"Heh heh heh, boss, help me out. Stella won't open the door and see me!"
A ship sailed slowly across the sea toward the East Blue. A light-green-haired young man was bowing and scraping before a teenage boy, pleading with a fawning expression.
They were Lin Yuan and Tesoro, who had nearly starved himself to death.
Lin Yuan leaned back in his lounge chair and shot Tesoro a sidelong glance before berating him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our great Lord Tesoro. Weren't you going to turn into a cloud? How can you be so submissive?"
"Boss, I know I was wrong. Please give me a break!"
Tesoro knelt before Lin Yuan with his head bowed, apologizing over and over.
"Give you a break? Why don't you just go die? If I'd come back two days later, were you going to starve yourself to death? Huh? Tell me, what good are you?"
"And I risked my life to save Stella, freed all the slaves, slaughtered Celestial Dragons for you, and even fought a Marine Admiral. Meanwhile, you were here trying to die."
"How did Stella ever fall for a good-for-nothing like you?"
Lin Yuan grew angrier as he scolded him. This was the talent he had found and gone to so much trouble to persuade. He had never expected that coming back two days late would nearly leave him collecting Tesoro's corpse.
When he found Tesoro, the young man, whose health had already been poor, had been reduced to his last breath by starvation. He had even fainted from excitement at the sight of Lin Yuan.
In the end, Stella had forced down her embarrassment and tenderly cared for Tesoro for two days before he woke up.
Once she saw that he was all right, Stella shut herself in her room, ready to teach him a lesson.
"All right, all right, get up. Look at you, acting so pathetic. Go get Stella and tell her I want a meeting with both of you."
"Uh, but she won't pay any attention to me right now!"
Tesoro obediently stood up, then scratched his head and spoke aggrievedly.
Lin Yuan was so angry he nearly lost his breath. He stood up and kicked Tesoro, sending him flying into the cabin like a streak of light.
Luckily, Lin Yuan had used a deft touch. Otherwise, with his strength, Tesoro might well have died on the spot.
"This guy doesn't have a trace of Gild Tesoro's imposing presence. He's just a young fool with his head turned by love!"
Lin Yuan rubbed his aching head, and Erza and Emile, who were beside him, couldn't help laughing.
Over the past few days, they had grown used to Lin Yuan. He looked cool, but he treated them well and put on no airs despite his strength.
Seeing Erza and Emile snickering, Lin Yuan couldn't help glaring at them, though it had no effect at all.
Tesoro, who had been kicked into the cabin, also came to his senses. He bowed gratefully to Lin Yuan on the deck, then rushed straight to Stella's bedroom.
Lin Yuan waited more than ten minutes before he saw the two of them come running over in a fluster.
Seeing Lin Yuan, Erza, and Emile's teasing expressions, both of them blushed a little. Stella shot Tesoro a particularly fierce glare.
Tesoro didn't mind in the slightest. Instead, her glare left him grinning.
"All right, you're both adults. Don't flaunt your love in front of a kid like me. You'll have plenty of time for that later."
Although they didn't know what he meant by flaunting their love, they could tell that Lin Yuan was no longer angry.
Tesoro and Stella exchanged a glance, then knelt before Lin Yuan together. Tesoro spoke solemnly.
"Boss, thank you for giving us a second life. From now on, my life is yours. I won't hesitate to climb mountains of blades or plunge into seas of fire for you."
Lin Yuan looked at them calmly.
"I told you, I don't need your loyalty. I need a brother I can trust to watch my back. Can you do that?"
"I, Tesoro, swear here and now that I'll be your staunchest support from now on, boss Lin Yuan. No matter who they are, anyone who wants to hurt you will have to step over my corpse first."
"If I break this oath, may I..."
"All right, there's no need to swear. Get up. I believe you. I don't like betrayal, but if you're my brother, I won't let you die before me either."
Tesoro's eyes instantly filled with tears. He threw his arms around Lin Yuan's leg and burst into loud sobs.
"Boo-hoo, boss, what have I done to deserve you thinking so highly of me?"
"All right, all right. You're a grown man. What are you crying for?"
Lin Yuan was just about to offer a few words of comfort when his expression suddenly changed.
"Fuck, Tesoro, let go! Damn it, you got your fucking snot on my leg!"
Erza, Emile, and Stella immediately burst out laughing.
The scene had been so serious just a moment ago. How had it changed as they talked?
Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan came out of the cabin wearing a pair of shorts. As for his pants, he had thrown them into the sea in disgust.
Back on deck, Lin Yuan didn't care that Stella was there and kicked Tesoro. This time, he didn't use a deft touch.
He hadn't used much force, but the kick still made Tesoro grimace in pain.
"Boss, calm down. I didn't mean to."
"You've got the nerve to say that? Let someone else try it. I'd kick them to death, even if they were a Celestial Dragon."
This was the second time Tesoro had heard Lin Yuan mention the Celestial Dragons. Ignoring his pain, he asked curiously,
"Boss, did you really kill Celestial Dragons?"
Lin Yuan replied irritably,
"What, would I lie to you? See those two girls over there? They each stabbed one to death too."
Tesoro stared at Erza and Emile in shock. When he saw Stella nod beside them, he looked at Erza and Emile as though they were extraordinary beings.
"I heard that a powerful stimulus can awaken Conqueror's Haki, so I just wanted to let them try."
Lin Yuan spoke unconcernedly. Hearing this, Erza and Emile immediately looked ashamed.
"Boss, is that really a thing?"
Tesoro was immediately interested, though he still felt some fear toward the Celestial Dragons.
"I don't know. But I think that if you want to awaken Conqueror's Haki, you can't be afraid of anything. So what if they're Celestial Dragons? Kill enough of them and you'll gradually get used to it."
Lin Yuan's words made everyone present widen their eyes and stare at him in disbelief. Tesoro swallowed, thoroughly frightened by what Lin Yuan had said.
Erza and Emile, meanwhile, gazed at the man before them in admiration, as though blazing flames burned in their eyes.
"Boss, do you think I can awaken Conqueror's Haki?"
"Heh, you can't even beat Stella with your current strength. Wait until I find you a suitable Devil Fruit. For now, train in Armament Haki with me for a few years."
As for his plans for Tesoro, Lin Yuan had no intention of choosing anything else. He still felt that the Gold-Gold Fruit suited him.
Combined with his head for business, Tesoro should be able to become Gild Tesoro sooner. As for whether he could awaken Conqueror's Haki, Lin Yuan didn't know.
The original story had never mentioned whether Tesoro had the aptitude for Conqueror's Haki, but he was definitely a top-tier powerhouse.
If Luffy hadn't had the protagonist's plot armor, Lin Yuan could only say two words about his chances of defeating Tesoro: heh heh.
But the Gold-Gold Fruit had yet to appear, so Tesoro might as well train with him first. After all, they had plenty of time now, and Lin Yuan also needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
After making some rough plans in his mind, Lin Yuan looked ten thousand meters into the sky. There were people and a fruit he wanted up there too.