Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Sea Restaurant - Familiar Problems, Familiar Solutions
[Ding! Guided Sanji and earned his admiration. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress: 40%. Reward: Shunpo Level +1. Current Shunpo Level: Lv2.]
Takumi had barely walked away when the system's notification chimed in his mind. Along with it, more knowledge about Shunpo flooded into his brain, making him feel lighter on his feet.
"Not bad, Sanji," Takumi thought, feeling somewhat satisfied.
But admiration? Why does that count toward the progress?
That part puzzled Takumi, but as long as it worked in his favor, he wasn't going to complain.
Stretching his arms, he found himself standing on the second-floor deck of Baratie, soaking in the warm sunlight. The heat made him feel a bit sleepy.
"Time for a nap," he muttered.
With a flick of his hand, Takumi summoned a lounge chair from his system storage, plopped down, and closed his eyes for a quick snooze.
He had barely started to doze off when, not too far away, a pirate ship flying an unfamiliar flag began creeping toward Baratie.
As soon as Baratie came into range, the pirates fired their cannons, aiming straight for the ship's rear.
The cannon fire jolted Takumi awake.
Frowning, he opened his eyes just in time to see the cannonballs racing toward him.
Without hesitation, he leapt from the chair and, in midair, used Night Guy to kick the cannonballs into the sea.
Landing back on the deck, Takumi's gaze locked onto the pirate ship that had dared disturb his nap, several hundred meters away.
In one swift motion, he drew his sword, swung it once toward the pirate ship, and sheathed it just as quickly. Then, he calmly returned to his chair and closed his eyes again.
Before he could fully relax, the pirate ship split cleanly in half and began to sink, its crew's screams and cries echoing across the water before fading into silence.
Everything was calm again.
"You've gotta be kidding me…"
Sanji had been looking for Takumi, wanting to thank him for the advice earlier. Takumi's words had unraveled a knot that had been weighing on his mind for a long time.
But as he followed Takumi's path, he witnessed something unbelievable: Takumi had kicked away cannonballs and, with a single swing of a wooden sword, sliced a pirate ship clean in half.
Sanji froze, too stunned to approach.
Swallowing hard, he slowly backed away, then turned and sprinted back toward the kitchen, his mind racing with what he had just seen.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't help but test his own kicks in the air as he ran.
"Takumi's incredible! And he's my age... I can't waste any more time!"
With that, he ran straight to Zeff's room.
When Zeff saw Sanji coming, he frowned. "Did you finish washing all the dishes?"
Sanji grinned. "Old man, I've made up my mind. I want to learn your leg techniques!"
Zeff raised an eyebrow, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha! You? Learn my leg techniques? Don't kid yourself! Get back to work."
"I'll work hard!" Sanji said earnestly. "I'll master cooking too, and in my spare time, you'll teach me how to fight with my legs!"
Zeff stared at him, slightly taken aback.
Something was different about Sanji. He wasn't the same kid who had been sulking half an hour ago. Had he finally started to figure things out?
Zeff frowned, his voice gruff. "I never said I'd teach you how to cook."
Sanji just smiled. "That's fine. I spend enough time in the kitchen, anyway. If you won't teach me, I'll learn by watching. I'm not the same Sanji I was before. Just you wait, old man. I'll surpass you soon, both in cooking and in fighting."
"Hahaha, you? Surpass me? In this lifetime? Get back to your chores, kid."
"Say whatever you want. I've made up my mind, and nothing you say will change it!"
Before Zeff could respond, Sanji dashed off.
Zeff's grin quickly faded as he fell deep in thought.
That kid… Did someone talk to him?
It definitely wasn't Patty or the other kitchen brutes. And aside from them, the only other person with access to the kitchen was that one guest he had given special privileges to.
Zeff narrowed his eyes slightly.
It couldn't be… that kid, right?
Meanwhile, Takumi had enjoyed a peaceful nap for over an hour. Upon waking, he instinctively reached for his gourd of wine.
It was empty.
Before leaving the village, Takumi had stocked up on plenty of booze from the local tavern. But after eight days of sailing—filled with drinking, sleeping, and occasionally fending off sea monsters—he was down to just two jars of the special brew Koshiro had gifted him.
After some thought, he decided against drinking Koshiro's wine for now.
Standing up and stretching, he stowed his lounge chair back in his system storage and followed the faint scent of alcohol toward Baratie's second-floor storage room.
As luck would have it, Sanji emerged from the room carrying a bottle of wine.
When the door opened and Sanji spotted Takumi, he froze.
"Uh, what are you doing here?" Sanji asked, startled.
Takumi's eyes were fixed on the bottle of wine in Sanji's hands. "How much for that?"
"Oh, this? Five Berries per glass. You're not thinking of drinking, are you?" Sanji asked cautiously.
"Yeah."
"Here, take this bottle. I'll just grab another," Sanji said cheerfully, handing the bottle to Takumi.
Takumi blinked. "?"
"It's no big deal," Sanji assured him. "Next time you want a drink, just let me know. I'll sneak you in here, you drink, and I'll keep watch."
Takumi chuckled softly.
This kid sure knew how to cozy up to people.
Takumi appreciated the gesture but wasn't one to take advantage of someone's hospitality without paying his dues.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pouch with 100 Berries and tossed it to Sanji.
Sanji fumbled to catch it. "Wait, what's this?"
"For the wine."
With that, Takumi uncorked the bottle, took a swig, and found the taste acceptable.
He emptied the rest into his gourd and handed the empty bottle back to Sanji.
As he turned to leave, Sanji called after him. "Where are you going?"
"Hunting," Takumi said simply.
Sanji's eyes widened, and his excitement from earlier came rushing back as he remembered witnessing Takumi kicking away cannonballs and slicing a pirate ship in half. Bursting with energy, he followed after Takumi as they headed downstairs together.
"So, are you going after pirates? I saw it! You kicked away those cannonballs and cut that pirate ship in half with a wooden sword! That was amazing, Takumi! Tell me, when did you start learning leg techniques?"
Takumi's eye twitched slightly.
This question sounded awfully familiar...
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