Fishing rods were planted every few meters along the shore.
More than a hundred rods lined nearly three hundred meters of coastline, creating a rather spectacular sight.
Meanwhile, Xia Yu lay lazily on a reef, his straw hat covering his face yawning lazily out of boredom.
Not far from him, on another rock, the green-haired kid Zoro was practicing.
He was squatting in a horse stance, a dumbbell clenched between his teeth, while both hands twisted around a massive stone—remaining completely motionless.
Sweat continuously dripped down Zoro's forehead.
Because he had maintained the same position for so long while bearing heavy weights with both his mouth and hands, his body had already begun to tremble uncontrollably.
Xia Yu didn't know why Zoro had suddenly decided to come here to train.
But having someone around—even a kid—was definitely better than sitting alone staring at more than a hundred fishing rods.
"Hey, green-haired kid. It's been several hours already. Aren't you going to take a break?"
After yawning, Xia Yu walked over and crouched in front of Zoro with a grin.
"Or you could spit out that dumbbell and chat with me for a bit?"
Since he had the dumbbell in his mouth, Zoro couldn't speak. He could only stubbornly shake his head.
"You're holding that dumbbell in your mouth… trying to practice Three-Sword Style?"
Zoro nodded fiercely.
"This must be something you came up with yourself.Right now, the dojo master should only be teaching you One-Sword Style."
Zoro nodded again.
"Well then… I guess you don't want to talk. In that case, I'll go get something to eat."
As he spoke, Xia Yu walked over to a fire that had been burning for nearly an hour.
Looking at the fish roasting over the flames, he said with some regret,
"This would be perfect with some wine."
"Well, whatever. After fishing for half the day, I only caught this one fish. Might as well eat it first."
With that, Xia Yu picked up the roasted fish and sat cross-legged in front of Zoro, taking large bites.
"Wow, this tastes amazing."
After a few bites, Xia Yu leaned closer to Zoro with a mischievous smile.
"Want some?"
Zoro shook his head violently.
But even though he kept the dumbbell clenched between his teeth, drool was already dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"What a pity. I can't finish this by myself… guess I'll just throw it away."
Sighing dramatically, Xia Yu casually tossed the grilled fish away.
Clank!
Whoosh!
Almost at the same time, Zoro panicked.
He spat out the dumbbell instantly, freed both hands, and leapt forward to catch the fish midair.
"Nom nom nom!"
Without hesitation, Zoro devoured the entire fish like a starving wolf.
After finishing it, he burped in satisfaction and grinned.
"Mr. Xia Yu, that grilled fish was amazing!"
"You little rascal."
Suppressing his laughter, Xia Yu asked,
"Want to eat more grilled fish?"
"Yes! Yes!"
"Then help me collect the fishing rods. Whatever we catch, I'll grill it all for you."
"Really?"
Zoro's eyes lit up immediately.
That grilled fish was the best he had ever tasted. He didn't know how Xia Yu cooked it—but that didn't matter. Delicious was delicious!
But just as Zoro got excited, he suddenly hesitated.
"But… I still need to train."
After a pause, Zoro looked at Xia Yu with confusion.
"Mr. Xia Yu, if you don't train every day, won't your swordsmanship decline?
"I don't need to train."
Xia Yu shook his head seriously.
"Because fishing… is cultivation."
"Fishing makes me stronger. And it makes me happy."
"Fishing is cultivation? Fishing can make someone stronger?"
Zoro's eyes widened as if he had just discovered a new world.
"Then I'll help you fish, Mr. Xia Yu!"
Hahahahaha…
Kids really are easy to fool…
Watching Zoro run off excitedly to collect fishing rods, Xia Yu finally burst out laughing.
Time passed quietly.
After catching around twenty fish, Xia Yu sparred with Zoro for a while at the boy's request.
Later that night, the two returned quietly to the dojo under the cover of darkness.
The next day, Xia Yu continued fishing with Zoro.
On the third day, Xia Yu was still fishing.
On the fourth day… still fishing.
He had practically become a fishing fanatic.
The Revolutionary Army members staying at the dojo—even Dragon—were somewhat stunned.
Sure enough, people with great wisdom truly behaved differently from ordinary people.
After a few days of having nothing to do at the dojo, Dragon eventually joined Xia Yu in fishing.
Once the leader joined, the Revolutionary Army members naturally followed.
A week later, Xia Yu's fishing team had grown to more than twenty people, turning the coastline into a lively scene.
However, although the number of people increased, the number of fish caught actually decreased.
After eight full days, Xia Yu had only caught a little over eighty fish.
Although the goal of one hundred fish was getting closer, Xia Yu understood the principle that the final stretch is always the hardest.
So he decisively led the fishing team to change locations.
Meanwhile, the busiest person in the entire Shimotsuki Village was Koushirou.
In order to prepare supplies for the Revolutionary Army, he worked tirelessly from morning to night.
It took him ten full days to gather all the materials they needed.
One day, on the coast behind the mountains of Shimotsuki Village, Dragon slowly approached Xia Yu.
"Mr. Xia Yu, our supplies are ready. It's time for us to leave."
Xia Yu didn't move.
Instead, he stared intently toward the right side.
Seeing this, Dragon followed his gaze with curiosity.
"Mr. Xia Yu… what are you looking at?"
"The direction I'm looking at should be Goa Kingdom, right?"
Xia Yu blinked thoughtfully.
"That's strange. I thought I just saw flames rising into the sky over there… Maybe… it was just my imagination?"
He straightened up and smiled.
"Yeah… must've been an illusion."
"Goa Kingdom…"
Although Dragon hadn't seen any flames, Xia Yu was indeed looking in the direction of Goa Kingdom.
A thought suddenly flashed through Dragon's mind.
"Mr. Xia Yu… until we meet again!"
With that, Dragon immediately turned and dashed away.
In just a few leaps, he disappeared into the distance.
"Goodbye, Mr. Xia Yu!"
After Dragon left, the Revolutionary Army members also stood up and bid farewell one after another.
Naturally, the first to follow Dragon was Ivankov, one of the key commanders of the Revolutionary Army.
Seeing Dragon moving in such a hurry, Ivankov asked in surprise,
"Dragon, what's wrong?"
"Mr. Xia Yu just mentioned seeing flames rising from Goa Kingdom. I'm going to take a look."
"But didn't he say it was just his imagination?"
"No."
Dragon suddenly stopped and spoke with a serious expression.
"In my opinion, that was Mr. Xia Yu… giving me a hint."
"Even if there are no flames there, something must be happening in Goa Kingdom."
Ivankov looked puzzled.
"But Mr. Xia Yu has been fishing this whole time. How would he know something happened in Goa Kingdom?"
Dragon, however, remained completely convinced.
After all, why would Xia Yu suddenly stare in the direction of Goa Kingdom and mention something impossible like an illusion?
Would a swordsman powerful enough to suppress Koushirou suddenly start hallucinating?
"Go load the supplies onto the ship first. I'll be back soon."
After saying this, Dragon activated his Devil Fruit ability and leapt into the forest, vanishing instantly.