The smoke clears.
The restaurant owner and others stood dumbfounded as they watched a handsome, black-haired young man yawning and sleepily stand up from a deep pit.
This guy seems to have fallen asleep while flying and only just woke up now.
"Oh? Is this the East Sea? That was quick!"
Shano looked around, blinked, and then laughed heartily, stretching his arms wide, pulling his boot off Luffy's face with a "pop" sound.
"What do you mean 'arrived'!"
The owner and the staff were utterly terrified, collectively shrieking, "You idiot! Where the hell did you fly from? Look under your foot, someone's going to die there!"
Huh?
Is it?
Shano glanced down.
Holy cow, 니 (Ni)!
What a coincidence!
So then, I'm in the Goa Kingdom now?
Well, I guess it makes sense. Kuma, that guy, back when he was an officer in the Revolutionary Army, had been to the Goa Kingdom with Dragon.
"No one's dead, don't worry, uncle."
Shano lightly kicked Luffy, smiling, "This guy is just too... a rubber man, rough and tough, not that easy to take down."
Eh, why isn't he waking up no matter how much I kick him?
Ah, young people, they can fall asleep anywhere.
"Rubber man?" The owner and a few staff were startled, recalling earlier how this straw hat kid extended his arm in a flash to climb a tree, really did seem quite rubbery.
Is it that…
That legend that's spread across the seas, belonging to the Devil's power...
At this point, Shano had already completed the Armament Hardening on his right fist and smashed it onto Luffy's head.
Thunk!
"Ow, that hurts!!!"
Luffy instantly sat up from the ground, clutching the smoking bump on his head, yelling angrily, "Who? Which jerk hit me!"
When he saw who was in front of him, he froze, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and when he confirmed it was no illusion, his eyes widened.
"Brother Shano!"
Luffy hugged Shano's leg, sobbing and sniffling, smearing all over his pants, "Boo hoo! It's really you! I thought I'd never see you again!"
With a disgusted look, Shano tried to pull his leg away.
But he found that this guy was clinging tightly, rubber arms wrapped several times, impossible to shake off.
"Hey, kid, stop wiping your snot on my pants!"
Shano said grumpily, "And what's with this reaction? Is it necessary? We've only been apart for how long? A year maybe?"
"But before, you used to come every year to do magic for me. This year you've gone to the Grand Line. I thought there wouldn't be a chance at all!"
Luffy looked up, tears shimmering.
That reminds me.
Shano fixed his gaze on the straw hat atop Luffy's head, slowly grinning.
Using the Living Map to locate the Golden Lion costs two thousand points; twice it'll be four thousand, and I was just worried no one would pay this bill...
"Wait a minute!" He suddenly became alert, "Even so, you shouldn't be crying, right? Be honest! What's the real reason?"
"Hehe..."
Luffy scratched his head, "It's the meal payment, Brother Shano. You see how much I miss you, right? How about you help me pay for the meals I owe? I'll pay you back with interest once I find the one piece!"
He remembered clearly, when Brother Shano was just fourteen or fifteen, he already had his own big ship and was quite a wealthy person!
"Meal payment?"
Shano glanced at the few staff still in aprons, roughly understanding, chuckled, "So you guys have been hunting this kid down for that, huh? Alright, it's just a meal, how much, uncle?"
Even though the money he saved was left on the Endgame, for this trip back to the East Sea, he still tucked a few hundred thousand Belly in his pocket just in case.
The restaurant owner and a few staff exchanged looks.
They initially thought this guy, who fell from the sky unharmed, didn't look like someone to mess with, and were ready to give up on the debt, accepting defeat.
But... he seems quite easygoing?
"Considering you're willingly helping to pay off the debt, I'll drop the change, it totals to this amount." The owner smiled politely, holding up two fingers.
"Two thousand? No, if it's this guy, it should be about twenty thousand Belly, tsk, sure eats a lot," Shano chuckled, opening his wallet.
"It's two million Belly."
Shano's hand froze abruptly, lifting his head in disbelief, "How much?!"
"We wouldn't dare to make up stories to scam you, sir!"
The restaurant owner quickly protested, pointing at Luffy, "Ask this rascal if you don't believe me, in the past half year, this guy has been disguising himself to get free meals dozens of times, dozens!"
"This time, when we recognized him and refused service, he got so mad from hunger that he just ate all the customers' orders from the surrounding tables..."
Shano's face darkened as he slowly turned to look at Luffy, who had his hands in his pockets, nervously whistling, pretending to admire the sky.
At least you know how to feel embarrassed!
"You've been corrupted by Ace, huh..."
He stared at Luffy for a few seconds, then suddenly showed a devilish smile: "In that case, let's work off the debt."
"Huh?"
Before Luffy could react, Shano moved with blinding speed, a motion too fast to be seen clearly.
In just a moment.
A somewhat old pair of Seastone Handcuffs clicked onto Luffy's wrists.
"Ugh! What's this thing? Why do I feel so weak!"
Luffy's legs immediately went limp, collapsing like a deflated ball onto the ground, crying out in terror, "I have no strength left... Brother Shano, what are you doing!"