Pimp Hand

Tama stepped out from her hiding place a started at me, "Who are you?" I smiled at the small girl, "My name is Soren. Your name is Tama, right."

The girl smiled, "I'm a kunoichi in training, but don't tell anyone." I could hear Hitetsu sigh, but I ignored him.

"Did you like the breakfast I made?" I asked, and Tama nodded vigorously, "Can you make it again? I've never had anything that good before." Tama tugged on my hand, pulling towards the kitchen, letting her pull me along. I laughed, "I will, but I don't think I have any ingredients."

Tama turned around and looked at Hitetsu, "Can we please go to the village and buy food. I promise I won't ask for anything else for the rest of the year."

Hitetsu struggled to respond, but I was there to pull him out of the deep end, "I have some pocket change, I don't mind cooking if Hitetsu allows it."

Tama sat on my shoulders as we walked through the village. People sure were surprised when I pulled out enough money to buy groceries. They immediately assumed I was some noble and bowed with my good looks and demeanor when I left their stores.

Tama was humming happily, "Someone is in a good mood." Tama nodded, "I haven't had this much food since Ace visited." I stopped for a minute as I thought about the timeline. In my absence, Ace should have joined the Whitebeard pirates by now.

I shook my head and resumed walking,' things are moving so fast now I need to get this over with.' A lot of the ingredients I had to buy were fruits, grains, and vegetables. Most of the meat in Kuri was poisonous, so I didn't have much to work with.

We were on our way back home when I heard something crash from a few blocks over. Tama tugged on my hair, "We should go check it out. Someone might be in trouble."

Knowing I shouldn't get involved, I couldn't disappoint the little vigilante, so I begrudgingly went to see what happened.

A ring of people had formed around the disturbance, but I pushed them aside to see what was going on. Nine men wore little more than loincloths and harnesses, which signaled them as part of the beast pirate crew.

On the floor was the debris of a stall, and among the wreckage, I could spot several Kokeshi figures. That's when I saw the woman, the same lady who had ripped me off for the wooden doll.

I could almost smell her fear. Tears streaked down her face as the Beast Pirates loomed over her, "Soren, you have to help her." I sighed as Tama continued to tug on my hair, insisting that I put myself at risk.

Picking the insistent girl off my head and placing her on the ground, I stepped into the circle to face the brutes.

The Kokeshi Woman smiled evilly as she saw me step forward. Then her face, full of fear, shifted into one of relief, "Oh dear husband, you've come to save me from these brutes."

At once, all nine turned to face me, their eyes promising violence. "You've always said that the Beast Pirates were nothing but dogs of Lord Orochi." The woman said, continually fueling the pirate's rage.

Remembering my time in slavery, I was suddenly overcome with rage. In the blink of an eye, I was in front of the bitch. She didn't even have time to flinch as I backhanded her sending her sprawling on the ground.

Her face was swollen and blood leaked from her lips. Everyone froze as I slowly started to release my aura. Turning around, I faced the crowd, "All of you will never speak of this day again, and If I hear any rumors, I will cut out the tongue of everyone here. And as for your nine."

The nine beast pirates started to shake uncontrollably, "Don't visit this village again unless you want me to raise my hand."

With that, I walked towards Tama, picked her up, and left the crowd still in shock. A few seconds on our way back, Tama looked at me, concerned.

"Are you really going to hurt them if they talk." I smiled down at the little girl, "No, but I realized that fear is a great motivator." Tama seemed thoughtful at that, and she was silent for the rest of the walk.

Hitetsu was waiting for them when they entered the house, "I was starting to worry for a second, that took longer than expected."

Thane shrugged, "I had to deal with something. It's nothing big now. I need to start cooking." I already had several recipes running around in my head to make with the ingredients I had.

Taking out the rice, I used some butter and oil in a wok to start making my stirfry. As the rice toasted, I began to prepare the vegetables throwing in onions, ginger, and peppers.

With an ease that most could never accomplish, I started to toss the rice flames, adding the rest of the vegetables and eggs the stirfry was done.

Plating the rice in a bowl, I placed one in front of Hitetsu and Tama. Both thanked me for the meal before digging in with enthusiasm.

Smiling, I ate with slower pacing feeling the satisfaction of having someone enjoy my food.

Hitetsu finished his meal first and looked at me, "Now that you've had your break, you need to get back to your training." I nodded, "When do we start the next step."

"Tomorrow, for the next year, you will be helping in the forging process. You will learn by observing." Hitetsu said, standing up from his seat.

I sighed the next year wasn't going to be very exciting but I needed a new sword and I planned on making it a good one. Maybe I would even blacken the blade, I already had ideas for names and alloys and shapes.

All I needed was the know how.