Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 690: Chapter 689: The Woes of Middle Age

Kojiro had a simpler choice, which was to cut down some blades himself, for a Bisharp’s body, it was much like cutting nails or shaving hair.

However, the wild Tinkaton tribes aren’t that friendly, so the two species are more like enemies.

But here in Wano Kuni, this kind of ecology was born, and the different relationships arising from different living areas are also a characteristic of Pokemon.

In the Hoenn Region, Lapras are rare and extremely seldom seen, but in the Alola Region, due to excessive protection, Lapras have become somewhat of a nuisance.

Thus here, as a possessor of Bisharp’s abilities, Kojiro reached a new mode of survival with the Tinkaton.

He refused to take freebies, letting the Tinkaton fetch them themselves. To this day, Kojiro’s essence hasn’t changed much. He can unleash a few powerful strikes, but compared to opponents of the same Level, his skills and endurance are somewhat lacking.

Nowadays, he deeply understands the importance of strength, using the Tinkaton as practice partners, otherwise, he could have written a complaint. With his current contributions, Arceus wouldn’t mind helping him put a stop to the Tinkaton’s peculiar behavior.

But he didn’t choose to do that; instead, he chose to foster a good relationship with the Tinkaton. Even though his butler thought Kojiro was utterly flustered when facing the Tinkaton, their relationship was actually quite good, especially when the Tinkaton didn’t need metal.

Hyogoro curiously got up and followed Kojiro, and shortly saw five Tinkaton jumping over the wall one after another. If he had come a few months earlier, he would have witnessed them literally breaking in.

At that time, because the butler locked the door, the Tinkaton chose an extremely straightforward way to open it—their signature move, Gigaton Hammer, wasn’t just for show; not just the locks but even the front door could be sent flying with it.

After that, Kojiro had a cordial and friendly conversation with them, and under the condition of not writing a complaint, both parties reached an agreement that no matter the situation, they shouldn’t damage the buildings here.

Don’t be deceived by their short legs; their inherent Machamp-like strength gives them quite formidable jumping abilities, enabling them to do such things without difficulty.

”Ha!”

”Alright, alright, you guys are something else. Did you time this on purpose?”

”Ha~”

The leading Tinkaton handed him a small box, and seeing the Tinkaton already starting to present gifts, Kojiro didn’t know what to say for a moment.

No matter the process, the results remained unchanged.

The ”material gathering process” quickly commenced. Although Kojiro wasn’t armed with a sword, Bisharp’s hands themselves were blades and could be considered as two short swords, which also allowed Hyogoro to see the drawbacks.

Against one Tinkaton, Kojiro could handle it with ease; two were not a problem either.

The species difference was not so vast that a Bisharp couldn’t retaliate, and individual variances were quite apparent—these Tinkaton weren’t specialized in combat.

But the problem was, that Kojiro’s opponents consisted of five and these five Tinkaton were essentially siblings.

During forging, they could swing five hammers, leaving afterimages without interfering with each other, crafting an item simultaneously. Under such specialized training, their coordination was incredibly seamless, even employing combo techniques like the Machamp Flying Hammer.

Under their assault, his situation became quite precarious.

Initially, the Tinkaton sparred with him one-on-one; now, the group brawl was Kojiro’s own request. On the practice field, difficulty could be chosen, but not enemies. Whether being besieged or poisoned, these are potential crises he may face, and he was honing himself through this.

After a while, the Tinkaton left joyfully with their arms full of blade fragments, while Kojiro stood up with Hyogoro’s help, helplessly rubbing his head.

”Sorry for letting you see that.”

”You can’t go on like this, your real combat experience is still too little.”

”There’s nothing to be done about it, if it weren’t for so many things happening, I wouldn’t be in this state now either.”

”I’m not talking about that! What about the things I taught you?! Did you forget the moment I turned around? You haven’t been practicing at all lately, have you?!”

Hyogoro knocked on Kojiro’s head with his pipe again, resuming his instruction. In his eyes, Kojiro’s responses were full of issues, not just a lack of experience, but also neglect of practice.

”That’s... I’ve been rather busy...”

”Busy with what... tending to fish and drinking tea in the courtyard?”

Pointing to the previous spot, Hyogoro’s face bore the expression of a senior disappointed in his junior.

”It’s just because you came that I came out... I’ll practice more.”

After much persuasion, Kojiro successfully convinced Hyogoro and sent him back home.

He then looked at the gifts brought by the Tinkaton, which seemed to include honey recently produced by Combee, along with other byproducts of Pokemon.

”Master Kojiro, there’s a phone call for you.”

While Kojiro was inspecting the gifts, his butler approached with a Communication Snail. Earlier, while discussing matters with Hyogoro, he hadn’t carried his communication device, so they had called the residence instead.

”Hmm? Who is it?”

”It’s Lady Setsuna...”

...

”Miss Setsuna, it’s me, is there something you need?”

”It’s nothing major, really. I’m outside your home at the moment. I might need to go in and look for something. If anything gets damaged, just send a bill to Kuri later, and I will compensate you.”

”Huh?”

Kojiro was momentarily perplexed, not understanding why the other party needed to search his house.

”Those two kids, I don’t know where they’re following your little Lapras to, but I’ve tracked them here, so sorry for the intrusion.”

”No problem at all, feel free.”

”Thanks.”

Seeing Kojiro’s agreement, Setsuna hung up the call from her side.

”Young Master Kojiro, you should also start considering matters about your heirs. Currently, you’re the only one left in the Sasaki family. If you keep... Apologies, I spoke out of turn, but here’s a list of eligible women in Wano Kuni, perhaps you’d consider it?”

”Uncle, I don’t want to delve into the mire of marriage just yet...”

As Kojiro grew older, his old butler had become quite enthusiastic about urging him to marry, which gave him a headache, especially since Setsuna’s daily affairs made him even less inclined to join such a life.

Meanwhile, outside Kojiro’s residence in Kumi.

Setsuna sniffed the air, becoming more certain of her thoughts—it was clear her two little children had come here. Originally, she felt they were still young, and making a Life Card wasn’t necessary.

But now she changed her mind; she’ll make a Life Card for the little ones later.

”Let’s go, Leavanny, I’ll need your help later.”