Chapter 482: The Inexplicably Irritating Kizaru
Kizaru was utterly frozen. He reached inward, searching for the familiar, brilliant power of the Glint-Glint Fruit, but found only a void. The connection was severed. He tried again, focusing, but it was useless. He couldn't become light. A genuine flicker of panic finally pierced his lazy demeanor.
"Incredible!" Nami breathed, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and relief.
Yakumo Yukari simply fanned herself, a picture of casual indifference. "A trivial matter, nothing more. I am a Youkai of Boundaries, after all. Now then, Mister Admiral, your abilities will return to you the moment you leave. I just prefer my dining companions not to glow."
A long, drawn-out sigh escaped Kizaru's lips. "Ooh, well now... I surrender, I surrender. As expected of a restaurant from another world. Truly... formidable."
Hearing Kizaru concede, both Hancock and Nami let out a quiet breath they hadn't realized they were holding. Their admiration for Ren and Yakumo Yukari soared to new heights. To neutralize a Marine Admiral with a single sentence... what kind of monstrous power was that? It was simply beyond comprehension.
Hancock's cheeks flushed with pride as she gazed at Ren. "As expected of my dear Ren! He's simply magnificent!"
"Praise him all you like," Lucifer drawled from her seat, "but must you do it while standing there like a star-struck girl?"
"I am not a girl!" Hancock snapped back reflexively.
Kizaru, having accepted his situation, found a seat to the side. His usual smirk was gone, replaced by a thoughtful frown. "Shopkeeper," he said, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "That strike earlier... you didn't use Haki, did you?"
"This isn't your world, so why would I have something like that?" Ren replied calmly. "But speaking of which, Kizaru, would you care for something to eat?"
The Admiral considered it for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "Hmm, it's not every day one gets to visit another world. I'll just have a bowl of ramen."
"A normal large, or..."
"How large is normal?"
Ren made a gesture with his hands, outlining the size of a generous bowl. Kizaru studied the shape, then looked back at Ren. "I'll need one at least a full circle bigger than that."
"Very well. Please wait a moment," Ren said, turning to Nami. "Another orange juice for you?"
"Mhm!" she chirped, her good mood fully restored.
Seeing Kizaru so thoroughly pacified, Nami felt a deep sense of security wash over her. This place truly was a sanctuary. It seemed she could finally relax here for a while.
After Ren headed back to the kitchen, Kizaru leaned back in his chair, slowly scanning his surroundings. "Mmm, this really is a nice place," he mused. "Boa Hancock, why has there been no report from you about this?"
Hancock's expression hardened. "I only just returned here today myself! And since when do I need to report my every move to you?!"
"Returned?" Kizaru picked up on the word.
"It has been nearly ten years since my last visit!" she declared.
The Admiral blinked, genuinely stunned. "But... the Shopkeeper doesn't look a day over thirty, Boa Hancock..."
"One day in this restaurant is roughly equivalent to one month in our world."
"What?!"
This time, Kizaru's surprise was genuine and deep. The temporal disparity was staggering. By that logic, if a criminal managed to hide here for a year or two, decades would have passed on the outside. The Marines could chase them until they died of old age.
"You're overthinking it," Lucifer said, her voice laced with weary amusement. "This isn't a place one can simply stay in at will, nor is it a place one can enter on a whim. If Ren is displeased with a guest, he can eject them and place them on a blacklist, ensuring they never return."
Kizaru visibly relaxed upon hearing this. So it wasn't a complete logistical nightmare. He did some quick mental math. "So... one hour here is a little over a day back home?"
Hancock nodded.
A slow, lazy grin returned to Kizaru's face. "Ooh, that's quite convenient. I'm due to arrive at Marine Headquarters in about two days. I can just enjoy a nice, leisurely meal here. By the time I'm finished, I'll be right on time."
Hancock's brow furrowed. "You're returning to Headquarters so quickly? Has something happened?"
"Now, now," Kizaru said, wagging a finger. "Just because I couldn't win against the Shopkeeper and that lovely lady over there, you don't really think I'd leak sensitive information, do you?"
Hancock gritted her teeth in frustration.
"As long as it has nothing to do with Nami or Hancock," Lucifer stated, her tone flat and final, "you don't need to say a thing."
Kizaru turned his gaze to the Queen of Hell, his smile unwavering. "My, my, Miss... your aura is truly terrifying~"
A triumphant smirk played on Hancock's lips. "Kizaru, you should know that Lady Lucifer is the Queen of Hell!"
"Hmm? Hell, you say?"
Kizaru sounded skeptical, but he was in no position to doubt anything anymore. He had no grasp of the abilities of the people in this room. All he knew for certain was that the golden-haired woman sipping her drink could seal his powers with a word, and the shopkeeper was an entity he stood absolutely no chance against.
Considering this, he allowed a sliver of belief to temper his skepticism. "What a frightening restaurant," he said with a chuckle, though his eyes betrayed a hint of caution. "The Queen of Hell herself... ooh, you're really scaring this old man."
Despite his words, there was an undercurrent of sincerity to his fear. Yet, whether it was his perpetually half-lidded eyes or his infuriatingly smug smirk, he gave off an aura that was deeply unsettling. The word "Justice" emblazoned on the back of his cloak seemed not just unrelated to his demeanor, but a complete contradiction.
Lucifer sighed. "If you were in my Hell, your existence would be utterly miserable."
A muscle in Kizaru's jaw twitched. 'Does she have to be so terrifying?' He was only in his fifties; he had no desire to visit Hell just yet, and he certainly didn't think he'd done anything to deserve it...
"So," Lucifer pressed, cutting through his thoughts, "is your information related to Hancock or Nami?"
"No relation whatsoever."
Lucifer stared at him, her crimson eyes seeming to peer directly into his soul. After a long moment, she nodded. "He may be exceptionally irritating, but he is indeed telling the truth."
Kizaru felt his composure crack. 'Say what you will, but don't resort to personal attacks! That's just too much! You can't bully an old man just because you're stronger than him!' What he failed to realize was that, with the exception of Nami and Hancock, everyone else in the room had lived for far longer than he had been alive.
While Kizaru was stewing in his thoughts, Ren emerged from the kitchen pushing a dining cart. On it sat a dish completely wrapped in shimmering tin foil and a tall, freshly poured glass of orange juice.
The moment Nami saw it, her face lit up. She was practically starving.
Hancock eyed the foil-wrapped parcel with a puzzled expression. How was one supposed to eat that? But just as she was about to ask, a heavenly aroma burst forth from the dish, wafting through the air. The scent was so intoxicating that it made even Kizaru pause, a silent confirmation that coming here for a meal was the right decision.
Nami leaned over the baked rice in front of her, inhaling deeply. "Shopkeeper Ren! It smells just as amazing as I remember!"
Ren smiled warmly. "Next time, try to finish your sentences before you get distracted. Now, go on and eat. You must have been hungry for a while."
"Mhm!"
Hancock swallowed hard. As an Empress, she found herself feeling an uncharacteristic pang of gluttony. She wasn't alone; even Yakumo Ran and Yakumo Yukari were slightly taken aback. The fragrance was simply on another level.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]