Chapter 197

Zoro glanced at the long sword beside him. "Back then, in the Dao Coffin, I was weak—I wasn't his match at all. But now I'm different. One of my reasons for setting sail was to find him, challenge him, and defeat him!"

Luffy grinned. "Hehehe, I want to beat him too. Turns out we're destiny-chosen partners, Zoro."

"Don't suddenly hug me!"

Zoro angrily shoved his head down.

"Don't be so formal, destiny partner."

"Don't call me that!!!"

…………

A sea breeze blew through.

The bounty poster in Zoro's hand was blown away.

The bounty poster fluttered through the air.

【Traveler Luo En: Leader of the Sky Plague Travelers, user of the Float-Float Fruit, criminal who attacked Mary Geoise and Marineford!

Bounty: 1.75 billion Berries.

Current Status: Alive or dead, unknown.】

Luffy and Zoro didn't yet understand what 1.75 billion Berries meant, or what kind of power it represented.

They didn't yet understand how vast this sea was.

They didn't yet understand what kind of strength the man they wanted to defeat possessed.

It was a height they couldn't possibly reach yet.

…………

Grand Line.

In a small island town named Xīyà.

A blind old man with short black hair, a thin beard around his mouth, tall stature, wearing a pale purple kimono and wooden geta, used his cane-sword to probe the ground as he walked down the town's streets.

Several children ran toward him, laughing and chasing each other; one tripped over a raised cobblestone and was about to fall.

The boy instinctively shut his eyes.

But the pain he expected never came.

A gentle voice sounded beside his ear: "Are you all right?"

The boy opened his eyes and saw before him a blind old man in purple kimono, who had caught him with his hand.

"Th-thank you!"

The boy stood up, glanced fearfully at the old man's white-filled eyes and the "X"-shaped scar stretching from his left temple to his eye, thanked him again, then hurried away.

The blind old man didn't mind; he continued walking forward.

He arrived at a casino, felt the money in his pocket, then stepped inside.

Soon he walked out again; passing a noodle shop, he smelled the enticing aroma of noodles, and the penniless blind old man lightly scratched his cheek with his finger.

"This is quite a headache."

"If only someone would treat an old man like me to a bowl of noodles right now. What do you think, friend who's been following me all along?"

The blind old man turned his head toward a direction.

"Ah, so I've been found, huh."

A soft laugh echoed.

A tall, slender young man in black clothing walked slowly from the end of the street, stopping before him.

……

Inside the roadside noodle shop.

The two, both with closed eyes and appearing blind to outsiders, sat facing each other, eating their buckwheat noodles.

As he ate, the blind old man asked: "I'm just a blind wanderer. Why have you followed me for two days?"

"Nothing in particular. I just think you resemble someone I'm looking for."

The young man slurped his noodles.

"Oh?"

"Aren't you named Yīxiào, user of the Gravity Fruit?"

The blind old man froze slightly, lifting his head.

"So my guess was right—you're the one I've been seeking."

The young man smiled lightly.

"People who control gravity are indeed rare."

His voice, accompanied by the crisp slurping of noodles, reached the blind old man's ears.

The blind wanderer who would one day become the Marine Admiral Tenghu, now known as Yīxiào, opened his entirely white eyes and stared directly at the young man across from him.

"Who are you?"

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Luo En, a Traveler."

174, standing before Zoro—Gaoshan

"Luo En… That name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it before."

Yīxiào mused.

Luo En sipped his broth: "Traveler Luo En—does that ring a bell?"

Yīxiào's expression grew tense.

"You remember now? Looks like fame isn't all bad."

Luo En chuckled.

"Why are you, a notorious criminal wanted by the World Government and the Navy, seeking out an obscure blind old man like me?"

Yi Xiao lowered his head and took a bite of noodles.

"Always calling me 'blind man'—even I feel offended."

The young man said helplessly.

Yi Xiao's hand with the chopsticks paused; he lifted his head, expression puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?"

At that moment, a person at a nearby table whispered quietly: "Look over there—an old man and a boy, both blind."

"Really? Two blind men eating noodles together—how hilarious."

"Can they even pay? They'll definitely get cheated."

"Let's wait and see."

……

The two men's whispered conversation, which they thought was quiet, was perfectly audible to Luo En and Yi Xiao.

"The famed traveler Luo En—why have you become blind like me?"

Yi Xiao asked Luo En.

"My condition isn't serious; in a while, I'll be able to open my eyes and see again."

"I'd like to ask how your eyes came to be this way."

Luo En took a bite of noodles and said: "Did someone do this to you—or did you do it yourself?"

Yi Xiao fell silent for a moment, then spoke sadly: "I did it myself."

"Why?"

"The world holds too many filthy, despicable people. Not seeing them is a blessing."

"Is this your righteousness—or merely an escape?"

Luo En smiled.

Yi Xiao said nothing more, lowered his head and slurped his noodles, quickly finishing the entire bowl.

"Thank you, sir."

After setting down his bowl, Yi Xiao stood, picked up the staff-sword beside him, and walked out.

Luo En smiled, dropped a gold coin on the table, and followed him out of the noodle shop.

On the street.

Dressed in black, Luo En strolled calmly behind Yi Xiao.

"How long will you continue to follow me?"