As Raizen used the weapon evolution privilege, Nidai Onimaru, which he had set aside, immediately began to undergo a silent transformation.
The scabbard remained the same, but the blade of Nidai Onimaru inside it gradually began to change drastically.
Raizen continued eating, casually pushing a plate of roast meat in front of Uta.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“I…”
A bit of life seemed to return to Uta’s eyes.
She opened her mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing, simply joining him in eating.
At that moment, Luffy and the other two, having finished their meals early, stood up on the table, looking fierce and imposing.
“Teacher Raizen, you’re too unfair!
You actually went to fight pirates without taking us along!”
Luffy flexed his arms to show off his muscles.
“My brothers and I are super strong now!”
Sabo and Ace nodded in agreement from the side.
“Yeah, exactly!
Teacher Raizen, you actually went to fight pirates all by yourself.
We’re Marines too, and we want to protect everyone in Foosha Village!”
Raizen glanced at the trio.
*’The training I’ve given them these past few days must have been too light.
Since they have so much energy, I’ll just simply double their training later.’*
*’They are all good seedlings; their potential can’t be wasted.’*
Raizen didn’t say anything, but Uta beside him suddenly spoke up.
“Stop joking around.
There’s no way brats like you could ever beat Shanks and his crew!”
*’Hm?’*
Raizen noticed that Uta’s way of addressing Shanks had changed.
Before, she would call him affectionately by his name, but now she coldly referred to him as the pirate Shanks.
*’Well, it seems the ideals of pirate freedom that Shanks instilled in her have been completely shattered.’*
“What did you say, you rabbit-head?”
Hearing this, the trio immediately jumped up in anger, their three faces suddenly pressing close to Uta’s.
“We are really strong!
This Shanks you’re talking about, I could send him flying with a single punch!”
Luffy continued to flex his muscles.
Not wanting to lose momentum, Sabo and Ace followed suit and flexed as well, as if this alone could prove how powerful they were.
Uta turned her head away and scoffed coldly.
“Just three childish brats.
Do you know Observation Haki?
Do you know Armament Haki?
Do you have Conqueror’s Haki?
You don’t even have Haki, yet you want to defeat Shanks?”
With every question she asked, the trio’s heads drooped a little lower, until their faces were completely planted against the tabletop.
Raizen had explained the concept of the Three-Color Haki to them long ago and had already taught them the training methods for Observation and Armament Haki.
However, after a whole month, not a single one of the three brothers had managed to master them.
Raizen figured their physical strength simply wasn’t high enough yet.
All three were still children, and Luffy was only seven years old, so it was perfectly normal for them to fail.
But right now, the fact remained that they couldn’t use it.
Uta had completely shut the three brothers down with a single sentence.
At that moment, Ace suddenly jerked his head up.
“Then what right do you have to lecture us, you rabbit-head?
We might not have it, but do you?”
Seeing this, Uta couldn’t help but curl her lips.
“But I have a Devil Fruit!
I ate the Paramecia-type Sing-Sing Fruit.
Even if you three teamed up, you still wouldn’t be a match for me!”
“What?”
The three brothers lowered their heads again, their bodies wiggling on the table like deflated noodles.
“Suddenly, we feel so weak.”
They had no Haki and no Devil Fruit.
They didn’t even have the confidence to talk back after being mocked.
Seeing their reaction, Uta let out a smug little hum.
She secretly cast a sidelong glance at Raizen, who was still eating, before returning to her own meal.
Raizen was the good man who had saved her, so she naturally had to defend him.
Even if they were Raizen’s disciples, they couldn’t be disrespectful to him!
After a period of ravenous eating, Raizen finally felt full.
He stood up, pulled some Berries from his pocket, and placed them on the bar counter.
“For my meal and the little girl’s.”
“Mr.
Raizen?”
Seeing this, Makino hurriedly pushed the Berries back.
“You are the hero who drove the pirates away from Foosha Village.
How could I possibly accept your money?”
But Raizen forcefully pressed the Berries into her hands, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“Business is business.
Driving away pirates is my duty as a Marine.
I can’t just eat and drink for free because of that.”
Seeing Raizen’s firm attitude, Makino had no choice but to accept the Berries.
After counting them, she realized he had given her far too much.
A full five million!
Let alone a single meal, even if he ate like this every day, it would be enough to cover his food here for half a year.
Makino looked up, just about to say something, when she saw Raizen wave his hand at her.
“Consider the extra as my lodging fee here, Miss Makino.”
Uta watched all of this from the side, internally labeling Raizen as a gentle man once again.
Previously, she had followed the Red Hair Pirates when they saved merchants in the New World.
However, the Red Hair Pirates would use those merchants’ supplies to throw a banquet.
After the feast was over, the merchants were often left with only a tiny fraction of their goods.
In the past, she had thought this behavior was perfectly justified.
After all, the Red Hair Pirates had saved those merchants’ lives.
Compared to some money and supplies, simply surviving was already a great blessing.
Objectively speaking, there was indeed nothing wrong with the Red Hair Pirates’ actions.
But it all came down to comparison.
When compared to Raizen’s behavior, the Red Hair Pirates’ actions seemed so…
overbearing.
*’Yeah, this is probably the difference between pirates and Marines, right?’*
Resting her chin in her hands, Uta looked at Raizen’s back and pondered.
*’No, there are also those Hawks in the Marines who attack both pirates and civilians alike, so this isn’t just the difference between pirates and Marines.’*
*’This is the difference between Raizen and Shanks!’*
*’As expected, Raizen is a very gentle person.’*
Just then, a series of tapping sounds pulled Uta back from her thoughts.
She looked up to see Raizen knocking on the table in front of her.
“What’s wrong?
Is the food here not to your liking?”
“No, it’s not that.
The food here is delicious.”
Uta shrank back, the tips of her ears turning slightly red, before suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be eating.
And so, with flushed ears, Uta could only quickly devour the food in front of Raizen.
Fortunately, the headphones she wore covered her ears, so Raizen couldn’t see.
Raizen sat down beside her.
“I’ll probably be staying here for another month.
I’ll be teaching Luffy and the others their daily training.
You can just follow me for now, and if you’re interested, you can join in on the training too.”
Uta nodded rapidly, her cheeks bulging like a little hamster.
She had already been betrayed by her so-called “family.” Now, the only person she could rely on was Raizen.
Holding a tray, Makino saw this scene and couldn’t help but smile.
“This little girl that Mr.
Raizen rescued from the Red Hair Pirates is really quite adorable.”
Hearing this, Uta simply continued eating.
*’That’s right.
Before, I had merely gone from one pirate crew to another.
It wasn’t until today that Raizen truly rescued me.’*
*’Truly and completely, he saved me.’*