"Ohhh! Recognition from the sea! Faith!"
Joy Boy nodded repeatedly, half-understanding, eyes sparkling. Suddenly, he clapped his hands excitedly, making loud thumping sounds.
"Then let's do this! You be my captain, and I'll be your captain! We'll both be each other's captains! That way we both have pirate crews! What do you think?!"
Reid: …
He took a deep breath and rejected the idea without hesitation.
"No. Absolutely not. I refuse. I already have my own ship and my first mate."
How does this guy's brain even work?
The little girl shifted forward slightly.
In a soft voice, she said, "Me. Crew. First mate. Two people."
"Ehh… how is that possible…" Joy Boy deflated again, curling up and hugging his knees. A gloomy aura seemed to gather behind him.
"What the heck… I wanted to travel with you guys… gaaah… mumble mumble…"
Reid stopped listening halfway through the muttering.
Just as he thought this guy would finally quiet down for a while, Joy Boy suddenly lifted his head again, his face lighting up with realization.
Reid raised an eyebrow, a flicker of hope appearing in his mind.
Has this rubber-brained idiot finally understood something? Concepts like independent sailing, free will, rivals?
Joy Boy slapped his stomach with a loud gulping sound, then raised his head with absolute seriousness and clarity.
"I get it!"
Reid: ?
No. Something is wrong.
If this idiot could think that far ahead, he would have eaten the whole ship already.
Joy Boy proudly concluded:
"That's right. Eating comes first! You can't think properly when you're hungry! Meat! Meat!"
Reid: …
Is that really the correct conclusion?
Watching Joy Boy completely shift his focus back to the remaining food and start devouring it again, Reid gave up entirely on communicating with him.
Forget it.
Arguing with someone like this only guarantees one outcome.
You lose.
He silently turned toward the endless sea, seriously considering whether to repair the mast now and leave with the little girl, or wait until this bottomless stomach finished eating before settling the debt for the broken mast.
The girl in his arms seemed to sense his speechlessness and gently tugged at his sleeve.
Reid looked down and met her ice-blue eyes.
She pointed at Joy Boy, then tapped her own head.
A faint trace of something passed through her gaze.
Was that… sympathy?
Reid: …
Even the kid understands now.
Reid watched as Joy Boy devoured the last bit of food like a whirlwind, even licking his fingers with satisfaction afterward.
Finally, he could not take it anymore.
He pointed at his broken mast, then held up five fingers toward Joy Boy.
The meaning was obvious.
Pay up.
Joy Boy followed his gesture, saw the pitiful mast, and immediately showed a guilty, apologetic expression.
He clasped his hands together and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ahahaha, sorry! I'm really, really sorry! I'll compensate you! I promise!"
Then his expression dimmed again, turning pitiful.
"But… I don't have any money right now… I can't even afford food…"
The veins on Reid's forehead began throbbing again.
Of course you don't!
Roger left home broke. Luffy left home broke.
Why are all you Joy Boys exactly the same?
Come to think of it, Reid himself often traveled on credit and got reimbursed later by Tesoro.
For a brief moment, he even considered robbing Joy Boy. That would technically make him a true pirate king.
Then he dismissed the idea as not worth it.
Joy Boy's eyes suddenly lit up again as he came up with yet another idea.
He leaned closer to Reid, flashing that signature bright, infectious smile.
"Then how about this! You travel with me! You're going out to sea anyway, right?"
He patted his chest confidently.
"I can work to pay you back! I'll fix your mast! I'm really strong! And I know lots of fun places! My adventure will definitely be amazing! It won't be boring at all!"
Reid looked at his face, clearly saying "Trust me, it's worth it," then glanced at his temporarily unusable ship, and finally at the quiet girl in his arms, who was watching Joy Boy.
Travel together?
That had been his original goal.
Work to repay the debt?
Probably nonsense.
An exciting adventure?
That part was undeniably true.
Reid would even dare say that in this era, no one's journey could surpass Joy Boy's.
As for repayment?
Reid scoffed internally.
Believing this guy was more ridiculous than believing his blood mist could turn into currency… or believing some ancient emperor would message you for money to restore an empire.
But…
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the seemingly foolish yet incredibly promising rubber giant.
Joy Boy.
A name that would shake the tides of history.
His adventure, his journey, would become the very center of this era.
Watching it unfold firsthand…
That sounded interesting.
Far more interesting than wandering aimlessly and picking fights with weak pirates.
And more importantly, Reid wanted to test something.
He knew what he had done.
But he did not know how much the world would tolerate it.
So he would probe it, step by step.
He had always been puzzled.
Vitt had once been his subordinate. When he arrived in this timeline, the first person he saw was the girl, and he chose to save her. Because he saved her, she became his first mate.
The timeline seemed to loop back on itself.
As for the mast…
Consider it the price of admission.
"Hmph." Reid snorted, silently agreeing. "Remember what you said. Work hard and repay your debt. If you dare go back on your word…"
The blood mist around him surged with a threatening aura.
"Yay! That's awesome!" Joy Boy cheered instantly. "Welcome to Joy Boy's grand adventure! It's going to be super fun! Hahaha!"
Reid corrected him expressionlessly.
"I'm not joining you. This is only a temporary partnership. And keep your hands and your stomach under control. Don't break my things again."
"Got it, got it!" Joy Boy agreed cheerfully, though it was clear he had not really taken it to heart.
The little girl looked at the two who had reached an agreement, then at the vast ocean and the enormous rubber ship.
In her ice-blue eyes, something new quietly flickered into existence.
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