### Chapter 5:
All Those Who Come to Your Door Are Blind Fish
"Hello."
Facing Kizaru's welcoming words, the visitor nodded and spoke in an emotionless tone.
"We'll be roommates from now on. Please guide me."
Kizaru smiled and stepped aside, making room for the visitor to enter the dormitory. "I'm Kizaru."
"Sakazuki."
"Sakazuki, you look very strong," Kizaru remarked with a smile.
The latter didn't respond or react in any way. He simply continued packing his luggage.
Kizaru didn't feel unhappy at all due to the other party's cold attitude. On the contrary, in his eyes, such aloofness was the expected behavior from the man before him.
A quick reference to the original plot of One Piece would tell you that if a big brother suddenly has a drastic change in mood towards you and even talks to you a lot...
In most cases, there is only one possibility – he intends to deceive you with the "Pretend to be a fool".
Therefore, faced with Sakazuki's indifferent attitude, Kizaru just smiled disapprovingly and suggested some standard ice-breaking advice for new roommates:
"Speaking of which, it seems like it's time to eat. Would you like to go to the cafeteria together, Sakazuki?"
Sakazuki instinctively planned to refuse, but after considering that he didn't know the location of the cafeteria, he nodded hesitantly.
Although he could have found it by asking others or spending some time, he considered it a waste of time and effort.
"Wait until I finish packing," he added.
"No problem~"
...
Sakazuki packed his luggage very quickly, showcasing his efficient style. The entire process of making the bed and organizing his groceries took less than five minutes. After Sakazuki finished, Kizaru walked with him to the cafeteria.
In fact, logically speaking, Kizaru only joined the Beihai branch today and should be as unaware of the cafeteria's location as Sakazuki. However, Kizaru is now a social terrorist – a social terrorist, so he has already inquired about some basic information about this base.
What basic allowances, what commute times, what daily duties...
Under Kizaru's guidance, the two walked into the cafeteria despite the surprised and curious gazes of many ordinary sailors. After each ordered a meal at the counter, they found an unoccupied table and sat down together.
The navy cafeteria at the Beihai branch, like other branch cafeterias, does not offer meal selection services, only pre-made set meals. Fortunately, all meals are free, and given that sailors generally have hearty appetites, there are no limitations. As for the food, it's not much different from the ordinary university cafeteria Kizaru frequented before traveling. Due to the vast sea areas of the One Piece World, there is relatively more fish and seafood, with slightly fewer vegetables. As for the taste, it's quite satisfactory, akin to the standard hearty stew one might expect.
Sakazuki himself is not a talkative person, especially with a new roommate he just met, and Kizaru himself prefers not to talk during meals, so the two sat through their meal in silence.
They finished their dinner quietly and then walked back to the dormitory together. It's worth noting that Sakazuki finished eating first and waited for a few minutes.
Originally planning to return directly to the dormitory, something unexpected happened to them just downstairs.
"Excuse me, what can we do for you?"
Kizaru squinted and looked at the burly men standing in front of them.
While they are called burly, they are actually a little shorter than Kizaru and Sakazuki. But among ordinary sailors, these five or six are considered burly men.
"It's nothing. We're just taking a walk, brothers."
The leader, the bald Scarface, grinned playfully.
"Eh? Taking a walk. It's a good habit after dinner, good for digestion... But could you please step aside a bit?"
Kizaru said with a smile, looking at the entrance to the dormitory building blocked by several people behind Scarface. "My roommate and I are heading back to rest."
"Step aside..."
Scarface's expression turned serious as he turned to his companions. "This new guy asked us to step aside. What do you guys think?"
"Brother, it's not that we can't step aside... But if this new guy just says one word, we have to step aside. Doesn't that make us old navy soldiers look shameless?"
Someone behind Scarface spoke up.
"Yes, brother. Everything should be reasonable, right? It's our right as brothers to walk here. This little brother wants us to give up our rights to accommodate him. It's a bit selfish. However... we're very friendly. If he's willing to show us something, we'd still be happy to look out for the newcomer..."
Another person behind Scarface added.
"That's right, brother."
"Well... what you're saying makes sense,"
Scarface nodded and looked at Kizaru and Sakazuki with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "You two, you've seen the outcome of our discussion just now. I really want to give in, but my brothers don't seem too happy... Even though I say I'm their big brother, I can't make decisions for them. Otherwise, I wouldn't be their big brother..."
"Eh? Is that so..."
Kizaru narrowed his eyes and stopped Sakazuki, who was already preparing to step forward, with his right hand. "So, big brother, how do you and your brothers plan to handle this?"
"...Well, here's the deal,"
Scarface pretended to think for a moment and said seriously, "Since we're all sailors in this branch, it's also fate. As seniors, we naturally won't bully or deceive our juniors... There are five of my brothers here, plus me, that makes six of us in total. Just give us 10,000 Beli each, totaling 60,000 Beli. If anything happens in the future, you can call on us brothers. How about it? It's a very reasonable price. What do you say, a deal?"
Having said that, Scarface smiled at Kizaru and Sakazuki, as if he was convinced of their compliance, and his companions behind him also smiled maliciously.
"Sixty thousand Beli, indeed, that's a more reasonable number..."
Kizaru nodded.
Before Scarface and his gang approached, they had considered taking action. After all, the two of them looked tall, especially the one in the red shirt. He was tall and robust, with a fierce expression on his face. However, they didn't anticipate this lanky monkey in yellow clothes being so sharp-witted. For a moment, Scarface felt a bit regretful – he would have asked for more if he had known better.
Despite feeling somewhat remorseful, Scarface continued, "Since you find the numbers reasonable, little brother, then..."
"Senior, I have a question."
Kizaru suddenly spoke up, interrupting Scarface.
"Huh? What is it?"
Scarface frowned, masking his irritation.
"Senior, does your brother have a bandit brother in the East Blue?"
Kizaru chuckled and said, "My name is Sig, nicknamed the Bandit King. He's just as bold as you, senior..."
"Huh?"
***Author's Note***
Eiichiro Oda once stated that Beli is equivalent to the Japanese currency. Therefore, 1 Beli is approximately equal to 1 Yen, and 1000 Beli ≈ 7.7 USD.
The strongest pirate in the world, you have to look at me, the Thief King Sig!
***End***