Big brother, I want to become the strongest pirate in the world!

I never expected this... I guess I was wrong after all.

Kazan, one hand supporting his face, gave a bitter smile. "I got too caught up in the role—and in the end, I'm all alone."

"Mr. Kazan, Mr. Gin, Luffy, dinner is ready. I'll go call the village chief."

"Oh!!! Let's eat!!!"

Upon hearing that dinner was served, Luffy ignored everything and sprinted towards the kitchen at full speed.

Kazan glanced at the agile Luffy and realized something was wrong; if things continued like this, he wouldn't get any food. He then decisively got up to prepare for dinner.

Ace and Sabo? Ha! No way! Rare!

When everyone entered the kitchen, Akin, who was practicing his 'Yaksha' on the deck, stopped and looked at the two children running quickly into the distance in the forest.

Ajin took two steps and then stopped, looked back at the location of the kitchen, hesitated for a moment, and finally gave up the idea of ​​chasing after him to do something. Then he walked towards the kitchen to prepare for dinner.

Because Luffy insisted on 'experiencing what it's like to sleep on a ship,' the group decided to spend the night on the ship, and Carosso became a little lively again after a long time.

At night, in Kazan's smelting chamber.

"Awoooo ...

"Luffy, it's so late, stop howling!"

"Kazan! Kazan! What's that? It's super cool."

At this moment, Luffy's eyes were shining as he hugged the Black Rhino Armor left behind by Bellamy, as if he were glued to the armor.

Seeing Luffy drooling, Kazan wondered if he might go up and lick it a couple more times.

"Just a set of armor."

"Armor?! So cool, I want one too."

"I'll get you a set whenever you can beat me."

"Fine! I'm going to beat you up right now."

Upon hearing Kazan's words, Luffy jumped off his Black Rhino Armor and ran towards Kazan, waving his arms menacingly.

Snapped.

As Luffy ran, he lost his balance due to swinging his arms with all his might and fell to the ground.

"Waaaaah ┭┮﹏┭┮"

"It will take you at least another ten years or so to defeat me!"

Kazan glanced at Luffy, who had defeated him, as expected. When Luffy was seven years old, he could only follow Ace and Sabo around crying, let alone when he was five.

"Go to sleep now!"

"No, I want to stay here tonight."

Kazan snapped at Luffy, and Luffy got up from the ground and immediately crawled into the Black Rhino Armor, refusing to come out.

Duang!

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Waaaaah ┭┮﹏┭┮"

Kazan pulled Luffy out of the Black Rhino Armor, flicked him on the head, and then carried Luffy to bed.

……

The next morning, two little guys came aboard the Carroso.

It was Ace and Sabo who left yesterday.

"Didn't you two run away? What are you doing back here? Coming to your deaths?"

"Hmph! He actually ran away! Coward!"

"Huh? Who are you calling a coward!"

As soon as Kazan said something, Luffy immediately followed up with something else. After being startled by Ace's shout, Luffy immediately grabbed Kazan's leg and stuck his tongue out at Ace.

"Since you're going to become an apprentice, there must be a ceremony for the apprenticeship, right? We went to prepare the ceremony yesterday."

Ignoring the noisy Ace and Luffy beside him, Sabo offered an explanation first, appearing somewhat reserved.

Both Kazan and Akin put a lot of pressure on Sabo. The former came from the aura and bounty he exuded when facing Ace yesterday, while the latter was powerful enough to kill Ace in one hit and had a fierce look in his eyes that was definitely not a kind person.

"Apprenticeship Ceremony..."

Ah, yes, there is such a thing.

Kazan recalled that he had a similar ceremony when he was taken in as a disciple by his master in his previous life in Arad. However, the ceremony for becoming a disciple varied not only between worlds, but also between different schools and even different dojos, so Kazan didn't pay much attention to it.

When the topic of the apprenticeship ceremony came up, Ace, who was standing next to him, stopped making a fuss, blushed a little, and became shy.

Kazan almost mistook Ace for Monet's younger brother because of his appearance. Although Kazan really wanted to scold Monet like he usually does, saying "Why are you twisting around like that?", he ultimately didn't say it because of Ace's rather awkward personality.

"Let me tell you first! I'm not showing you any respect. I just want to see what you're really made of to dare say something like that. Besides, I don't want to be killed so easily. I want to live a life with at least a little value. And remember this: I will defeat you sooner or later!"

Kazan wasn't planning to pursue the matter further, but Ace hurriedly offered his own explanation.

Kazan, seeing Ace's embarrassed look, didn't bother to expose him. Instead, he was pleased that Ace was starting to value his life: it seemed his rambling yesterday hadn't been in vain.

"What did you say?! I'm the one who's going to defeat Kazan! With your frail body, who do you think you can take on?"

"Who gave you the audacity to talk like that... You get over there too, and from today onwards you'll be calling me Master."

Kazan slapped his head in exasperation and kicked Luffy, who was standing nearby, between Ace and Sabo.

"Huh? I want to become an apprentice too?"

"Correct."

"Oh."

Looking at Luffy's decisive and unwavering demeanor, Kazan even wondered if he truly understood what it meant to become an apprentice.

"Alright, you guys tell me how to arrange this apprenticeship ceremony."

"Of course, it's a toast!"

"Of course, we'll offer tea!"

"Then of course we'll eat meat!"

The three kids looked at each other. Ace was holding a bottle of strong liquor, Sabo was holding what looked like expensive tea leaves, and Luffy pulled out a dead rat from somewhere.

"Huh? Of course, you have to drink alcohol when you become an apprentice. Don't you even know this basic common sense?"

"Hey, you're kidding, right? Of course, the first time is to serve tea to the teacher."

"Nonsense! Eating meat is the most legitimate thing to do!"

The three little ones, each holding their own precious treasures, insisted on their own opinions, and almost came to blows when they realized they couldn't convince each other.

"Alright, alright. Since you're going to become my disciple, then follow my etiquette. Does anyone have any objections?"

"casual."

"also."

"Oh."

The three children knew that arguing like this was pointless, and that Kazan's words made sense, so they decided to follow Kazan's request and perform the apprenticeship ceremony.

"My apprenticeship ceremony consists of three tests. Once you pass them, you're good to go."

Chapter 096 Test

"This is the first test. Jump off here and let me see if you are prepared to die for your 'ambition' at any time."

At this moment, Kazan led Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and the other two to the largest waterfall on Mount Gorbel.

If this waterfall were described as a scenic spot, it would be magnificent and awe-inspiring, even though the three little ones looked pale and anxious.

"Hey, is this for real? Jumping off here might actually kill you."

"...It's just a waterfall, I'll jump over it."

"┭┮﹏┭┮ How scary! I don't want to jump!"

What were once their weaknesses have now become their strengths. Sabo, who is used to thinking more, is now full of concerns, while Ace, who is single-minded, appears more decisive. Luffy... well.

"If we're going to jump, let's jump together."

Kazan reached out and blocked Ace, who was about to jump. There was no point in jumping one by one, because the people behind would know that they wouldn't die if they jumped.

"Hey, Sabo, just jump! What are you hesitating for?!"

"At this height and with the current speed, jumping in might mean certain death."

"Why all this 'maybe' nonsense? We'll face countless potentially fatal situations once we're out at sea. If we die, it just means we're only this capable. 'Freedom'? Give me a break."

"Ah!!! I don't want to think about it anymore... Okay, jump! But what about this guy?"

Sabo shook his head vigorously, then pointed to Luffy, who was crying and making a fuss next to him.

"I don't have time to play around with this kid who's acting like he's joking! Get out of here, don't hold me back, just die if you want."

Ace wasn't as easy to talk to as Sabo. He ran up behind Luffy and kicked him off the waterfall before jumping down himself.

Sabo walked to the edge of the waterfall and looked down twice. He felt dizzy and gritted his teeth. He closed his eyes, pinched his nose, and then jumped in. It was the first time in his life he had done something so crazy.

The three little kids fell into the water without incident. Apart from some pain, they were fine. None of the three kids were in normal physical condition, so a waterfall of this height wouldn't cause them any problems.

……

"The second test is this: see, there's a little child down there. What would you do?"

The second test involved the three of them splitting up and taking the test one by one.

First up is Ace.

Kazan stood at the top of a slope and pointed to a 'little girl' in a floral dress at the bottom of the slope. At the same time, he kicked the crossbeam in front of him, and the huge crossbeam rolled down the slope toward the 'little girl' with great force.

Ace merely glanced at it and did nothing else, remaining indifferent even after the 'little girl' was smashed to pieces.

The second one is Saab.