What a question...
It was such a shameless one...
Even though Takumi already knew what Amazon Lily was like, that didn't mean he would turn into some friendly guy next door who answered every question.
So, Takumi directly ordered Lila to leave: "Get out!"
"Huh? Is it really that hard to answer?" Lila muttered. "You don't know whether you're a man or a woman?"
Takumi: "..."
"Even though men aren't allowed on the island, it's just the two of us here." Lila said with a sly smile. "It's fine, I won't tell anyone about you. So, are you a man or a woman? Please, please, just tell me! I promise I'll leave after that. I swear!"
As she spoke, Lila clasped her hands together, as if saying, 'If you don't tell me, I'm not leaving.'
Takumi said flatly, "I'm a man. Now, you can go."
"Really? For real?" Lila's eyes sparkled with excitement. "You're really a man? This is the first time I've ever seen one! What's the difference between you and us women? You look pretty much the same to me."
Takumi: "..."
If it weren't for the fact that Lila was younger than him and that she genuinely didn't know the difference, he might have hit her by now.
"Come on, tell me, I'm really curious." Lila mustered up the courage to step into the cabin.
Takumi shot her a cold look.
Startled, Lila froze in her tracks, her expression turning a bit hurt. "You're so scary. I was just curious."
"If you say one more word, I'll kill you. Now get lost," Takumi said coldly.
Lila pouted but slowly shuffled out of the cabin. She started running back, but after only a few steps, she stopped, turned around, and came back to the cabin door, still grinning mischievously. "I asked too many questions earlier. I'm sorry, please don't be mad. Also, I swear I won't tell anyone about you. There are lots of dangerous beasts on this island, so be careful not to wander around. I'll come back tomorrow and bring you something nice to eat. See you then!"
This time, Lila really did leave.
Once Takumi could no longer sense her presence, he stood up and headed to his room.
He wasn't at all concerned about whether Lila would keep quiet about him being on the island. Even if she did blab, it wouldn't matter.
But still, wasn't that girl a bit too bold?
Oh well, it didn't matter.
Takumi didn't bother thinking about it any further. He went to his room and fell asleep.
The next day.
Takumi woke up before dawn.
He set up his fishing rod by the coast and started fishing.
After just a few minutes, he got a bite.
With a strong tug, he pulled up a large fish, over six meters long, breaking the surface of the sea.
Just as Takumi was about to reel it in, a massive creature appeared from behind the fish. It resembled a giant lamprey, at least seven or eight meters long, and with one gulp, it swallowed both the fish and the bait. Then, it vanished back into the depths.
Takumi barely had time to react before hearing a sharp crack—his fishing rod snapped in half.
He stood silently, watching as the giant lamprey sea king disappeared beneath the waves. Then, he threw his broken rod to the ground, leapt into the air with Moonwalk, and chased after the sea king. Clenching his fist, he launched a Pegasus Meteor Fist, sending the creature flying out of the water. In the blink of an eye, the sea king soared hundreds of meters through the air before crashing back into the sea with a loud splash, knocked out cold.
On the shore.
Lila, holding a bunch of food, stood dumbfounded as she watched Takumi, who was walking on air and had just punched a sea king out of the water.
"That… that was incredible." Lila's eyes widened with excitement. She shouted toward Takumi, "I've never seen anyone punch a sea king before! And you can fly too! You're amazing! Are all people from outside the island as strong as you?"
Takumi stepped back onto the shore, glanced at Lila, said nothing, and walked past her.
Lila blinked, then quickly ran after him. She rushed ahead, turned to face him, and walked backward in step with his pace. "I brought you some food! It's bread baked by my neighbor. It smells amazing. And there's some beast milk too. It's been processed, so it tastes really good."
Lila held out the food with both hands.
Takumi didn't take it.
"So, what's your name?" Lila asked, undeterred. "How should I address you?"
Takumi: "..."
"Come on, don't ignore me! I just want to be friends. Can we be friends?" Lila asked, smiling brightly.
Takumi was getting irritated. He used Flash Step and disappeared from Lila's sight.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Lila stopped, looking around. She sniffed the air, then grinned and said, "He's really strong! Other than Lady Hancock, I bet this guy is stronger than Marguerite and the others!"
Inside the palace.
Hancock's sisters worked fast. They had obtained a newspaper in just one night.
As Hancock read the headline and saw the bounty poster, she couldn't stop her hands from trembling slightly.
"Sister, are you okay?" Sandersonia asked, noticing Hancock's strange reaction.
Putting the newspaper down, Hancock chuckled softly. "Heh, he really did kill a Celestial Dragon. Serves them right!"
"Huh? Sister, are you talking about that guy named Takumi?" Marigold, Hancock's other sister, asked in surprise. "Does that mean the man you fought yesterday was him?"
At the mention of Takumi, Hancock's expression darkened. "He's still alive."
"What?!" Sandersonia and Marigold both exclaimed in shock.
"His Haki is stronger than mine, and he's immune to my Mero Mero no Mi powers. He's also skilled in combat—my Perfume Femur couldn't touch him, and my Slave Arrows couldn't hit him either." The more Hancock spoke, the darker her expression became.
Her sisters exchanged incredulous looks.
"That's impossible," Marigold said, frowning. "No man has ever been able to resist your beauty and abilities, Sister."
Sandersonia added, "Even if someone could, it wouldn't be Takumi, right? I mean, he's only 15 years old. Boys his age are supposed to be… curious about these things. How could he not be tempted by you, Sister?"
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