You think I'm stupid?

"You grew over ten centimeters in a week, how on earth did you do that?"

"What kind of martial arts are you practicing that causes such a huge commotion every day?"

"Do you think I still have a chance to learn it?"

In the dining hall, Xianuo ate like a storm, with piles of used plates stacked like two mountains beside him. Amidst the gaps between these mountains, the old man, his face full of wrinkles, acted like a curious child, bombarding him with questions.

He had brushed off the previous questions with various vague excuses.

"A week has passed since I left home."

Until he heard the last question, he finally lifted his head from the plate, speechless.

"You're almost seventy, do you really want me to tell you the truth?"

"..." Gatt sighed deeply, "Forget it. I still want to live a few more years; I don't want to break this old body."

"Let's talk business." The old man smacked his lips. "The voyage these past few days has been smooth. In at most two more hours, meaning before sunset today, we'll reach Asagiri Island."

"..."

Xianuo paused slightly, then nodded, not surprised.

If it weren't for the trouble caused by the King of the Near Sea, which led to the Gatt's ship being anchored for repairs for a whole day, they would have arrived yesterday at this time.

"Thank you for taking care of me all these days."

After thoroughly swallowing the food in his mouth, he looked at Gatt and said sincerely, "If it weren't for you providing a safe environment for me to train intensely, I wouldn't have been able to make any breakthroughs these past few days."

"What nonsense are you spouting! Compared to saving my life, what are these things!"

Gatt laughed heartily, "But hearing you say that makes this old man feel quite good, haha!"

"Oh, right. From now on, the Gatt will always have the most luxurious room on board reserved for you and your family, free of charge! Food and drinks are also all-inclusive! This was a unanimous decision by all the crew members, so you have no right to refuse!"

"Only an idiot would refuse."

Xianuo was never one to spoil the mood, and he also started laughing.

"Then it's a deal. If you come to Cocoyasi Village next year, I'll bring my whole family to freeload! Luckily, my two sisters don't eat much. If they were like me, you'd probably go bankrupt!"

"You're being too modest. In fact, just you alone, eating here these past few days, has almost bankrupted me."

"Heh heh..."

As they chatted, the young man suddenly remembered that it had been exactly a week since he left home.

With two hours left until docking, before getting off the ship, he could use this time to have a good call with his family in his room.

"We've arrived, this is Asagiri Island!"

"You can disembark here. It's too late today, so you can find an inn in the outer district to rest for the night. You can head into the city tomorrow during the day to find the swordsmanship dojo you desire."

"We need to unload cargo at the northern dock warehouse, and we have to set sail immediately after. We probably won't see each other again until next autumn."

At the southern dock of Asagiri Island, the sailors crowded the railings, waving goodbye to Xianuo on the shore with reluctance.

Old Gatt walked with him for the last stretch of the pier.

Xianuo listened attentively to his instructions, but his peripheral vision noticed beggars in ragged clothes squatting at several forks in the road extending from the outskirts of the dock towards the city.

Although they appeared scattered at first glance, their total number was not small.

He couldn't help but ask:

"Strange. Asagiri Island is a renowned commercial hub in the East Blue, it should be quite prosperous. Why are there more beggars and vagrants than in my hometown?"

"Naive." Old Gatt chuckled. "These are professional beggars who live in the city. They squat here all year round. The docks have a large flow of people, and there are many wealthy individuals coming to the city to spend. Some unsuspecting outsiders always fall for it."

"These people are all rolling in dough because of it. Occasionally, there are a few truly poor souls, but they're the ones who lost all their money in the casinos and got kicked out. They're not worth sympathizing with."

"Alright, this is as far as I go. I'm leaving!"

The pier finally reached its end. Old Gatt patted his shoulder, said nothing more, took a puff of his pipe, and turned to walk back towards the bow of the ship.

Xianuo stood quietly, watching him board the ship.

Only after the Gatt set sail and gradually became a small black dot in the distance did the young man turn around, choose the left fork, and head towards the outer district.

It was already dusk, and the sun was setting.

Looking up, one could see the twilight enveloping the town in the distance, which had a rather classical charm.

The main canal flowed through the city from north to south, with cherry blossom trees planted on both sides. The buildings in the city were symmetrically distributed along the banks of the canal, neatly planned and densely packed.

It was also the season of falling flowers. Thousands of pale pink cherry blossom petals floated on the river's surface, drifting with the current. A gentle breeze blew, and soon, even the dock area was filled with the elegant fragrance of flowers, light as gauze.

"A developed economy, beautiful scenery, and spring-like weather all year round. No wonder it's a tourist destination in the East Blue."

Walking in such an environment, Xianuo's mood also became much more peaceful.

As he was about to leave the dock, he noticed the port ship management office, which had already closed for the day.

It was indeed too late today. He would go to an inn first and come here tomorrow morning. He should be able to get the information he wanted about passenger ships here.

Gatt still thought he was here to practice swordsmanship, but in reality, his goal had never changed: to use the island's developed shipping port to find a ship to Goa Kingdom.

Logically speaking...

After sacrificing Shanks' severed arm, he already had enough points on hand, so the urgency of acquiring Luffy's Straw Hat naturally decreased significantly.

But after tasting crab once, who could refuse the temptation of another huge sum of points?

He had a month anyway.

It had only been a week, and he still had plenty of free time, enough to travel from here to the Goa Kingdom and back.

"Please... please be merciful, I haven't eaten in two days and two nights, just give me a little something..."

A weak groan suddenly came from the side. A grimy hand held out a metal box, and remembering what Gatt had said earlier, Xianuo couldn't be bothered and walked past the person.

But before he could take a few steps, the sound of coins clinking into a tin box rang out from behind him.

Xianuo instinctively turned his head and saw a thin, weak youth in a tattered kendo uniform stop in front of the beggar, who looked about fifty or sixty years old. The youth carefully shook all the coins from his cloth wallet.

His eyesight was far beyond that of ordinary people now, and he could see clearly in the twilight. They were all small denomination coins of 20 or 50, totaling only two to three hundred Belly.

The beggar was clearly displeased, frowning and glaring at the thin youth, still holding out the tin box.

"I... I only have this much..."

The thin youth looked embarrassed. He suddenly remembered something and, after a moment's hesitation, took out a large piece of dark bread from the satchel on his back. He tore off more than half of it and gently placed it on top of the tin box.

"I haven't had my dinner yet, I need to save some for myself, I'm sorry."

The thin youth spoke haltingly, not daring to look at the beggar. "It doesn't look good, and it doesn't smell fragrant, but believe me, it's very filling. One whole loaf is enough for a day."

Without waiting for the beggar to say anything, he packed his satchel and hurried upstairs towards the city gate.

Xianuo looked at the beggar.

As expected, the old man just held up the dark bread and glanced at it. He didn't even have the interest to taste it before disdainfully tossing it aside.

Then he counted the coins in the tin box and spat towards the side, "What bad luck, you stingy wretch!"

Xianuo frowned and turned his head, wanting to call out to the boy.

Unexpectedly, the other party, though appearing frail, had surprisingly good stamina. In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared, and he didn't know how far he had run.

He stood there for a while longer, quietly watching the beggar, who also looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Couldn't you be a little more arrogant? For example, call me a brat and say you'll gouge my eyes out if I keep staring?"

Xianuo said softly.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" The beggar rolled his eyes. "Your muscles are terrifying. You look like someone not to be trifled with. Why would I bother threatening you when I'm already full?"

Xianuo lowered his head and only then remembered that when he came out of the dock, he found the island too warm and had worked up a sweat. He had already taken off his jacket and put it away.

Now he was only wearing a single layer of clothing, his exaggerated physique clearly revealed.

"Sigh."

What a buzzkill, Xianuo sighed. Under the beggar's disbelieving gaze, he forcefully pried the two hundred Belly from his hand and resumed his path into the city.

He could only blame his bad luck for not encountering a bigger scam. He was still a bit unaccustomed to this body after his breakthrough, and it was hard to control his strength when he acted.

Two hundred Belly was barely enough to buy Nami two cheap hair clips. It was still a bit inappropriate to beat someone half to death over such a small matter.