Two years later, in Cocoyasi Village in the East Blue, a man about 1.8 meters tall returned to the village, holding a huge sea fish roughly five meters long in one hand. It was Lin Yuan.
"Lin, you went out to sea again? You were gone for days this time. That girl Robin kept asking me when you'd be back!"
"Genzo, you're out on patrol again? Have you seen any pirates?"
Genzo looked a little embarrassed at that. As Cocoyasi Village's sheriff, he had always patrolled the coast with great care.
Pirates had never come here, but Genzo still carried out his patrols diligently.
Ever since Pirate King Roger had turned himself in and been executed five years ago, the seas had descended into chaos. Although the East Blue had an old man in a dog-head hat who came home to visit his family year-round, it was no longer as peaceful as before.
After Lin Yuan had fled to the East Blue with Robin and Olvia two years ago, they had come to Cocoyasi Village.
Lin Yuan had originally planned to settle in Shimotsuki Village. After all, there was a squinty-eyed man there whose strength was unknown, but who was definitely no weakling.
But when he saw Genzo, Lin Yuan changed his mind. This place was relatively safe early on too, even if Arlong later plundered it and gave Nami a dark childhood.
There were still several years before that happened, and besides, as a minor villain early in the story, Arlong posed no threat to Lin Yuan. A few slashes would take care of him.
And since it wasn't too far from Shimotsuki Village, Lin Yuan had chosen to settle here. That was also when he met Genzo.
Thud...
"Genzo, help me divide this fish among everyone. I'm heading home first."
"You brat, you bring everyone a monster like this every time you come back. Be careful out there!"
Lin Yuan waved a hand dismissively and walked toward his home, dragging the sea fish behind him. A cheerful Genzo was left calling the villagers over to divide it up.
Along the way, every villager who saw Lin Yuan greeted him with a smile. They all treated the handsome young man warmly.
Ever since Lin Yuan had settled in Cocoyasi Village, he had not only frequently brought the villagers huge sea fish, but had also taught them how to make many things. One thing in particular, called baijiu, had brought Cocoyasi Village tremendous wealth.
Lin Yuan's home was not in the village itself, but on a rise not far away, where a small two-story wooden house had been built.
"Robin, I'm home!"
Lin Yuan called out. Every time he came home and called out like that, Robin would appear at once. To his surprise, however, she didn't come out this time.
Lin Yuan immediately grew alert. He dropped the fish in his hand and activated Observation Haki to scan the house.
"Huh, we have guests!"
Only after checking the situation inside did Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief. But when he got a clear look at the people inside, a strange expression crossed his face.
"I didn't expect it to be them!"
After a moment's thought, Lin Yuan went inside. There were five females of varying ages inside-or, more precisely, two women, two girls, and a baby.
Aside from Olvia and Robin, the visitors in the room were none other than Bellemere and Nojiko.
This baby must be Nami!
Lin Yuan thought silently.
"Oh, big brother, you're back!"
Robin, who had been playing with Nami, brightened the moment she saw Lin Yuan and hurried over.
Olvia, who had been chatting animatedly with Bellemere, quickly introduced them.
"Bellemere, this is Robin's big brother, Lin Yuan!"
"Lin Yuan, this is Bellemere and Nojiko. This little one is called Nami."
In front of outsiders, the three of them had always posed as a family. Olvia, however, had always told people that Lin Yuan was Robin's big brother, never that he was her son.
"Well, what a handsome young man! You're so tall. Are you really only twelve? Nojiko, say hello to big brother Lin Yuan."
"Big brother Lin Yuan..."
Nojiko, whose hair was sea-blue, greeted him shyly.
Lin Yuan smiled and rubbed her head.
"Oh, right, Yuan, Bellemere is planning to build a new house near ours, so she'll be staying with us for the next few days."
"Oh, really? That's great. You and Robin will have some company from now on."
Lin Yuan naturally approved wholeheartedly. He knew Nami was one of the best navigators in the pirate world, so when he went out to sea in the future, he would have a navigator.
After all, he shared certain traits with Zoro. Once he was out at sea, he couldn't tell north from south. Though he wasn't as bad as Zoro, it was safer to have a navigator, wasn't it?
Ever since arriving at Cocoyasi Village, he had only dared visit a few nearby islands.
"All right, since Bellemere is here, why don't we have a banquet today?"
"Oh, a banquet!"
Hearing that, Robin immediately jumped up with delight. Olvia and Bellemere also started laughing.
"You all rest here for a bit. I brought back a delicacy from the sea today. I'll go prepare it."
With that, Lin Yuan walked out of the room to prepare the sea fish he had brought back.
"He can cook too? Why don't we go help?"
Hearing this, Bellemere turned curiously to Olvia and asked.
"Uh, little Lin Yuan really is a good cook. We're in for a treat today!"
Olvia didn't refuse. Robin picked up Nami, and they all followed him outside.
By the time they reached the yard, Lin Yuan had already hung up the entire fish. At five meters long, it was as tall as their two-story house.
But before Bellemere could step forward to help, Lin Yuan took a long blade in hand. His arm turned into a blur, and under the dumbfounded gazes of Bellemere and Nojiko, he carved up the entire fish in just one minute.
"Lin, the fish has all been divided up. Everyone asked me to bring over some local specialties!"
Just then, Genzo's voice rang out. He had a pile of assorted local specialties in his hands.
"Genzo, you're just in time! We're having a banquet today. Come give us a hand!"
Genzo immediately came in with a grin, but instead of looking at Lin Yuan, he kept sneaking glances at Bellemere.
Bellemere was originally from Cocoyasi Village, and she and Genzo had been childhood friends. Later, however, Bellemere had joined the Marines, and the two had been separated ever since.
When he saw Bellemere again and saw the two little girls she was holding, Genzo's heart shattered. Only when he later learned that Bellemere had adopted them did his heart come back to life.
During Lin Yuan's absence, Genzo had come over almost every day, using just about every excuse he could find.
Seeing Genzo arrive, Olvia watched him and Bellemere with a smile. Bellemere shot Genzo an irritated glare, nearly bewitching him on the spot.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help."
Lin Yuan naturally noticed his little thoughts. Familiar with the original story, he knew Genzo had feelings for Bellemere.
He didn't point it out, though. The two of them were still young and had plenty of time. He could give them a hand in the future.
The group began their banquet in a cheerful atmosphere. Lin Yuan even brought out some animal milk he had collected to feed Nami. After all, although Bellemere was well-endowed, she didn't have the stuff to feed Nami.
Olvia, who had seen her homeland destroyed, and Bellemere, who had experienced a brutal war, couldn't help marveling at how blissful life like this was.
Robin and Nojiko were smiling the whole time too, and they quickly became good friends.
Only Genzo was left to miserably help with the grilling, though he never seemed to tire of it, grinning foolishly at Bellemere the whole time.
Olvia had originally wanted to continue studying the Poneglyphs, but that would have required her to go out to sea, and Lin Yuan had stopped her.
He promised to bring back Poneglyphs in the future. After all, the seas were now in complete chaos, and Robin was still young. For Olvia to go out to sea alone would be no different from courting death.
In the end, Lin Yuan's words moved Olvia, and she settled down in Cocoyasi Village. To help her pass the time, Lin Yuan cleared a plot of land for her to grow apples.
When Olvia had nothing else to do, she could tend the orchard, discuss the Poneglyphs' writing with Robin, and also write out the books from Ohara again from memory.
Lin Yuan was quite satisfied with this too. Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and started cleaning up, he headed alone toward the seaside cliff.
That was where he trained.