[Ding! Assist Shanks in escaping danger. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total progress is 30%. Reward: Swordsmanship Level +1. Current Swordsmanship Level: Lv7.]
As Takumi was walking, the system's notification suddenly rang in his mind.
Immediately after, a more potent sword aura burst forth from him, spreading out rapidly. A sharp crackling sound echoed as countless tiny cracks spread across the surrounding buildings' walls.
Takumi instantly felt that his strength had risen to another level. Whereas his Divine Departure had only been able to wound Akainu's hand before, he now felt fully confident that he could slice off Akainu's entire arm.
Shanks silently followed behind Takumi. His left arm was still bleeding, and the injury had cut deep into his muscles, rendering his entire arm immobile. Blood dripped steadily from his arm, leaving a trail on the ground.
Just as Shanks was about to ask Takumi about the sword technique he had just used, an overwhelming sword aura suddenly surged from Takumi, catching him off guard.
With only a three-meter distance between them, Shanks had no time to evade.
If he hadn't been injured, this level of sword aura wouldn't have posed any threat to him. But now, things were different—he was injured and completely unprepared for any sudden moves from Takumi.
Though the sword aura only lasted for a moment, it still inflicted some secondary damage on him.
Shanks couldn't help but cough, "Cough, cough…"
Takumi stopped in his tracks and turned back to look at Shanks, but before he could say anything, a woman suddenly appeared at the end of the alley. She looked around anxiously before spotting Shanks and Takumi, then hurriedly ran over to them.
It was the mother of the little girl Shanks had saved earlier.
"Thank goodness I found you, my benefactor," the woman said, concerned as she noticed Shanks' injury. "Oh my, you're bleeding so much… My home is nearby; why don't you come over so I can treat your wounds?"
Shanks glanced at Takumi and smiled, "Kid, what do you think?"
Takumi replied indifferently, "Whatever."
"Alright then," Shanks said, turning to the woman with a smile. "Thank you for your kindness."
The woman waved her hand, "It's the least I can do after you saved my daughter. Come on, let's hurry. You've lost so much blood—doesn't it hurt? How can you still smile?"
"Hahaha, it's just a little blood, nothing to worry about," Shanks laughed heartily as he and Takumi followed the woman.
They soon arrived at the woman's home.
She quickly fetched a medical kit.
Shanks removed his coat, revealing that his entire left arm was soaked in blood.
The little girl Shanks had saved was clearly frightened but still brought out a basin of water, helping her mother to clean Shanks' wound.
"Aren't you scared by this scene, little one?" Shanks asked the girl with a warm smile.
"N-no, I'm not," the girl replied, her face pale as she bit her lip and shook her head.
"Hahaha," Shanks laughed. "What a brave child."
The girl's mother gasped when she saw the deep, bone-exposing wound on Shanks' shoulder, the flesh around it slightly charred. "This wound is too serious! We should go to a clinic…"
"It's fine," Shanks said nonchalantly. "Just stop the bleeding and bandage it up; that'll do."
"That won't do," the woman insisted. "If the wound isn't properly treated, it could leave long-lasting damage."
"Huh? That sounds like a hassle," Shanks said, frowning. "But the guy who fought me was a Marine, so going to a clinic might be tricky."
"Huh? Marines?" The woman hesitated, then said, "In that case, I'll go to the clinic and bring a doctor here. But… if the Marines ask the doctor about you, you might get exposed… Can I ask why the Marines were fighting you?"
Shanks laughed heartily, "Probably because I'm a pirate, hahaha…"
"A pirate?" The woman was startled, pulling her daughter back a half step. "Sir, you're joking, right? Are you really a pirate?"
Shanks looked at Takumi with a seemingly helpless expression, though he clearly wasn't bothered at all. "As expected, pirates are always seen as bad guys everywhere, hahaha."
Takumi took a sip from his gourd, then walked over to Shanks' side. He raised his hand, and a soft, glowing green light enveloped his palm.
Shanks watched him curiously.
The light slowly flowed into Shanks' wound.
At first, he felt nothing, but gradually, the pain in his wound turned into an itch that made him want to scratch it.
The woman and her daughter looked on in disbelief as Takumi healed Shanks.
A few minutes later, Shanks' deep, bone-exposing wound was completely healed.
All that was left were two black scars resembling bite marks where the wound had been.
"W-what? It's healed?" the woman exclaimed.
Shanks was equally shocked. "Takumi, who are you really?"
Takumi retracted his hand and chuckled, "Just an ordinary person."
"Liar, you're clearly a monster," Shanks said, testing his left arm, which now moved perfectly fine.
After a moment of silence, Shanks asked, "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"
Takumi calmly replied, "No."
"If you're not, then how did you heal such a deep wound in such a short time?"
Takumi remained silent.
The truth was, Takumi only healed Shanks because Shanks had helped trigger and complete his sign-in progress task.
The reason he had saved Shanks earlier was that Shanks had risked his life to catch the bottle of wine Takumi had given him, putting himself in danger. Takumi felt somewhat responsible, so he intervened.
Although Takumi found Shanks' talkative nature annoying, he didn't dislike the man himself.
Seeing that Takumi wasn't going to answer, Shanks scratched his head and laughed, "Hahaha… At least tell me what you used to heal me."
Takumi replied calmly, "Mystical Palm Technique."
"Oh, that sounds impressive," Shanks said, suddenly becoming serious. "And the sword technique you used against Akainu—it's very similar to the technique used by someone I know… Takumi, was that Divine Departure?"
Takumi looked at him and replied, "What do you think?"
Shanks was stunned for a moment. "Divine Departure is Roger's technique, not something just anyone can learn. Back in Foosha Village, you didn't seem to know any sword techniques, right? It's only been half a year since then. No matter how talented you are, it shouldn't be possible to learn Divine Departure in just six months… Takumi, how did you do it?"
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Shanks, and he asked in shock, "You have all three types of Haki and such incredible swordsmanship talent… Takumi, could you be Roger's illegitimate son?"
Takumi: "…"
Takumi responded flatly, "I'm not."
"Really? You're not?" Shanks seemed genuinely surprised, scratching his head in disappointment. "You're not…"
Takumi, uninterested in continuing the conversation, stood up and headed for the door.
Shanks also stood up and followed him, asking as they walked, "Are you heading to Alabasta's capital, Alubarna?"
Takumi casually replied with a simple, "Yeah."
"Oh, right," Shanks suddenly turned back to the mother and daughter, smiling as he waved. "Thanks."
With that, he left the house alongside Takumi.
The little girl snuggled into her mother's arms and asked, "Mom, didn't you say pirates are bad people? But that red-haired uncle didn't seem bad at all. He even saved me."
The woman hugged her daughter tightly and smiled, "That red-haired uncle is an exception. Most pirates are still very bad. Lili, remember, if anyone asks you whether you've seen a red-haired uncle, you should say you haven't."
"Huh? Why?"
"Sometimes, pretending to forget is a way of repaying kindness. You just need to remember him yourself; there's no need to let everyone know. It's a way to protect yourself and also protect the red-haired uncle. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
******
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