Chapter 10: I Thought They Were Speed Bumps!
On the vast sea, a lonely small wooden boat drifted with the waves.
Tatsuya lay at the stern with his hands behind his head, seemingly resting with closed eyes, but in reality, his consciousness was immersed in the System Mall.
Looking at the '600' Ninja Points balance, which was very satisfying for someone with OCD.
Tatsuya's finger hovered over the virtual interface for a long time.
After some hesitation, he decisively clicked purchase.
[Ding! Consumed 300 Ninja Points to exchange for C-rank Ninjutsu: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.]
[Ding! Consumed 200 Ninja Points to exchange for E-rank Ninjutsu: Substitution Jutsu.]
[Current Balance: 100 points.]
"Whew... All that hard work for half a day, only to go back to square one in an instant."
Tatsuya looked at the remaining three-digit balance and closed the system with a heavy heart.
Just then, a foot unceremoniously kicked his shin.
"Hey! Tatsuya! Stop playing dead, it's your turn to row!"
Zoro held the oar, veins popping on his forehead, looking at this so-called 'Vice Captain' with a look of displeasure.
Tatsuya immediately rolled over.
"I told you, I'm the intellectual type."
"This kind of physically demanding grunt work should naturally be left to a swordsman with infinite stamina or a Rubber Man."
"Huh? You bastard..." Zoro gritted his teeth. "By the way, where exactly are we going?!"
"Ah?" Luffy, who was leaning over the side of the boat playing with the water, turned his head and said as if it were obvious, "Just follow the wind and waves, and we'll be fine!"
Zoro shouted in frustration, "I'm telling you! It's really weird to want to be a pirate but not know a single thing about Navigation!!"
Luffy picked his nose. "It's not weird, I've always been like this."
"How is that NOT weird!!"
In his anger, Zoro couldn't help but shake the boat violently.
"Whoa!"
Luffy lost his balance, and the Straw Hat he cherished like a treasure flew right off his head, caught by the sea breeze and flying out of the boat.
"Ah!! My hat!!"
Luffy's expression changed drastically as he reached out in a panic to grab it, but he caught only air.
Just as the hat was about to fall into the sea, a slender hand suddenly reached out.
*Swish!*
Tatsuya didn't get up; he just propped himself up on the deck with one hand.
His body leaned out over the gunwale at an incredible angle, firmly catching the edge of the Straw Hat.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the hat back to Luffy.
"Here."
Tatsuya lay back down in his original spot and said lazily, "You two idiots, stop arguing."
Luffy took the Straw Hat, carefully patted off the dust, and put it back on.
He looked at Tatsuya, a rare trace of seriousness appearing in his eyes.
"Thank you, Tatsuya. This is something more important to me than my own life."
*Gurgle—*
Luffy clutched his stomach, his expression instantly collapsing into a look of misery.
"Ah... by the way, I'm so hungry. Tatsuya, is there anything to eat?"
Tatsuya's lip twitched. "Don't change so fast, you bastard!"
Zoro turned his head suspiciously toward the several large bundles in the middle of the cabin.
Those were the ten days' worth of supplies they had extorted from the Marine.
However, when he opened the bundles, he was completely petrified.
Aside from a few barrels of fresh water, the dried meat, fruit, and bread that were originally stuffed full had all vanished, leaving behind only a pile of empty wrappers.
"Um..."
Luffy guiltily looked away and started whistling.
"You bastard!!" Zoro grabbed Luffy by the collar and shook him frantically. "Did you eat all ten days of our supplies?!"
"Sorry! I didn't notice at all! I just kept eating and then it was gone!"
Tatsuya sighed and facepalmed in resignation.
He was partly to blame for this too; he had just been busy picking skills in the System Mall.
He hadn't noticed this glutton inhaling everything next to him at all.
Luffy, however, seemed to have no sense of crisis. He looked up just as a giant strange bird flew overhead.
The bird was ridiculously large, almost like a small glider.
"Ah! I've got it!"
Luffy's eyes instantly turned into the shape of meat, and he began to drool.
"That bird looks like it has a lot of meat! Let's eat it!!"
Tatsuya looked up.
Pink feathers, massive size... Is this that unlucky giant bird from the story?
Before Tatsuya could stop him, Luffy had already struck a pose.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
Luffy stretched his arms to grab the gunwales, pulling his body back tight and aiming at the giant bird in the sky.
"—Bazooka!!"
*Bang!*
Luffy shot into the sky like a cannonball, heading straight for the giant bird.
Zoro crossed his arms. "Oh? That guy's pretty capable, being able to reach that height."
However, in the next second, their looks of admiration turned into shock.
They saw that Luffy had indeed reached the giant bird, but instead of knocking it down, his entire upper body got stuck in its massive beak!
"Gah?!"
The giant bird was also startled. It flapped its wings and flew off into the distance, carrying Luffy in its beak.
"Eh? Ehhhh?!"
Luffy's muffled screams echoed from mid-air.
"Help!! I'm stuck!! Tatsuya! Zoro! Save me!!"
Zoro's jaw nearly hit the deck. "That idiot... did he just get kidnapped by a bird?"
"Stop dazing off! Zoro!"
"Tch! What a pain!"
Though Zoro complained, his movements were lightning fast.
He grabbed two oars, his arm muscles bulging as he rowed frantically, like he'd turned on a turbocharger.
The small wooden boat cut a white wake across the sea, speeding in the direction the giant bird had flown.
...
*Pant... pant...*
While the two were desperately chasing, three floating figures suddenly appeared on the sea ahead.
They were three pirates in strange clothing—members of the Buggy Pirates who had been tricked out of their boat by Nami and were now treading water in the sea.
Seeing the speeding boat, the three of them shouted and waved excitedly as if they had seen a lifeline.
"Hey!! Stop!!"
"We're over here! Quick, save us!"
However, the boat showed no sign of slowing down, heading straight for them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who are those people!"
"They're going to hit us!!"
At the bow, Tatsuya looked at the three blocking their way and flashed a 'kindly' smile.
"You guys ahead, if you want to get on, do it by your own skill! If you can't, then just be my speed bumps!"
"What?!"
The three pirates were scared out of their wits. They hurriedly dodged to the sides, then desperately grabbed the edge of the boat and scrambled aboard in a mess.
"Whew... whew... saved..."
The three lay on the deck, gasping for air.
Zoro glanced at them while rowing. "Heh, didn't expect you to actually make it up. Not bad."
One of the pirates with a mohawk recovered his strength.
He looked up at the two on the boat—one... green-haired laborer, and one annoying pretty boy.
Evil thoughts immediately arose.
He pulled a shiny cleaver from his back and grinned maliciously:
"Since we're on board, this boat is ours! Hand over all the treasures and fresh water!"
The other two also pulled out daggers and surrounded them menacingly.
Tatsuya sat at the stern, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Oh? A robbery?"
"Hmph! If you don't want to die, then..."
Before the mohawk pirate could finish his sentence, his vision suddenly blurred.
He didn't even see how the black-haired youth had stood up.
He only felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer.
*Bang!*
Tatsuya delivered a simple yet powerful knee strike directly to his stomach.
The mohawk pirate couldn't even scream; he curled up on the deck in pain, clutching his stomach and foaming at the mouth.
Immediately after, Tatsuya pressed his palm against the face of the pirate rushing from the left and slammed him hard onto the deck.
*Thud!*
Wood chips flew as the second pirate was knocked unconscious instantly.
As for the last person, Tatsuya simply leaned slightly to the side to dodge the dagger.
Then, a pitch-black Kunai appeared in his right hand, its cold blade precisely pressed against the other's carotid artery.
Two seconds... battle over.
...
The scene shifted.
The three pirates, who had been menacing just moments ago, were now sitting on either side of the boat with bruised and swollen faces.
They held the oars and rowed with all their might, wearing extremely fawning smiles on their faces.
"Hehehe... Great masters, are we rowing steadily enough?"
"We never expected to meet such great masters. We were truly blind just now, we deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Tatsuya and Zoro sat leisurely in the middle of the cabin.
Zoro looked at these three hardworking 'human engines' and nodded in satisfaction.
"Hey, Tatsuya, Luffy is missing, and you're still this calm?"
Tatsuya pointed to the sky: "That bird isn't flying very high, and its direction is clear."
"With Luffy's rubber body, as long as he doesn't fall into the sea, there basically won't be any danger."
Zoro thought about Luffy's ridiculous constitution and nodded in agreement.
Then, his gaze turned sharp as he looked at the three rowing pirates.
"Hey, I heard you shouting 'Captain Buggy' in the sea earlier?" Zoro asked. "Who is that Buggy?"
Upon hearing that name, the three pirates were so scared that they momentarily stopped rowing.
"Eh? Master Zoro? You don't know 'Buggy the Clown'?"
One of the pirates widened his eyes as if he had heard something unbelievable.
Zoro looked at Tatsuya in confusion. "Is he famous?"
Tatsuya said nonchalantly, "You can tell just by the name... He's probably a circus clown, right?"
*Pfft!!*
The three pirates were so scared they almost jumped into the sea.
"Shh!! Shh!! You must never say that word!"
The pirate covered his mouth in terror, lowering his voice and speaking with a tremble.
"That Captain Buggy... is a terrifying person! He's a Chop-Chop Man who ate a Devil Fruit!"
"If he hears someone calling him a 'clown' or making fun of his Red Nose..."
"He'll blow the entire town to the sky!!"