When iser returned to the house, Garp had already left with his n.
"That old geezer didn't give you any trouble, did he?" rry ca forward and asked. Though he hadn't taken direct action, who knew if he'd made any threats—like using their lives to pressure iser!
The World Governnt and Marines had certainly used such tactics against them before.
"No, he just asked one question," iser replied.
"A question?" Sanji asked curiously. "What was it?"
"He asked if I was from the Land of Wano."
"Kokoro ntioned the Land of Wano too—what kind of place is that?" Nami wondered. Why was everyone so curious about whether iser ca from there? Were all the ninjas in that country as strong as him?
They blinked, then turned to their resident encyclopedia, Nico Robin—only to find the elegant woman's expression had darkened.
"The Land of Wano..." Robin said slowly. "I do know a little about it."
She knew—all too well.
Back in Alabasta, Crocodile had forced her to decipher the Poneglyph there, which contained information about Pluton. And that terrifying weapon, capable of destroying an entire island with a single shot... was hidden in the Land of Wano!!!
"Robin? Are you okay?" rry asked, concerned. "You look pale—are you sick?"
"What? Sick?!" Chopper panicked. "Doctor! Doctor!"
"Uh... I am the doctor..."
As Chopper rushed over to examine her, Robin reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just rembered sothing unpleasant."
Suppressing her turbulent thoughts, she explained, "So books I've read did ntion the Land of Wano, but that country has isolated itself from the world. Very little information has leaked out."
"That's it?"
"That's it." Robin shrugged. "That's all I know."
She deliberately avoided ntioning the ancient weapon, not wanting to burden her crewmates. So things were simply beyond their current reach.
"Tch, so it's just so isolated country," iser scoffed. "No wonder they're so curious about —probably trying to gather intel on the place."
"That's possible," Robin agreed after a mont's thought.
"Maybe... the Marines know sothing we don't," Sanji analyzed calmly. "But honestly... it doesn't really concern us."
All they needed to know was that iser was a comrade they could trust with their lives. The rest... did it matter?
They weren't like those CP9 agents who'd dig up every last detail about soone. They knew where to draw the line.
"True enough."
"Has Luffy co back yet?"
"No," Sanji shook his head, then grinned. "But Luffy said we'll throw a feast once he wakes up. Guess it's ti to start preparing ingredients—that glutton can eat an unbelievable amount."
"Didn't he just eat not long ago...?"
"You're seriously underestimating that bottomless pit," Nami scoffed. "He can devour anything, no matter how much there is."
Honestly, the main reason the Straw Hat Pirates were always broke was precisely because of Luffy's monstrous appetite. If not for their decent luck along the way, they might've ended up starving nine tis in three days.
"I'll help too," iser said, rolling up his sleeves. "I'm pretty skilled at cutting at."
Sanji: "..."
Nami: "???"
"You an preparing ingredients, right?"
"What else?" iser raised an eyebrow. "Did you think I ant chopping people up? That only takes one slash—nothing complicated."
He wasn't from the interrogation division, after all. No need for elaborate thods—just a clean cut.
"Good..." Nami sighed in relief.
"Let's go. Hand anything that needs slicing."
As he spoke, iser picked up his Grass Sword, making Sanji's eye twitch as his earlier words echoed in his mind.
"You idiot, use a damn kitchen knife!"
"This blade cuts at real fast."
"No! We don't have that many large chunks to hack. Use a proper knife!"
"Fine."
iser shrugged but didn't argue further, setting the Grass Sword aside.
rry chid in cheerfully, "I'll help too~"
Seeing little rry's adorable face, iser couldn't resist teasing her.
"Little rry, you won't sneak bites, will you?" he said, crouching down.
"Of course not!"
"Then why are you looking away?"
"Hmph! iser, you're an!"
rry puffed her cheeks and hid behind Sanji, peeking out at iser.
"Hahahaha!"
The scene had everyone laughing.
Ahem. "Sneaking bites is definitely not allowed," Sanji said, clearing his throat. "But... I do need a taste tester for freshly cooked dishes. rry, would you like the job?"
"Wow! I'll do it, I'll do it!"
"Sanji, too..." Chopper pleaded, eyes sparkling.
Faced with two adorable pairs of puppy-dog eyes, Sanji paused before breaking into a wide grin. "Alright, both of you!"
"Sanji, I—"
"Get back to work, you moron!"
"Hahahaha!"
Prepping the ingredients didn't take long. By the ti Luffy and the others returned, Sanji's dishes were already sizzling on the grill.
And so, a grand feast began.
"Woo-hoo! Feast ti!!" Luffy cheered, laughing heartily.
"Hahahaha!"
"So this is what a feast feels like," iser mused, sitting beside Zoro. No wonder everyone loved these—the atmosphere was pure joy.
"Hah, you'll get addicted to this feeling," Zoro started, only to choke on his drink when Luffy stuck chopsticks up his nose.
"Pfft!"
"This guy..."
iser's lips twitched, montarily at a loss for words, yet this feeling was indeed quite pleasant. Thinking this, the corners of his mouth began to curl upward.
Just then, iser noticed Nico Robin's condition. The poised woman was leaning against a distant wall, her expression visibly unwell, which imdiately alerted iser to sothing amiss.
Instinctively, he moved to approach her, but Nico Robin shook her head, signaling him to stay back.
Noticing the ice on her wine glass, iser narrowed his eyes.
Seeing that iser didn't co over, Nico Robin exhaled in relief.
"Nico Robin... I wonder if Saul was right to let you live," Aokiji said. "Can you give an answer now?"
"Of course," Nico Robin replied firmly. "I've already found my reason to live."
"Then live well... Ohara isn't truly gone." With those words, Aokiji vanished.
By the ti Nico Robin rushed to check, he had long since left.
As if rembering sothing, she imdiately turned her gaze to iser, relieved to find him still sitting obediently in his spot.
"Robin, co join the party!"
"Coming!"
anwhile, Aokiji leisurely pedaled his bicycle down the street but paused when passing a large tree.
"Here to see off, young man?"
"Couldn't hide it from you, huh?" iser, perched on the tree, looked down at Aokiji. "What are you doing here? Don't tell you're planning to threaten Robin again."
iser didn't descend, and Aokiji didn't look up—this arrangent suited them both.
"And if I am?"
"Then we'll just have to finish what we started last ti."
"My, my, quite the bold one," Aokiji chuckled, unoffended. "But can you back that up?"
"Only one way to find out!"
The two stood in silent confrontation, an invisible tension crackling between them.
After a mont, Aokiji remarked, "Ah, the new generation these days is truly fearso."
"You're just a clone, aren't you?"
iser didn't deny it, rely watching Aokiji.
"Fighting in the city would disturb the residents," Aokiji said. "I'd rather not deal with complaints."
Clearly, he was looking for an excuse to back down.
iser remained silent, his gaze unwavering.
"If I truly intended to act, threats wouldn't be necessary." Aokiji's smile faded, his expression turning solemn. "Tell , boy—can you answer one question?"
"Go on."
"Are you really from the Land of Wano?"
"Luffy's grandfather asked the sa thing. I can say with certainty: no, I'm not."
"I see."
Aokiji fell silent briefly before smiling, as if releasing so long-held burden. "If there's sothing you want to protect, then protect it well."
Without waiting for a response, he pedaled away, humming a tune.
"What's his deal...?" iser muttered to himself.
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