9. A Weirdo and a Kid...Again (Part 2/2)

Beach.

Seaside.

Coast.

Waterfront.

Between 'Sea and Land'...Sand.

This is where I am right now. The coast of Wano. I'm standin here with an old man who just yelled something about food and boiling.

'A Weirdo and a Kid...Again', standing in front of the sea, having some kind of stare-down, on the beach.

This almost reminds me of my meeting with Julius. Pretty damn nostalgic. I thought I'd finally found peace in another world, but seeing how this scene is playing out, I'm getting anxious.

I need a cigarette to calm down.

Oh, that's right. This place HAS NO cigarettes.

Tch.

Just how did it get to this point??

*Flashback continues*

It's in sight. Damn. It's so big. Wait. That sounds wrong. Too wrong. Again.

It's in sight. It's so damn endless. The sea. Everywhere I look, water. No islands, no rocks, no fish, just water. If I were any other three year old, this would seem pretty ominous. But then again, I'm a handsome, hardworking, brave and selfless, magic knight captain. This much can't scare me.

*Timeskip 3 minutes*

Saltwater...does not taste good.

...

...

...

WHAT THE HELL!!! WHO IN THE GODDAMN WORLD TRIES TO WRESTLE A WAVE!!! WHO THE HELL IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD RUN INTO A GINORMOUS WAVE TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH MORE BADASS THEY ARE THAN THE SEA???

Oh yeah. Me.

Welp, if I'm the one who tried it, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Source, me.

I might have drowne- I- I mean gotten myself out eventually, but there was a savio- a guy who interfered. Wait. That's not right. Again.

I would have gotten myself out eventually, but there was a guy who split the entire wave in half.

Now this is ominous. It wasn't as powerful as my dimension slash, but it was even more amazing. No. It was shocking. There wasn't an ounce of Mana behind that attack, but the whole thing was split in two.

The sheer strength behind that slash was more than me and Asta's full power combined. There's no Mana in this world, but people were really strong, I knew that much cuz my mom was stronger than most people I knew in terms of physical strength, but this was just ridiculous. A whole other level of strength.

Just who is this guy... I can barely make out this giant's silhouette.

My vision is blurry and my eyes are a complete mess from the saltwater. My throat hurts from all this salt.

"ARE YOU OKAY KID?? WHY WOULD YOU RUN INTO A WAVE?? IF YOU WANNA BE A PIRATE ATLEAST GET A SHIP!!!"

Pirate. Yeah. What I originally came here for. Before I charged into a wave for no reason. Stupid brain, I blame you.

"YOUR EYES ARE RED!!"

O...kay?

It was a few minutes before I could see clearly again. My eyes still hurt. Ugh. In my prime, this wouldn't even faze me, but here I am, three years old.

I was now sitting on a log. The man from before said he'd go get some fruits for us to eat. I had taken half kimono off and let it dry. I was cold, hungry, sore before, and now I'm naked too. Not like I give a crap. Even back when I gambled and let my opponents win out of mercy, I'd come back naked.

I wonder what's more bizarre? A naked three year old on a beach, or a naked middle age man passing through the Royal capital on a broom with an equally naked virgin street punk?

Oh well, who cares. The clothes will dry soon enough. It's windy here.

"ATSHO!"

Sounds like a guy making a great entrance while saying his catchphrase, but it was just me sneezing. 3 year olds are surprisingly weak.

"OII KID! YOU OKAY NOW??" shouted the guy who helped me out. He was huge. Almost four meters. Did giants exist in this world??

"Are you a giant?" Great. That's my first question. I should've started with showing gratitude. I'm not one for manners and stuff, but I'm not ungrateful.

"What no. What made you think I'm a giant??" He replied.

"I don't know, your height?" I questioned, unsure if I was sarcastic or really wondering if it was something else that made me think he's a giant.

"Hmm... I mean I am really tall, but adult giants are almost five times big as me".

The more he said, the more my mouth dropped. I could feel from his ki that he wasn't making anything up. He had to have seen giants. That means there's giants around?? How did I never see one before?!?

"That's kinda cool, anyway, thanks for helpin me out old man".

"No problem no problem, it's my duty as a Kozuki to help the citizens of Wano! Also, I'm not that old, I'm 34."

Kozuki huh?

Wait, now I remember! He's the guy who was dancing naked around the capital. The former Shogun! So that's why I had a feeling he looked like someone who'd dance around naked in a major town.

"So! Mind telling me what you were trying to do? If you were trying to be a pirate, there's no one around with more experience than me!" He asked with a shit-eating grin, showing off obviously.

Oh yeah, mom said he became a pirate. My main reason for coming. Wait this is the real Oden right?

"Are you the real Oden?" I asked just to confirm.

He took a stance. One foot and one hand out, the other leg back and the other hand right beside his head. Peculiar, but nothing too much. I've seen worse.

"I AM KOZUKI ODEN!! I WAS BORN TO BOIL!!"

Born to what now?

"ODEN WOULDN'T BE ODEN IF IT WASN'T BOILED!!!"

...Logical enough.

*End of Flashback*

So here I am. The coast of Wano. I'm standin here with an old man who just yelled something about food and boiling.

'A Weirdo and a Kid' standing in front of the sea, having some kind of stare-down, on the beach. And this was how...

...We got to this point.

End of chapter.