บท 144: Reunion with Chinjao
The area around the Happo Navy's headquarters and shipyard was almost deserted when compared to the bustling city behind them.
It soon became apparent as to why that was as Cherry and the other three ladies approached the compound, when one of the Happo Navy crewmen guarding the entrance called out to them.
"Stop right there! We aren't allowing outsiders into the shipyard at this time!" He shouted with a hint of arrogance in his tone.
Cherry stopped and looked at the poor fool with some pity. "Take my advice and read the newspaper, especially when something big happens in the world. Otherwise you're bound to get yourself into trouble."
Cherry pressed onwards paying no more attention to the man who apparently lives under a rock. When he started making a loud ruckus, another crewman came over and saw who the guard was shouting at and quickly rushed over to clamp a hand over his mouth.
"You idiot, that's Harpin D. Cherry with a bounty of 800 million Beri! Not to mention that Don Chinjao is good friends with her!" The more his fellow crewman whispered to him the more he paled. He gulped at the thought that he may have been turned into meat paste by a bigshot because of his big mouth. He vowed then and there to subscribe to the World Economy Newspaper, even if it was a bit too expensive.
Cherry walked over to the flagship that Chinjao stayed in. She already knew he was there by using her Life Sense.
She didn't bother to knock as she barged inside where she found Chinjao playing shogi with his grandson Sai.
"If you can't even beat me in a simple game, how are you supposed to be the next leader of the Happo Navy, you idiot!" Chinjao complained loudly, flipping over the board.
"How am I supposed to win if you keep flipping the board before it's over!" Sai shot back.
"I had you cornered, you foolish grandson! There was no way for you to recover from that!" Chinjao shouted.
"It isn't over until it's over, old man! I could have turned it around!" Sai shouted.
Cherry hadn't expected that her deliberately rude entrance would go completely ignored by the pair.
"Ahem!" She loudly announced herself by clearing her throat.
""Can't you see that we're busy?!"" They shouted at her in unison.
"""...""" A moment of silence passed between them.
"Oh, Cherry! Hiyahohohoho! It's great to see you again!" Chinjao greeted her with a genuine smile, as if he hadn't been in a shouting match with Sai only a moment before. "I saw the way you thrashed that damnable Garp! He got what he deserved, a shame he didn't die though."
"I wouldn't have beaten him in a real fight, you know." Cherry smiled wryly.
"Bah, that doesn't matter! If he went easy on you, that's his own fault for being too soft on his enemies!" Chinjao naturally wouldn't allow Garp to save any face.
"W-who are these ladies you brought with you, Cherry? Is one of them your girlfriend?" Sai asked, blushing furiously in the presence of four beauties.
"All three are my girlfriends." Cherry shattered his dreams with an evil smirk.
"A h-harem?!" Sai audibly muttered in shock and despair.
"As if I'd be your girlfriend, you evil woman! Furthermore, Cabernet is mine!" Perona shouted, gripping tightly onto Cabernet's muscular arm.
Sai felt a bit relieved at that. He was a tad disappointed they were all taken, but at least Cherry wasn't living in some sort of fantasy land full of beauties who satisfied her every whim.
"I'm glad you've found yourself a girlfriend, Cherry. To be honest with you, I was worried you only tried to turn my grandson gently on account of them looking like the back end of a donkey. Hiyahohoho!" Chinjao laughed.
"Old man…" Sai muttered in embarrassment.
"So why did you come to visit me, hm? It can't be that you just missed this old man could it?" Chinjao asked with a big smile.
"I wanted to participate in the auction you're holding, as well as get an invitation for an acquaintance of mine." Cherry answered.
"Mm, I can do that for you. You can participate from our private box and I'll arrange for a last minute invitation for your acquaintance. We always keep a few seats open just in case for that reason." Chinjao accepted her request easily. This was nothing at all compared to helping him regain access to his family's treasure from the Jewel Ice Sheet.
"Thanks. How's Sai's training going? Is he strong enough to kick your ass yet, old man?" Cherry asked.
"No, he keeps slacking off." Chinjao said.
"Hey, I'm doing my best! How does training for eight hours a day count as slacking off?!" Sai complained, feeling wronged.
"If you're awake and not training, then you're slacking off!" Chinjao answered stubbornly. "Hm, how about you have a sparring match with Cherry here. She's grown a bit since the time she was learning Hasshoken from us."
Sai paled a bit at the idea. He wasn't ignorant of Cherry's strength, but in the end he agreed since it would help him to improve.
Several minutes later, Sai and Cherry were facing each other in the training grounds inside the compound. Robin, Cabernet, Perona, Chinjao, Boo (Sai's brother), and a number of pirates from the main crew in the Happo Navy were watching in the stands
Cherry wielded her spear as it was most similar to Sai's weapon of choice, which irked him a bit as he thought she was taking him lightly.
"Let's set some ground rules. Only Hasshoken, basic armament haki, and observation haki. No devil fruits or secret weapons. Does that sound good to you?" Cherry offered.
Sai nodded his head sharply, feeling much more confident in his chances if she wasn't going to use that "Solar Flare" attack or shoot him. Not that he thought she was likely to use them in a sparring match.
"Begin!" Chinjao shouted.
The two fighters launched at each other, thrusting their weapons to test each other's strength before setting off into the real fight.
*CLASH*
A low boom was heard when the blades of the polearms collided, a shockwave pushed away the dust on the ground for several meters around them.
After they separated, Sai felt that his palm was numb from the strike. He was the one who lost in that exchange.
"I'm not the same woman you could fight circles around those years ago. You're going to have to do better than that, Sai." Cherry grinned.
Sai answered with another charge, the true fight begins now.
Sai waved his polearm in a wide arm as a feint and kicked out when Cherry blocked it. Cherry raised her own leg and met his kick with her own.
After several more similar clashes, Sai realized that she was toying with him. She always matched his own moves exactly and never deviated or added anything more. He was starting to get a bit sore from the vibrational energy of Hasshoken, so he spoke up.
"This will take forever if you're just going to copy me." Sai said.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop fooling around and show you something new." Cherry answered.
This time it was Cherry who took the initiative to approach him. Her spear thrust forward, but the way she did so was very strange to say the least. It almost seemed to sway from side to side, but the hand she gripped it with was steady as a mountain.
Naturally he wouldn't allow the strike to hit him, so he met it with his polearm.
He felt the familiar vibration race down his weapon, but there was something more to it. He could feel his polearm jerking from side to side in his grip, almost as if it was trying to wriggle out of his hand.
It wasn't enough that he couldn't hold it steady with his strength, but it required him to expend that much more energy to keep it that way and would interfere with his ability to wield it somewhat.
A few seconds later, the polearm stopped its movements and was back in his control. Cherry hadn't made any moves in the meantime, allowing him to study the sensation. It was a sparring match meant to help him grow, after all.
"That was odd. I've never seen Hasshoken used that way before." Sai said with genuine admiration in his voice.
Chinjao was also intrigued in the stands, though he could only barely tell what was happening from a distance.
"It's a technique that trades the piercing power of Hasshoken for a wave-like motion. Perfect for disrupting your opponent's rhythm." Cherry explained. "Now let's continue and see how long you can last, hm?"
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