One Piece: The wind swordsman

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At dawn, a purplish-red glow slowly appeared at the horizon, dispersing the thin mist. The sunlight burst forth like boiling molten steel, gradually brightening the entire azure sky.

A massive pirate ship was sailing against the wind on the ocean surface, bathed in the dim morning light.

Silver waves passed over the ship's side, splashing ripples that merged at the stern, forming a shining water trail under the morning sunlight, shimmering with glittering waves and vast blue sea.

Shanuo leaned against the ship's cabin, hugging his knees, sitting by the side of the deck.

The sea breeze brushed past, and occasionally waves splashed onto the ship's deck, scattering silver droplets that fell onto his face, soaking his black hair, which slid down his temples and neck. Yet, he didn't move, silently gazing at the vanishing mist on the horizon.

There, a small island he knew all too well was slowly fading away.

Thud, thud, thud…

After an unknown amount of time, a dull sound of footsteps approached from behind. Then, a tall figure draped in a white cloak appeared on the deck, sitting down unceremoniously next to Shanuo.

Shanuo didn't need to turn around to know who it was. As soon as the person sat down, a springy mustache jabbed into his side, forcing him to subtly shift his butt to the right.

It was Zepp, who, upon seeing Shanuo move, felt a bit embarrassed but soon didn't care and coughed lightly, chuckling.

"Hey, kid, when you came to find me yesterday, you were so decisive. What's the matter now? Can't bear to leave your hometown?"

"Ah, well, after staying there for so many years, it's a bit hard to leave all of a sudden," Shanuo didn't deny it, turning his head to glance at Zepp and smiling frankly.

"Oh? Really? Hahaha, you're quite an interesting little brat."

Zepp laughed heartily and, as he instinctively reached out to ruffle Shanuo's little head, he recalled yesterday's scene and stopped midway, withdrawing his hand with a disgruntled expression.

"By the way, I didn't expect Tado and the others to return so soon. We left in a bit of a hurry this morning. Did you say a proper goodbye to those little buddies of yours?"

"Those little brats don't understand a thing. There's nothing to say to them…" Shanuo scratched his head and looked back at the now tiny Andrick Island in the distance, smiling. "But if I really went to say goodbye, they'd probably cry a river. I'd rather not see that."

"So, I left a letter at home for Anderson and the others. It's probably been opened by now. I didn't write anything too sappy, but I bet those little punks will still cry. After all…"

Here, Shanuo seemed to recall something, sighing. "After all, those brats stole so many of my grilled fish…"

"Well, they won't be getting your grilled fish anymore. Oh, and the lobsters too."

Zepp glanced at Shanuo and smiled. "To be honest, kid, your cooking yesterday was pretty good. Though it's nowhere near as good as mine, it's definitely better than a lot of pirate chefs."

"Like that Tado pirate crew's chef, right?"

Shanuo understood immediately, glancing at Zepp before smirking and saying, "Of course. Tado, that guy, would rather learn cooking from me than do his job as captain. These past few days, I've been eating the stuff he's made on his ship, and I nearly threw up. But since he's an old friend, I didn't want to be rude and say it directly."

Zepp grunted and was about to continue complaining when he noticed Shanuo's mischievous smile. His face froze, and he turned to look behind him.

Indeed, at some point, a short, chubby man in a chef's outfit had appeared on the otherwise empty deck, staring at them with an expression full of black lines.

It was Tado, the leader of the Tado pirate crew, an old friend of Zepp's and a notorious pirate with a 10 million Beli bounty.

Zepp had traveled to Andrick Island on Tado's ship, but because one of the crew members had to visit their hometown, the ship didn't dock at Orange Town. They only returned to port this morning and left with Shanuo and the others.

After spending some time together, Shanuo had gotten to know the pirate crew a little. Compared to most pirate crews, Tado's crew wasn't large—there were only a dozen people on such a big ship. The crew members weren't bad people either. They were more like adventurers, much like Luffy's crew.

As for Tado himself, aside from his disastrous cooking skills, he could be described as warm-hearted, looking fat and quite amiable. However, right now, his expression was anything but amiable…

"Hahaha, Tado, my old buddy, what are you doing up so early? But you're right, the weather this morning is great, perfect for an early morning workout, don't you think?"

Seeing Tado's dark expression, Zepp quickly stood up with a forced laugh, trying to change the subject with a few words.

However, Tado, the chubby chef, showed no change in expression, still staring at him with a deadpan look.

"Ahem, alright, I admit I said some bad things about you, but I was just joking, really…"

Zepp's face turned red with awkwardness as he stammered his explanation. "Honestly, your cooking's not that bad. It's just a tiny bit worse than mine."

"Alright, Zepp, stop making excuses. I see right through you. You lying old bastard!"

Tado glared at Zepp and snatched the chef's hat from his head, throwing it onto the deck before stomping toward the cabin and sitting down.

At that moment, he noticed Shanuo, who was hiding and chuckling to himself. Tado's eyes lit up as if he had just remembered something, and he turned to look at Shanuo with a somewhat expectant gaze.

"Zepp's a real bastard, but you, Shanuo, you've still got some decency. So how about it? Come over and try my breakfast. I guarantee it's absolutely delicious."

"Huh…" Shanuo hesitated, staring at Tado's chubby face. But when he saw Zepp, who was now enjoying the awkward situation, he gritted his teeth and decided to give it a try.

"Alright, I'll try it."

"Ah~ That's the spirit! You're much better than those crew members who always complain about my cooking."

Tado smiled happily, but then his expression darkened as if he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and there's that blonde curly-haired brat. He's another one who complains about my cooking. If he weren't still sleeping, I'd make him try my breakfast this morning."