Respect

PS: Please add this new book to your library, recommend it, and click to read.

If you've made it this far, brothers, and haven't added it to your library yet, come give Xiao Jiao a follow. It's free, after all. Brothers reading on other sites can also make an account and give Xiao Jiao a follow, a click, and a recommendation.

Every recommendation, every follow, even every click from you brothers can help Xiao Jiao get onto the new-release charts and let more readers discover the story. So I hope you'll help Xiao Jiao make a push for the new-release rankings.

In a few days, once Xiao Jiao's other Bleach Fanfic is completely finished, I promise to update at least twice a day.

The next morning, Loxi rubbed his still-closed eyes as he came out of the cabin. But what greeted him was Bai Ina, swaying on his feet as he practiced his sword swings.

"Ah... Mr. Bai, your leg hasn't healed yet."

But Bai Ina acted as though he hadn't heard, continuing to swing his sword mechanically.

Loxi opened his mouth to say something, but he was also a little afraid of Bai Ina. In the end, he hesitated and didn't try to stop him again.

Bai Ina kept going for about half an hour, and only after he'd completed two thousand swings did he put away his sword and move on to the next exercise.

"Mr. Bai, come have something to eat first."

At that moment, Loxi called out urgently from where he'd been waiting nearby.

Bai Ina paused in surprise.

A meal... He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd heard that word. For the past half-month in particular, he'd lived on dry rations, and for the last few days, he'd even been eating raw fish.

"Mr. Bai... Mr. Bai?"

Loxi's voice brought Bai Ina out of his daze. He looked at Loxi thoughtfully, then headed into the cabin without a word.

As soon as he opened the door, the rich aroma of food wafted over. Bai Ina's stomach churned, though he hadn't even realized he was hungry.

As he came closer and looked at the modest meal of three dishes and a soup, an inexplicable warmth rose in Bai Ina's heart. He picked up his chopsticks, unsure where to start.

"There were only these vegetables left in the storeroom. I hope they're to your liking." Loxi came over and set a bowl of rice in front of Bai Ina. Then he served himself a bowl, sat down, and continued, "While you were training, I adjusted our course. In about half a day, we should see the island where Flower Lake Town is. If you'd like some meat, we can buy some when we dock. There's also a Naval Base there, so we can collect Bandejie's bounty directly."

"You can bandage wounds, cook, and sail? Is there anything you can't do...?"

Bai Ina was a little stunned. Whether in his previous life or this one, he'd never been good at cooking. In his previous life, he'd always had his meals brought to him. His main responsibility had been studying all kinds of specialized subjects, while other people took care of his food, clothing, and daily needs.

After crossing over to this world, he'd had to prepare his own food just to survive, but what he made could hardly be called tasty.

As for sailing, that was even less likely. The city where he'd lived hadn't even been near the sea.

"Heh..."

Loxi scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I've always lived with my younger sister, who's a year younger than me, so I've always been the one to cook at home. As for sailing, my sister and I were both orphans taken in by a Naval Base. They taught us navigation and combat skills from a young age."

"I see." Bai Ina nodded in understanding. That made sense. Otherwise, a thirteen-year-old boy who could bandage wounds, cook, and sail would have made him, a man with an IQ of 200 in his previous life, feel utterly inadequate.

Still, it wasn't Bai Ina's fault. The rules of this world were different, and he had to learn many things from scratch. After all, no book would teach you how to survive after crossing into another world... unless it was a fantasy novel.

"Can you find the island your family lives on? I'll take you back."

Loxi's expression fell. "No need. There's no one I know back there anymore. When we were captured, the higher-ups in the Navy gave the order to send orphans like us to various Naval Bases along the Grand Line for training in three days."

"Oh, sorry."

Bai Ina lowered his head and went back to eating, asking no more questions.

Loxi froze. He hadn't expected to hear the words "sorry" from Bai Ina. For the first time in his half-year of menial work, he felt respected instead of being treated like an animal.

"It's okay. Besides, my sister's a genius. She doesn't need me looking after her. Maybe she'll do even better without me holding her back."

A brilliant smile spread across Loxi's face. He suddenly thought that if things could stay this way, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad...

They finished breakfast in a relaxed mood. After the meal, Bai Ina went back to training. Before starting, though, he and Loxi grabbed some paint and covered the skulls on the sails. After all, the island they planned to dock at had a Naval Base, and a pirate ship coming straight in was bound to cause a commotion.

Half a day later, Bai Ina and Loxi docked at the small island Loxi had mentioned.

After dropping anchor, Loxi picked up the cloth bundle containing Bandejie's head. "I'll go. You've injured your leg, Mr. Bai, so you shouldn't move around." He then suddenly worried that Bai Ina might misunderstand. Bandejie's head was worth five hundred thousand Beli, enough to support a family for years.

Thinking of this, Loxi hurriedly added, "Um, I can help you—"

"Sure, go ahead."

Before he could finish, Bai Ina replied without even turning around, then continued doing handstand push-ups by himself.

Loxi was touched, but said nothing more. He went straight ashore and headed into the island.

After he left, Bai Ina continued training, a gentle smile on his face.

Meanwhile, after asking an old man for directions, Loxi headed straight for the Naval Base.

After going through the necessary procedures, he exchanged Bandejie's head and wanted poster for 500,000 Beli. The Marine who inspected the head didn't try anything underhanded just because Loxi was young. Many Bounty Hunters rarely showed themselves in public. After all, just being called a hunter was enough to make pirates hate them. If the wrong person caught the attention of some powerful pirate, it would mean certain death.

So aside from Bounty Hunters like Zoro, who were supremely confident in their own strength, most kept to the shadows. Even the ways they collected bounties varied widely. Hiring a child with no fighting ability to claim a bounty was one of the most common methods, since they were confident the child wouldn't be able to escape their sight with the money.

So the Marine inspecting the head assumed Loxi was a hired child and didn't find it strange or try anything.

Collecting the bounty without trouble came as a great relief to Loxi. He clutched the money pouch nervously, looking around as he hurried toward where the ship was docked. He planned to take the Beli back first. He was nervous about carrying so much money around, and they wouldn't need that much to buy supplies.

What he didn't know was that someone had been watching him ever since he'd entered the island.

"Ha, looks like a big catch!"

"Sure does. We really have Old Seven's nose to thank this time. He can smell the stench of a corpse even as someone brushes past him."

"But won't we anger the Bounty Hunter behind him?"

"What are you afraid of? Once we've pulled this job off, we'll sail away from the island. Where's he going to find us?"

As Loxi left town, six furtive figures watched him and whispered to one another from the small woods he had to pass through...

Every one of them had a dangerous look in their eyes.