Chapter 127: I Will Begin Teaching Sanji Today
On the shore of the Kingdom of Corgia, the smell of smoke still hung in the air.
The people who had fled in a panic when Germa 66 started their indiscriminate bombardment slowly began to emerge from hiding.
Most of them had not seen Roy defeat Germa with their own eyes.
When the cannons started raining down on everything without distinction, common sense said to run, hide, and pray you lived long enough to complain about it later.
No one sane stood around to watch.
As long as they survived, that was enough.
...
The Grand Line, Marineford, Headquarters of the Marines.
In his office, Sengoku was already in the middle of mobilizing forces to intercept the Germa 66 army.
The Kingdom of Corgia was not a member of the World Government.
Even so, the Marines could not simply ignore an invading army tearing through a civilian kingdom.
The Marines' sense of justice was not just something they shouted for slogans.
Even if orders from above limited how far they could go, they still tried to do what they could where the World Government was not watching too closely.
As long as the Celestial Dragons were not involved, they still had some room to act.
"Buru buru buru..."
The Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly began to ring.
Sengoku reached out, took the receiver, and looked at the snail. The Den Den Mushi's features shifted to match the face of the caller.
It mimicked Garp's expression perfectly.
Sengoku's expression darkened.
"So, what made you think of calling me while you were supposedly on leave at home?" he asked.
"Hahahaha, Sengoku, you will never guess..."
...
Unbelievable.
Completely unbelievable.
Judge had never imagined that he would be beaten back and forced to retreat from the Kingdom of Corgia.
He had been planning to use that as a stepping stone, then lead Germa 66 in a glorious invasion of other East Blue kingdoms.
Then he ran into Garp.
The Hero of the Marines flattened him with casual ease.
Judge retreated once more in shame and fury, terrified of returning to the East Blue.
He drove the giant snails hard and fled back toward the North Blue, leaving his dream of conquering the weakest sea behind like a bad joke.
Was this not supposed to be the weakest sea?
Judge was so angry he could barely breathe.
He had hyped himself up, full of confidence and ambition, talking about how he would sweep the East Blue.
First, he was beaten by a red haired youth.
Then he was beaten by an old man who was only there to visit family.
It was a nightmare.
Fortunately for him, Judge had not bumped into Shanks or the Red Hair Pirates yet.
Right now, Shanks was still in the East Blue.
If they had met, Judge would have been beaten by yet another red haired monster.
What "weakest sea"?
It was a complete lie.
This place was a sea of demons.
Judge almost cried.
...
Back on the shores of the Kingdom of Corgia, beside Roy's ship.
Roy held out a knife to Sanji.
"Come on, let Master show you just how powerful my leg techniques really are."
He swung his leg lightly a few times, laughing as he did.
He had learned plenty about kicking techniques from Hancock, and he was more than confident in teaching Sanji the basics.
Besides, with how tough his legs were, it was impossible for Sanji to actually hurt him.
"Huh? No way..." Sanji stared at the knife in Roy's hand.
If he accidentally hurt his master the very first day he became a disciple...
Would he end up as a homeless orphan again?
His gaze slid nervously toward the cold and intimidating woman nearby.
If he really cut Roy, that scary older sister would definitely kill him.
"Do not be afraid. Your master is very strong. I am just showing you how tough I am," Roy said, smiling.
"Did you already forget how I broke Judge's leg with one kick?"
Sanji swallowed hard.
"Then... I will try," he said softly.
He tightened his grip on the blade.
"Come on, I will show you something fun." Roy grinned.
Sanji took a breath, nodded, and swung the knife at Roy's lower leg, then immediately squeezed his eyes shut.
In his heart, he was screaming.
Master is an idiot, he thought. Who asks their student to do something like this?
There was a sharp sound.
A tearing of cloth.
The blade sliced through Roy's trouser leg, leaving a clean rip and a flap of fabric hanging loose.
But Roy's skin was completely unscathed.
Not even a scratch.
This knife might as well have been made of wood.
"So cool!" Sanji gasped.
He stared, stunned.
When Roy had kicked Judge earlier, he had not been able to see everything clearly from a distance.
But now...
The cut on the pants was obvious.
And the lack of any wound underneath was even more shocking.
Sanji stared at the knife.
Then at Roy's unharmed leg.
What kind of legs are those?
His imagination kicked into overdrive.
This red haired man was not just handsome.
He was a true master of leg techniques.
Roy's sword, his calm attitude, all of it suddenly made sense to Sanji's overworked brain.
He looks like a swordsman on the surface, he thought, but in reality he is a hidden fighter with incredible kicking skills.
A secret boss of the East Blue.
"Do you want to learn?" Roy asked with a smile.
"Yes!" Sanji nodded frantically, eyes shining like stars.
"Then start with this. Do 150 squats here, then run five laps around this island."
The moment Roy finished speaking, Sanji dropped into a squat without hesitation and began counting under his breath.
Roy watched calmly.
He intended to test Sanji's physical foundation first.
If this amount turned out to be too easy, he would double it next time.
If it was too much, he would adjust the training down.
But honestly, how hard could it be?
Sanji had only been weaker than his brothers in the earliest stages.
Compared to Roy's previous life as an ordinary Earthling, Sanji's physical condition was already exceptional.
In the world of One Piece, a strong body was almost standard issue.
Roy watched him for a while, then turned away, walked up the gangplank, and headed back into the cabin with Hancock to prepare dinner.
"Do do do..."
The cleaver in Roy's hand rose and fell, chopping vegetables at high speed before he switched to processing the meat. The rhythm of the blade almost sounded like music.
He planned to make something delicious for Sanji tonight.
Since he had taken him as a disciple, he needed to fill the kid up and train him hard.
He wanted Sanji to become incredibly strong by the time he went out to sea on his own.
"Hancock, bring over the eggs we bought from Little Garden. I will fry some eggs," Roy called.
"Alright."
Hancock quickly moved to the side and picked up an enormous egg.
While traveling along the Grand Line, Roy had stopped by Little Garden and bought a whole batch of dinosaur meat and dinosaur eggs.
There was no helping it.
They were plentiful, filling, and delicious.
Roy cracked one open.
"Nice, this one is good."
He separated the contents with practiced ease.
Some of the eggs went into a pan for fried eggs, some were beaten and turned into fluffy egg cakes, some were stirred into vegetable stir fry, and some became the base of a rich soup.
Roy's own appetite was massive.
He ate his way through several dinosaur eggs before he was finally satisfied.
By the time the sun began to set, a small figure was dragging himself across the beach.
Sanji, covered in sand and sweat, had finished his squats long ago.
His legs were trembling, but he still pushed himself to keep running around the island.
The island of Corgia was not that large.
For an adult, five laps would have been a tough but manageable workout.
For a child, each lap was a brutal test of willpower.
Even so, Sanji did not collapse.
Despite being locked up for so long in Germa, Judge had still provided decent food.
Sanji's body had not wasted away.
No malnutrition.
No frailty.
No collapsing from exhaustion.
He gritted his teeth and ran, one step at a time, driven by memories and stubbornness.
Sometimes he thought he saw his mother in front of him, smiling gently.
Sometimes he felt as if he could hear his sister cheering for him.
He clung to those illusions and forced himself through the first lap.
"For my sister... for my dream..."
"To become a great chef so they will not laugh at me..."
"I want... to become stronger!"
He remembered how he had secretly learned to cook.
And how his brothers had mocked and beaten him for it.
Master is right, he thought.
Only by becoming stronger can I protect my dreams.
His mother loved his cooking more than anything.
"Waaah..."
Sanji sniffed, quickly wiping away the tears before they could fall.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, pushed the pain down, and kept running.
Round and round.
Again and again.
"He is a good kid, just lacking proper guidance," Roy said quietly.
Through the cabin window, he watched Sanji run past, while the food in his hands continued to sizzle and steam.
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