"Hey." Veins popped on Quinn's forehead as his cigar creaked between his teeth: "You two..."
The first time, he held it in.
The second time, his chubby face began to twitch.
When Ulti whizzed past him for the third time and crashed into his precious stash of wines—
"You're driving me crazy!!!"
Quinn flew into a rage, his fat body displaying surprising agility, grabbing the siblings and roaring:
"You two bratty idiots, go make a mess elsewhere, you're going to deafen Kaido boss's eardrums!!!"
"... Woo, waaa..." Ulti was sprayed with spit, staring dumbfounded at Quinn, her big eyes welling up with tears of grievance.
"You're the one making me deaf, idiot!!!"
Thunk! Kaido swung a Wolf Fang Club down on Quinn's head, causing him to fall backward, his grip on the siblings' hands going limp.
"Take your brother and go out." Kaido said, looking at Ulti, "This place is too small, indeed."
"Alright! Thank you, Lord Kaido!"
Ulti grinned and bowed to Kaido, then made a face at Quinn, grabbing her brother by the ear and dragging him out.
Kaido watched the two siblings leave silently.
Quinn sat up rubbing his head, "Hiss... that hurts, is that necessary, boss, aren't you spoiling those two little brats too much..."
"They're not adults yet, let them be! I promised Hanafuda I'd raise them both well!"
Kaido snorted, suddenly recalling something, frowning:
"By the way, contact Hanafuda yourself and ask why this quarter's Devil Fruits haven't been delivered yet."
Friendship is friendship, transaction is transaction.
That guy promised to deliver three Zoan-type Devil Fruits each time, it's been several days past the deadline already, why no news?!
"Yes, boss!" Quinn quickly got up, "He must have something delaying him... don't worry, I'll hop to it!"
[Hanafuda Image]
————
Ten Thousand Nations.
The sea breeze blew as Katakuri sat lonely at the top of the mast, staring at the newspaper in his hand.
The bounty is high, the strength is strong, it's been a long time since such a monster level rookie appeared on the sea.
However, his concern is indeed still...
This guy also has two sisters?
Can you really just wander the seas carefree with your sisters, without a care in the world?
"Heh..."
Katakuri's eyes showed envy, thinking about the annoying matter of mom forcing his sister to marry recently... he adjusted his scarf, leaning back slightly tiredly against the mast.
What a kid to be jealous of.
————
On a pitifully small sailboat.
Squeak—!
Tashigi thrust open the cabin door, gripping a freshly delivered newspaper, her cheeks flushed with excitement:
"Mr. Mihawk!"
She quickly rushed to Hawkeye, rustling open the newspaper: "Tadadada! Look! There's new news about Lord Shano!"
Hawkeye paused slightly in his polishing of the Black Blade Yoru.
He looked up, scanning the report content—Akainu injured, Crocodile dead, Navy Fleet returning empty-handed... Each line made those hawk-like pupils shine with brilliance.
Did I still underestimate him?
It turns out his swordsmanship is this strong?
"Interesting."
He murmured softly, a long-lost fighting spirit flaring in his eyes.
Since the duel with Red Hair which had no result, no one on this sea could make him yearn to draw his sword like this.
The Black Blade Yoru trembled slightly in its sheath, as if sensing its master's thoughts, Hawkeye suddenly looked towards the depths of the Grand Line, speaking:
"After tonight, we'll part ways."
"Eh?!!"
Tashigi was still happily holding the newspaper, upon hearing this she widened her eyes, "Why, Mr. Mihawk, isn't our goal to find Lord Shano?"
"Your ship is, after all, too slow."
Hawkeye shook his head slightly, "If this goes on, we'll never catch up to that guy."
"Your ship is fast, but it sinks fast too." Tashigi grumbled, feeling wronged, "You're not complaining about the speed, just that I'm noisy!"
"..." Hawkeye rubbed his brows in annoyance, "You know it well enough."
These days, Tashigi pestered him daily, wanting to apprentice and learn swordsmanship, truly bothering him.
As for why he was on the same ship as Tashigi...
That story started on the day they left Log Town.
He set off towards Inverted Mountain to continue pursuing Shano's ship.
Yet, during the downhill sprint, because of that Laboon the whale, it mysteriously disappeared, leading him to focus on this issue, accidentally capsizing his ship.
He fell into the sea in a mess, while his ship crashed into Twin Cape's shore, shattering to pieces.
At this unlucky moment, Tashigi, who had set out before him, was sunbathing and resting on Twin Cape's grass, witnessing this embarrassing scene with eyes wide open.
His first reaction then was to knock this girl unconscious, and simply leave on her boat.
But recalling the words she had said at Log Town's port...
Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
And thus, things turned out this way.
He became a temporary passenger hitching a ride.
That silly girl Tashigi, after recognizing him, was overjoyed, pestering him for swordsmanship lessons daily, even cuddling her sword while sitting outside the cabin at night.
In the end, she couldn't hold out and fell asleep, murmuring dreamily: