Lively Foosha Village

He reached into System Space and took out a large pear covered in patterns.

"Holy shit!!! This is a Mythical Zoan, too. Even rarer than a Logia."

Looking at the Devil Fruit in his hand, Lott shook his head. "Ah, what a shame. I'll save it for when I find a suitable companion."

Shaking his head, Lott put the Devil Fruit back into System Space.

He looked up at the sun's position. "Meeting Luffy and the other one took up quite a bit of time."

"I still have 30,000 push-ups and 1,000 pull-ups left."

He had always believed that basic exercise could draw out the body's potential.

Counting off the day's training tasks on his fingers, Lott got up and began the rest of his workout.

Huff, huff, huff.

The setting sun shone through the treetops, dappling Lott's face with light.

Having finished his training, Lott sat on the ground, utterly exhausted. After all, these targets had all been set according to his limits.

Once he felt a little of his stamina return, he stood up and dusted off his backside.

"I should head into town tomorrow and buy some clothes. This chore boy's uniform is practically a sieve." As he spoke, Lott picked at the holes in his clothes with a finger.

The next day.

Having just finished his morning training, Lott activated Super Mantra, sensing in the direction of the town.

Only then did a lively village come into view.

"Damn, this island really is huge. I had to run this far just to see a settlement."

Lott stood on a treetop as sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting shafts of light over the village below.

He actually felt as though a lifetime had passed. After all, it had been a year since he had seen this kind of bustle.

For someone who had lived on Blue Star in his previous life, that had been rather uncomfortable.

"I wonder if Luffy and the others are in town." Lott rubbed his chin.

He chose not to use Observation Haki, because he knew some powerful people disliked being spied on.

He had no desire to die before he even got started.

Or, for instance, get dragged off by some old man to become a Marine. (Garp: Kid, you get me.)

"It's been ages since I had a proper meal. Let's eat first."

With that, Lott jumped down from the tree and headed toward the village.

Before long, he reached the village's only eatery. Having read the manga, Lott recognized it at a glance as Makino's tavern.

He gently pushed open the door. "Um... one bowl of ramen, please."

"Hey, hey, kid, did you wander here from somewhere else?"

A drunken villager staggered over to Lott and slung an arm around his neck. "You poor thing. Come on, have a sip of booze to warm yourself up."

"Hey, he should have some roast meat first." Another villager staggered over to Lott with a piece of leg meat in hand.

"Hey, can't you see this kid's clothes are falling apart? Getting him changed comes first. Here, take mine." One burly man began taking off his clothes as he spoke.

Listening to everyone chime in, Lott felt a little warmth in his heart.

Just as he had imagined, the villagers here were all kind people.

Thump, thump...

"You brats, don't go corrupting children." An old man stepped forward, tapping his cane against the floor.

A drunk took a swig and interrupted the old man. "Aw, come on, Mayor. Didn't you start drinking when you were barely in your teens?"

Hic!

He let out a drunken hiccup right after speaking.

"Shut up!" the old man snapped, his face reddening a little.

"Would you like a bowl of ramen, little guy?" A lilting female voice came from behind the counter.

Lott looked up. Naturally, he recognized her as Makino, the tavern's proprietress.

Lott nodded. "One bowl of ramen, a large one. I have money."

Seeing Makino appear, the two drunks with their arms around Lott tactfully let go. Everyone in Foosha Village knew Makino could be a real fire-breather.

Lott slowly approached the counter. "Um... my name's Lott. I'm fourteen."

Makino looked curiously at the boy before her, who was the same age as Ace but already around 180 centimeters tall. He had black hair, yellow skin, and was quite handsome.

Since Lott regularly used the Electromagnetic Knife to cut his hair, he did not have long, shaggy hair like a wild man. Having been a Blue Star native in his previous life, he had even given himself a hairstyle.

"I'm Makino, the owner. Have some hot soup first." Makino pushed the hot soup on the counter toward Lott.

"Th... thank you."

Watching Lott obediently pick up the hot soup, Makino nodded in satisfaction, then headed into the kitchen.

After a bowl of hot soup, Lott exclaimed that nothing he had eaten over the past year had been fit for human consumption.

Before long, Makino came back out carrying a steaming bowl of ramen.

"Little Lott, your ramen's here."

Makino set the ramen on the counter in front of Lott, then pressed a set of clothes she was holding into his hands.

"Here, make do with these clothes for now. The bathroom's in the back."

"Oh, thank you."

Slurp!

Slurp!

Wow, this really is delicious. I've gotten sick of roast meat after eating it for years. This counts as an improvement in my diet.

Watching Lott wolf down his noodles, Makino smiled in satisfaction.

After drinking the last mouthful of broth, Lott rubbed his bulging belly contentedly and said, "I'm done. That was absolutely delicious! Thank you, Makino!"

Back on Blue Star, he had never drunk the noodle broth, but now he wished he could lick the bowl clean. That just showed how delicious this bowl of ramen was.

Holding his new clothes, Lott stood up, bowed to Makino, and headed for the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought, This face is exactly the same as mine in my previous life, but no matter how many times I look, I still think it's handsome.

He smiled, shook his head, and walked toward the bath.

Watching Lott emerge after washing up, Makino nodded, wearing the expression of an older sister looking at her younger brother.

"You're pretty handsome once you're cleaned up. You won't have to worry about finding a wife."

Lott scratched his head and could not help thinking, Looks like no matter how strong I get, being complimented by a girl is still a little embarrassing.

Looking at the boy before her, Makino seemed to remember something. She walked slowly up to Lott and asked rather casually, "By the way, have you met Luffy and the others?"

Lott slowly walked to the counter and sat down on a high stool.

"Yes, I just met them yesterday."

Makino went behind the counter, picked up a glass that was not dirty at all, and began wiping it.

She spoke as though making casual conversation. "I heard you treated the two of them to roast meat?"

Hearing Makino ask that, Lott understood immediately. That brat Luffy had told Makino all about his encounter with the two youngsters. He had very likely told her about their fight as well.

Though Makino's tone seemed calm, she was like a mother protecting her young. Lott also knew how good Makino was to the two boys. They were like her own younger brothers.

Lott scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh... I suppose so..."

"I heard you fought the two of them, too?" Makino raised her head, her eyes full of surprise and doubt.

She had originally worried that Lott might be a bad person and wanted to warn him to stay away from the two children.

But when she saw Lott, he could clearly sense that Lott was gentle and easygoing, like a boy next door, and probably was not a bad person.

Sure enough!

"Yeah, I suppose so. Why?" Lott did not know what Makino meant by asking that.

"Oh, then you're pretty strong." Makino nodded.

Then, as though something else had occurred to her, she said, "Those two are always fooling around and getting into trouble every day. You should be a little older than Ace, so sorry for the trouble from now on."

There was a hint of fondness in her helpless expression, and after speaking, Makino gave another gentle smile.

Seeing that smile, Lott could not help thinking, She really is a gentle big sister. That brat Luffy really had a happy childhood, with Sabo and Ace as his brothers, and Dadan, Makino, and Garp as family.

"Sure, sure. No problem." Lott nodded.

"Why don't you stay today..."

But before Makino could finish, Lott had already stood up and started toward the tavern's exit. "Um... Makino, I'll buy some supplies on the street, then head back."

Hearing this, Makino smiled and shook her head. She knew the boy before her was probably used to living in the forest, just like Luffy and the other two.

All she could do was nod and reply, "Stay safe, then."

After buying a few changes of clothes and some seasonings, Lott flew back to his shelter.

My own little den really is the most comfortable place.

As a homebody, Lott really did have some trouble adjusting to such an enthusiastic village.

Maybe he was just that contrary.