Chapter 28

Originally, Siano planned to leave Shimotsuki Village after breakfast and set off for the last stop of this wool-gathering trip, the Goa Kingdom.

However, everyone was reluctant to let him go and insisted on keeping him for another night.

In the evening, a large group of people sat around the hearth in the hall, talking late into the night, the atmosphere relaxed and leisurely.

During this time, the two little ones, Zoro and Sanji, stole some rice wine and were beaten up by Zeff again, adding a bit of lively atmosphere to the air.

Siano was slightly tipsy, and in high spirits, he chatted a lot with everyone.

Everyone learned about Cocoyasi Village, learned that he had two cute younger sisters, and also learned that the orange orchard in his hometown was beautiful, and the citrus fruits produced were clear, juicy, big, and sweet.

Siano had also considered it.

Just in case, should he ask Zeff or Koushiro to go to Cocoyasi Village for a few months after the spring of next year?

That way, dealing with the Arlong Pirates would be a piece of cake.

But after a little thought, he didn't say it out loud in the end.

He hadn't even gotten the straw hat yet, and the points on his body already exceeded ten thousand.

It could be said that the various props and secret manuals in the system trading market were basically his to choose from.

In this situation, if he couldn't deal with the Arlong Pirates after a year of hard training, what was the difference between him and a piece of trash?

He might as well not plan to go to sea and just commit suicide with a real sword.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

Kuina, Zeff, Sanji, Zoro... a group of people reluctantly sent Siano to the pier, including Junichi, who hadn't been seen since early yesterday morning.

It was only then that Siano found out.

Since returning to Shimotsuki Village, this kid had been training desperately as if he were possessed.

He trained hard from five in the morning until twelve at night, not even bothering to eat lunch, and the intensity was even more terrifying than Zoro's.

This made Siano look at him with some surprise.

In his view.

Junichi's talent for swordsmanship was not as good as Zoro's, and even less so than Kuina's.

But talent was never the only factor that determined a person's upper limit.

As long as one put in effort and sweat far exceeding others, the results obtained would never disappoint.

After all, it only took two years to go from having no strength to becoming a new generation of Marine hero.

"Why do you keep looking at me, Boss?"

Junichi was busy moving supplies onto the ship with Zoro, and feeling Siano's gaze, he couldn't help but look up at him in confusion.

"A little worried about you." Siano said half-jokingly, "I'm really afraid that in a few months, you'll go to sea directly, and then I'll have to find a way to collect your corpse."

Was that determination seen through?

Junichi pursed his lips.

Suddenly he looked up and laughed, "What's that, this joke isn't funny. Boss, don't worry, I'm not that kind of hot-headed idiot; I won't do anything stupid without enough certainty."

"No, what are you two talking about? Are you playing riddles? My head hurts just listening to you."

Zoro looked at this one and then at that one, his face full of confusion.

"It's not that your head hurts from listening, your head really hurts."

Siano glared at the green-haired guy in annoyance.

This guy had just been beaten by Zeff last night, and was beaten until his head was full of bumps while sparring with Kuina this morning; the redness and swelling on his head hadn't faded yet.

Now he was blowing in the sea breeze again, it would be strange if his head didn't hurt.

He turned to Junichi again.

"In any case, as long as you know what you're doing, don't forget that you're not alone; no matter where you go in the future, there are still so many partners you can fight with."

After Siano finished his earnest instructions, he waved goodbye to the others on the shore from a distance, and finally pressed the button to start the ship and sail into the distance.

This small boat with hidden black-tech power was something he was temporarily borrowing.

It only took two days to get from Shimotsuki Village to the nearest large island, and Zeff was planning to go to that island tomorrow to purchase ingredients.

So, after arriving, he just needed to dock this boat at the pier and leave it alone.

He could just change to a passenger ship in that town and head to the Goa Kingdom.

Zeff would naturally bring this boat back to Shimotsuki Village when the time came.

Six days later.

Goa Kingdom, deep in the Colubo Mountains.

In the dense forest, Siano climbed to the top of a towering tree in a few quick steps, looking out at the vast mountains and forests in all directions.

After being dazed for a long time, he rubbed his temples with a headache.

"This time it was really a miscalculation..."

He had already successfully arrived in the Goa Kingdom the morning before yesterday.

However, a full fifty-plus hours had passed, and he was still trapped in these mountains, going in circles.

It wasn't that he had been infected with Zoro's sense of direction.

It was just that the Colubo Mountains were truly much more vast than he had expected...

Having grown up in Cocoyasi Village since he was a child, the surrounding island area was very small, which made him completely accustomed to this feeling of tiny land area.

Coming to this Goa Kingdom, he finally realized again what it was like not to be able to see the horizon from a high place...

"If Luffy were still in Foosha Village, it would be great." Siano sighed.

At this time a year ago, Luffy was still in Foosha Village.

It just so happened that after the incident with Shanks, Garp found out and quickly transferred him to Colubo Mountain, handing him over to the mountain bandit Dadan to raise.

That was how the subsequent events of meeting Ace and Sabo, encountering the Blue Gem Pirates, and forming the ASL Brotherhood came about...

Calculating carefully.

Sabo should have been taken to the Revolutionary Army headquarters by Dragon a few months ago, leaving only the two brothers, Luffy and Ace, in the mountains.

Siano felt that his luck after going to sea this time seemed to have been used up on encountering the Lord of the Coast and Zeff.

Relying on himself alone, it was indeed difficult to find these two little brats in this vast mountain range.

But it shouldn't be that he had been searching day and night for more than fifty hours and still found nothing, right?

Those two troublemakers couldn't stay idle; being semi-raised in these mountains, they were tossing and turning everywhere every day, so he should have found some traces of their activities.

"Sigh."

Having not slept well for several nights and feeling sore all over, Siano simply sat down leaning against the high part of the tree trunk and took out a few pieces of bread from his backpack to gnaw on.

He had filled his stomach in the small town outside the mountains before entering the mountain range, but even so, his portable dry rations were almost eaten up.

If he couldn't find anyone today, he might have to hunt wild beasts in the mountains and roast them to eat; he didn't bring any seasoning, so the taste probably wouldn't be very good.

After finishing the bread and barely filling his stomach, Siano took out a straw hat from his backpack and spun it a few times in the wind with his index finger.

—It looked ordinary and had been around for a while; the wheat straw woven brim was already a bit loose, and the bright red ribbon had faded into an old dark date color.

Close to his nose, he could still smell a greasy hair oil odor.

He had bought this from a farmer in the small town before entering the mountains for two hundred Berries, just waiting to get Luffy's straw hat so he could swap it out.

In fact, there were many shops in the city, and similar straw hats were easy to buy.

The reason he insisted on buying this second-hand one with a smell was simply because the ones sold in those shops were too new.

Luffy was a thick-headed idiot, that was true, but if his beloved straw hat suddenly became brand new and clean, he would probably be able to tell at a glance.

This wave, this wave is called details determine success or failure.

Siano was also thinking that if he met Luffy again in the future, he might be able to harvest another wave of points.

Therefore, it was better not to let the secret of the genuine straw hat being swapped out be revealed.

(End of this chapter)