Chapter 287: Searching For A Friend
“If you want it, then go take it.”
La’s voice clearly reached Kaido’s ears.
Her tone was very flat, just like discussing the taste of the tea in front of her… no, even more casual than that.
At least the tea in front of her was brewed out of her own interest, while for the country in Kaido’s mouth, she had no interest in paying any attention to it.
But just this answer that sounded like it was casually said was already enough.
Kaido came to see La, but in the end, he didn’t want to hear her give those outline-grasping, high-level analyses of pros and cons.
He just wanted to get an answer, a positive answer.
In Kaido’s own heart, he had actually already made the decision long ago.
And La saw this point, so she didn’t go on a long lecture like usual, but directly gave Kaido the answer he wanted as he wished.
……
“Hey!”
“Good! Then let’s go take Wano Country!”
“Uro-ro-ro-ro!”
No more hesitation, no more thinking about irrelevant things—if you want it, go take it!
This is the posture a qualified Sea Overlord should have.
Slapping his thigh, Kaido stood up, didn’t drink the tea, and directly pushed the door to leave.
Watching the other’s back gradually receding with three steps and a hop, La also stood up afterward, bent down, and tidied the table clean again.
The undrunk tea was casually poured onto the lawn nearby by her; natural things don’t need further processing, just let them re-enter this land’s ecological cycle directly.
After shaking the cup with clear-water-like flames and turning it upside down again, La, having simply tidied these up, re-tied her skirt hem, turned around, and continued picking newly sprouted tea leaves.
This ordinary meeting ended just as ordinarily; everything looked so mundane and casual, like a small interlude in the afternoon.
Only the fate of a country changed because of this.
……
“Well~ Anyway, after Boss Kaido came back, he directly announced the order for Beasts Pirates to move into Wano Country, mobilizing everyone.”
“That guy Ember was sent ahead there a few days ago to check the situation.”
“The Pirate Crew side is also preparing to set off… This was originally my job, but now it’s been snatched by that brat Aoxi.”
Burufaruto shook his head with a smile; although he said this in his mouth, his tone had no dissatisfaction at all, but was full of relief.
“Cough~”
The slightly cool sea breeze made his throat a bit itchy; after lightly coughing, Burufaruto prepared to leave the deck and walked toward the cabin.
“By the way, brat, have you thought about what to do after returning to Fish-Man Island?”
“Stay there for a while to see the other side of your hometown that you haven’t seen before… or prepare to set off immediately to other islands?”
Finding a sheltered place to sit down, Burufaruto didn’t enter the cabin.
Compared to those cramped and narrow rooms, he still preferred staying outside.
Fish-Men are children of the sea; they naturally belong to this vast sea.
Jinbe didn’t rush to answer, but kept his cross-legged posture on the deck, waiting for the Haki in his body to slowly complete a cycle.
And seeing this scene in front of him, Burufaruto couldn’t help but recall the scene when he taught Aoxi and the others Haki back then.
But speaking of himself, he hardly taught anything back then; it was basically all La’s credit. At that time, he just held a stick and chased Aoxi and Obei, these two brats, knocking like a wooden fish…
Sigh~ These monsters really give no sense of achievement at all~
With Haki arduously completing a cycle through his body, Jinbe adjusted his breathing slightly and then stopped cultivating, opening his mouth to answer:
“My plan is to stay on Fish-Man Island for a while, best if there’s an opportunity to contact the royalty there…”
“Royalty… Great Knight King Neptune, huh.”
Burufaruto murmured.
“Well~ Compared to those human nobles, King Neptune can be considered a qualified leader.”
“Although his own strength is not enough, relying on his relationship with that guy Whitebeard, he still protected Fish-Man Island.”
Before being protected by Whitebeard, Fish-Man Island was truly a living hell, almost turned into a common ‘No Man’s Land’ by various factions.
Countless pirates and slave-hunting teams took turns; under their meticulous ‘cultivation,’ the island’s population declined year after year, almost reaching the edge of extinction.
The orphans in Fish-Man District were mostly born during that period…
But fortunately, under the absolute martial prowess and bloody intimidation of this great pirate Whitebeard, those ill-intentioned guys also learned to retract their claws.
So even from an enemy camp, Fish-Men like Burufaruto still held a bit of gratitude and respect toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
……
Half a month later, the coated Minotaur smoothly entered Fish-Man Island’s territory.
Those patrolling Fish-Man soldiers saw it was Beasts Pirates’ ship and didn’t do much, after all, this wasn’t their first time coming to the island, and they never caused trouble.
The patrol team even had acquaintances who recognized this as Burufaruto’s ship and proactively came up to greet.
“Yo~ Burufaruto, are you going to Fish-Man District to steal kids again?”
A somewhat elderly patrol squad captain signaled his subordinates to continue patrolling while he ran over to slack off and catch up.
When Burufaruto first came to Fish-Man District to take away those orphans, it was this responsible old captain who stepped forward to stop him.
He was also the only patrol team member still willing to intervene in Fish-Man District affairs.
You know, Fish-Man District is basically a no-man’s land on Fish-Man Island, a place where the law doesn’t extend.
Now that slave traders have openly disappeared from the island, slave auctions still have a steady supply of Fish-Men and mermaids every year… this is inseparable from here.
So even official patrol teams, casually intervening here could face retaliation from certain shady people; it’s absolutely thankless behavior.
And facing such a responsible old Fish-Man, Burufaruto naturally wouldn’t show any bad face.
He put on a smiling face and proactively went up, saying:
“Haha~ After so many years, you’ve taken so much good liquor from me, and you’re still treating me like a slave trader?”
“Hmph! This old man doesn’t care for your liquor.”
“If it weren’t for seeing that you were also from Fish-Man origins back then and really gave those brats a place to survive, this old man wouldn’t indulge you in abducting those children.”
Saying that, the old Fish-Man also tapped the shiny standard steel fork in his hand.
“Alright, alright, those brats eat well and sleep well with me, so rest assured~”
“You’ve seen the training photos of those brats I bring you every time.”
“Tch~”
“So this time you’re going there again; after so many years, there aren’t many brats left there.”
Fish-Man District’s ‘residents’ aren’t all seven- or eight-year-old orphans; a large part are adults still muddling along aimlessly… Burufaruto had no interest in bringing those back to Beasts Pirates.
“Well~ I’m actually here this time to find an acquaintance. Heard he recently returned to Fish-Man Island; do you have any leads?”
“Oh? Acquaintance?”
Skillfully taking a… thermos? The old Fish-Man gave Burufaruto a strange look, then suspiciously unscrewed it…
“Not talking about your acquaintance first… what the heck is this?”
Looking at the full cup of steaming health tea, the old Fish-Man finally couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ve quit drinking recently, and the last bottle on me before departure was accidentally lost, so I had the master on the ship brew you a cup of the same health tea as mine.”
“You’re not young anymore, old man; you should quit alcohol too, maybe live a bit longer~”
Saying that, Burufaruto took out his own cup from his pocket, unscrewed the lid, took a sip, and then expressionlessly screwed it back on.
“Heh! I’m a guy about to go meet Sea God; why quit alcohol? Better drink more while I can still hop around!”
“Eh~ What you’re saying, after all, better to linger alive than die well~”
Watching the other drink the health tea and look all refreshed, the old Fish-Man also took a sip like Burufaruto, then his old face wrinkled up like a chrysanthemum…
