The next afternoon—
In the inn's courtyard, Roger and the others were gathered around a large table eating lunch together.
"You guys have to admit it," Roger said while tearing into a massive grilled fish with both hands, "Elbaf's roasted fish is seriously amazing!"
"This Tata Beast stew is excellent too," Rayleigh commented approvingly.
Meanwhile, Valthior looked like he had already finished eating. He leaned lazily against his chair with a glass of iced black tea in hand, his eyes occasionally drifting toward the courtyard entrance as if waiting for someone.
"That bastard Gaban didn't come back all night..." Valthior smacked his lips thoughtfully. "You don't think something happened to him, right?"
"After meeting the giant beauty of his dreams? If he actually came back last night, that would've been weird," Roger replied vaguely through a mouthful of meat.
"You think he accidentally got discovered by the Marines and arrested?" Rayleigh asked while glancing at Valthior before shaking his head. "Probably impossible. With his strength, even if he ran into Sengoku and Zephyr, there would've definitely been enough noise for us to notice."
Valthior stared at the two of them for a moment before asking in disbelief,
"You two seriously think that's what I'm worried about?"
"Aren't you saying he might've gotten into trouble?" Roger asked hesitantly.
If not that, then what?
"Idiots." Valthior rolled his eyes at them before calmly explaining, "I'm worried that Gaban got too excited and worked too hard last night. But the man is middle-aged; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Sometimes you just have to accept getting older. I'm afraid he tried his hardest to climb that peak, only to collapse halfway up!"
The moment those words fell, Roger and Rayleigh exchanged looks, both suddenly wearing expressions of realization.
"You know... that actually makes sense."
"Yeah... it's already noon and he still isn't back..."
Seeing them both unconsciously agreeing, a wicked grin slowly spread across Valthior's face.
"Oh? ! So you both admit that you're middle-aged and your 'flesh is weak,' huh?"
"???"
"You little bastard, are you trying to die!?" Roger roared as he grabbed a meat-cutting knife from the table.
Rayleigh directly placed a hand on the sword at his waist and replied darkly, "Did you forget who destroyed seven beds in one month back on the ship? Roger and Gaban might be lacking, but I've already proven myself."
"Oh? So you're saying I can't prove myself!?" Roger pointed the knife at Rayleigh furiously.
"How exactly are you planning to prove it?" Rayleigh shot back fearlessly. "It's been unused for so long it's probably rusted already. Come to think of it, you really don't have much luck with women."
"I don't have luck with women!? Gloriosa chased me all the way—"
Before Roger could finish, Rayleigh interrupted him with a look of exaggerated realization.
"Exactly! She had looks, status, and strength, yet you still rejected her. Don't tell me the real reason you refused her was because she can't keep secrets, and you were afraid she'd expose your physical health problems?"
To completely escape the "middle-aged man" stereotype, Rayleigh clearly intended to throw Roger under the ship entirely.
"Hah!? You bastard, one of us is dying today!" Roger completely lost it and swung the knife toward Rayleigh while shouting furiously.
In the next instant, the two immediately started fighting right there in the courtyard, tearing up chunks of grass as they exchanged blows.
Yet strangely enough, the rest of the Roger Pirates remained perfectly calm, as if nobody felt any need to stop them.
Nearby, Spencer casually took a sip of tea and shook his head.
"With just one sentence, you managed to turn those two against each other. You're terrifying sometimes."
"How is this my fault?" Valthior replied calmly with a smile. "This is simply the suffering of middle-aged men. If someone teased a young guy like me about this kind of topic, I wouldn't take it seriously at all."
Then he smirked slightly.
"And what does that mean? It means I really hit their sore spot."
Just as Roger and Rayleigh were beating each other up in the courtyard—
The courtyard gates slowly creaked open.
Then Gaban staggered inside with an unsteady walk.
The moment he stepped through the gate, Gaban shouted loudly:
"Boys, I'm back!"
That single yell instantly drew everyone's attention.
Even Roger and Rayleigh, who had been beating each other up moments earlier, stopped mid-fight and turned to look at him.
"The Giant race is truly terrifying!?" Valthior cried out in shock, nearly spilling his iced tea.
"I told you humans and giants were impossible!" Spencer said with equal disbelief.
"Ship doctor! Ship doctor! Hurry up and prepare some supplements for him!" Doringo shouted noisily.
The ship doctor, Bullet, looked completely confused.
"I don't know how to make medicine! I only know how to burn things! Burn burn burn burn burn!"
At this moment, Gaban no longer looked like a middle-aged man.
He looked like an exhausted eighty-year-old grandfather on the verge of death.
His once-powerful muscles had visibly shrunk, his posture had become hunched over, and if one looked carefully, even strands of white hair had appeared. Wrinkles covered his face, his legs trembled weakly with every step, and he looked like he might stop breathing at any second.
Only his eyes remained unusually bright, as though he was still reliving some unforgettable memory.
"You alright?" Valthior hurriedly asked as Gaban staggered over unsteadily.
Gaban seemed to snap back to reality after noticing everyone's worried expressions. He waved his hand dismissively and spoke in a dry, raspy voice.
"What could possibly happen to me?"
"What could happen to you!?" Roger stared at him seriously. "Didn't you look in a mirror this morning? You look completely drained dry! You're finished! Can you even still sail?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gaban immediately straightened his chest proudly. "I'm just a little tired, that's all. And do you know why I'm tired?"
He grinned smugly.
"Because I conquered a mountain!"
Then, with incomparable pride, he declared:
"My fiancée still can't even get out of bed right now!"
Everyone: ???
What do you mean fiancée!?
Did you really conquer her last night? And now she won't marry anyone but you?
Seeing Gaban speak with such confidence, everyone who had doubted him moments ago immediately turned into admiring followers after imagining his unbelievable "achievement."
"Brother Gaban!" Roger suddenly slid behind him with incredible speed and started massaging his shoulders with a flattering grin. "You know, I've always believed you were the true number two of our crew! I've always admired you and thought you were a real man! Please, teach your little brother here your secret techniques!"
"What do you mean 'you thought'?" Rayleigh instantly appeared beside Gaban and began pounding his legs enthusiastically. "I've never considered myself the second-in-command either! In my heart, Gaban has always been my respected big brother! Brother, don't hide your secret skills from us!"
Watching these two shameless idiots instantly throw away their dignity, Valthior pointed at them helplessly and said to Spencer, "See? This is what middle-aged men are like..."
Gaban took a sip of red tea, his complexion reddening slightly. Then he said pretentiously, "Do you remember the name of the third form of my dual axe style?"
"Level Eight Great Hurricane?" Roger immediately answered.
"That's right." Gaban nodded deeply. "That technique is my secret technique. Meditate on it carefully. If one day you truly comprehend it, maybe you'll reach thirty percent of my level."
Both Roger and Rayleigh instantly fell into deep thought, genuinely trying to understand the hidden mysteries behind Gaban's "third form."
Seeing the two finally stop bothering him, Gaban quickly glanced around before quietly sitting beside Valthior and whispering:
"Lord Valthior... speaking of which, aren't the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise all ridiculously lustful? Like, every one of them has seventy or eighty wives, right?"
Valthior gave him a strange look before nodding.
"More or less. Why?"
Gaban coughed awkwardly before lowering his voice further.
"Well... how exactly do those Celestial Dragons satisfy seventy or eighty wives? You people definitely have some kind of precious secret medicine or something, right? For the sake of our friendship, help your brother out here..."
"I don't understand," Valthior replied while pretending to be confused. "Don't you already have your special technique? Why would you need medicine too?"
"A special technique still needs stamina to support it!" Gaban complained desperately. "Two kidneys can't survive this kind of abuse forever! I practically risked my life just to prove to Ripley that I could make her happy. But I can't keep risking my life every single day, can I? You don't want me dying young after marriage, right?"
Mary Geoise really did have that kind of medicine.
Valthior hesitated briefly before replying:
"Well... it's not impossible. But someday, you'll have to teach me that special move of yours."
"Easy! You know I never hide anything from you!" Gaban agreed excitedly before quickly asking, "So what's the medicine?"
"Do you want the safe kind that lasts for life?" Valthior asked seriously. "Or the dangerous kind that only gives temporary results?"
"Obviously the lifelong sustainable kind!" Gaban replied immediately. "A man can't afford to be shortsighte— I mean short-lived!"
Then Valthior leaned toward his ear, and Gaban hurriedly leaned in to listen carefully.
"The secret medicine..." Valthior whispered dramatically, "is obviously a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit."
After saying that, Valthior burst into loud laughter, clearly just teasing him.
But after laughing for a while, he realized Gaban wasn't reacting at all.
The man had completely frozen in place, his eyes shining brighter and brighter as if a whole new world had opened before him.
He kept muttering to himself nonstop.
"So that's how it is... incredible stamina... insane recovery... Bullet ruined my life... I should've stolen the Phoenix Fruit back then..."
A moment later, Gaban suddenly shouted loudly:
"That Yamata no Orochi thing... didn't they say it has eight heads that can expand and contract at will!?"
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]