Wind Rises

"Hey, Obe. Didn't you say Sister Ra was going to teach us something this afternoon?" Oshi asked, kicking a stone on the ground with her hands behind her head, bored.

"How should I know? But since Big Sister said it's a bit difficult, it's definitely not going to be simple... Speaking of which, hasn't King come back yet?" Obe looked around, trying to find a certain figure.

"Why are you looking for that masked man?" Oshi asked, confused.

"Of course, it's to let him taste my Armament Haki iron fist! That guy hit me over 281 times yesterday, I'm definitely going to return every single hit this time."

Obe said through gritted teeth.

"My motto is: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a thousandfold repayment!"

"No way, you're too petty! Even though that guy didn't hold back, he was still trying to teach us."

"Shut up! I clearly told him to stop so I could think for a moment, but that guy acted like he didn't hear me and just kept pounding on my head. Does he really think my head is a wooden fish?!

Is he trying to earn merit points with every hit?!"

"I'm telling you, that guy is a total sadist!"

"Alright, alright, even if you want revenge, that guy isn't even on the island right now~" Oshi said nonchalantly. She hadn't been hit that many times yesterday anyway, so she wasn't holding a grudge.

"Since that guy isn't here, you can spar with me first. Once I get the hang of it, I'll beat him until his mask is all over the place," Obe said, clenching her fist.

"Pfft~"

Oshi imagined King crawling on the ground, desperately searching for his mask, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I also want to see what kind of face is hidden under that mask. Let's go back to the training ground."

Oshi's personality was always fiery and full of execution. She immediately grabbed Obe and they sprinted back the way they came.

In the training ground, which was now unrecognizable, two figures, one red and one blue, stood facing each other. A strange drumbeat...

Alright, it was very quiet around them, there was no drumbeat. But the lines still had to be said.

Blue: "How many times have we fought?"

Red: "Hard to say. In my memory, we've only ever fought."

Red: "It's time to settle this, Obe! Let's end it all!" Red Armament Haki covered his hands, and golden lightning crackled around his arms.

Obe smiled slightly, revealing her left arm wrapped in blue Haki from her sleeve. Black violent winds instantly tore through the air.

The two small figures collided rapidly, their red and dark blue fists meeting in mid-air, and space let out a sharp explosion.

Boom!

The poor ground was plowed again. The land within dozens of meters centered on the two had sunk several meters and was covered in cracks. There was no doubt that the playful antics of these two young gods were a disaster for the earth beneath their feet.

At this moment, Ra, who was learning swordsmanship from Cook, suddenly looked up in the direction of the training ground. Then, as if nothing had happened, she continued to slice the steak.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. There might be an earthquake later, so please be careful not to spill your soup, Old Man Cook."

"Another earthquake? Didn't we have one this morning? The New World really isn't peaceful..."

"Damn it, such immense brute strength!"

Oshi realized she was being suppressed by Obe, who was slightly smaller than her. This wasn't a suppression in terms of Haki strength, but purely in terms of physical power. Obe's strength was clearly superior to Oshi's!

Oshi's body was being pushed back little by little, and two deep gouges had already appeared on the ground beneath her feet.

"Damn it! I won't lose to you, you little runt! Just Obe, watch me push you back!"

Oshi roared, then took a deep breath, and more and more golden lightning began to coil around her arm.

But just as Oshi was about to gather her strength to push back, Obe suddenly released her force. As Oshi lost her balance, she dodged her punch by sidestepping.

"Wh—"

A fair and tender right fist, carrying destructive violent winds, struck Oshi's face.

"Divine Fist Crushing Strike!"

"Gyaaaaaa~~~~"

Oshi was sent flying, sliding across the ground for hundreds of meters before crashing into a large rock face, where she finally stopped.

"Tsk~ You blocked it? As expected, your intuition is terrifying..."

There was no joy in landing a decisive blow. Obe sensed that Oshi had raised her hand to block her attack at the last moment.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." Oshi clutched her cheek, pulling herself out of the rock face.

Even though she had put up a defense, Obe's attack had still swollen her face. The arm she used to block Obe's fist was now trembling slightly, unable to exert force.

"Nishiyokawa, shashinzeh ah!" Oshi rubbed her left cheek, speaking indistinctly.

"You can only blame yourself for being stupid enough to fall for that kind of tactic, which only works on children."

"Kowu, jiranluci, wo ye bu keqi le!"

Oshi stomped her feet on the ground, turning herself into a crimson rainbow as she rapidly crossed hundreds of meters to appear above Obe. She then clasped her hands together and smashed them down towards Obe's head.

Obe, with her incredible dynamic vision, caught Oshi's movement and immediately leaped up to dodge.

The furious attack landed, and the surroundings were immediately engulfed in swirling air currents and billowing dust.

"Something's wrong! Oshi's attack shouldn't be this weak."

Obe, still in mid-air, immediately noticed the abnormality in Oshi's attack. It seemed she didn't intend to hit her at all, but rather to... create dust?!

"Hehehe!"

In the dust cloud, Oshi, relying on her terrifying intuition and Observation Haki, instantly locked onto Obe's position.

"Taste my return gift! Superconducting Wave—Thunder Cannon!"

Golden lightning breath filled Obe's vision, its diameter far greater than her own body.

She immediately curled her body, crossing her arms in front of her. Having anticipated Oshi's intention, Obe took the hit in the most perfect posture.

A slight burning sensation and numbness swept over Obe's entire body. This attack didn't seem strong.

Just as Obe was wondering, a crimson figure had already burst through to her back.

"Seven hundred and fifty thousand horsepower, Oshi Thunder Fist!" A small fist, carrying golden lightning, struck Obe's back directly, blasting the Hero of the Earth into the ground.

BOOM!

As if the earth mother was responding, a plume of dust tens of meters high erupted, clearly visible even from the distant sea.

"What was that? Another earthquake? Didn't we just have one?"

"Could it be a volcanic eruption under the sea?"

"Two earthquakes in one day isn't that unusual, even in the New World..."

"Let's pack up quickly. It'll be trouble if a tsunami actually comes later."

"But I just opened for business... Hey! You brat, don't take advantage and eat for free!"

"Oi~ Are you okay?" Oshi crouched beside the deep pit, calling out loudly.

It had been over ten minutes since Obe was turned into an "underground dweller," and there was still no sign of her climbing out.

"I'm fine."

Obe's calm voice came from below.

"What the heck! If you're fine, then come up! What are you doing down there for so long, playing turtle? You scared me."

Hearing that Obe was fine, Oshi couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

It wasn't that she was worried about how badly she'd beaten Obe; she had held back on that punch. With Obe's physical defense, which was similar to her own, it would at most just hurt. Oshi was mainly afraid that Obe would be unreasonable and run to complain to Ra after being hit.

"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory! I just suddenly discovered a problem."

Obe leaped onto the ground, tidied her slightly messy hair, and then said, "Oshi, in our fight just now, did you notice anything?"

"Uh... The fight was exhilarating?"

"Tsk~"

"Alright, you go ahead and talk, I'm listening."

Seeing Oshi stop joking, Obe said seriously, "In our fight just now, other than that first hit, did we use Haki again? I mean Armament Haki."

This was a question both of them had subconsciously overlooked.

"Huh?! We really didn't! Strange, why?"

Oshi found it hard to understand; she seemed to have completely forgotten about this new skill in the subsequent fight.

"Because the pace of the fight was too fast. Compared to our innate abilities, which we've already mastered, we subconsciously ignored Haki, a power that can only be used after an energy conversion.

It's the same for you, who fight by instinct, and for me, who had to keep up with your pace."

Without letting Oshi ponder for too long, Obe directly provided the answer she had come up with during her ten minutes of enlightenment in the underground dragon arena.

"Yes, that's true. It feels like switching to a new game where the button layout has changed, but you still subconsciously use your old habits to control the controller.

Observation Haki, which is like a directional pad, is fine, but Armament Haki, which involves combos of light and heavy attacks, is difficult to adapt to at first."

Oshi immediately understood Obe's meaning in her own way.

"So, from now on, we need to change our method. Let's slow down the pace a bit, and don't use our innate abilities. Let's fight purely with Haki, ensuring that every blow is infused with Haki."

"Okay, sounds good!"

And so, after a moment of silence, the residents of the town welcomed the nth earthquake of the day.

In the cafeteria—

"Oh no~ my soup!" A worker, jolted by the earthquake, accidentally dumped the entire can of salt into the soup.

Many people around were startled by the sudden tremor.

"It really is another earthquake. Miss Ra, how did you guess?" someone asked.

"Nothing, I just thought there would be aftershocks after an earthquake, so I just reminded you. I didn't expect them to actually come," Ra casually offered an excuse.

"Then, will there be aftershocks?"

"Hmm... maybe~" Ra sensed the situation of the two little ones and found they were playing with great gusto. She figured they'd be at it for a while longer.

"Clang~ Clang~"

Old Cook tapped his pot with a ladle to remind them, "Everyone be careful not to spill the soup or anything in a bit. Let's continue cooking now, it's almost lunchtime."

"Yes!" x n

"Old Man Cook, how about you try the soup I made?" Ra scooped a small bowl and handed it to Cook.

Old Cook took it but didn't taste it immediately. Instead, he first looked at it, then smelled it.

"Hmm~ The color is clear and translucent, and the aroma is fragrant."

After confirming that the 'color' and 'aroma' were up to par, he finally picked up his spoon.

At this moment, Old Cook seemed to have returned to the days when he tasted dishes for nobles on aristocratic cruise ships, serious and strict.

"Hmm?! This taste?"

After taking a shallow sip, Old Cook's eyes immediately widened.

To be honest, he had been involved with cooking his entire life, and this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. This little girl in front of him should be making this soup for the first time, but this taste...

"How is it?"

"The taste is good. No, it should be said it's excellent." Old Cook first gave his evaluation, but then his tone shifted—

"But... Ra, why does this soup taste exactly the same as the one I just made?"

"?"

The other's question also made Ra confused.

"Because I just made it according to how you taught me?"

"That's not what I mean," Cook shook his head.

"Even if you followed me step-by-step, the taste of two dishes could never be exactly the same. Let me put it this way, even I can't achieve a taste that's exactly the same from one time to the next."

As a top chef, Cook's tongue could very sensitively distinguish the slightest flavor changes in a dish. Ra's bowl of soup and the pot he had just demonstrated tasted completely identical!

But Ra was still puzzled: "As long as all the factors that make up the two soups are the same, then the taste will naturally be the same, right?

I just replicated all your steps, including the temperature of the heat, the amount of seasoning, the time, the ingredients, and even the direction and force of stirring..."

A perfectly correct conclusion. Since the factors that constituted the two soups were exactly the same, what reason was there for the taste to be different? But...

"But this isn't right!"

Old Cook, after recovering from his initial shock, immediately stated with absolute certainty.

His tone carried no hint of jest, as if he were defending something sacred and inviolable.

"Ra, you must understand that merely mechanically replicating someone else's cooking will not make you a qualified chef. An independent chef must find their own cooking style!"

At this moment, Old Cook didn't know that this was a piece of advice that would make him regret it so much that he'd grit his teeth in the future.

Even all the Beast Pirates, including Kaido, would have to grit their teeth along with him~

Looking at the resolute Old Cook before her, Ra nodded. "Don't worry, Old Man Cook, I will find my own cooking style."

"Hahaha, then this old man will eagerly await that day! But for now, you still need to watch and learn carefully! In the art of cooking, this old man has never been inferior to anyone!"

New World, 12,000 meters above the sea surface, Floating Island.

"Heat Breath!"

Kaido, in dragon form, unleashed a breath of Dragon Breath directly onto the island below.

"Xi-ha-ha-ha! Kaido, you brat got a decent fruit!"

"But you must show respect to your elders! Wave Slash!"

A massive sword energy directly cut through the fiery breath. From the parted flames, a figure emerged.

The person, whose hands were hidden within the wide sleeves of his robe, held a sharp sword in each. He had a cigar in his mouth, and his fluffy golden hair cascaded behind him like a lion's mane. His peculiar eyebrows were sharp and thin, and his sharp eyes were filled with arrogance and wildness.

Just by standing there, his entire being exuded an unparalleled aura of dominance.

"Stop the nonsense! What do you want me here for—Shiki!"