The next morning, hearing Nojiko's heartfelt invitation, Rowan turned to Nico Robin and Hashirama Senju to ask what they thought.
"I don't really mind," Robin said calmly. In her view, it didn't matter much whether they joined the celebration or not. At most, it would only take up one evening.
She didn't care, and Hashirama cared even less.
"In that case, we'll join," Rowan decided almost immediately.
What was most distinctive about the world of One Piece? Haki, Devil Fruits, Sea Kings, pirates who burned, killed, and looted…
Alright, all of those counted.
But there was one more thing: people in the world of One Piece loved throwing banquets.
Especially pirates. Every other minute it was, "Boys, we've got guests—let's throw a party!"
"I'm in a good mood today—party!"
"That battle was rough—party!"
Basically, no matter what happened, everyone seemed to celebrate by throwing a feast.
Whitebeard did it. Shanks did it. Luffy did it. And now, apparently, the people of Cocoyasi Village did it too.
Rowan was really curious what was so magical about parties in this world that people kept throwing them over and over again.
So he accepted Nojiko's invitation and decided to experience authentic One Piece-style banquet culture for himself.
That night, the villagers of Cocoyasi lit bonfires, brought out the food they had been saving for years, and held a grand feast.
At the banquet, the villagers who had kept their distance from Rowan earlier suddenly became incredibly warm and enthusiastic.
Words of thanks poured out of their mouths nonstop, praising Rowan and the others to the heavens and back. Listening to it all made Rowan break out in goosebumps.
How were these villagers so smooth-tongued? They were rattling things off like rhymes. If someone didn't know better, they'd think these people were preparing for university entrance exams.
Their speaking skills were way too good.
Rowan glanced at Robin and noticed that she wore a faint smile the whole time, completely unbothered by all the praise.
Or rather, she simply didn't take any of it to heart. She looked like she was smiling, but still kept a certain distance from the villagers. She was right there in front of them, yet somehow felt far away.
The villagers seemed to notice that too, so fewer and fewer people stayed around Robin. Instead, they all crowded around Rowan, raising drinks and thanking him again and again.
Rowan himself didn't drink alcohol, so he replaced it with fruit juice the whole night.
And for the record, all that juice had been squeezed from Nojiko's tangerines.
The first sip made Rowan's eyes light up. It was sweet, smooth, and genuinely delicious.
He hadn't expected the fruit from this village to be this good.
But after drinking too much of it, even Rowan found it overwhelmingly sweet, so he had to balance it out by stuffing himself with meat and vegetables.
As for Hashirama, being dead meant he didn't actually need to eat, but the villagers were simply too enthusiastic. So he picked up a piece of meat and took a few bites.
As expected, it tasted like chewing wax. No flavor at all.
So after finishing that one piece, he didn't eat again. Instead, he stood beside Rowan like a bodyguard, protecting him.
"Thank you, Benefactor Rowan."
Toward the end of the banquet, Nojiko walked over holding a fresh glass of juice. Rowan's face changed instantly, and he waved both hands.
"I can't drink anymore, really, I can't."
Nojiko covered her mouth and laughed softly. "This one is for me."
Only then did Rowan relax.
Then Nojiko continued, "If it weren't for your help, we don't know how long it would have taken for us to be freed from the Arlong Pirates' rule. Thank you so much, Benefactor Rowan."
Rowan said casually, "Even without me, someone else would have come to help you eventually."
Like that protagonist named Luffy, for example.
"Is that so?"
Nojiko smiled, but it was obvious she didn't believe him. If someone had really been willing to help them, then why hadn't anyone shown up until now? Why had it only been Rowan and his group?
So she took his words as simple comfort and didn't take them seriously at all.
Seeing the unconvinced look on her face, Rowan knew exactly what she was thinking, but didn't bother explaining further. Some things just wouldn't be believed until they actually happened.
And Nojiko was clearly one of those people.
"After the banquet, if you don't have anywhere to go, would you like to rest at my house?"
"No need."
Seeing that look on Nojiko's face—the one that said she really wanted to repay him—Rowan waved his hand and said, "I'm picky about where I sleep. I'll pass."
Compared to sleeping at Nojiko's house, he'd much rather go back and sleep in his own bed.
Nojiko could only give up helplessly when she saw how reluctant he looked.
Not long after, the banquet ended.
Rowan, Nico Robin, and Hashirama got up, said their goodbyes, and returned to the ship.
Rowan then went through the cabin door and returned to his own world, where he flopped onto his bed and fell fast asleep.
Nothing happened that night.
…
The next morning, Rowan got up, used the bathroom, washed up, went downstairs and bought more than thirty big meat buns, then pushed open his bedroom door and returned to the ship in the One Piece world, where he found Hashirama and Robin.
The two of them were fighting on deck.
Though "fighting" wasn't really the right word. It was more accurate to say that Hashirama was teaching Robin how to use ninjutsu in combat.
It was a real training match.
Rowan stepped out of the cabin and stood to the side, watching.
With the help of the Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin could sprout pair after pair of arms from her body at any time, making hand signs as easily as breathing.
Uchiha Itachi's speed of six seals per second had stunned plenty of people.
But Robin? Forget six seals a second. If she wanted to, sixty seals a second wouldn't even be difficult.
That was the advantage of having so many arms.
Because of that, when Robin used ninjutsu, it was basically all instant-cast.
She could even control multiple jutsu at the same time while fighting Hashirama.
Fireballs, water dragons, earthen walls—one after another, dazzling and colorful, a blur of techniques that made your eyes spin.
If this had happened in the Naruto world, it would have completely shattered everyone's understanding of ninjutsu. Who could've imagined it could be used like this?
And yet, even with all that, Robin was still completely at a disadvantage against Hashirama.
The power of the God of Shinobi was not something you could challenge just because you had learned a few techniques.
Even in his incomplete state, Hashirama could still suppress Robin so thoroughly that she had no choice but to accept it.
By the end of the fight, the deck had been blasted into a cratered mess, and even the railing and mast had been smashed to pieces.
The entire ship looked so battered it seemed like it might sink into the sea at any moment.
Then, in the very next second, Hashirama used Wood Release and essentially reset the whole ship back to factory settings.
After the training match ended, Robin respectfully bowed to Hashirama.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Hashirama."
~~~
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