Pirates: Building High Walls Starting from the East Blue

"I never expected to hear such good news when I came back! It'll infuriate those idiots! Come on, you two, have a drink with this old man!"

"Cheers, Garp, boss!" X2

“Everyone will be very happy to hear what Mr. Garp said.” Makino breathed a slight sigh of relief upon receiving Garp’s reply, and a smile returned to her face. As if remembering something, she wiped the cup and said with a smile, “Judging by the time, Luffy should be back in a couple of days. Luffy will be very happy to see Mr. Garp come back to see him. That kid saved up a lot of money to buy a ship, and he was worried about losing it, so he left it all with me. Even the village chief praised Luffy for being sensible.”

"Haha, really?" Garp was quite pleased to hear someone praise Luffy, but then, as if he had overheard something important, his laughter faltered, and he looked down at Makino with a serious expression. "What did you just say?"

"???"

……

A construction site on a neighboring island of the Kingdom of Goa.

“Hehe!”

Suddenly, a boy wearing a straw hat let out a huge sneeze.

The shockwave was so strong that it shook the entire construction site, startling the workers around.

Immediately afterwards...

"Luffy, why did you sneeze so loudly? Did you catch a cold?"

A rough voice came from behind.

Luffy, who was rubbing his nose with a puzzled look, was suddenly pulled back to his senses. He opened his big, confused eyes and scratched his head. "No, it's just that I feel like something is about to disappear!"

"What's missing? What are you talking about?" At this moment, a burly man wearing a helmet walked up to Luffy and said, "It's already lunchtime, and you're not the first one to rush into the cafeteria today? That's not like you! You wouldn't actually be..."

The words are not finished yet.

"Is dinner ready?!"

Seemingly having heard something important, Luffy quickly cleared his mind of all other random thoughts, revealing a playful expression. He raised his dusty right hand to press down on his straw hat, and then stretched out his left hand.

Suddenly.

He was sent flying.

"I almost forgot to eat! Hehe, I'm hungry, I'm going to eat!"

Only the burly man, who looked stunned, was left talking.

"...Are you sick?" The burly man stared blankly at Luffy, who had leaped to the cafeteria entrance in one bound, before shouting loudly, "Remember to wash your hands!"

After receiving Luffy's reply, "Got it!", the burly man shook his head and chuckled helplessly, "No matter how many times I see it, this kid's abilities are still somewhat unbelievable! Oh well, that kid doesn't look sick anyway."

only.

As he was speaking, the burly man who had just raised his head seemed to see something. Looking at the straw-hatted boy who had simply carried away the entire rice bucket, his helpless expression suddenly turned into panic, and he hurriedly shouted, "You brat, leave some for me, I haven't eaten yet!"

Chapter 100 Running away

Lunch was served at noon.

The construction site canteen suddenly became lively.

The workers, who had been busy all morning, started to eat their lunch.

Since this chamber of commerce came here, everyone has been able to earn wages and have plenty of food through their own labor, and no longer suffers from hunger as before.

Everyone's lives... have changed!

Therefore, everyone was very grateful to the Chamber of Commerce that brought them a new life.

"I really don't understand you, kid. How can you eat so much?" The burly man, who had finally gotten his food, looked at the huge food bucket in front of him, which was stuffed full and arranged haphazardly, and complained irritably. "Thanks to you, our team is not only the team that consumes the most food every day, but also the team that does the best job in the 'Clean Plate Campaign'!"

Basically, all the leftovers were stuffed into the kid's stomach; not a single bit was left.

"Hehehe." Hearing the burly man's words, Luffy puffed out his cheeks, grinned, and raised his head, revealing his pearly white teeth, saying, "I would never waste a single one!"

"I'm not just praising you! Besides, who would dare waste this land?"

"Hahaha, foreman, Luffy won't understand if you talk to him like that!"

"Luffy thought you were praising him!"

"That's right, you should just say he eats too much!"

Just as the burly man called the foreman was speechless, a burst of laughter and cheers suddenly erupted around the canteen.

"Shut up, all of you, and eat in peace! This kid may eat a lot, but he does more work than any of you." Hearing his coworkers' words, even though he knew they weren't mocking Luffy but just joking, the foreman still ruthlessly interrupted their banter.

then.

Then he looked at Luffy, who didn't seem to care at all, and was still shoveling food into his mouth, his whole head almost buried in the rice bucket.

"If it weren't for the fact that you work so hard, and our boss is such a nice person, you would definitely be fired in any other place." The foreman smiled helplessly, shook his head, and said with a sigh and sadness as he ate, "It seems your parents love you very much. If it were an ordinary family, someone who could eat as much as you would have been abandoned long ago."

No, I shouldn't say "ordinary family," or "someone who can eat as much as this guy."

In this vast ocean...

There is never a shortage of parents who would abandon their children for a bite of food.

Of course, there was nothing that could be done, because everyone had nothing to eat, and even if they weren't abandoned, they would eventually starve to death anyway.

But as long as the boss is there, that kind of tragedy... will no longer happen to them.

Looking at Luffy, he asked, "By the way, where's your dad? I haven't seen him at work. Did he find a better job in the Goa Kingdom?"

"Dad?" Luffy looked up in confusion, then continued eating with his head down. "I've never seen him."

"???"

Never seen him?

Upon hearing Luffy's words, the foreman paused, as if he had thought of something, and frowned, "Where is your mother?"

"Mom? I've never seen her before!"

"..."

Never met your parents?

Looking at Luffy, who spoke in a calm tone yet with such cold reality, the foreman was stunned again, but he seemed to understand something in his heart.

That makes sense. With a kid who can eat so much, how could an average family not abandon him?

Thinking of this, and looking at Luffy who showed no sadness at his words and was still eating with his head down, his eyes involuntarily turned red.

A hush fell over the surroundings. The people who had been joking earlier all had red eyes as they looked at the straw-hatted boy eating from his special rice bucket, and they could no longer muster any more jokes.

So this kid has never seen his parents since he was a child?

"You silly child! Honestly, I've never heard you mention this before."

"Huh?" Luffy looked up in confusion, rice still on his lips, and asked the foreman, "What's there to say?"

"You're such an optimistic kid!" Looking into those innocent and optimistic eyes, the foreman couldn't help but cover his own eyes.

Even if abandoned, do you still hold onto hope for life?

Seeing Luffy continuing to eat heartily with his head down, the foreman gritted his teeth, seemingly making a decision, and dumped his own half-eaten rice bowl onto Luffy's food bucket. "I'm full. From now on, you'd better eat your fill!"

The voice just fell.

"That's right! I'm full too! The rest is up to you!"

"Luffy, from now on, never forget to smile!"

"We're all your family!"

As they spoke, one by one, their eyes red, they came over and dumped all the food they had barely eaten onto Luffy's rice bucket.

For a while.

Luffy: ...

I stared blankly as the rice bucket, which was almost empty, filled up again.

What's wrong with everyone?

Why do we always give him food?

What a good man!

After letting out a burp, he lowered his head again and began to eat heartily.

This left everyone who saw it speechless.

So, this child... is already full?

No, even if you're full, can you still eat?

Watching the rice in the rice bucket disappear at a visible rate, and Luffy's belly grow rounder and rounder at a visible speed...

Everyone was silent.

I wish I hadn't deducted it!

They're still not full!

"Slow down, kid! I'll talk to the cafeteria later and ask them to prepare a little more for you every day. Don't worry, starting today, as long as you work here, you won't go hungry."

Watching Luffy eat while burping, the foreman smiled helplessly, shook his head, and then seemed to remember something, his eyes falling into reminiscence.

"Looking at you reminds me of another employee who used to work for me. Although he didn't eat as much as you, that young man was just as capable! He could chop wood quickly, well, and evenly with just three knives, and he could do the work of ten people all by himself!"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Hearing the foreman's words, Luffy, who was shoveling rice into his mouth, couldn't help but look up, blinked his eyes, and said, "He can actually use three swords? Where is he?"

"Him? I don't know either." The foreman sighed and shook his head. "He clearly told me that he would come and work with the team, but when we met at the dock that day, I waited for him all day and didn't see him."

He shook his head, his eyes filled with a slight mix of emotion and worry.

"Speaking of which, that kid hasn't been paid for the last month's wages yet! He clearly said that after he got paid, he was going to get a new knife so he could work more efficiently, but now we don't know where he's gone! We've all gone back to look for him but can't find him. We don't know if something happened to him. If something did happen to him, why didn't he tell us? It's really worrying!"

"Is he gone?" Luffy, holding his rice bucket, looked up at the foreman and said with a grin, "I want to see him! But it's okay, I believe he will come back, because you won't go hungry working here!"

"Really? Haha, then I'll introduce you to that guy! I'm sure you two will become good friends!"

"Really? By the way, what's his name?"

"He!"

Hearing Luffy's question, the foreman's lips curled up slightly, and his eyes fell into reminiscence, as if recalling that proud young man. "His name is... Roronoa Zoro, who claims to aim to become the world's greatest swordsman. He's a very spirited and energetic young man!"