I'll warm your bed for you."
"Hey~ You said that, remember? Backing out makes you a puppy!"
Daichi chuckled.
High-ranking officers within the crew meant at least the Tobi Roppo level, but currently, the crew didn't have the Tobi Roppo set up yet, only the three All-Stars.
Becoming an All-Star was very difficult, but getting a Tobi Roppo position in the future, with his cheat ability, shouldn't be a problem.
The only obstacle was that this woman would later eat a man-made fruit and turn into a centaur, which made it a bit difficult for him to accept—
Wait.
Based on his many years of viewing experience, female centaurs had various riding positions, so perhaps it wasn't impossible...
"Wake up, stop thinking nonsense!"
Seeing Daichi seemingly thinking about the possibility of them, Speed scolded him impatiently.
If Daichi really became an All-Star, she wouldn't mind clinging to him.
But was that possible?
With her and Daichi's strength, it would be good enough if they could become Headliners in the future. All-Stars were beyond imagination.
"You still haven't said what you're going to the Flower Capital for?"
"Oh, I'm going to buy a house."
Daichi didn't hide it either.
Buying a house was just the first step. He also had to rent it out at a high price to make money, and no one knew how to rent a house.
"Buy a house???"
Speed was full of question marks.
Buy a house?
What kind of proper pirate would buy a house?!
Burning houses down was more like it!
Speed held back the urge to argue and asked in confusion, "Why are you buying a house?"
"It's like this."
Daichi immediately became energetic and described his grand plan of buying a house → renting it out → buying another house → renting it out again.
He still felt a little unsatisfied after that.
Damn, this cursed desire to share.
The girl listened, speechless, and after a long time, she finally blurted out a sentence.
"Are you out of your mind?"
"Of course not, I tell you, I've never been clearer."
Daichi raised his chin.
How could an inexperienced girl understand the happiness of collecting rent?
Stable income, low risk, inflation resistance, and perhaps property appreciation, etc. With so many benefits, isn't it better than fighting and killing?
"Hmm, alright."
Speed was speechless.
"By the way, be careful when you go to the Flower Capital alone. The samurai haven't been very peaceful lately, and many of our isolated brothers have been attacked."
"Don't worry."
Daichi narrowed his eyes.
Whoever dared to stop him from buying a house, he would make them die!