"Stop joking around."
Genzo glanced around nervously, sweat beading on his forehead. "These are all fishmen. What could I possibly do? Any one of them could slap me flying with ease."
He remembered riding his bike along the ridges toward the shore and seeing fishmen disembark from afar—his heart had sunk instantly.
He had read about these creatures in the papers: former members of the Sun Pirates from the Grand Line, far stronger than any East Blue pirate crew.
Yet, in under twenty minutes, they were all reduced to corpses.
Even witnessing Shanu's outrageous training feats before could not compare to the shock of seeing Grand Line pirates wiped out single-handedly.
"Shanu," Genzo said in awe, "you truly are a monster. Perhaps Cocoyashi Village will finally produce a prodigy of extraordinary caliber."
"Really?" Shanu chuckled, stretching lazily as he stood. "Right now, I just want to go home and sleep in. Uncle, you take care of cleaning up here."
Genzo nodded, but his eyes suddenly widened as he looked behind Shanu.
The sea churned violently, and a massive, cow-patterned sea beast surfaced, staring blankly at the carnage.
"Moo?"
Shanu recognized it—it was the creature kept by the Arlon Pirates. Was it here to avenge Arlong?
He grinned, leaping to the bow. He no longer feared creatures several times his size; a single punch would likely suffice.
The beast bellowed, then, curiously, spat on the fishman corpses and bowed with its forelimbs toward Shanu.
"Did it just… thank you?" Genzo whispered, astonished.
Seemingly so. Shanu hesitated, unsure whether to return the gesture.
The beast, however, gave no time to think, diving back into the sea, disappearing quickly.
"This scene feels familiar…" Shanu murmured, pondering. Perhaps Shirahoshi was the imposter, and he was the legitimate Poseidon?
Half an hour later, villagers arrived, beginning the cleanup at the dock.
Previously, children had warned the village of the pirate landing, causing panic. Relief came only when they heard Shanu had intervened.
Indeed, he had single-handedly eradicated the entire pirate crew.
No one questioned the bloodiness—they only felt justice served. Had it not been for Shanu, the villagers might have ended up in the bloodbath themselves.
Genzo called surrounding villages for updates, discovering neighboring Kesha Town had been decimated by the Arlon Pirates, leaving most residents dead or injured.
They breathed a sigh of relief—Cocoyashi Village was spared thanks to Shanu.
On the rice paddies, beneath swaying coconut trees, Shanu walked home, arms folded behind his head, taking his time.
Four years had passed since his awakening, yet he hadn't felt such complete relaxation in all that time.
Arlong was dead. The Arlon Pirates annihilated. The dark cloud over Cocoyashi Village finally lifted.
"Beautiful weather," he murmured, gazing at the blue sky.
Opening the system panel, he began sorting loot. The villagers would handle the battlefield cleanup, but he ensured no valuable reward went unused.
According to the system, only limbs and partial body parts could be offered as sacrifices—full bodies or heads were unacceptable. Too gruesome, too dark.
He tallied points: low-ranking fishmen like Shioyaki or Pesaro offered minimal points; stronger officers like Kroobi and Kobachi granted more; Arlong's tattooed arm yielded 800 points, enough to purchase a rare training manual.
Even Arlong's nose and teeth were stored for future sacrifices after cooldowns—a little grim, but effective.
"Shanu!"
A familiar voice called out. Nojiko and Nami ran excitedly toward him.
"You defeated the invading pirates, right?"
"Yes," he said, lifting them one by one, smiling. "But you're late—the battle's been over for some time."
"Hmph, I knew it! Piece of cake. Some kids worried you might not handle them alone. Do they even know what it means to be the East Blue's greatest swordsman?"
Shanu rolled his eyes at Nami's exaggeration.
"Going home now?" Nojiko asked.
"Nope!"
Nami pouted, shaking her head. "We just sneaked out! We want to see what the pirates looked like."
"Too bloody. Not for children," Shanu replied, dragging Nami back from under his arm.
He glanced at their clean, unmarked arms, relieved no sacrifices were needed.
"What are you staring at?" Nami asked, annoyed.
"Just appreciating your tidiness," he joked.
Laughing, Shanu hoisted both girls onto his broad shoulders, striding home under the warm afternoon sun.