Half an hour later, the bread on the table was more than halfway gone.Yashiro and the other kids slumped back in their chairs, hands on their swollen bellies, basking in the warm satisfaction of a full meal.
As usual, they would get about twenty minutes of rest before heading to the back to wash dishes. After working here for a week, they'd already learned the restaurant's schedule. After lunch, there were hardly any dishes left because most of the dockworkers were still out moving cargo.
Strangely, the workers' lunch break was always pushed back by the merchant ship's captain by about half an hour. And during that short delay, the workers labored harder than ever.Because the tavern kitchens had already finished cooking, and the rich aroma drifting across the dock tortured their empty stomachs.
With the scent of freshly cooked food teasing their noses, they naturally worked faster and faster — desperate to finish early and eat.
Rokuji rubbed his round stomach, glanced over, and asked,"By the way… Yashiro! You're not from our island, are you?"
"Well, yeah. I'm not. I washed up here about a week ago after a shipwreck."Yashiro admitted it calmly. It wasn't something shameful. Sometimes the best way to avoid suspicion was just to say it plainly.
The moment Rokuji heard "shipwreck," his eyes lit up with sparkling excitement, and the other kids around him suddenly looked at Yashiro differently.
"Then—then! You really went out to sea?! Have you seen Sea Kings? Those huge, gigantic monsters? And… pirates? Pirate ships?"Rokuji practically sprang out of his chair, grabbed Yashiro by the shoulders, and shook him with feverish excitement.
The kid's runny nose was inches from his face. Startled, Yashiro quickly pried Rokuji off before he got sprayed.
"Take it easy! Calm down first! Why are you this excited just because someone went to sea?"
"What are you talking about? If you've gone out to sea, you're a real man!"Rokuji stared at him like he'd just uttered something incomprehensible.
The kids around them perked up and immediately joined the chatter.
"I'm so jealous… you actually went out to sea!"
"Damn it! One day I'm gonna be a pirate too!"
"Oh please, Gura. With that tiny body of yours, a Sea King could floss its teeth with you!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"What's so great about pirates? I wanna join the Marines!"
The entire kitchen burst into laughter and bold proclamations of future dreams.Yashiro touched his nose awkwardly, feeling slightly embarrassed.
So going out to sea is that impressive to these little gremlins…
Rokuji tugged at his sleeve again, eyes shining."Yashiro… Yashiro… please! Tell us what the real sea is like!"
Yashiro rolled his neck stiffly and noticed the same expectant look on every tiny face around him.
He let out a small, defeated smile."All right… I'll tell you what I saw out there."
"The sea is enormous. When you're out on a ship, most of the time the only living creatures you'll see are seagulls. Honestly, sailing is really boring for the most part.
"But the sea has all kinds of unpredictable weather. Strange phenomena you can't even imagine."
He raised a hand as if framing the memory.
"I remember once — the sky was completely clear. Not a cloud in sight. But suddenly, a massive tornado formed right above the sea. It whipped up the water and spiraled straight into the sky.
"Sea Kings — huge ones — were fleeing desperately. Some were too close and got sucked straight upward. Our cargo ship only barely managed to escape."
Yashiro pressed on dramatically.
"Our captain said something then: the most dangerous thing on the sea isn't Sea Kings… it's the unpredictable weather."
The kids stared at him, mouths hanging open, practically able to see the tornado and the massive Sea Kings thrashing in panic.
Yashiro twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.
If only they knew the truth… I've only been in this world a week. I've never even touched a ship. I'm just spitting out whatever I remember from One Piece…
Still, seeing their awestruck faces gave him a pang of guilt.
His "shipwreck" story was just a convenient excuse, but he hadn't expected the kids to cling to it so eagerly.
Just as he was about to continue improvising, a timid little girl tugged at her patched shirt and whispered,"U-Um… Yashiro… can you tell us more?"
The other kids leaned in, their huge eyes shimmering with anticipation.
Yashiro felt himself cracking.They're too cute. I can't resist those faces…
Just as he prepared to fabricate another "epic maritime tale," an explosive voice nearly shattered his eardrums.
"HEY!!! You bratty runts! Get your butts out there and wash those dishes! It's already time!"
Peiwa bellowed from the kitchen doorway, cigarette dangling from his mouth.
The sheer force of his voice sent a shockwave through the room, blowing their hair sideways.A few kids stood on their chairs and shouted stubbornly:
"No! We wanna hear Yashiro's story!"
"What?"Peiwa tilted his head as if he hadn't heard a word — then whack whack whack whack, a series of crisp knuckle bonks landed perfectly on each kid's skull.
Every child sported a freshly formed bump.
"You little punks! Move it! Wash those dishes now or you're losing your wages for today!"
Behind Peiwa stood a scrawny adult, wobbling under an enormous tower of bowls and chopsticks stacked so high it covered his entire face.
The children grumbled, but seeing Peiwa's terrifying glare, they fled outside to wash dishes.
Once they stepped out, Yashiro realized they'd formed a tight circle around him.
"Yashiro! Keep talking! We'll listen while we wash!"
Rokuji grinned, and the rest nodded enthusiastically.
Yashiro: (°Δ°`)
They're seriously hooked… Guess I'll have to give them a crash course in One Piece lore.
He sighed and summoned every memory he had of Luffy's early adventures, weaving them into a "realistic" version of the sea.
He cleared his throat.
"You all know this already, but our world is split in half by the Red Earth Continent. On one side is the Grand Line, and on the other side are the Four Seas.
"The Grand Line itself has two halves, divided by the Sabaody Archipelago.
"And since there's no single connected continent — only islands — the world gets all kinds of crazy island types. Desert islands, sky islands, ice islands, fire islands, food islands…
"And out at sea, there are maniacs everywhere. Pirates, Marines, the Revolutionary Army…"
While scrubbing vigorously, Rokuji suddenly asked:
"Yashiro, have you seen the Red Earth Continent?"
Yashiro shook his head."Nope. Not yet."
"Then how do you know all this?"Rokuji paused mid-scrub, giving him a suspicious squint.
Other kids were staring too.
Yashiro quickly laughed it off."Haha! I heard it all from my captain! I only went out to sea once. Didn't see anything special. The only exciting thing was seeing a tornado from far away."
Hearing this, the kids relaxed and returned to their washing.
The more nonsense Yashiro spewed, the more fascinated the kids became. Their eyes shone with admiration, making it harder and harder for him to keep a straight face.
As the sky gradually darkened, Yashiro had somehow managed to become their "big brother."Because he'd been to sea — even once — the kids now called him Big Bro Yashiro and treated him like the leader of the group.
Before long, dockworkers came to pick up their children, carrying them off from behind Peiwa Tavern.
Yashiro headed toward a dessert shop — planning to buy two cream puffs for Nico Robin — when Rokuji suddenly ran up and grabbed him.
"Big Bro Yashiro! Where do you live now?"
Yashiro scratched his cheek."I'm staying in Old Jakkusu's rice barn for now."
"Oh… that's good…"
"What's wrong?"Yashiro tilted his head.
Rokuji slowly leaned closer, whispering with a terrified look:
"Big Bro Yashiro… since you're not from our island… you don't know.When winter comes… kids start disappearing. The adults say snow monsters eat them.
"I'm scared you don't have a place to stay and you'll get eaten if you sleep outside…"
Yashiro stared at the naive kid — moved and amused all at once.
"Did the adults also tell you not to open the door during winter? That the snow monsters sneak in?"
"Yeah! Big Bro Yashiro, how did you know?!"
Rokuji jumped in shock.
Yashiro didn't know how to explain that it was obviously just adults trying to keep kids safe, so he simply patted Rokuji's shoulder.
"They're right. Just listen to them, okay?"
With a small smile, Yashiro headed inside the dessert shop.