If it was flattened, it had to be inflated.
Xia Nuo suddenly exerted his strength, lifted the boat, and carried it onto the surface of the sea, while Chunyi immediately crouched down and began performing CPR on Sanji.
After working at it for a long while, Sanji suddenly jerked his upper body and coughed. His eyes had barely managed to open a slit when his neck lolled to the side and he passed out again.
However, his breathing had become long and steady, so Xia Nuo finally relaxed a little and had Chunyi carry Sanji into the cabin.
He himself went back to the other side of the reef and helped Zhepu over.
When the old man saw that Sanji was still alive, he finally put his mind completely at ease and obediently lay down on the bed.
Both of them were extremely weak. One was unconscious, while the other still needed treatment for his severed limb.
They had to find a reliable doctor and get them treated as soon as possible.
"Does Shimotsuki Village have a hospital?" Xia Nuo asked.
"A hospital?" Chunyi scratched his head. "Not exactly, but there is a small clinic. Granny Arlan's medical skills are excellent. Even people from the neighboring villages often cross the mountains to see her."
"Then we're still going to Shimotsuki Village!"
Xia Nuo spread out the sea chart beside him. "We've been sailing for two days already. How much longer until we arrive?"
The islands of the East Blue were scattered everywhere, too numerous to count. A small village like Shimotsuki Village, which outsiders rarely visited, would not be specially marked on the sea charts sold on the market.
Fortunately, they had a local from Shimotsuki Village with them.
Chunyi pointed to a spot and estimated the distance by spreading his thumb and index finger. "We're close, boss. Three or four days at most."
"Three or four days... Use up the cola. Full speed ahead. After that, the two of us will row with all our strength together. That should cut the time down quite a bit."
Xia Nuo turned his head. "Can you hold on, old man?"
Zhepu struggled to raise his right hand and made an "OK" gesture. Seeing the dark lines rise on Xia Nuo's forehead, he bared his teeth, then lay back down.
Two days later, in the evening.
The drizzling rain that had fallen for a long time finally began to let up.
Xia Nuo and the others finally reached an island covered in hills. Shimotsuki Village lay south of the central mountain range.
Several half-grown boys were playing by the pier. The sharp-eyed ones noticed the small boat speeding toward them from far away.
"Huh? That boat looks familiar..."
"It's Senior Chunyi, you idiots! Senior Chunyi is back!"
"Senior Chunyi!"
The boys happily ran over one after another and surrounded Chunyi as soon as he got off the boat.
Xia Nuo was still in the cabin. After glancing at the sleeping Zhepu, he took a small pouch from his pocket. It contained a little more than half a pouch of blood.
Sanji had coughed it up while half-conscious that day. The sight had been rather frightening, but fortunately his condition had stabilized afterward, and there had ultimately been no serious problem.
Blood...
Xia Nuo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. This should be the most valuable item he could take from Sanji right now, shouldn't it?
After all, the child had only recently escaped from Germa. Even the chef's uniform he wore was from when he had worked as an apprentice chef aboard a passenger ship. He had nothing on him that carried any special emotional significance.
He stopped hesitating and chose to sacrifice the pouch of blood.
[Offering: Sanji's Special Blood] [Quality: Excellent] [Value: 1,000 points] [Appraisal: As a member of the North Blue royal family, the Vinsmoke Family, Sanji underwent bloodline factor modification, so his blood naturally possesses special properties. He hated his own bloodline, but without a doubt, the blood flowing through his body was more valuable than that of ordinary people.] [Remaining points: 8,325]
"As expected, it's worth quite a lot."
Xia Nuo's eyes brightened, and his mood improved greatly.
Sanji and Nami were both still just little children, so Xia Nuo naturally could not expect them to contribute any power-based bonus. Being able to obtain a thousand points from him was already an unexpected windfall.
He put the Masamune back across his back, walked out of the cabin, glanced at Chunyi, and said with a smile, "You're pretty popular in the village!"
Ever since the Masamune had made an appearance in front of Chunyi, Xia Nuo had grown accustomed to carrying it with him. Now that he had grown taller, it actually suited him quite well on his back.
"Heh heh."
Chunyi scratched his head bashfully. But when he noticed how tired Xia Nuo looked, he immediately turned around, straightened his expression, and summoned the authority of the dojo's senior disciple.
"Business first. We have two patients who urgently need to be taken to the clinic. Who can lend a hand?"
Their arrival within two days had been almost entirely thanks to Boss Xia Nuo rowing with superhuman strength and endurance to speed them along. This finishing work could not trouble him any longer. It was time to let him get some proper rest.
"Me! Me!"
The children eagerly volunteered. Four of them carried Sanji, while two supported Zhepu, and they headed toward the clinic.
Chunyi followed closely behind. Suddenly, he noticed a figure in the bamboo grove and immediately called out:
"Zoro!"
"Huh?"
A green-haired boy popped his head out, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. When he saw Chunyi, his eyes immediately lit up. "Senior Chunyi! When did you get back?"
"Just now. Training by yourself again?"
"Yeah."
"Stop for now. I have to take some patients to the clinic. This is Boss Xia Nuo, someone I respect greatly. Sorry to trouble you, but take him to the dojo to rest. I'll come over later."
"Got it. Don't worry, Senior Chunyi!"
After watching Chunyi and the others leave, Zoro picked up his bamboo sword and carried it over his shoulder before stepping out of the bamboo grove.
He looked at Xia Nuo, his gaze lingering on the Masamune strapped to Xia Nuo's back for a moment.
"Come on! Follow me!"
Zoro said casually, "There are plenty of empty rooms in the dojo. You look exhausted, so I'll find you the most comfortable bed!"
"All right."
Xia Nuo smiled and followed behind him.
"Hey, your name is Xia Nuo, right?"
As they walked, Zoro suddenly asked without turning his head, "Senior Chunyi seems really impressed by you. He even calls you boss. But you don't look older than him. Are you two close?"
"We only got acquainted recently, but I suppose we could call it a friendship forged through life and death."
Xia Nuo answered casually, his attention completely drawn to that head of green hair.
Zoro was not even one and a half meters tall yet, just a little bean. Seeing that mass of bright green hair bobbing below his own chest, it was difficult for Xia Nuo to resist the urge to yank out a few strands.
"Really? Among the disciples of Senior Chunyi's generation, he's the strongest. If he recognizes you, your swordsmanship must be pretty strong too!"
"But I'm strong as well. Among the dojo disciples around my age from these past few classes, I'm the strongest!"
Xia Nuo was speechless.
That most reliable member of the Straw Hat crew, Roronoa Zoro, could apparently only be said to have begun taking shape at this point.
He was still a ten-year-old brat with a tigerish, clueless look, bragging and talking nonsense every day without the slightest embarrassment. That was one of the most obvious characteristics of children his age.
"Really?"
Xia Nuo gave a light cough and put on a curious expression. "What about Kuina?"
Zoro's face flushed bright red in an instant.
What? Did Senior Chunyi even tell this guy about that?
"Rough... roughly equal! Kuina is pretty strong too. I've fought her many times, and we're about evenly matched!" the green-haired brat said through clenched teeth, forcing the words out.
Xia Nuo chuckled softly.
Children were thin-skinned, and he did not expose him. He continued following Zoro toward the village.
Until...
After walking for a while, something felt wrong. Somehow, they arrived at the end of an alley. Beside the gate of the traditional Japanese-style building in front of them hung a sign that read, "Shimotsuki North Mountain Hot Spring Bathhouse."
"What does this mean?" Xia Nuo asked, puzzled, looking at Zoro. "Weren't we going to Isshin Dojo?"
"That's strange. This was definitely the right direction..." Zoro grabbed his hair and racked his brains. "Which fork did I take wrong just now?"
Only then did Xia Nuo realize what had happened.
You can even get lost in Shimotsuki Village?!
There'll be a second update this afternoon. Monthly-ticket numbers are pretty important during the new-book period, so I'm making a timid request. I'm not greedy and don't need many—readers who have a monthly ticket, please cast just one if you can~
Before you continue