[V3] - Chapter 54. Not Suited For You
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At that moment.
In the East Blue Delivery Division.
After a month of searching…
In the end—
They were finally forced to believe it.
That swordsman who had only just officially joined, who possessed considerable skill, and who was poised to become a rising superstar among the East Blue delivery men—the new delivery man, Roronoa Zoro—was likely truly lost to the sea!
Although, from the very moment they became delivery men, they had all long since accepted the possibility that they might one day sacrifice their lives out on these seas.
Because—
These seas were filled with dangers, both known and unknown!
Even though the delivery routes were carefully planned and approved by the Yuto Group—
Accidents could still strike without warning!
"Now, let us pay our respects to the delivery man who sacrificed his life on the seas!"
At the East Blue Shells Town Delivery Branch, the Branch Manager, having received news from East Blue headquarters, held a memorial service for this delivery man, who had perished so soon after registering in Shells Town.
Even though he'd only registered not long ago—
Even though he had only ever delivered one single order—
Still…
From the moment he set sail to deliver that order, he was already a fine delivery man!
When his words fell—
Every delivery man in the branch lowered their heads in grief, paying tribute to the fallen delivery man: Roronoa Zoro.
Sacrifice…
None of them knew whether that day might someday come for them, too!
But having chosen to become excellent delivery men, they would never give up.
At this moment—
Even the nearby intern delivery men, Koby and Helmeppo, stood solemnly, gazing forward.
Roronoa Zoro!
The first cross-sea delivery man to have died since the founding of the East Blue Delivery Division!
"As expected… becoming a delivery man is no easy task!" Koby clenched his fists tightly, his expression grave, his voice low. "Getting the goods in your hands to the people waiting for them—that's our duty!"
"Exactly, Koby!" Helmeppo nodded with a faint smile. "Let's work hard together! We absolutely can't let Guy-san down!"
Now—
He—
Helmeppo—
Was no longer the same person he'd been!
No longer merely a spoiled rich kid riding on his father's coattails, but an intern delivery man!
"We have to successfully become full-fledged delivery man!"
"That's right!" Koby, hearing Helmeppo's words, wore a resolute expression. "We'll work hard together!"
Next—
According to tradition, after paying respects to the fallen delivery man, Roronoa Zoro, the Branch Manager began to deliver words of encouragement.
The more you train, the less blood you'll shed while delivering!
He wanted these new delivery recruits to understand… that delivering food was never something simple—unless they wanted to remain lifelong interns!
"I just got some insider news! In a few days, headquarters plans to organize a delivery man competition! Only the very best delivery men can participate!" the Branch Manager said sternly. "Anyone who gets in won't just earn promotions and raises—they'll even get to see the legendary father of Guy-san, the great Might Duy himself, and the supernovas of delivery, the Wolf-Leopard Delivery Men! Even Boss Yuto will attend! You'd better give it your all—or else I won't allow any of you to participate! Understand that this is a competition filled with blood and fire—the ultimate showdown for all delivery men!"
When his words fell—
At the mention of the ultimate delivery competition—
Every delivery man froze, their eyes shining with anticipation!
Koby clenched his fists and turned excitedly to Helmeppo.
"We absolutely have to enter!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Helmeppo yelped dramatically, clutching his head. "We're just interns!"
"So what if we're interns? Guy-san said: 'Youth must never decide it has failed before it's even tried!'" Koby declared firmly. "Let's enter together!"
"You…!" Helmeppo let out a helpless laugh, but when he saw the clear determination in Koby's eyes, he couldn't help but nod reluctantly. "All right, let's enter together!"
As soon as those words fell—
Suddenly—
"Why's it so lively in here? What are you all doing?"
A puzzled voice came from the doorway.
"You brat… didn't you hear we were having a meeting? How can a delivery man show up late?! Don't you know that being late makes it impossible to earn a five-star rating?!" the Branch Manager barked in irritation, hearing someone arrive so late. "With your attitude, you're totally unfit to become an excellent delivery man! Don't you realize today is… the memorial day for the fallen delivery man, Roronoa Zoro?!"
However—
Just as he finished speaking—
"Roronoa Zoro? Isn't that me?"
The person walking in through the door paused for a moment, sounding disgruntled. "Who said I was dead?!"
"?!"
Instantly—
The entire delivery branch fell silent.
Everyone froze.
One after another, they turned their heads in shock and stared at the figure standing at the entrance.
A man with green hair tied into a short ponytail, three golden teardrop-shaped earrings dangling from his left ear, a white T-shirt on his upper body, a green haramaki wrapped around his waist, dark green trousers, black boots on his feet—and three swords hanging at his hip.
Then they all glanced over at the black-and-white memorial portrait on the wall.
Eyes wide, one trembling finger pointed at Zoro at the door.
"A ghost… there's a ghost!"
Instantly, panic swept through the entire room!
But Zoro just stood there, face dark, snapping impatiently—
"What ghost?! I'm not dead yet!"
"Not dead?! You've been missing for a whole month!"
"I was just out delivering an order!"
"That's impossible! What kind of delivery takes a whole month?!"
"…Huh? Wait a second… maybe he really isn't a ghost!"
As they talked, everyone finally realized what was going on. Curious, they crowded closer and poked at Zoro a few times, then exclaimed in shock:
"You really aren't dead?!"
"I already told you—I'm not dead!" Zoro snapped, face dark. "I'm the man who's going to become the world's greatest swordsman! How could I die that easily?"
Glancing over at the black-and-white memorial portrait of himself, he scowled and demanded: "What's with this? Who said I was dead?"
"Then how come you disappeared for a whole month?"
"I told you—I was out delivering food!"
"But it was just the next island over. How could it take that long to deliver food?"
"Don't even mention it!" Zoro's face turned stormy at their words. He pulled out his phone, cursing furiously. "This piece of junk! Didn't it say it could navigate?! I followed it exactly—and I still got lost! Damn thing! Then it ran out of battery, and I had no idea where I was. I only just managed to find my way back!"
Actually…
He'd more or less given up.
But as he wandered, he suddenly thought the building entrance looked familiar, so he went inside—and completely by accident, he ended up back here!
When he finished speaking, everyone stared at Zoro's phone in disbelief. "Yuto Phone navigation? Getting lost? That's impossible!"
"Yeah, it's super accurate! Thanks to the phone, I was able to complete my first cross-sea delivery!"
"Could it be that his phone's broken?"
"Let's test it and find out!"
Ignoring Zoro, who was now grabbing random food off the table and eating, the others plugged in his phone to charge it. Once it powered on, they quickly opened the Yuto Navigation app.
Not long after—
When they compared the route the navigation displayed with the route Zoro had actually walked…
It was absolute chaos.
Lines twisted everywhere—
In some spots, it showed the same place circled three or four times!
Everyone fell silent.
Then, as one, they all slowly turned to stare at Zoro.
"???" Zoro bit into an apple, frowning at their stares. "What's your problem?"
"Nothing…"
"Then why are you all looking at me like that?"
"We just… have one question for you."
"Spit it out!"
"Zoro… are you… directionally challenged?"
When the words fell—
The entire branch went dead silent again.
After a few moments—
Zoro's eye twitched. His expression twisted as he roared: "I'm not directionally challenged! Who the hell said I was?!"
"Then how do you explain this route…?"
"I told you—I followed the damn navigation! If anyone calls me directionally challenged again, I'll cut them down!" Zoro shouted fiercely.
Then, glancing at the still-silent group and scanning his surroundings, he suddenly asked: "Anyway, what was that competition you were all talking about just now?"
"Oh—that's the Yuto Group's Delivery Man Competition! It's a contest where all the best delivery men on the seas compete against each other!"
The Branch Manager decided not to press the issue of whether Zoro was a hopeless case when it came to directions. As long as he hadn't been killed, that was all that mattered—though he'd definitely have to report this to headquarters later.
He proceeded to explain the details of the Delivery Man Competition.
Not long after—
Zoro blinked, then his lips curled into a grin. His eyes gleamed with interest as he said: "Fighting strong opponents, huh? Sounds fun. In that case—I'm joining!"
"Wait—Zoro, you…"
"What's wrong? I can't join?"
"Well…" The Branch Manager hesitated, then said cautiously, "It's just… since you were missing for a whole month, your delivery man registration has been erased from the system."
"Can't I just register again?"
"Technically, yes—but…"
The others exchanged uncertain looks. In the end, someone decided they should at least give him a heads-up: "Honestly, we think… maybe you should look for another job instead. You're incredible with a sword… why not go be a shipwright? Wano Country's desperate for skilled shipwrights right now! If you go there, you could probably become a foreman right away!"
Sighing, the Branch Manager looked at Zoro seriously and said, with an air of genuine concern: "Being a delivery man… just really isn't the job for you!"