'So this is Torino island...' I mused, my eyes widening slightly as the small island's outline became visible through the horizon.
The more the ship approached, the more I could see of the small island, and the first thing I noticed was the giant curved tree in the middle with strange branches that intersected, forming several nest-like shapes around it.
"This is as far as can go..." The ship captain said as the crew lowered the raised the sails and dropped the anchor. "Them birds are making the lads nervous..." He added, gesturing toward the giant birds flying in circles around Torino island.
"Can't say that I blame you..." I said with a chuckle as I raised my head and saw the birds looking directly at the ship and threateningly cawing as if they were warning us.
"I guess I'll swim my way to the shore..." I added with a shrug as I put my foot over the ship's railing and fastened the spear to my backpack. "Don't forget to pick me up in a year's time," I concluded as I jumped into the seawater without waiting for a reply.
Though the ship stopped some distance away from the island, I quickly reached the shore before the crew set sail, and I didn't bother to see them off as I scanned the coast.
Once I was sure the coast was clear, I sighed as I removed my shirt, hung it over a tree branch to dry off, and began looking for a suitable place to build a shelter as the sky was getting dark.
After some searching, I found a small clearing between the tree line near the shore and settled on it as I took out the folded tent I'd bought from the town before departing.
It was supposedly made from the skin of some aquatic animal, thus making it waterproof, or that's what the trader said to justify its outrageous price, prompting me to rob him at spearpoint.
In any case, I quickly set up the small tent and froze as my stomach growled, protesting its hunger. I had some dried fruits, meats, and biscuits to last me a couple of days, but even the idea of putting them in my mouth made me gag after several days of eating them aboard the ship.
"I guess I'm having seafood today..." I said, smiling as I picked up my spear and headed to the shore.
...
I couldn't help but sigh contently, feeling the warmth of the fire on my face as I lay on the ground. I looked at the starry sky and leaned into the tree behind me.
'It almost makes all that training and murder worth it...' I mused as I took a sip from the whisky bottle beside me, feeling completely relaxed. 'Being all alone isn't that bad with a beautiful view and stomach full of good food and hooch..." I smiled, slowly closing my eyes as sleepiness began to overcome me.
However, I only closed my eyes for several seconds before jumping to my feet and picking up the spear as I heard a faint rustling sound in the bushes near the bonfire.
Suddenly, a short, round child wearing nothing but a loin cloth and a strange bone amulet sprinted through the bush, and I barely held back the urge to impale him with the spear out of pure reflex.
The child paused, frenziedly looking around, only for his eyes to widen as he met mine. "Help!" He said as he hurried to my side, the howls of wolves echoing behind him as they jumped through the bushes, hot in pursuit.
I merely sighed as I swung the spear down, crushing the head of the first wolf to charge me before impaling the second's skull, which seemed to shock the third as he growled at me before turning tail and fleeing.
"Oy, kid, are you alright...?" I said as I turned to check on the child and couldn't help but frown at the sight of the little brat devouring the fish I had roasting over the bonfire.
'He's probably been lost for a while...' I mused as I watched the kid stuff his jaws full of food, huffing inside his mouth with every bite to cool off the hot roasted fish.
"Take it easy. The food is not going to fly away..." I said with a chuckle, feeling genuine amusement as I sat down and leaned on the tree. "Where are your parents...?" I asked after waiting for the child to finish eating.
"Back in the village..." The child said as he sat near the bonfire, patting his now bloated stomach. "I should have never listened to that idiot Shanbee," He added, muttering to himself rather than me.
"Oh? So it was a dare thing, eh...?" I asked, causing the boy to lower his head in shame. "Meh, it happens. So what should I call you, kid?" I added, dropping the subject.
"I am is Shanbaga, son of Shanba..." The boy replied as he stood up, proudly slapping his chest, much to my amusement.
"Well, Shanbaga, son of Shanba, it's getting late, so you better get some sleep," I said with a chuckle. "We'll get you home early in the morning," I added, resting my head on the backpack and closing my eyes.
...
Feeling the sun's warmth on my face, I opened my eyes and frowned at the sight of Shanbaga's chubby visage intently staring down at me as he stood over my head.
"You're finally awake!" The boy said with a smile, causing me to let out an invulentary chuckle. "My mom and dad are probably worried sick. Let's hurry up and go. Please!" He added, unbothered by my reaction as he gripped my hand to help me up, prompting me to grunt as I sat straight.
"Alright, kid, geez," I said, rolling my eyes as I got up and began packing my belongings into the backpack. "Come on, let's go..." I said once I finished gathering my stuff, putting on my now dry shirt, and picking up my spear.
"So, do you know the way, at least?" I asked as I looked at the child.
"Of course, I know the way! Who do you think Shanbaga, son of Shanba, is?!" He replied, sounding extremely offended at my words, and I merely gave him a skeptical look. "It's those damned wolves' fault I got lost! And it was so dark! I couldn't see well!" He added.
"Whatever you say, kid. Come on..." I said, rolling my eyes as I moved forward.
...
Several hours later
As it turns out, Shanbaga, son of Shanba, did not know the way, and my skepticism wasn't misplaced. It took three hours to find the village, two of which we spent going in circles, thanks to the boy's expert pathfinding.
Out of sheer pettiness, I waited for the kid to give up before I stepped in and guided us straight toward the village after finding scattered human tracks in the forest.
After spending so much time in the forest back in Four Clover Island as I ambushed scores of Nyoka's men, I became somewhat decent at spotting and following tracks. The slightly enhanced senses given to me by practicing The Method didn't hurt either.
In any case, I managed to find the village, and though I didn't receive the warmest of welcomes as I suddenly showed up unannounced, the villager's attitudes instantly changed when they saw the boy trailing behind me.
"You must be Shanba, father of Shanbaga," I said, chuckling as I looked at the round, short man hugging the little kid, causing him to sigh as he let go of his and turned to me.
"Please excuse my son... he likes to think he's a big shot simply because he's the son of the village chief..." The man said, speaking slowly and with a heavy accent. "But yes, I'm Shanbaga's. What's your name, stranger?" He asked as he approached me.
"Cedric, but Rick is fine too..." I replied.
"Well then, Cedric. Please allow me to thank you for saving my son and welcome you to our village," Shanba said, slightly bowing toward me. "But may I ask how you came to be here...? We rarely get visitors from beyond the blue..." He asked, tilting his head.
"I arrived yesterday by ship..." I replied with a nod. "I heard your people are exceptionally skilled in medicine, so I came here to learn..." I added as I put my backpack on the ground.
"Naturally, I didn't come empty-handed..."
...
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Two months later
"There we go..." I said, hanging off a small branch at the top of the giant treasure tree as I reached for the purple flour sticking out of the bark. "I didn't come here to steal your treasure... I'm just here for this..." I added as I turned to the giant bird cautiously eyeing me from its nest and raised flower for it to see.
The bird seemed to understand my words as it cawed and turned away, though I was sure it kept me in the corner of its vision.
It's been some time since I arrived here, and everything and my practice was going well so far. The villagers were already grateful enough to let me study at their library, which was full of medical texts, and the medical herb seeds I brought as a gift made them like me even more.
I also went out of my way to track and hunt the occasional giant boar to feed the entire village whenever I had some free time, so it's safe to say I got along with the villagers.
Ultimately, I'd say that I spent a lot of the past months in the library, studying and learning everything I could about the different properties of medicinal herbs, how they affected the human body, and how to concoct them into medicine.
Despite their primitive appearance, the Torino Island natives had a very high understanding of medicine. The restoratives and healing salves they concocted were friggen miraculous in nature.
My goal was to use The Method to study the effects of their medicine and how my body reacted to them, as in what enzymes my body would create upon ingesting different herbs and restoratives, and ultimately replicate it internally without any outside factors.
It was a long shot, and I barely scratched the surface of understanding how the miraculous medicines worked, but I still had nine more months to learn before I had to leave.
Still, the herbs the natives acquired from the giant treasure tree weren't easy to come by and were valuable to the villagers as they needed them to heal their sick, so they understandably refused to let me use what they had in store to practice.
Of course, I didn't complain, and we agreed that I'd get my own herbs, which wasn't that difficult since the giant birds were content to leave me be as long as I didn't go near their treasures or eggs.
The giant Goayu birds liked to collect anything that had a shine, and they were damn good at it, each bird turning its nest into treassure troves that would make even a dragon drool.
As far as I remember, when Kuma sent Chopper flying into the island, the Goayo birds were hostile to everyone who even looked at the treasure tree funny since pirates would often make the climb to steal their treasures.
However, news of the treasure tree hadn't spread around South Blue, hence the Goayu birds' generous mood, as they would only give me dirty looks rather than bite my head off whenever I approached their nests to gather herbs.
Besides studying medicine, I also spent some time observing how the Torino island natives lived and experienced their way of life myself, which was remarkably different from that of the scumbags back on Four Clover Island.
The experience helped me better understand the human behavioral patterns and psyche in different environments and how they differed from one group to another, depending on various variables like their upbringing, the circumstances around them, etc.
I was making good progress on two of Mehtod's prerequisites, the human body and the human way of life, though my understanding of the third since there was no conflict on Torino island.
A part of me etched for a fight, and there were some days where I'd just wake up with the urge to kill someone, which was a side effect of The Method, and the reason I didn't plan on overstaying my welcome here.
I could hold back the urge just fine and go out to hunt whenever it becomes too unbearable, but I won't be able to do it for too long, according to the Mehtod's booklet.
The people of this island have been nothing if not kind to me, and I'd never forgive myself if I harmed them in any way.
Whatever the case, it looks like I've lingered for a bit too long, evidenced by the giant Goayu bird that resumed glaring at me directly. I merely smiled, shrugging my shoulders as I began climbing down.
...
"All right, here goes nothing," I said as I stared at the blue Horizon, taking a deep breath as I prepared to dive into the seawater. I didn't delay and immediately jumped into the water.
It has been three more months, and I have progressed my medicinal studies very well. I could now concoct most of the medicines the Torino Island concoted on daily basis to heal the more common ilnesse. With another month of study, I should be able to master everything in their libraries.
My strenght steadily grew as my understanding of anatomy and human nature increased over the months. However, my urge to fight and seek conflict has also grew as I spent my days idling about, studying, concocting medicine, and studying its effect on my body.
Hunting small animals and boars could only hold down my urges for so long, so I turned my eyes to bigger, more powerful prey, the giant sea kings infesting the water surrounding the small island.
I have grown a lot stronger thanks to my practice, and although I wasn't sure I could defeat a sea king, I knew I could at least escape with all my limbs attatched at the very least.
I knew the fight the ahead of me or wouldn't be easy. However, that exactly is why I needed to do it, not only to test the limits of my strength but also to suppress the rapidly growing urge to destroy everything around me.
Still, I didn't get to over think it as the sensation of cold seawater instantly snapped my chain of thought as I swam further and further away from the shore.
I dived into the depths once I was out of the shallow waters, and the deeper I went, the harder it became to see. Eventually, I ran out of breath and was forced to swim up to the surface, despite finding to traces of any sea kings or any giant aquatic creatures.
Though frustrated and impatient, I did not let it get to me as I swam to another spot further away from the island before diving back into the sea.
Again, I failed. However, I refused to give up and continued searching. In the end, it took me almost an hour to finally spot a gigantic silhouette swimming near the sea floor.
Impatinet as I was, I ignored my better judgment and dived straight towards the giganti figure, tightly gribbing my spear as I rapidly bushed myself down the salty Waters.
The giant aquatic creature, which had the shape of a bright green and brown prehistoric fish with sharp Jagged teeth, instantly noticed my presents and turned its body to face me.
That sea king seemed to understand my intentions and match as it began swimming towards me without hesitation, meeting me halfway. It opened its maw as it closed the distance us and began inhaling the water.
"Fuck," I couldn't help but curse as I was sucked into the giant fish's maw, unable to resist the suction force of creature's gaint maw. However, I quickly reacted, burying the sharp tip of my spear into the sea king's tongue and holding on to it.
Once I secured myself, and I was sure I wouldn't end up in the creature's stomach, I pushed my spear it deeper into the sea king's flesh. Clearly, angered by my actions and in pain, the beast began thrashing its tonge in an attempt to crush me.
I persisted, holding on for my dear life until the damned creature gave up on trying to crush me due to the pain.
Still, I barely had time sigh in relief as the sea king stopped moving and opened its maw, forcefully expelling the water in its stomach, which created a powerful jet of water that forced me out of its mouth and straight into the surface.
Miraculously, I managed to hold on to my spear, and as I looked down and saw the giant fish swimming up toward me from the depths, I couldn't help but smile, feeling the blood rushing through my veins.
"Time for round two, you big bastard!"
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