Dialogue, Deal

"Two idiots."

Kaido snorted irritably, then shouted, "Nobody meddles with them."

Then he turned back to King. "King, double the training. I don't want to hear that damn girl shouting about setting sail again."

"Yes, Mr. Kaido."

King nodded lightly.

Then Kaido lowered his head, looking down at the two small figures lying before him. "I'll ask the same question again next month. Foolish girl, think carefully about how you should answer!"

With that, Kaido turned and left without a hint of reluctance.

Seeing Kaido leave, Queen eagerly pointed at the four samurai still lying on the ground. They had originally been the stars of this whole show, only to end up as mere spectators later on.

"Quick, quick, quick! Take these guys to my laboratory! I can't wait to test the power of the new Plague Calamity Bomb!"

King did not stop him. Since Kaido had not said how these people were to be dealt with, it meant they could be handled however they liked.

So it was no problem no matter how Queen wanted to toy with them.

After Queen left with the four samurai, King finally spoke. "Everyone, go back. Take the unconscious ones with you as well."

The Beasts Pirates began clearing the area, and before long, they had all left.

Only the two figures lying on the ground remained.

They were Sirius and Yamato.

Both were battered beyond recognition and completely unconscious.

By the time Sirius regained consciousness, it was already night.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a sky full of stars.

Was it already nighttime?

He remembered that it had still been morning when everything happened.

He had only been unconscious for a day?

That was Sirius's first thought.

"Urgh—"

Then the intense pain shooting through every part of his body made him groan despite himself.

Uncle Kaido had really hit hard.

How many bones had he broken?

He could barely even move.

But at least he was still alive.

Uncle Kaido's habit of collecting talent was still working in his favor.

"Sirius, are you awake?"

Yamato's voice came from beside him.

With great difficulty, Sirius slowly turned his head and saw Yamato lying next to him. She was just as battered, and even her large eyes had been squeezed into narrow slits by her swollen eye sockets.

"Yo, Yamato. Good evening." Sirius tried hard to smile.

But the moment the corner of his mouth twitched, it pulled at the injuries on his face, making him bare his teeth in pain. That tugged at even more injuries, creating a vicious cycle.

"What do you mean, good evening—"

Yamato sniffled. "It obviously had nothing to do with you. Why did you do something like that? Is Sirius an idiot?"

"You idiot, do you have any right to call me that?"

Sirius shot back, then slowly turned his head to gaze up at the night sky. "Yeah, why did I? Hmm, probably because I couldn't stand watching an idiot try to look cool."

"T-Try to look cool?" Yamato froze.

"Yeah. Holding on to your dream and never giving in, refusing to admit defeat even when facing a monster like Uncle Kaido... isn't that incredibly cool?"

Sirius said leisurely, "I wanted to look cool together with Yamato too."

It was stupid, but it was also cool.

"So remember this, Yamato. If there's ever another chance to look cool, make sure to bring me along. That's what partners do, right?"

"Sirius—Sirius!"

Yamato was so moved that tears welled in her eyes as she sobbed.

She actually struggled to roll over, then sprawled on top of Sirius and hugged him.

"Mm! No matter what difficulties we face, we'll face them together! We're partners forever!"

Sirius already had several broken bones, and with Yamato pressing down on him like that, he instantly screamed.

"Pain, pain, pain, pain!! Idiot! My bones!"

After finally pushing Yamato off himself, Sirius panted. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm just so happy."

Yamato lay beside Sirius and said with a grin, "Because now I know that no matter what difficulties we face, Sirius will face them alongside me. No matter what dangers we encounter, Sirius will always be willing to stand up for me."

"So of course I'm really happy."

Sirius quietly turned his head away and looked up at the sky.

It was making him feel a little embarrassed.

But why had he been willing to stand up for her?

Probably because he knew that if he were in the same situation, Yamato would step forward without hesitation too.

This was the first time he had stood up for someone.

"Thank you, Teacher Yamato," Sirius suddenly said.

"Huh? Teacher? Why?" Yamato froze.

"It's nothing."

Sirius smiled. He felt strangely happy, probably because he had seen his own courage for the first time.

"Anyway, let's deal with your injuries first," Sirius said, forcing himself to turn his head toward Yamato.

"But I can't move."

Yamato tried hard to sit up, but failed. Then she asked somewhat puzzledly, "And doesn't Sirius need treatment too?"

"Of course not."

As Sirius spoke, fur suddenly began to sprout across his body. In the blink of an eye, he had entered his Werewolf form. His mouth, close to the ground, opened wide and instantly bit down on a mouthful of dirt.

It tasted awful.

And eating dirt sounded pretty miserable too.

But he could not worry about that now. Recovering came first.

Sirius took huge bites out of the rocks and soil around his head, and the pain in his body gradually began to fade.

"Eh—"

Yamato stared at Sirius's actions with her mouth slightly open, utterly dumbfounded. "Are you really that hungry?"

Sirius could not be bothered to answer her and simply continued his great dirt-eating endeavor.

The pain in his body rapidly subsided, and he gradually regained the ability to move. Sirius rolled over and sprang to his feet, enlarging his mouth as he devoured the ground beneath him in even bigger bites.

Before long, he had chewed a massive hole into the ground.

Compared to all kinds of carefully prepared food, soil and rocks were naturally far less nutritious, so he could only make up for it with sheer quantity.

Only after he had gnawed out a pit several meters deep did Sirius wipe his mouth and leap out. "Recovered!"

"Eh!"

Yamato was dumbstruck.

That was way too ridiculous, wasn't it?

Just now, he had been lying on the ground beside her, unable to move!

"Come on. I'll take you to get treated."

Sirius carefully picked Yamato up and ran toward Onigashima.

Along the way, every Pirate who saw Sirius moving as swiftly as the wind looked as though they had seen a ghost. Were Boss Kaido's fists really that weak?

"Sirius,"

Yamato, cradled in Sirius's arms, suddenly said, "What Father said before... what does getting married mean? Is it like being partners?"

"Marriage?" Sirius answered casually. "It's when a man and a woman start a family and then stay together forever, I guess."

"Eh—so that's what it is?"

Yamato nodded, then said seriously, "Then Sirius, shall we get married?"

Sirius looked down at her. This girl had completely mistaken marriage for some kind of partnership ceremony, hadn't she?

He snorted. "No way."

"Huh? Why not!"

"Come say that again when you've grown into a sexy grown-up woman, brat."

"You're the brat, Sirius! I don't care! I'm definitely going to marry Sirius! We'll be together forever!"

Whoa, was she some kind of lovesick girl? Did she even know what freedom of marriage was?

Sirius took Yamato to find Queen. This guy was Onigashima's top scientist, so his medical skills should be pretty good too.

"Huh? What happened to you, kid?!"

Queen was badly startled when he saw Sirius moving like the wind.

"It's just because of my ability."

Sirius said casually, then set Yamato down. "Anyway, Teacher Queen, hurry up and treat Yamato."

Queen did not refuse. Kaido had told them not to concern themselves with Sirius and the other two, but this was not Queen taking the initiative to treat her—Sirius had brought Yamato over himself.

He was only acting passively.

At the end of the day, Yamato was Kaido's only daughter. He could not really just watch her die, could he?

Well, unless Boss Kaido personally ordered it.

Queen quickly treated Yamato.

Then he wrapped Yamato up like a rice dumpling.

Only after Yamato's injuries had been dealt with did Sirius finally let out a sigh of relief.

Uncle Kaido had not gone easy on Yamato just because she was his daughter.

"But kid, your ability really is cheating! Isn't it way too strong?" Hearing that, Sirius turned his head and saw Uncle Queen clicking his tongue in amazement.

Speaking of abilities—

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Teacher Queen, you've finished analyzing Venom, right?"

"Oh! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten! I was just about to tell you!"

Teacher Queen wore a suddenly enlightened expression. "Your toxins are pretty incredible too, kid! They've taken my Plague Calamity Bomb to the next level!"

"The bad news is that the toxin's components are all fantasy elements that don't exist in reality, so I can't reproduce them. The good news is that I really can alter the toxin's properties by adjusting the ratios of different elements!"

He grinned. "Mwahahaha! Kid, how about this? You provide me with toxins regularly, and I'll teach you how to formulate other kinds of toxins."

Sirius thought for a moment.

"Deal."