Luo Ya stepped onto the pier, carrying his suitcase. It was crowded with people, and many fearsome-looking pirates were moving along with the crowd in an orderly fashion. Luo Ya couldn't help marveling at the sight.
As he followed the crowd into town, the buildings before him dazzled his eyes. Just then, a close-cropped boy approached him.
"Sir, is this your first time on the island? Do you need a guide? It's only one thousand Beli for the day."
"You'll do. Take me to try some of your local specialties first." Luo Ya pulled out a thousand Beli and handed it to the boy.
"No problem, sir. You can call me Sang Wei." Sang Wei pocketed the money and led Luo Ya toward a restaurant.
The restaurant's decor was very ordinary, but it had a welcoming feel.
Sang Wei was clearly a regular. As soon as he entered, all the restaurant's staff greeted him.
Once they were seated, Sang Wei waved his little hand. "One Golden Bubble Fish, one Peak Bird Egg, and one Sea King Steak."
After ordering, he told Luo Ya, "These are all signature dishes here, sir. You'll especially love the Bubble Fish."
Luo Ya smiled and patted Sang Wei's close-cropped head. It felt great to the touch. No wonder adults loved rubbing kids' heads.
The dishes soon arrived. Luo Ya first tried the highly recommended Bubble Fish. Its texture was soft and smooth, and when he bit into it, it burst in his mouth like a bubble. There were little granules inside that were probably fish roe.
Luo Ya's eyes lit up. It really was an unusual dish, and it tasted great, too. Just as he was about to dig in, he noticed Sang Wei gnawing on a piece of flatbread.
Under Luo Ya's gaze, Sang Wei nearly choked. He hurriedly took a big gulp of water before recovering.
"All right, waiter, bring us another serving of everything I just ordered. You can join us too, kid. It won't be a free meal—you can tell me about this island."
Sang Wei scratched his head and joined him at the table. Compared to Luo Ya, who ate like he hadn't seen food in days, he was quite refined.
From Sang Wei's introduction, Luo Ya learned that the country on the island was called the Norberto Kingdom, and its king, Brunen, was considered a wise and mighty ruler.
The people on the island lived comfortably, and the country embraced bodybuilding. It was famous throughout the surrounding islands as an island of fitness.
The men on the island were all hulking, muscular men, while the women had slender waists and curvy hips, with well-defined muscles.
As a result, the island's defenses were always quite strong, and pirates rarely came to cause trouble.
The island had been so lively lately because King Brunen was about to hold a competition for his daughter, Princess Madalina.
Princess Madalina didn't fit the island's image at all. The people there worked out year-round, so the men were handsome, the women beautiful, and everyone was in great shape.
But the princess was a nearly three-hundred-pound woman. King Brunen planned to hold a Bare-Hand Fighting Tournament,
and the strongest competitor would receive the power of a Zoan Devil Fruit.
Princess Madalina would choose one of the contestants to be her personal trainer and help her lose weight. Whoever succeeded in helping her slim down could make one request of King Brunen.
"That doesn't make sense. She didn't get fat from eating a Devil Fruit, and it seems like everyone on this island could be a fitness trainer. So why is your princess so fat?"
A waiter who had just brought out the food chimed in. "Everyone on the island knows why. When Princess Madalina was little, her mother was killed by pirates while protecting His Majesty the King.
"So King Brunen has always doted on Princess Madalina. He didn't even make her take part in the exercises that members of the royal family are normally expected to do from childhood."
Sang Wei picked up where the waiter left off. "Even after she grew up, His Majesty couldn't bear to make the princess suffer. Exercise takes willpower, and the princess would be panting after only a few moves. She gritted her teeth and kept at it for a while, but when she didn't see much progress, she gave up."
Luo Ya understood now. In short, it was a story about a father doting on his daughter. But even he couldn't bear to watch her stay that way.
So he was holding a Bare-Hand Fighting Tournament—partly to boost the economy and partly to help his daughter find someone she liked who could help her lose weight.
Luo Ya wasn't interested in becoming some kind of trainer. With his strength, he could practically do as he pleased in the first half of the Grand Line. He could make a request outright, and it wasn't like anyone would dare refuse. Of course, Luo Ya wouldn't do that. Ahem. Probably.
Still, Luo Ya planned to enter the Bare-Hand Fighting Tournament. He had been practicing Dragon Claw Fist for a long time without ever testing it in a real fight, so this was the perfect chance to see how much progress he had made.
After the meal, Luo Ya had Sang Wei take him to sign up for the tournament. Once he registered, he learned that the competition would begin the next day. He had just made it before registration closed.
After wandering around the island until nightfall, Sang Wei led Luo Ya to a hotel.
After paying for the room, Luo Ya gave Sang Wei another thousand Beli, waved goodbye, and went inside to rest.