The Recovered Shovel Had Quite a History

Hawkeye observed Roronoa Zoro, his piercing gaze sweeping over Zoro's entire body. Zoro could even feel the pain of blades stabbing into his flesh.

But Zoro was not afraid. He stared straight into Hawkeye's eyes, and Hawkeye saw desire there—the desire, the ambition, to become the strongest!

"...Pathetic weakling." Hawkeye withdrew his gaze and spoke calmly. Then he rose to his feet, slowly walked over to stand opposite Zoro, and crossed his arms. "If you count as a swordsman, then there's no need to clash. The gap between us should already be obvious, shouldn't it? Even so, do you challenge me out of ambition, or ignorance?"

Zoro silently clenched Wado Ichimonji between his teeth and slowly drew his other two swords. "This is my dream, and a promise I made to a dear friend."

Then he curled his lips upward and said through clenched teeth, "But honestly, I never thought I'd run into you this soon."

Hawkeye shook his head and looked at Zoro. "There's nothing to gain from this."

The gap was simply too great. Even if he lost, Zoro would gain no insight from it.

The people around them began whispering. As Zoro and Hawkeye faced each other, a heavy atmosphere gradually spread through the area.

"..." The veins on Zoro's face bulged sharply as he suddenly roared, "Aaron! Get your ass back on the ship!"

"Huh? Why?" Aaron turned toward Zoro in confusion.

"I'm about to start the duel!"

"I know." Aaron nodded. "You two fight. I'll just watch quietly."

"But how are we supposed to fight when you're sitting right between us?!" Zoro roared.

After his wounds had healed, Aaron had followed Hawkeye over and sat cross-legged right between him and Zoro, watching their interaction with great interest.

Yeah, that was incredibly infuriating too.

"But I'm not afraid of sword strikes." Aaron scratched his head.

He really was impossible to understand.

"Get to the restaurant, now!!"

"Oh..." Aaron helplessly stood up, dusted off his backside, and headed toward the restaurant.

"Boy..." At that moment, Hawkeye, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke. He looked at Aaron. "The world is vast. Do not become overly complacent."

After that, he said nothing more.

"I was never complacent..." Aaron looked at Hawkeye with complete confusion, then ran over to Luffy. He looked around but did not see Nami, so he asked, "Luffy, where's Nami?"

Hawkeye looked at Zoro, pulled a dagger no longer than an inch from his chest, and drew it from its sheath.

"?!" Zoro watched Hawkeye's movements, his expression turning even more terrifying. "Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I am not some foolish beast that uses its full strength to catch a rabbit. You are merely a somewhat famous swordsman from East Blue, the weakest of the Four Seas." As he spoke, Hawkeye took his stance. "My apologies, but I have already chosen my smallest blade."

In short, Zoro was not worthy of making him fight seriously.

That was truly looking down on someone.

But what could they do? He was the strong one.

"That's amazing!" Aaron stared at Hawkeye with sparkling eyes, full of admiration. "That line was so cool! I'm going to say things like that in the future too!"

...Hey, hey! Sure, that line was impressive, but the one being looked down on was your companion! Was it really okay to ignore Zoro like that?

And so, Aaron walked further and further down the road of mocking people.

Of course, that was a story for later.

As for how far he would go... the author would have to think about that first.

"Nami!" Aaron turned, wanting to share his future goal with Nami. "Uh... Luffy, where's Nami?"

"There's a limit to looking down on people..." Zoro said in a low voice. Then he suddenly charged forward like a racing chariot. "Don't regret it when you die!"

"Oni Giri!" "What?! Nami ran away?!!"

A shriek that barely sounded human suddenly rang out, distracting Zoro and nearly making him trip over a raised section of deck!

Naturally, that attack was ruined.

"Aaron!! I'm going to kill you!" Zoro's face reddened as he flew into a rage.

"Uh, sorry, sorry. You two carry on." Aaron covered his mouth to show that he would not speak again, then anxiously looked at Luffy. "Luffy! Why did Nami run away?"

"Because she's still got a thief's heart! She never saw us as her companions at all!" Usopp said angrily.

"I don't know, but I'll definitely bring Nami back to be our navigator!" Luffy shook his head, then spoke firmly.

"But... do you know where Nami went?" Aaron asked.

"Ah! I think I know where Boss Nami went!" Johnny suddenly said.

"Before Boss Nami ran off, she kept staring at a wanted poster," Johnny continued.

"Ah! Now that you mention it," Yosaku took over, "that wanted poster seemed to be for the captain of the Arlong Pirates, the great pirate Arlong, with a bounty of twenty million Beli!"

"Arlong..." Aaron repeated. "So Nami went to find Arlong? Where is Arlong now?"

"Rumor has it that the Arlong Pirates have been active around Cocoyasi Village," Johnny thought for a moment before answering.

"Alright! Luffy! I swim fast, so I'll go find Nami first and ask her why she ran away. You guys catch up afterward, okay?" Aaron looked at Luffy.

Luffy nodded. "Okay, we'll head over right away!"

"But..." Usopp suddenly interrupted. He looked at Aaron in confusion. "Aaron, do you know which way Cocoyasi Village is?"

Silence!

Usopp covered his face. "You should just wait and come with us."

"Heh heh!" After standing there blankly for several seconds, Aaron suddenly thought of something. He proudly put his hands on his hips. "How could I not know the way! Ta-da!"

He pulled out the Magic Conch. "Because I have the great, ma~gi~cal~conch~~" He sang the last four words in a high male soprano.

Aaron hurriedly pulled the string. "Magic Conch, which way should I go to reach Cocoyasi Village?"

"Ding! Go west."

"See!" Aaron carefully put the conch away in his clothes and smugly looked at Usopp. "Now I know which way to go!"

"...That conch doesn't look reliable at all," Usopp muttered softly.

"Alright, I'm heading over first! Hurry up!" With that, Aaron leaped into the sea, vanishing from sight before long.

"I hope everything goes smoothly. Even though that conch looks like a toy, at a time like this, all we can do is trust Aaron," Usopp murmured.

"But Brother Usopp, Brother Aaron just went in the opposite direction..." Johnny pointed toward the Aaron who had long since disappeared.

"..." Smack! Usopp covered his face again. "I really shouldn't have counted on Aaron."

Meanwhile, the battle between Zoro and Hawkeye had already entered the slaughter phase.

Well, there was no need to elaborate on that here.

Aaron was feeling incredibly carefree right now.

He swam joyfully through the water, moving even faster than the fish beside him.

Strangely enough, Aaron had not grown any extra bizarre organs, such as gills, gills, or gills.

Yet Aaron could breathe normally underwater and could even speak!

He repeatedly recalled the first twenty years of his life and became absolutely, unquestionably certain that he was a pure-blooded human with no strange bloodline mixed in.

"What exactly was that sponge... Some new kind of Devil Fruit?" After thinking it over, Aaron realized that the sponge he had once eaten must have given him these abilities.

"So what does that make me? A sponge man?" Aaron scratched his head as his legs kept kicking him forward.

For the first time in his life, Aaron was actually using his brain.

"No, that's not right. If I'm a sponge man, then why do I have the great, ma~gi~cal~conch~~" Once again, he sang in a high male soprano.

...Alright, Aaron still had not brought his brain along.

"Hmm..." He raised his head and looked at the azure sea, which resembled the sky. The foam thrown up by crashing waves became clouds, and without realizing it, Aaron sank to the ocean floor.

He blankly looked upward. An impulse rose within him, a desire surging wildly through his heart. Looking at the drifting white clouds and the endlessly moving blue, he could no longer suppress it!

Suddenly! Aaron began running madly along the seafloor. He raised both hands, opened his mouth wide, and laughed loudly. "Ahahahaha~ I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!"

He ran even twice as fast as he swam! Watching Aaron act like a rabid dog, one could not help but offer him a single phrase.

Fucking idiot!

Moo!

After running for who knew how long, a sudden moo caught Aaron's attention. He turned to look.

A massive bull's head charged straight at Aaron with its mouth wide open.

Gulp!

And so Aaron was eaten, turned into a pile of cow dung, and this book ended.

Ahem!

"Ah!!" Fortunately, Aaron now had a sponge-like body. This sea... sea cow simply could not chew him, so it had no choice but to swallow Aaron whole.

Splash!

He slid down its esophagus as though riding a water slide and plunged headfirst into the sea cow's stomach acid.

"Glub glub! Hah!" Aaron surfaced and looked around at the green liquid. He could not help looking up. "Uh, Mr. Sea Cow, I know you're hungry, but could you let me out?"

Moo!!

The vibrations from its vocal cords shook its entire body, and Aaron could clearly feel the stomach walls contracting as emerald-green digestive fluid slowly seeped from them.

"Uh, looks like you really are hungry." Aaron scratched his head and looked around, hoping to find an exit from the stomach so he could crawl out through the sea cow's butt.

Suddenly, Aaron saw a flash of light in the distance.

"What's that?" Driven by curiosity, he swam over.

"My shovel!" The shining object was the shovel Stephen Chow had given him, though it was not in very good condition now.

The rubber at the end of the shovel's handle had been completely corroded away, leaving only the metal underneath, still gleaming brightly.

"Huh? What's this?" After he picked up the shovel, a slip of paper suddenly floated out from the handle and slowly drifted into the stomach acid.

Sizzle! It was almost burned away.

"Oh no, no, no!" Aaron hurriedly scooped up the slip of paper, wiped away the stomach acid, and examined it carefully. He found a message from his master written on it:

Aaron, if you find this note, that means... you actually failed to protect the shovel I gave you. Are you asking for a beating, huh?!

Well, just the opening sentence made Aaron shudder.

Then it continued:

But that rubber was never meant to last long. I had only just glued it on when I was teaching you.

Well, rubber glued on two hours ago really was not very secure.

I had planned to tell you about this shovel after you had used it for a while. By then, you should have noticed its special qualities. But just in case, I'll explain it all again.

Tsk, tsk, Master really did think ahead. I actually ran into that "just in case." Aaron thought thankfully.

I am a Kitchenware Fruit user, a kitchenware man. I do not know much about the abilities of other fruits, but my power allows kitchenware to gradually gain certain special functions through the accumulated process of cooking—such as instantly making dried ingredients fresh, making sauces taste better, and so on.

Damn, that ability is amazing! Aaron thought in shock.

As I grew older, I became increasingly skilled at developing my power. In the end, I finally broke free from the limitations of kitchenware. With my hands alone, I could make ingredients fresher and even completely change their flavor!

I have already reached the pinnacle of cooking. Now, I have only one wish left.

That is to find All Blue, the legendary All Blue, and witness the dreamlike sea said to possess the rain of the Four Seas!

Unfortunately, I am only a simple chef, and I am not good at fighting.

So I traveled everywhere, and wherever I went, I gave one young person a piece of kitchenware that had passed through my hands and asked them to help me fulfill this dream. Yet through all these years, not one of them has sent me any news.

Alright, I say all that to everyone. What follows is for you alone, Aaron.

You possess a one-of-a-kind talent for cooking. You can even learn abilities developed from Devil Fruits. That truly is a miracle!

I do not know why. Perhaps it is because of that miraculous talent of yours, but I have begun to believe that you can make my dream come true.

That is why the kitchenware I gave you is different as well.

Unlike the items I gave those people before, this contains everything I have learned about my power over the years. It has never passed through my hands, so it is clean, permanent, and is not even affected by Seastone or the sea. As long as you use it to cook, it will develop an ability most compatible with you.

Consider this the reward I am giving you in advance for fulfilling my dream.

If you betray my trust, I'll beat you to death!

"Master..." By the time he reached the end, tears had filled Aaron's eyes. He looked at the shovel in his hands, wiped his eyes, and said firmly, "Don't worry, Master! I definitely won't betray your trust!"

Then he carefully folded the note, intending to put it away, only to discover another line on the back:

Oh, right. My power can only last for one month at most. If you do not cook within that month, my power will disappear, and this shovel will become an ordinary shovel. But with how passionate you are about making hamburgers, there's no way you could go a whole month without making one, right?

"..." Aaron suddenly really wanted to go back and kill Jango.

Aaron rolled his eyes and calculated the time.

From Orange Town to Syrup Village, then to Baratie, and now...

"Holy shit, there's only one day left!!!"