Listening to Lin Yuan, Kuina couldn't help feeling a touch of warmth in her heart. This big brother was simply too good to her.
But the gold bar Lin Yuan took out gave Kuina a fright. Although she was young, she was mature for her age and understood that it was worth a lot of money. For a moment, she hesitated.
"Hehe, don't worry. This is my gift to you. When you can lift it, I'll come back and get you!"
The gold bar was enormous, weighing over two hundred jin. At Kuina's age, she naturally couldn't lift it.
"Okay! I'll definitely lift it as soon as I can. Then you can come back for me sooner and teach me swordsmanship!"
Hearing that, Kuina no longer refused and instead nodded firmly.
Lin Yuan cheerfully carried the gold bar into Kuina's little room. Only when he saw that she lived on the first floor did he abandon the idea of smashing the place.
"Ahem, I really have gotten a little obsessed. Why do I keep wanting to find things to smash?"
By then, Shimotsuki Koshiro had returned to the dojo, so the three chatted over a meal.
At the table, Lin Yuan naturally heaped praise on Kuina's talent, making the little girl's face flush red with excitement. Even Shimotsuki Koshiro was a little taken aback and almost came to believe Kuina was a one-of-a-kind genius.
He didn't entirely believe Lin Yuan, but he was happy to see how much importance the other man placed on his daughter. It definitely wasn't because Lin Yuan had paid hundreds of thousands of Beli in compensation.
Beli still had considerable purchasing power at this time. To build a small loft like the one Lin Yuan had smashed would only cost tens of thousands of Beli. If he wanted to save money, he could cut some wood himself and treat a few people to a meal, and he could build another one for free.
For now, though, Shimotsuki Koshiro set that aside and began discussing swordsmanship with Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse. Both were at the level of great swordsmen and had a deep understanding of swordsmanship, so each learned something from the other.
Although Kuina couldn't understand some of it, she still tried hard to remember it. This was a rare learning experience.
After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Yuan didn't stay long. He rose to take his leave, and before leaving, he made a point of reminding them that the loft was too high and somewhat dangerous, so they shouldn't rebuild it, and so on.
A somewhat bewildered Shimotsuki Koshiro agreed, and only then did Lin Yuan step onto his Flame Clouds and fly away.
The sight made Kuina's eyes shine, and she waved her little hand again and again to bid Lin Yuan farewell.
Lin Yuan smiled and waved back before flying toward Cocoyasi Village. He had gained quite a bit this time: he had not only fought a great swordsman but also indirectly changed Kuina's fate.
Lying leisurely atop his Flame Clouds, Lin Yuan drank a little wine as he made his way back.
Half a day later, when Lin Yuan got home, everyone had already packed and was waiting there.
Looking at the bags of luggage and the baskets of oranges, apples, and all kinds of food, Lin Yuan couldn't help laughing.
"Everything's ready, right? We won't be able to come back here for a while, at least a few years, so don't forget anything."
"Everything's ready. Also, as you instructed, we prepared a medium-sized merchant ship. But because of all that gold, we haven't started moving anything yet."
Lin Yuan waved a hand, unconcerned.
"Genzo, you've spoken to the village chief, right?"
"I have. Someone will come by regularly to clean the rooms here, and there are people to look after the apple orchard and the Orange Grove too. The Beli came out of our share, and I handed it all over to the village chief."
Lin Yuan nodded and looked at the people before him.
Olvia, Robin, Bellemere, Genzo, Nojiko, Nami, Enel, Tesoro, Stella, Erza, and Emile. These eleven were his companions and friends.
"All right, let's set off! From now on, we'll be sure to have a place of our own in this world."
"Oh..."
Everyone present except Olvia and Bellemere let out an excited cheer. Even three-year-old Nami's face was full of excitement.
Their longing for the sea was etched into their very bones.
The sky gradually darkened. Lin Yuan looked up and felt it was about time, so he called everyone together.
With a casual wave of his hand, countless Flame Clouds enveloped the luggage and the gold in the warehouse, lifting everyone up as well.
Then, amid several shocked cries, they flew swiftly toward the shore.
Before long, Genzo found the medium-sized merchant ship arranged in advance. Lin Yuan controlled the Flame Clouds to place all the supplies in the hold, and everyone landed on deck.
"All right, set sail!"
When Tesoro, Enel, and Genzo heard Lin Yuan's command, the three of them immediately unfurled the enormous sails. Then Genzo turned the helm, and the merchant ship slowly sailed away from Cocoyasi Village.
Not long after they left, torches lit up in every direction throughout the village.
"Lin, Genzo, and everyone else, remember to come back often! This will always be your home!"
Someone shouted, and all the villagers waved their torches to bid them farewell. People were grateful, especially to Lin Yuan and Genzo. The changes in the village over the years had all come about because of them.
The women on the ship were already shedding tears of emotion, and Genzo was crying his eyes out, but no one spoke.
Lin Yuan couldn't help feeling emotional too. In the end, he couldn't hold back. He drew his Famous Sword and abruptly swung it more than a dozen times.
To everyone's astonishment, flames appeared on the Famous Sword, and Lin Yuan sent them flying with his slashes.
With countless people in Cocoyasi Village watching, the two flaming words "Goodbye" burned in the sky.
Even after the ship had traveled a long way, Lin Yuan could still see countless torches burning on Cocoyasi Village's shore.
"What a lovely group of people!"
Seven days passed in no time. Lin Yuan and the others crossed the Knock Up Stream leading to the Grand Line, but they didn't see Laboon, the enormous whale.
Lin Yuan didn't stop this time. The convoy had prepared a Log Pose pointing to Water 7 well in advance.
Their journey wasn't entirely smooth. Along the way, they encountered Marine inspections and pirate attacks.
But Lin Yuan managed to fool the Marines each time. As for the pirates, they became targets for the group's training. Not a single pirate managed to escape Enel and the others.
One day, while Lin Yuan was fishing leisurely and the others were training hard, a figure suddenly appeared on the sea.
At the sight of the white path of ice steadily forming across the water, a look of terror immediately appeared on Robin's face.
"Brother Lin Yuan, is that him?"
Robin would never forget the tall man who had gravely wounded Lin Yuan and forced them to jump into the sea to escape. Even now, remembering him filled Robin with fear.
"Hehe, it's him. I didn't expect to run into him here. Don't worry, Robin. I won't lose to him again now!"
"Boss, who are you talking about? Why's that guy such a show-off, riding a bicycle on the sea? Want me to go beat him up?"
Hearing the fear in Robin's voice, everyone came over, and Enel even clamored to deal with the man.
"Hehe, you can give it a try. Oh, right, this guy's no weaker than Golden Lion Shiki, the one we met in the sky last time. He might even be stronger."
"Go, Enel, you're the strongest!"