[V3] - Chapter 53. The Missing Delivery Man
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During this period of time—
Other than unexpectedly gaining another son, not much else had happened.
Originally, according to Yuto's plan… since Ace was treating him like Whitebeard and constantly challenging him, he figured that, one way or another, he ought to play the role of Ace's "father."
Becoming a father…
That was something he was quite professional at!
If you didn't believe it, just go check the Ninja World—how many people there were calling him Dad?
So, in order to let "Ace, his son," feel the warmth of a loving father, Yuto had gladly accepted Ace's repeated challenges. He'd even intended to show him a glimpse of a father's strength—to let Ace understand just how broad and generous his old man's chest was!
After all—
Beating kids…
That was something he was very good at, too!
At first, everything went exactly as he'd planned. His son challenged him practically every day.
And according to the storyline he'd arranged, the next phase was supposed to go like this:
In the beginning, Ace would stubbornly refuse to submit. But after failing hundreds of assassination attempts against his "father," he would begin to doubt himself, feeling inferior, believing he could never prove his own worth. In despair, he would confess to his father that he was the son of the Pirate King Roger, born with the blood of the world's worst criminal, destined only to become a pirate—and he would plead for his father to kill him.
But Yuto, as his father, would never abandon his own son!
Instead of disowning him, he would simply smile and embrace him with a loving, fatherly hug, ultimately leading Ace to accept Uchiha Yuto as a great and noble father figure.
And from then on, Ace would be willing to shoulder the responsibility of working hard for the Yuto Group!
How delightful!
Truly delightful!
However—
While the plan was perfect, the execution… seemed to have hit a small snag.
After getting beaten up a few times by his old man, Ace now seemed to turn and run the moment he saw him?!
He thought back to this morning, when he'd arrived at Ace's factory with a kindly, fatherly smile, ready to continue the "plot" and let Ace feel more of his paternal affection. But—
He'd barely shown his face—
When Ace's expression instantly changed. Without even the slightest hesitation, Ace spun around and bolted in the opposite direction!
He even tossed aside the crutch he'd been leaning on!
Though he was still limping a bit, he ran as fast as lightning—
Practically rolling and scrambling away, as though he'd encountered some terrifying monster.
It truly broke this father's heart!
He'd merely come to check on his son!
Yuto sighed deeply, his eyes filled with melancholy as he hugged Yumi tightly and muttered to himself: "As expected… boys really are too hard to raise. Girls are still the best! Dad's little cotton-padded jacket!"
Just as he finished speaking—
Robin, who was working beside him, rolled her eyes.
So many days had passed by now.
As his secretary, of course she knew perfectly well what her boss was lamenting about.
Was that supposed to be "adopting a son"?!
Even enemies didn't get beaten like that!
He'd beat the poor guy half to death… then heal him with some strange energy, then sigh sentimentally—and proceed to beat him up all over again!
Was he a demon or something?!
By this point, Robin strongly suspected… that Uchiha Obito might also have been "adopted" in precisely the same way.
Suddenly remembering the day's work, she reached over, grabbed a folder from the table, and said: "By the way, Boss—per your instructions, I've finished compiling this month's quarterly report!"
She flipped open the folder and continued reading: "As you ordered, we've established at least one business on every island in both the East Blue and the first half of the Grand Line. Among them, Yuto Milk Tea and Yuto BBQ have been incredibly popular. As for the Yuto Internet Cafés… they're still under preparation. Ever since the Yuto Group defeated the Beasts Pirates, no other pirates on the seas have dared to recklessly attack our businesses."
To be fair—
After the Beasts Pirates incident, quite a few pirates across the seas had been thoroughly intimidated.
Of course—
There were still a few who didn't know their place… but most of them had already been dealt with.
Robin flipped to the next page.
"The King of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo, hopes to cooperate with us. I've heard that he used to have dealings with the Beasts Pirates. Now that the Beasts Pirates have been wiped out, the Donquixote Family wants to continue that same cooperation with our Yuto Group. Doflamingo says he can supply us with some rather… interesting merchandise." At this, Robin frowned slightly. "Donquixote Doflamingo is a Warlord of the Sea, like Crocodile. But this guy… is even known as the 'Virtuous King' of Dressrosa."
"A human trafficker, an arms dealer, and a pirate… they call him a Virtuous King?" Yuto scoffed, curling his lip. "The Yuto Group is a clean and proper business. We absolutely won't cooperate with scum like those pirates!"
"???"
Human trafficker?!
Robin blinked, a bit surprised. But since the boss had spoken, as a loyal intern secretary, she could only nod in agreement.
So she nodded and flipped to the next page.
"Also, one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom…"
Before she could finish—
"No cooperation! No cooperation! If she wants to eat something, she can order food herself! The Yuto Group only does honest business. We don't get involved in anything else!"
"Then I'll go ahead and refuse them directly."
Although Robin thought that cooperating with one of the Four Emperors might be a pretty good opportunity… she ultimately chose to obey the orders of her annoying boss.
She flipped to the next page once again.
"In the North Blue, a new organization has emerged, called the Root Group. They're growing rapidly and have even begun suppressing the Vinsmoke Family, who used to dominate the North Blue. Should our Yuto Group keep an eye on them?"
"…"
The Root Group…
Wasn't that Old Danzo's group?
From the looks of it, President Danzo was doing pretty well running things over in the North Blue, even managing to suppress the region's reigning overlords.
Yuto's mouth twitched slightly, but after thinking for a moment, he said: "Don't bother with them! There's no need to interfere with anything related to the Root Group. We shouldn't stick our noses in."
"I understand!" Robin froze for a second, then nodded. But after hesitating a little, she asked again: "Boss, do you know this Root Group personally?"
"Root Group…" Yuto let out a sigh. Under Robin's puzzled gaze, his eyes revealed a hint of nostalgia and melancholy.
"They're benefactors of the Yuto Group, you know. The Yuto Group is where it is today all thanks to the Root Group!"
Then he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
They've been developing for quite a while now. It should be about time, right…?
He wondered whether the Root Group might want their internet cables installed.
After all, the Yuto Group was still the same as before… offering free cable installation!
Friends shouldn't talk about money!
"I see… benefactors, huh?" Robin seemed to understand something. "In that case, I'll make sure to stay alert."
No wonder the boss wasn't planning to get involved in North Blue affairs—it was out of gratitude!
Although she didn't know exactly what kind of debt of gratitude this was… it must have been an enormous favor.
Looking at her boss's faint, gentle smile, Robin thought: "As expected, the boss is a man who knows how to be grateful!"
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she flipped to the next page.
"As for the food delivery business… it's been steadily growing. Even the Marines have been placing more and more orders. However, cross-sea deliveries are still extremely dangerous work. Quite a few delivery men have been injured at sea—and in some cases, they weren't even able to deliver the food!"
Saying this, she sighed in regret.
"Just in the East Blue alone, there's a delivery man who's been missing for nearly a month and still hasn't been found. When we asked the customer, he said he never received his food either. Most likely…"
She hesitated a moment, then said in a lower voice: "He's probably already been lost at sea."
At her words, Yuto's expression also darkened.
"Didn't I say that all delivery men have to be properly trained and must pass their tests before taking on cross-sea orders? How could something like this still happen?"
"He did complete the training and passed with flying colors! He was extremely capable and ranked among the top delivery men in the East Blue. But the seas are full of unexpected dangers… so perhaps that's why this happened…"
"No matter what, we have to find him! And we need to investigate exactly what danger he ran into. If pirates were behind it, we'll wipe them out completely!"
Hearing Robin's report, Yuto fell silent for a moment, then let out a sigh.
Indeed—
The seas were filled with countless dangers. Even though they'd mapped out safe shipping routes with Nami's help, accidents were simply impossible to predict.
After pondering for a bit, he frowned and said: "It looks like… we'll have to hold another round of delivery man training!"
Or maybe… he should organize a grand inter-ocean delivery man competition to foster a sense of healthy rivalry among all the delivery staff?
Just like wolves and leopards competing fiercely!
Thinking of this, he mentally jotted down the idea, then looked up at Robin. "By the way, we haven't asked yet—what's the name of the missing delivery man?"
He let out a faint sigh.
"No matter what, since this accident has already happened… if he has a family, the Yuto Group must take care of them!"
"The fallen delivery man?" Robin flipped through her documents, searched for a moment, and finally replied solemnly: "According to his registration records, he's an orphan. Oh, right—his name is Roronoa Zoro!"
The words fell—
"???"
Yuto froze, then fell utterly silent, one eyebrow twitching as his voice rose sharply: "Who?!"
"Roronoa Zoro!"
"The one who uses three swords?"
"That's what the records say—he uses a three-sword style. What's the matter?"
"Nothing… it's just… don't you think it's possible that he hasn't actually died at sea? That maybe, possibly, he's just… lost?"
"???" Robin blinked, frowning slightly as she thought it over. Then she answered in a serious tone: "Impossible! Who could possibly get lost for an entire month? And according to his delivery records, his destination was just the next island over. It's so close—how could he have gotten lost?!"
"…You never know~"