One Piece: The wind swordsman

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"Ha ha, since that's the case, you can think about it for now. No rush, no rush!"

A moment later, Zeph suddenly raised his voice, laughing loudly as he said this, then nodded toward Shanuo and greeted Anderson beside the table before smiling and walking away along the pebble path.

Shanuo, on the other hand, stood in place for a while in a daze, his expression somewhat strange as he shook his head and walked toward them.

"Shanuo big brother, are you okay?"

Seeing Shanuo's odd behavior, the chubby boy Bill couldn't help but feel nervous and asked with concern.

"Ah, it's nothing."

Shanuo came to his senses and saw the three little ones looking at him nervously. He couldn't help but feel a bit confused, asking, "I just went in and talked to that old man for a bit, why are you all looking at me like that? Did you all finish eating the lobsters?"

"Finished… finished eating…"

When Shanuo asked, the little ones secretly glanced at the table, their faces turning slightly red as they answered awkwardly.

"Just say it if you're full, why all the hesitation? Hmm, now that I think about it, you guys have been acting weird since earlier."

Shanuo frowned, suspiciously looking at them, preparing to ask for clarification.

But upon seeing the empty plates on the table, he immediately understood everything. He stood there in shock for a moment, then immediately became furious:

"Damn! There was a whole big pot of lobsters, and you guys ate everything?! You're pigs! You didn't leave me any?"

The only response was a loud burp from chubby Bill, who couldn't hold it in. Anderson and Roy, who had been silent, immediately turned and glared fiercely at Bill. Bill trembled and quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at Shanuo again.

Shanuo's lips twitched.

"Forget it, I did make it for you guys to eat. Why are you all so nervous? What, are you afraid I'll beat you up or something?"

Looking at the three little ones who had lowered their heads and remained silent, Shanuo sighed after a long moment, feeling both exasperated and amused.

Hearing this, the three little ones breathed a sigh of relief, then scratched their heads and chuckled awkwardly.

Originally, the pot of lobsters was meant for four people's dinner. But after the three of them came early, they not only finished their own portions but also Shanuo's. Now that they remembered it, they naturally felt guilty and feared they might end up being beaten like Roy had been last time for stealing grilled fish and spending the night at Shanuo's house.

"Alright, alright, since you're all full, get lost. I'm not hungry anymore. If I get hungry and start craving lobsters, you might really end up getting a beating one by one."

Shanuo waved his hand dismissively, giving a casual order, then said no more. He walked to the table and began clearing the dishes.

The little ones hesitated for a moment, looking somewhat ashamed. They seemed to want to help clean up the table but, after whispering to each other, changed their minds. After thanking Shanuo, they left the small wooden house, giggling.

...

After sending the little ones away, the surroundings became much quieter. Shanuo cleaned up the kitchen waste, spent a good while tidying up the table and kitchenware, and once everything was set in order, the area around the wooden house was restored to its original neatness, enough to prevent his obsessive-compulsive disorder from acting up.

Rubbing his sore wrists, Shanuo slowly walked to the side of the wooden house, leaned against the wooden wall, sat down on the lawn, and placed his arms behind his head. He gazed at the cloudy sky in a daze.

"It's a thankless task. I can't let these little ones get away with it next time. But…"

Thinking back to Zeph's words just now, he smiled wryly and muttered to himself:

"From now on, there won't be such an opportunity, right…"

This year was the 1511th year of the Haiyuan Calendar, marking Shanuo's third year since he crossed over.

He had originally thought he would continue to hang around in Orange Town for a few more years, working on improving his Wind Sword Technique to the beginner level before heading out to the sea to adventure. However, he never expected that in the autumn of this year, he would encounter the infamous pirate, Zeph, who had returned from the Grand Line.

He had never imagined that Zeph, along with the young Sanji, would land on Andrick Island, with the purpose of finding him.

And the reason for all of this was because of his estranged father, whom Shanuo had never met—Costa, the man who abandoned his family to sail the seas.

Or, to put it another way.

His father, the former vice-captain of the East Blue's Cook Pirate Crew, a bounty of 17 million Berries, the "Drunkard" Costa, had once been close friends and shipmates with Zeph.

However, after returning safely from the Grand Line, while plundering a regular passenger ship, they encountered a storm. All the members on both ships perished, except for Zeph and Sanji, who was an apprentice cook on the ship. Costa, as the vice-captain, despite his impressive combat skills, could not withstand the force of nature and was also killed in the disaster.

Zeph, who fortunately survived, felt an immense sense of guilt and nostalgia for his fallen comrades. The one he was closest to, Costa, had often mentioned Shanuo before his death and expressed regret for abandoning Shanuo in pursuit of his pirate dreams.

Moved by these memories, Zeph couldn't let go of the young Shanuo and decided to search for him on Andrick Island, hoping to find the son of his old friend.

When Zeph saw Shanuo living alone in a shabby little house on the edge of the town, struggling to fish for a living, the old man couldn't resist feeling pity. He kindly persuaded Shanuo to go out to sea and live with him in his new Baratie restaurant, offering to raise him.

According to Zeph, Shanuo would have a much better life there, with no need to fish and sell his catch daily, and not having to live alone.

"That damn old man. I wouldn't care if he were dead, nor would the previous owner of this body care. If he heard about this, he'd probably feel nothing either…"

Thinking about Zeph's serious face when he gave him the "bad news," Shanuo couldn't help but feel irritated at the thought of that worthless Costa.

In the original story, there was no character named "Shanuo" in the Baratie restaurant. Based on his reasoning, the original "Shanuo" likely wouldn't have rejected the offer. The only possibility was that Zeph failed to find him on Andrick Island.

In other words, had Shanuo not crossed over, the original, naive boy probably would have met an untimely death in these few years, which is why Zeph never found him to take him in.

As for the so-called great pirate Costa, even though he expressed guilt and regret when speaking to his shipmates, he was, after all, a scoundrel who abandoned his family.

Shanuo couldn't help but sympathize with the original body's previous owner every time he thought of him.

On the other hand, Shanuo almost immediately felt tempted by Zeph's offer. After a period of reflection, he had basically made up his mind.

Looking at the dark clouds, a determined light flashed in his eyes.

To Zeph, taking him in was a promise to an old friend and a guarantee of safety and growth.

But to Shanuo, it was also an opportunity—a rare chance to go out to sea.

While Andrick Island was peaceful and calm, it was simply too remote. With no challenges, there was no chance to grow stronger. Staying here forever might be a good thing for many people in Orange Town, but for Shanuo, who inherited the Wind Sword Master legacy, it was something he could not accept.

He couldn't bear to stay in this 12-year-old body, pretending to be clueless and wasting away!