Eust inquired about the phrase “took an arrow to the knee” and unexpectedly received a dose of dog food.
It turns out that the swordsman Chano had fallen in love with a beautiful lady, which quashed his desire for adventure. He focused on pursuing this woman, and the end result was the classic “prince and princess lived happily ever after” scenario.
In simple terms, it was the hero saving the beauty, the beauty loving the hero, and Baratie gaining a cook who could manage the head chef Chano, now his wife, Winnie.
Chano introduced his wife Winnie to Eust and the others. Winnie, who was working in the kitchen, came over when called and greeted them warmly. She was the epitome of a kind and gentle housewife.
Winnie, despite her gentle nature, could “tame” a battle maniac like Chano, proving the saying that there’s always a natural counterbalance.
Eust also liked the type of beauty Winnie represented, but Lila was a different story.
Lila had many good qualities, but she was often too violent and didn’t know how to be gentle. She frequently beat up her captain, which hurt a lot, and didn’t consider the captain’s hard work.
Uh, maybe that revealed too much. The captain isn’t “henpecked,” and Lila probably wouldn’t realize that he thought of her this way, right?
Eust, dealing with his feelings of envy toward Chano and his complaints about Lila, chose to talk with Chano about swordsmanship instead.
As Eust had thought before meeting Chano, continuous learning is the key to improvement, and the same applies to swordsmen.
Eust was very interested in Chano’s swordsmanship. Since he sensed Chano’s identity and they got along well, Eust proposed learning swordsmanship from Chano, willing to fulfill Chano’s reasonable requests.
Chano readily agreed without asking for anything in return, which Eust somewhat expected.
However, Eust didn’t like his friends or companions to be at a disadvantage. Even if Chano didn’t ask for anything, Eust would still show his appreciation.
Through understanding, Eust gained a clear recognition of Chano’s strength.
Chano’s power far exceeded the outside rumors; he could cut through steel and unleash flying slashes, making him formidable even among top swordsmen.
When sparring with Eust, Chano didn’t use much strength. If Sanji hadn’t gone out to pursue his dreams, Chano and Click could handle any opponent, ensuring the safety of the floating restaurant Baratie.
The rumors about Chano’s mastery of the Swift Wind Swordsmanship and Iaijutsu were true, but the Swift Wind Swordsmanship was unique to Chano, and Eust couldn’t learn it despite his memories from a previous life.
Eust focused on learning Iaijutsu and other essential swordsmanship skills. Mastering these would bring him closer to becoming a great swordsman, capable of cutting steel and unleashing flying slashes.
Eust needed to follow Chano to learn Iaijutsu and solidify his basic and advanced swordsmanship knowledge, requiring the crew to stay at Baratie.
Chano also introduced them to the head chef, Zeff, who was second in command and Zeff the first.
Red-Leg Zeff was a straightforward person and got along well with Eust, but Eust felt a closer connection with Chano, who wasn’t just a swordsmanship mentor but held a special significance.
Thus, while Lila executed missions assigned by Sunny and Sunny engaged in exclusive training, Eust focused on swordsmanship training.
After a week, Eust had grasped the basics of Iaijutsu, and his understanding of basic and advanced swordsmanship had significantly improved.
Lila also claimed that her navigation skills had surpassed Eust’s. Despite her busy schedule, Lila spent considerable time studying navigation, and achieving this feat was impressive.
Even with the task fruit’s rewards, which had significantly enhanced Eust’s navigation skills, Lila surpassed him through pure learning, showing her exceptional talent for becoming a top navigator.
Additionally, Sunny had completed the development of life task rewards, meaning future rewards for life tasks completed by Eust and Lila would be enhanced, which would be a very welcome development.
Sunny’s next focus would be on developing the hunting task rewards, enhancing this aspect without adding new abilities but still crucial for the crew.
For instance, an increase in salary from 4000 to 5000 berries, though seemingly minor, brings significant joy.
Eust was most pleased with their significant progress at Baratie as he closed the gap with Sunny.
Initially, Eust was only as strong as a regular guard, with Sunny capable of easily handling four or five Eusts.
While dealing with the fast-blade Perry, Eust’s strength had increased to that of a minor pirate leader, but Sunny could still handle three or four Eusts.
Now, Eust’s strength equaled that of a pirate with a 1 to 1.5 million berry bounty, a significant improvement. Although Sunny had also improved, he could now only defend against two Eusts and might not win.
Why had Eust’s strength caught up with Sunny’s despite equal task fruit rewards?
Like Lila’s navigation skills, Eust’s continuous training and learning had surpassed the task fruit enhancements.
Eust’s talent in learning swordsmanship allowed him to master Iaijutsu quickly and solidify his swordsmanship knowledge.
Eust’s improvement in swordsmanship was also a result of his hard work. Talent without effort wouldn’t lead to strength.
With significant progress made, Eust prepared to leave.
Firstly, Chano, whom Eust had befriended and considered a kindred spirit from another world, indicated that there was nothing more he could teach Eust.
Secondly, Eust’s learning objectives were achieved, and he needed to venture out to continue his adventures and improve through real battles.
Recognizing that all good things come to an end, Eust decided to leave Baratie and continue his journey.
Parting was bittersweet. After resupplying through Baratie, Eust and his companions bid farewell to Chano and the others and embarked on a new adventure.
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