That evening, to welcome Xiano and his companions, the Isshin Dojo hosted a grand banquet.
Nami and Nojiko were still thinking about the dishes they wanted to eat. Long before Zeff started preparing the meal, they had already scampered off to the kitchen to make their requests.
Zeff laughed heartily and generously agreed to fulfill all their wishes.
This immediately caused dissatisfaction among two kitchen helpers who had just woken up.
"We're about the same age, so why do we have to help you wash and chop vegetables while they get to make their own requests?"
Mosshead and Curly Brow, putting aside their past grievances, angrily joined forces to protest and go on strike.
"Because they're honored guests, you fools!"
Zeff responded with a few punches, and as a result, this valiant strike action lasted only a minute before ending in screams.
Meanwhile, on Xiano's side.
Since he hadn't seen Kuina or Junichi yet, he couldn't help but ask Koshiro about them.
He learned that Kuina, after a year of rigorous training, had made significant progress in her swordsmanship, thanks to her innate talent. A few days ago, she had confidently set off for Asakura Island to participate in this year's swordsmanship tournament.
She vowed to take up Lord Xiano's mantle and win the championship this year.
As for Junichi, despite his relentless, hellish training day and night, his progress still couldn't match Kuina and Zoro's. These two younger juniors gradually surpassed him.
After several days of self-reflection, he decided to set sail half a year ago to hone his skills as a pirate hunter.
Koshiro was somewhat worried about this, but Xiano, though surprised, was quite impressed.
Everyone has their own path. Knowing that training in Shimotsuki Village had limited prospects, staying there and stagnating didn't make much sense. Choosing to change paths and improve through life-and-death battles showed that Junichi had already made his own resolution.
After dinner, everyone gathered around the hearth for a night chat.
Xiano copied a manual of the Six Styles and handed it to Zeff.
Shave, Moon Walk, and Iron Body—these three techniques were quite versatile. Zeff and Kuina could pick the ones they liked to enhance their overall strength.
Of course, Zoro and Sanji could also practice them if they wanted.
However, Xiano would officially set sail in at most three years, and by then, these two youngsters wouldn't have grown up yet. Whether they wanted to join the ship would be up to them.
...
Early the next morning.
The Orange Garden left Shimotsuki Village, heading toward its final destination, the Goa Kingdom.
Xiano didn't forget another important task. During the night, he had already collected all the "wool."
Kuina's desk lamp, Zoro's headband, Zeff's wooden prosthetic, Koshiro's new glasses—he missed none of them. He even stood by Sanji's bedside and quietly took a small vial of his blood.
By now, Xiano was quite skilled at this. He moved silently, leaving no trace, and no one noticed a thing.
After all his hard work, he earned a total of 2,500 Points, bringing his remaining Points to 38,500.
As for whether Koshiro and the others would suspect that every time Xiano visited, their dojo would lose this or that...
Obviously, they wouldn't.
With his towering moral image in the eyes of everyone, as long as he could keep a straight face and not blush, even if a pile of stolen goods were found on him on the spot, people would only think it was that rascal Zoro secretly causing trouble.
...
A few days later.
On a sunny afternoon, the Orange Garden sailed into the waters of the Goa Kingdom, and the distant Corbo Mountains were already visible on the horizon.
Xiano sat at the bow of the ship, accompanying Nami and Nojiko as they played cat's cradle. In his spare moments, he glanced up at the lush mountains and frowned slightly.
For some reason.
Since this morning, as they got closer to their destination, he had been feeling a sense of unease.
"Man-Scar, in the follow-up reports, did they mention who the Vice Admiral sent to the East Blue to eliminate Buggy was?" he turned back and asked.
"Wait a moment, boss, I'll check right now."
Man-Scar hurriedly rummaged through a large stack of newspapers, and after a moment, he looked up, "They did mention it. It's Momonga, a very capable and seasoned Vice Admiral. With him leading the charge, the Buggy Pirates should have no chance of resistance."
"Momonga, huh..."
Xiano breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, it didn't matter who came, as long as it wasn't Garp.
He just wanted to smoothly perform another magic trick for Luffy, get in and out quickly, and didn't want any other complications.
...
The outskirts of the Corbo Mountains were the shopping street of the Goa Kingdom.
The area was well-policed, with a dazzling array of goods, making it a great place for shopping and leisure.
Xiano entrusted the professional sailors he had brought from the village to take his two sisters around for a few days.
Meanwhile, he and Man-Scar, along with a few others, prepared the necessary items and ventured into the mountains.
With more hands familiar with the terrain, the search for their target became much faster. By the afternoon of the next day, they had found traces of Luffy.
It seemed that Luffy and Ace had split up again, each entering the mountains to train. When Xiano spotted him from the hilltop, the little brat was being chased by three furious giant bears, running for his life and screaming all the way.
"Why are there three of them?!"
Luffy shouted as he ran, tears and snot streaming down his face, "This is too much! I only stole your honey! How could you call so many friends? If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one!"
"Roar!"
The giant bears didn't respond, just kept chasing with all their might.
"I can't take it anymore, I'm gonna fight you!!!!" Seeing his stamina nearly depleted, Luffy let out a yell, grabbed two nearby trees, stretched his arms to their limit, and used the force to propel himself backward, "Gum-Gum—"
"Rocket!"
Thud!
His head slammed into the forehead of the middle bear, which let out a pained roar and fell backward.
But it didn't pass out. After just three or four seconds, it shook its head and stood back up.
The other two bears had already adjusted their positions, forming a three-sided encirclement, blocking all escape routes, and glared menacingly at the little brat below.
"I'm done for! This time I'm really done for!"
Luffy's legs shook like a sieve as he wailed, "Waaah, Ace, where are you? Come and save me already..."
This poor kid.
Xiano had been watching the spectacle from the cliff and couldn't help but sigh. He stood up, and in a flash, his figure disappeared from the spot.
The next moment, he had already arrived by Luffy's side, glancing up at the three giant bears.
"Give me some face," Xiano said with a chuckle. "Considering it was this brat who made the mistake first, I won't take action either. How about you leave on your own?"
Who do you think you are?
The three giant bears were momentarily stunned, exchanging glances before simultaneously letting out a roar. They took a step forward, opening their massive jaws to reveal sharp fangs, with streams of saliva dripping down.
As expected, if you're not a Celestial Dragon, your face isn't worth much, huh? Xiano sighed gloomily, about to take action, when he suddenly noticed the three bears freeze in their tracks.
Looking up, he saw that for some reason, all three bears wore expressions of fear. They let out a low growl, then turned and fled in the direction they had come from, not daring to look back.
Huh?
Strange... Xiano watched the retreating figures of the bears, still puzzled, when an annoyed voice suddenly rang out from above:
"Where did this brat come from! Taking it upon himself to save someone, how annoying! Do you have any idea how much effort I put into driving these three bears here?"
That voice...
Xiano was startled and instinctively turned his head, just in time to see a fist the size of a sandbag rapidly enlarging in his pupils——