Chapter 22: Sanji, Who Almost Traveled Across Worlds

There are actually 600 points?

Siano was slightly surprised.

It seemed that in the manga, although Stainless was merely a marginal character who had appeared only a few times,

as an elite Vice Admiral of Headquarters, the weight boost brought by his formidable power still made this beloved scabbard of his quite valuable.

His gaze fell again on the last line of the appraisal comment.

"Regret and pity..."

His beloved scabbard had fallen into the sea; Stainless would feel regret and pity over that.

But for that kind woman who had indirectly saved his life, when he raised his slaughtering blade against her under the Celestial Dragons' orders, what feelings would he harbor?

"A Vice Admiral of Navy Headquarters..."

Siano shook his head slightly.

He was not a radical or extreme person; he did not like to generalize, and in truth, whether in the Navy camp or the Pirate camp, he had quite a few individuals who left a good impression on him.

But... undoubtedly.

Unless the Celestial Dragon class disappeared completely, the justice championed by the Navy would ultimately remain nothing but a joke.

Of course.

Those debates about factions were still far too distant from him; for now, his only goal was to get "money."

【Remaining Points: 7325】

Glancing at the point count, Siano felt much more cheerful and closed the system panel.

Early morning, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

After rushing around the city for most of the night, the two finally finished their wrap-up work, sat down to rest on a high ground, and looked down upon the sea dyed red by the rising sun.

"Do you have any plans for what comes next?" Siano asked.

"Originally, I thought my strength was already sufficient to graduate."

Junichi rested his chin in his hands and said with a bitter face, "But after seeing you, Boss Siano, I realized I still have a long way to go and am simply not qualified; I should return to the Isshin Dojo and continue training hard for a few more years."

Siano silently turned his head to look at Junichi.

In the faint morning light, the frail boy hugged his worn-out bamboo sword, staring at the end of the horizon, with a clearly determined light in his eyes.

Did he truly feel unqualified to graduate?

Given this kid's swordsmanship ability, if viewed against the backdrop of the entire sea, he was certainly not impressive.

But if limited to this small corner of the East Blue known as Asakura Island, formally graduating, opening a dojo, and taking disciples... all of that would clearly be more than enough.

Actually, had his obsession changed?

In the past, the obsession that supported Junichi's continuous cultivation and strengthening was the dream of restoring the reputation of the Sakuraba Dojo.

Now, that obsession seemed to have shattered and faded away along with that mad figure; would it be replaced by those several figures standing high above?

Celestial Dragons and Vice Admirals of Navy Headquarters... such terrifying identities were enough to make most people choose to give up in despair, burying their hatred deep within their hearts.

But Junichi did not seem to be someone so easily frightened.

"Tell me, do you still think I'm truly proficient in swordsmanship?"

"Eh? Aren't you?"

"You're really so stupid, Junichi; no wonder you were tricked by that fake beggar."

"... I'm starting to become immune to your hurtful words, Boss."

Laughing heartily, Siano stood up, stretched comfortably under the bath of morning light, and said, "Let's go, set off! Take me to Shimotsuki Village together!"

"Eh?" Junichi looked up in astonishment.

"What's with that expression? Didn't I mention it to you before? I've long admired Mr. Teacher Gengsilang, and thanks to you, I finally have a rare opportunity to visit him; how could I miss it."

"Yay!"

The frail boy instantly became jubilant.

He had thought that when Siano stood up, it was time for them to part, and he felt a moment of sadness, never expecting such a surprise.

Hmph, Boss Siano is truly a man whose words do not match his heart.

Saying aloud that it was to visit Teacher Teacher Gengsilang.

But in reality, he just couldn't let go of his worries and insisted on escorting me all the way back to Shimotsuki Village before feeling reassured, right?

Half an hour later.

After purchasing food and fresh water, with Junichi leading the way, Siano followed him to the most secluded pier at the dock.

Moored there was a small boat, seven or eight meters long, quite crude.

"Wait, you crossed over in this thing?"

Siano touched the canvas of questionable quality, wearing a look of doubt. "This is too primitive; can this sail even be used? Don't tell me you rowed with all your might the whole way to Asakura Island?"

No one responded.

He turned around and happened to see Junichi using his bamboo sword to pry open the floorboards under the rear seat, then huffing and puffing as he lifted out two large barrels of cola from inside.

Snap!

Junichi closed the floorboard, then pressed a hidden button nearby.

Suddenly, four exhaust pipes extended from the stern of the small wooden boat, and two recesses appeared beside the button, each perfectly sized to hold one barrel of cola.

"See, with this, there's no need to worry; if we slowly consume just one barrel of cola as energy, that's normal cruise mode, with speed about the same as an ordinary sailboat."

"If you press the button again to consume both barrels simultaneously, that activates rapid jet mode; the speed is outrageous, but the consumption rate is even more outrageous, so unless there's some special situation, it's best not to use it lightly."

Junichi chatted on confidently, while Siano watched with his mouth agape.

Oh no, now I've become a country bumpkin!

"Shimotsuki Village has this kind of black technology?"

Unable to resist his curiosity, Siano slapped the button directly; the cola in the barrels immediately began bubbling with a glug-glug sound, expelling a pleasant, transparent stream of gas from the stern that pushed the small boat toward the outer harbor.

"Hehe, my teacher lent it to me; there's only this one in all of Shimotsuki Village, it's very special."

Junichi adjusted the sails slightly, grinning foolishly. "How about it, amazing right? When I first saw it, my reaction was about the same as yours, Boss."

"A few years ago, Grandpa Kozaburo... ah, that's Teacher Teacher Gengsilang's father, by the way... when he was still alive, he told me that their generation, on the journey to settle in the East Blue, encountered a very skilled shipwright in a place called Water Flow City. Seeing that our ships were falling apart and could barely hold together, he voluntarily helped modify them extensively; this device dates back to that time."

"Water Flow City? You mean Water Seven?"

"Seems so; I don't remember clearly."

That makes sense.

Siano stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Kozaburo and his group had traveled from the closed-off country of Wano, crossing the Grand Line before finally arriving in the East Blue.

The person they met in Water Seven might very well have been that famous shipwright Tom, Franky's teacher, who possessed the legendary experience of having built the Pirate King Roger's flagship.

Tsk, I guess this counts as sitting in a low-spec version of the Thousand Sunny.

Taking advantage of Junichi's inattention, Siano's eyes darted, and he suddenly slapped the button again.

The two barrels of cola began churning violently simultaneously; laughing loudly, he raised both arms high, letting the sea wind fill his open lapels. "Then let me experience the power of rapid jet propulsion! Full speed ahead, Sunny! Let's go!"

"Eh! Boss, didn't I say that normally you can't..."

The boy's urgent shout was shredded by the sea wind, turning into scattered foam atop the waves.

Cry!

A white gull swept past the mast; under the impact of the stern's gas stream, the wake shattered into points of golden scales in the morning light, gradually rendering that island of drifting cherry blossoms into a fading pink silhouette receding at the horizon's end.

————

Two days later.

In a certain sea area, dark clouds gathered, and a fine rain drifted down.

On a lonely little reef.

The rocks were jagged, devoid of any vegetation.

A blond boy with curly eyebrows could only use broken wooden planks to cobble together a crude rain shelter; curled up inside, his dull, unfocused eyes stared blankly at the distant sea surface.

"It's been 50 days..."

Looking haggard, he hugged his knees and murmured, "The food ran out last month; I'm so hungry, really so hungry... Today, today surely a ship will pass by, right?"

But it's still raining.

The blond boy numbly glanced at the wood and fire-starting tools he had stored in the corner.

The last time a ship happened to pass by, it coincided with heavy rain, and no matter what, he couldn't ignite the signal bonfire.

He had shouted for help with all his might, but to no avail; in the end, he could only watch in despair as that ship passed by in the distance.

"Let me try a little longer, Junichi, just three minutes, three more minutes of jet propulsion is enough!"

A muffled voice suddenly drifted over from the wind and rain.

"No way! Boss Siano! Have you forgotten how much cola you wasted the day before yesterday? If you keep this up, what if the cola really runs out!"

"Hey, what's there to fear? Then I'll just row; I'll row us all the way home, you know how strong I am..."

The sound of the conversation grew clearer.

Faintly, there also seemed to be a noise similar to the roaring motorcycle engines of the Germa 66 forces.

Is it a hallucination...

The blond boy, in a daze, turned his face sideways and happened to see a fast boat shooting toward him at full speed, rapidly enlarging in his eyes—

Thud!

"Damn it, where did this reef pop up from! It's all your fault for talking to me and making me lose sight of the path; now we're stranded!"

This was the last sound he heard before falling unconscious.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, nothing got damaged."

After disembarking and conducting a simple inspection, Siano immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"This time we got lucky, but what about next time? Boss Siano, from now on I'm steering the boat; you are not allowed to press buttons randomly anymore!"

"Got it, got it."

Knowing he was in the wrong, Siano pursed his lips and was just about to carry the boat back to the sea surface when suddenly Junichi's startled cry came from behind him:

"Eh? Boss Siano, look quickly, over there seems to be a human figure?"

He turned his head to look as well, and sure enough, on the other end of the reef, he could see a tall figure sitting by the shore, draped in a large white cloak, motionless like a sculpture.

"That clothing... could it be the Marines!"

"No."

Siano stared at that figure; the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. What a gift from heaven; suddenly, he grinned. "Don't be so stereotypical, Junichi; you have to know, someone who likes wearing white clothes isn't necessarily a Marine; they could also be a cook."

Just like someone riding a white horse isn't necessarily a prince; they could also be a general.

(End of Chapter)