Mai stared up at him in utter disbelief. Her mouth parted slightly, her eyes wide as she processed the fact that Li Ke had actually run out to find her.
She had honestly assumed he would just let her go. Whenever she and Andy got into an argument, Andy never, ever chased after her right away.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" Li Ke asked, crossing his arms. "You don't have a single cent on you, and this world is incredibly bizarre. Since even I don't fully understand what's happening here, pulling you into my party makes perfect sense. Unless, of course, you secretly smuggled some cash out of the hotel? And besides..."
Li Ke pointed an accusing finger at her general appearance.
"Haven't you noticed how weird your clothes look out here?"
Mai looked down at herself. While this port city had clearly begun adopting Western-style fashion, with quite a few foreign dresses visible among the crowds, her modern denim jeans and short-sleeved t-shirt stood out like a sore thumb in Taisho-era Japan.
Worse yet, she was completely barefoot.
Because of this, her curling up on the curb had naturally attracted a small crowd of onlookers—many of whom were eyeing her with distinctly predatory, ill-intentioned glares.
Li Ke, on the other hand, was much better prepared. Though he also wore a modern short-sleeved shirt underneath, he had made it a habit to wear a long, sweeping travel cloak ever since he discovered his world-traveling abilities. While a cloak wasn't always the most practical choice for a high-intensity brawl, it did an excellent job of masking his foreign attire the moment he materialized in a new reality.
He had also packed gold leaves and emergency modern medical supplies into his custom utility belt—all meticulously curated for him back in the Food Wars universe by the Nakiri family.
In truth, a large reason Li Ke could afford to be this reckless and bold during his interdimensional hops was the absolute peace of mind provided by the Nakiri family's flawless logistical preparation.
"Ngh..."
Mai involuntarily curled her toes. Before she could react, Li Ke knelt on the cobblestones, pulled a pair of shoes from his gear, and gently lifted her bare foot to wipe it clean with a wet wipe.
Caught completely off guard, she accidentally slipped off the curb onto the ground. By the time she realized what was happening, she instinctively tried to kick him away. However, Li Ke smoothly and precisely slid a leather shoe onto her foot. She blinked. It fit perfectly.
As she stared in confusion, Li Ke already grabbed her other ankle to clean it.
Her feet were elegant and well-proportioned, though the rigorous martial arts training of the Shiranui style had left firm calluses on her soles. Still, they were unmistakably beautiful.
"Seriously, how did you not notice you were barefoot?" Li Ke asked without looking up, ignoring the bustling crowd around them. He slipped the second shoe onto her foot. "Didn't the rocks on the road hurt?"
He was genuinely curious. Even with his immense power, his skin was still human flesh and blood; a stray nail could still pierce it.
This inherent fragility was the exact reason he never let his victory over Sir Crocodile go to his head.
Defeating the Desert King in Alabasta had been entirely due to a temporary world blessing. The advanced Observation Haki he wielded during that fight was far beyond his actual current level, so he refused to underestimate the Warlord in hindsight.
Crocodile's skills had severely deteriorated due to complacency. Had the pirate king maintained his edge and fought regular high-tier opponents, Li Ke knew that even with his specialized water-manipulation techniques, securing a victory would have been incredibly difficult.
At their core, both he and Crocodile were glass cannons. While Li Ke possessed Dragon Fire and Mana for defense, Crocodile was no pushover. The Warlord's defeat was justified, but it was largely due to his own fractured willpower.
The One Piece universe was deeply tied to one's mental state. As long as a warrior's conviction didn't waver, their power remained formidable. That was why Crocodile could trade blows with top-tier fighters at Marineford despite spending months rotting in a prison cell. He hadn't been training his Devil Fruit in Impel Down; his mindset had simply evolved.
Li Ke released her ankle and stood up, having kept his behavior entirely respectful. Mai bit her lower lip, feeling a wave of embarrassment, but she quickly masked it with an annoyed pout before speaking.
"I usually wear tabi socks anyway, so a few rough pebbles aren't a big deal to me."
She offered the casual explanation before cutting straight to the point.
"And what did you mean by not knowing what's going on in this world? I assumed you knew everything."
Mai looked at him, deeply confused. Li Ke had been acting completely unbothered this whole time. He exuded a strange sense of confidence, yet now he was claiming to be just as clueless as she was.
Li Ke couldn't help but complain.
"How could I possibly know? I literally just got here when I ran into you. I was summoned by a shard of that wasteland world we used to be stranded in. I thought this would be an easy cleanup mission, but the place is crawling with cosmic monsters. By the way, what are tabi? Just regular socks?"
"Summoned?"
Mai tilted her head, struggling to follow his train of thought.
"Yeah. Not long after you left, that wasteland world collapsed completely. Its fragments scattered across the dimensions. I have a complicated history with that place—part gratitude, part grudge—so I decided to help salvage what I could. If a world can be saved, I'll save it. If not, I'll walk away. Here, it's easier if I just show you."
Li Ke extended his hand. With a fleeting thought, a radiant, golden World Shard materialized over his palm. Mai locked eyes with him for a brief, hesitant moment before finally reaching out to touch the floating crystal.
Instantly, a massive influx of raw data flooded her consciousness. She perceived the mechanics of world restoration, the desperate spiritual pleas of the local realm, and something far more personal.
She finally understood exactly why she had been pulled across dimensions into this specific reality.
It was because her soul still carried the residual system energy of 7 Days to Die—specifically, the inventory capability. Combined with her deep, subconscious despair over her ruined life plans, the universe had registered her as a prime candidate to help save this dying realm.
As for what had actually caused the cataclysm in this world? The shard remained silent on that front.
"...So that's how it is. I never imagined I'd end up here for a reason like that."
A wave of complex, bittersweet emotions washed over her.
"Yeah... I didn't expect it either," Li Ke murmured.
Having shared the mental link while she touched the crystal, he had perceived the exact criteria that brought her here. The realization triggered a startling theory in his mind.
'If that's the trigger, there's a very high chance other girls who survived that wasteland are going to get pulled into this world too!'
It was a highly intriguing, yet daunting prospect.
However, right now, his immediate focus shifted to a completely different anomaly hidden within the shard's data.
"So what kind of clothing is a tabi exactly? Is it like the footwear from your combat gear? I always thought they were just socks. Do they have insoles or something?"
Li Ke was genuinely curious. He had gone all this time believing Mai Shiranui wore actual shoes.
Mai rolled her eyes. This entire universe was currently being torn apart by the residual fallout of 7 Days to Die. Any rational person would prioritize the literal apocalypse over a lesson in traditional Japanese hosiery. She had zero interest in explaining anything to a liar like him.
Before she could snap at him, a man's voice cut in from the side.
"They're essentially socks designed to muffle footsteps and ensure your soles can feel changes in the terrain or hidden traps. They're traditional ninja gear, and they work quite well against those undead freaks."
The answer resolved Li Ke's confusion. He turned his head and spotted a flashy, eccentric-looking young man wearing a head wrap.
The stranger had a distinct tattoo around his left eye and carried dual swords strapped to his back. The moment Mai laid eyes on him, her gaze sharpened. As a practitioner of the Shiranui style, she immediately detected the underlying traces of a shinobi training regimen.
The flashy young man gave them a polite, casual wave and smiled.
"Whoa, no need to be so tense. I'm a rogue ninja myself, so I just came over to see what all the noise was about."
Li Ke focused on the insignia decorating the man's attire. He wore a modified version of the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, complete with a distinct wisteria flower emblem similar to what Kyojuro Rengoku had worn. Li Ke recalled from his limited anime knowledge that the standard Corps uniforms weren't supposed to feature wisteria emblems so prominently.
"Thanks for clearing that up," Li Ke said, inspecting him with curiosity. The man looked incredibly familiar. "Are you with the Demon Slayer Corps too, brother?"
The eccentric warrior flashed a confident grin and pointed a thumb at his own chest.
"You bet! I am Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. Seeing as you two aren't currently fleeing for your lives, it looks like everything is under control."
With a quick, lingering glance at Mai, he turned and vanished into the crowd as fast as he had appeared.
Li Ke blinked, finding the sudden encounter a bit bizarre, but Mai spoke up to explain.
"He sensed my background. He thought I was a runaway kunoichi fleeing from a ninja clan and came over to check if assassins were tracking us down."
Though her tone had softened considerably, she still sounded incredibly awkward, deliberately keeping her head turned away to avoid looking Li Ke in the eye.
"Ah, I see..."
Li Ke nodded understandingly. Suddenly, Mai thrust her open palm directly into his chest.
"What's this for?" he asked, completely lost.
"Money. I need to buy proper clothes," Mai demanded, her voice full of righteous confidence.
"..."
Li Ke silently retrieved his wallet. Mai snatched a handful of bills without a shred of hesitation and ducked straight into a nearby boutique. When she emerged a few minutes later, she was dressed in standard, inconspicuous Taisho-era civilian clothing.
However, she was still wearing the leather shoes Li Ke had given her.
She gave him a firm nod.
"Let's move. We need to investigate the surrounding area. If possible, we should track down this Demon Slayer Corps and try to join their ranks. We know absolutely nothing about the current state of this world."
Li Ke nodded along, but a sudden realization made him freeze. Crossing his arms, he stared at her intently.
"You aren't planning on returning to your own world?"
Mai's movements halted. She looked back at Li Ke for a brief moment before turning her gaze up toward the darkened, rain-heavy sky.
"I don't want to go back right now... and besides..."
She turned her back to him, her posture stiffening with determination.
"I am not the kind of martial artist who can just turn a blind eye to a catastrophe."