Chapter 57: Nojiko's Determination

Accumulated over time, they totaled 7,650 points, instantly bringing his remaining points up to a massive 46,150.

Garp's dog-head hat was valued at 4,000 points, which came as no surprise.

However, the knock-off straw hat he had bought for five Berries to use as a decoy had actually contributed 3,000 points—equivalent to one-tenth of the genuine original. That was a pleasant surprise.

Xia Nuo hadn't expected it to yield so much.

It seemed that as long as Luffy never saw through the ruse and genuinely believed it to be the real deal, he would naturally pour a vast amount of emotional attachment into it, treating it as his most cherished possession.

This meant that before entering the Grand Line, Xia Nuo could steadily harvest a bumper crop of points every single year.

How satisfying.

Xia Nuo withdrew his gaze with a look of utter contentment, ready to enjoy a wonderful night's sleep. The only thing that slightly annoyed him was that at the very bottom of his skill panel, a new skill had appeared at some unknown moment.

——Stealing (Proficient).

What sheer absurdity.

Wasn't all of this to earn points, to protect his hometown and his family? Can a practitioner of martial arts really be accused of stealing?!

...

The next morning.

Xia Nuo and his companions left the Colbo Mountain range, bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Dadan family, a reluctant-to-leave Luffy, and a poker-faced Ace, as they embarked on their journey back home.

After sailing for a few days.

On board the Mandarin, Xia Nuo was lying on a rattan chair, holding a newspaper and reading it with keen interest.

In an inconspicuous corner, there was a piece of news that caught his interest—the latest Shimotsuki Island Kendo Tournament had officially concluded yesterday, and a dark-horse girl named Kuina had astonished everyone, easily capturing the championship.

"Winning the championship with an undefeated record? Her training progress is truly impressive."

Kuina desperately wanted to improve.

It wasn't just to catch up with a certain someone she idolized, but also to desperately prove herself to Koshiro, who had always held biases and had even uttered hurtful words right to her face.

Ever since they met and got to know each other last year, Xia Nuo had sensed that beneath the young girl's seemingly sensible and polite exterior beat a stubborn heart yearning to stand at the very peak.

"When I officially set sail and you come aboard, to what extent will your strength have progressed?"

Xia Nuo looked toward the horizon, his gaze distant and relaxed.

With Zeff's auxiliary guidance, the various physical technique manuals he had provided, and most importantly, her peerless talent for swordsmanship, she had crossed that life-and-death boundary that supposedly held no future...

He had high expectations for this partner, whom he had long since privately designated as his second official crewmate.

"Darn it, are we heading back already?"

Nami's indignant mutter came from behind him.

Just as Xia Nuo snapped out of his thoughts, he felt a chill at the back of his neck as the little girl climbed onto his back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and shook him violently. "Big brother! Wouldn't it be better to play a little longer? Or how about you drop me off when we pass by Shimotsuki Village?"

"We're taking a straight line home to save time, we aren't passing by Shimotsuki Village. Besides, what would you even do there?"

Too lazy to bother, Xia Nuo picked up his newspaper again. As for his neck? He had long since trained his physique to be as flexible as a crane's; if Nami could actually choke him, she deserved some credit.

"Well..." Nami's eyes rolled as she shifted into a spoiled tone. "Actually, I quite want to be like you, become a powerful swordsman, guard our hometown, and protect Bellemere and Nojiko! Besides, isn't Kuina-neesan heading back? I... I'll just go follow her and study swordsmanship properly!"

"Hah..."

Xia Nuo sneered. Who on earth would believe such an excuse, aside from an adult Sanji?

"Nami!"

Nojiko's voice suddenly rang out from behind. In a fit of annoyance, she grabbed Nami by the ear and hauled her down from Xia Nuo's back with brute force—

"You're so shameless! Last night you were sharing your heart-to-heart thoughts with me, and now you're turning around and using them to con Big Brother!"

"Ouch! Wuwuwu, I didn't mean to, Nojiko."

"Then tell the truth! What do you actually want to do in Shimotsuki Village?"

"I just want to eat the food cooked by Uncle Zeff! Don't you want to, Nojiko? Those dishes taste hundreds of times better than what Bellemere makes! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water..."

"I'm going to tell Bellemere every single word of this, exactly as you said it."

"Eh?!!! Help! No, please don't!"

...

Listening to the reprimands coming from behind, Xia Nuo crossed his legs cheerfully and continued reading his newspaper.

This was probably the classic case of everything having its natural counter: Nami was fearless in front of him, but the moment Nojiko stepped in, she instantly turned into a marshmallow to be kneaded at will.

In the past, the two little ones never wanted to submit to each other and would frequently fight.

However, as Nojiko entered puberty, a noticeable height gap had gradually formed between them, putting an end to such conflicts.

Now twelve years old, Nojiko was already 1.6 meters tall, whereas Nami was barely over 1.4 meters—still just a little pip-squeak. With such a massive disparity in combat power, the older sister's authority had naturally been established.

However, Nojiko had just mentioned that Nami had copied her heart-to-heart thoughts?

"Stop lecturing her for a moment." Xia Nuo turned his head with a curious expression. "Is what Nami said true? Do you really want to study swordsmanship to become stronger, so you can protect our hometown in my place?"

"I do want to become stronger, and I do want to protect our hometown."

Nojiko first nodded, then angrily poked Nami on the forehead. "You can study anything to become stronger, but swordsmanship was just a random addition made up by this little troublemaker!"

"What do you mean made up, it's a completely reasonable guess!"

Nami rubbed her reddened ear, looking deeply wronged. "Didn't you tell me last night that Kuina-neesan from Mr. Koshiro's place is the exact same age as you, yet she's already qualified to compete for the kendo championship, and even got invited by Big Brother to join his pirate crew?"

"And since you can't even beat the village geese and got stimulated by that, I just naturally assumed you wanted to learn swordsmanship too..."

She let out a humph and pointed at Xia Nuo.

"Besides, if you ask me, why bother looking for a Mr. Koshiro to learn swordsmanship? You should have Big Brother teach you instead. He's the East Blue—no, the world's strongest Great Swordsman! Way more impressive than Koshiro!"

"You're just getting more and more outrageous."

Xia Nuo gave Nami's nose a light, exasperated pinch.

He paused for a moment in thought, then looked at Nojiko. "I can't teach you swordsmanship, but various other physical techniques are more than enough for you to learn. During the early stages of building your foundation, I can tailor a training plan best suited for you. If there are any secret manuals that suit you in the future, I'll find a way to get them for you."

"But Nojiko, think about it carefully. Are you truly certain you can endure this kind of hardship?"

"I am!"

Nojiko clenched her fists, nodding with a solemn, resolute expression.

Of course she knew how exhausting it was to train to become a strong person. Over the past few years of Xia Nuo's grueling daily cultivation, she had been the one delivering water and food the most often. That self-torturing, desperate drive was something she would never forget in her lifetime.

Yet wasn't all of this to protect Cocoyasi Village, and even more so, to protect them?

Especially a few months ago, she had watched from afar with a sense of lingering fear as Big Brother's nerves were stretched to the point of near-madness.

Fortunately, after defeating that invading pirate crew, Big Brother had visibly relaxed all at once and returned to his normal state.

Regardless of that, she never wanted things to go on like that anymore, always acting as a useless burden, nor did she want Big Brother to constantly worry about their safety in the back of his mind.

Right now, Big Brother was home, and no one dared to disturb the peace of Cocoyasi Village. But what about in the future?

Big Brother was a man of grand ambitions; sooner or later, he would leave to roam this vast world.

When that time came, it should be her, the eldest sister, who stepped forward to shoulder the responsibility of guarding her younger sister and their mother!

Xia Nuo quietly gazed at the blue-haired girl, and she stubbornly raised her chin to meet his gaze.

"Before I even noticed it, you've slowly grown up, Nojiko."

Xia Nuo felt a sudden wave of emotion, smiling as he ruffled her little head. "Since you have this kind of resolve, very well. Once we return to the village, your official training will begin. The training ground I set up in the orange orchard has been left untouched; handing it over to you right now is quite fitting."

"Mm!"

Nojiko nodded forcefully. She hadn't expected Xia Nuo's support to come so easily, and a warm feeling of joy bloomed in her chest.

"What about me, Big Brother?"

Nami pulled an orange out of somewhere and started eating it, asking with her mouth full, "I was just joking earlier! I only want to study my navigation properly, read books, and draw sea charts. I don't want to be forced to run dozens of kilometers every day..."

"Nothing to do with you, go play somewhere else."

Xia Nuo lay back down, shook the newspaper, and casually curved the corners of his lips. "If even a little squirt like you had to be forced to practice physical techniques, wouldn't all the sweat shed by us tall folks standing at the front be a complete waste?"

Tall folks? Sweat gone to waste?

What on earth did that mean? Nami listened in total confusion, blinking with a blank expression as she popped a segment of orange into her mouth.

Beside her, Nojiko pressed her lips together with a soft smile, mimicking Xia Nuo by gently patting the top of Nami's head.

...

Ten days later.

The Mandarin returned to Cocoyasi Village, resuming its mission as a cargo-transporting vessel.

After waking up from a sound, restful sleep, the time had arrived for the trading market to refresh. Brushing his teeth, Xia Nuo began browsing through the new offerings.

The first two items had terrible cost-performance ratios, so he skipped them without interest. Upon reaching the third item, however, his eyes suddenly lit up.

【Life Return】

【Type: Cultivation Manual】

【Price: 1,800 points】

【Description: An advanced physical technique of extreme bodily control that completely integrates consciousness with the flesh. Once mastered, one can freely manipulate the activity of all bodily organs, hair, and even cells, achieving precise dominance over the physical body.】

【This physical technique belongs to the same combat system as the Six Powers and shares close ties with them. To avoid straying onto a misguided path, it is recommended to master Iron Body and Paper Art to the peak realm before studying this manual.】

【Seller's Remarks: None, direct system sale】

Had Life Return finally shown up?

The right hand Xia Nuo was using to brush his teeth suddenly became hurried and forceful.

He had been anticipating this thing for a very long time. Over the past year, the numerical stats of his physical body had grown far too fast, and his micro-level control had temporarily failed to keep up.

The earlier incident where he accidentally twisted a steel frame of a birthday cake cart into a pretzel, and the time he sat on a dining chair without daring to make any large movements, were both precisely because of this reason.

Crack...

The toothbrush in his hand suddenly snapped in half. Xia Nuo was momentarily speechless—well, there was yet another piece of evidence.

With no other choice, he cut his brushing short and began rinsing his mouth, keeping his gaze firmly locked on those lines of descriptive text.

"It requires learning Iron Body and Paper Art first?"

Xia Nuo frowned. He had mastered Iron Body long ago, but what about Paper Art? The remaining two of the Six Powers hadn't appeared at all these past few months.

Prerequisites were the absolute worst; how long was he going to have to wait to learn this?

With a trace of annoyance, he added it to his shopping cart first and scrolled down to the next item.

Huh?

Xia Nuo stared at the new commodity before him, and the brows that had just been knitted together instantly relaxed—

*【Six Powers Manual * 2】*

*【Type: Cultivation Manual】*

*【Price: 800 points】*

*【Description: Since you have already purchased four of them, the remaining two random manuals are guaranteed to be Tempest Kick and Paper Art.】*

*【Seller's Remarks: None, direct system sale】*