One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

Even with Rosinante personally guiding her, chakra was not something that could be refined in an instant.

The reason Rosinante himself had managed it so easily was because of his immense spiritual power.

Still, now that Elsa already knew the method of refining chakra, and with Rosinante helping her from the side, it was only a matter of time before she successfully drew it out.

After a round of training, Rosinante brought Elsa back home.

After lunch, the three of them went out for a walk together through town.

As they walked side by side, Rosinante and Shaxia looked so naturally close that many people on the street couldn't help but cast jealous glances their way.

Shaxia's beauty was truly peerless.

Even though she had deliberately concealed herself a little, she still drew countless eyes wherever she went.

In this little town alone, she had no shortage of admirers.

Although everyone knew Shaxia had a daughter, and although many had heard that she already had a man...

That still didn't stop them.

One after another, like moths to a flame, they continued trying to pursue her.

Over the past ten years, Shaxia had never shown even the slightest warmth toward any of them.

And yet that only made the obsession worse.

Whether married or unmarried, countless men in town remained hopelessly infatuated with her.

So now, seeing Rosinante and Shaxia standing so close together, looking every bit like a real family...

Those men were so jealous they practically wanted to kill Rosinante on the spot.

But mixed in with those looks of envy...

Rosinante also noticed many expressions of shock.

And many more of wild, uncontrollable joy.

Seeing those reactions, Rosinante only smiled faintly.

After wandering around town for a while, the family of three finally returned home.

"Come out," Rosinante said after dinner, standing calmly in the courtyard.

The moment he spoke, figures began flashing out from the shadows one after another.

Their appearances were all different.

A fruit vendor.

A middle-aged farmer.

A traveling peddler.

A bar waiter.

And many more.

They looked like ordinary townsfolk from every walk of life.

But in the next moment—

"Your Majesty!"

Every single one of them struck a fist against their chest in perfect unison and bowed in salute.

"It's been ten years," Rosinante said with a smile. "How have you all been?"

Back when he had been walking through town earlier, he had already noticed that quite a few members of the Oathblood were hidden throughout the settlement.

It seemed that all this time...

They had been silently protecting this place from the shadows.

"We've all been well," one of them said, his voice trembling. "We've only been waiting... for the day we could see Your Majesty again."

As he spoke, tears began streaming down his face.

Rosinante chuckled.

"What are you crying for? Aren't you embarrassed? You've all weathered storms far greater than this. Tell me—how are Katakuri and the others doing?"

One of the Oathbloods stepped forward.

"In order to draw the World Government and the Marines' attention away, the Vice-Captain led several attacks against World Government territory. After that, the Marines began focusing their efforts on him heavily. They had no choice but to flee into the New World."

"In the end, they took shelter under Whitebeard's protection. Only because of that were they able to avoid being wiped out by the Marines."

"As for us... because we rarely showed ourselves, we weren't heavily targeted or wanted. So we disguised ourselves and came here, where we've been secretly protecting Your Majesty and Lady Shaxia."

These men truly were among the weaker members of the Oathblood.

They were mostly responsible for logistics, support, and training reserve members.

"Whitebeard, huh..." Rosinante said thoughtfully, then smiled.

"So Charlotte Linlin is still as cold-hearted as ever."

He let out a low breath.

"It seems I owe Whitebeard a very big favor. I'll have to find a chance to repay that."

As Charlotte Linlin's son, once Katakuri entered the New World, his first instinct should naturally have been to seek shelter under the Big Mom Pirates.

Yet instead, he had ended up under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates.

That alone was enough to tell Rosinante that something unpleasant must have happened.

"But Vice-Captain and the others have rendered tremendous service to Whitebeard over the years," one of the Forbidden Guards quickly said. "Actually... we don't really owe Whitebeard anything."

Rosinante shook his head.

"That's a separate matter."

"In a situation like that, Whitebeard was willing to extend a hand and protect you."

"As your captain... as your king... I'll remember that favor."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" all of the Oathbloods answered with deep respect.

"Your Majesty, what are your plans next?" one of them asked.

"First things first," Rosinante said with a calm smile. "I'm getting Bins out."

"Bins was captured and thrown into Impel Down because of me. I'm not going to ignore that."

"But that's Impel Down..." one of the guards said worriedly. "Should we inform the Vice-Captain and the others?"

Rosinante only smiled lightly.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Do you really think a place like Impel Down can stop me?"

His tone was casual.

Calm.

Almost lazy.

But that composure... that confidence... instantly spread through every single member of the Oathblood like fire.

That's right.

Who was their king?

He was the Dragon King.

Wasn't this only natural?

Over the next three days, Rosinante spent every day by Shaxia and Elsa's side.

And on this day—

With Rosinante's help, Elsa finally succeeded in refining chakra.

"I did it! I finally refined chakra!" Elsa shouted excitedly. "Dad, hurry and teach me ninjutsu!"

"I'll start by teaching you a few basic ninjutsu first," Rosinante said with a smile.

"Basic ninjutsu..." Elsa pouted in obvious dissatisfaction.

Rosinante chuckled.

"Basic doesn't mean unimportant. In fact, the basic techniques are the most important of all."

"Especially the Substitution Technique among the Three Basic Techniques. If you use it well, you can toy with opponents who are stronger than you."

"Fine..." Elsa said, puffing out her cheeks. "But I still want to learn a powerful one! Like the lightning one, or the fire one, or the one where you control the water dragon!"

Rosinante laughed.

"Tomorrow, I have to go out for something."

"If, by the time I come back, you've already mastered the Three Basic Techniques... then when I return, I'll teach you a really powerful ninjutsu. How about that?"

"Dad, you're going out tomorrow?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah," Rosinante said, his eyes narrowing slightly with a faint smile.

"I'm going to pick someone up."

"One of your uncles."