Worries of Middle-Aged People

Kojiro made a simple choice: to let them knock some of the blades themselves. For Bisharp, this was akin to trimming nails or cutting hair.

However, the wild Tinkatons aren't as friendly, making the two species more like mortal enemies.

But this is Wano Country, so an ecosystem like this has been developed because Pokémon relationships vary depending on their living environment, which is a unique aspect of the Pokémon world.

For example, in the Hoenn region, Lapras are rare and seldom seen, but in the Alola region, they've become somewhat overpopulated due to excessive protection.

Here, as someone with Bisharp's ability, Kojiro has found a new way to coexist with the Tinkaton.

Instead of offering them for free, he let the Tinkaton take them on their own. To this day, Kojiro hasn't changed much; he can still deliver a few powerful strikes, but compared to opponents of the same level, his skills and stamina are somewhat lacking.

Now, Kojiro understands the importance of strength, so he uses the Tinkaton as training partners. Otherwise, he could have filed a complaint; with his current contributions, Arceus wouldn't mind helping him curb Tinkaton's strange behavior.

But he chose not to go that route. Instead, he opted to cultivate a good relationship with Tinkaton. Although his butler found Kojiro's interactions with Tinkaton quite taxing, their relationship is actually decent—especially when the Tinkaton don't need any metal.

Hyogoro curiously followed Kojiro, and soon, they saw five Tinkaton jump over the wall one after another. If Hyogoro had come a few months earlier, he would have witnessed them literally break down the door and enter.

Back then, because the butler had locked the door, the Tinkaton resorted to a very straightforward method to open it. Their signature move, Gigaton Hammer, was no joke. Not only the lock but the entire door could be smashed open.

After that incident, Kojiro had a friendly and cordial conversation with them. Under the premise of not filing a complaint, he reached an agreement with them: no matter what happens, they wouldn't damage the buildings here.

Despite their short legs, their innate Super Strength gave them a terrifying jumping ability, so doing such a thing wasn't difficult for them.

"Tinka~ton~!"

"I know, I know. You guys are really something. Did you time this?"

"Tinka~ton~"

The leading Tinkaton handed him a small box. Seeing the Tinkaton bringing gifts while visiting, Kojiro didn't know what to say.

No matter the process, the result was the same.

The "harvesting" process quickly began. Although Kojiro didn't carry a sword, Bisharp's arms themselves were blades, essentially two short swords. Even Hyogoro could see how disadvantageous this situation was.

With one Tinkaton, Kojiro could easily handle it. Two were also no problem.

The difference between their species wasn't so great that Bisharp couldn't fight back, and there were clear individual differences. These Tinkaton weren't specialized in combat.

But the problem was, Kojiro's opponents were five Tinkaton, and they were all siblings.

When forging, they could swing their hammers in such perfect sync that they left afterimages, creating a single item without interfering with each other. With such training, their teamwork was impeccable, and they even had some combo moves, like the Super Strength Flying Hammer.

Under their coordinated assault, Kojiro found himself in a difficult situation.

Initially, Tinkaton fought him one-on-one, but now the group battle was at Kojiro's own request. On the training ground, you could choose the difficulty level, but in reality, enemies wouldn't hold back. You could face anything from an ambush to poison, so he was honing himself for any situation.

After a while, the Tinkaton left with shards of blades in their arms, full of joy. Kojiro, on the other hand, was helped to his feet by Hyogoro, who gave him a sympathetic pat on the head.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed myself in front of you."

"This won't do, Kojiro. You still lack real combat experience."

"It couldn't be helped. If it weren't for everything that happened, I wouldn't be like this now."

"That's not what I'm talking about! What happened to the things I taught you? Did you just forget everything as soon as I told you? You haven't practiced at all during this time, have you?"

Hyogoro tapped Kojiro on the head with his pipe and started teaching him again. In his view, Kojiro's responses had a lot of issues. It wasn't just a matter of experience; it was also due to a lack of practice.

"Well... I've been pretty busy..."

"Busy with what...raising fish and drinking tea in the courtyard?"

Hyogoro pointed to the previous spot, his face showing disappointment towards a junior.

"That's only because you were here, so I came out... I'll practice more, I promise."

After some back-and-forth, Kojiro finally managed to convince Hyogoro and saw him off to his home.

He then looked at the gifts the Tinkaton had brought him. It seemed to be honey produced by Combee and some other Pokémon-related items.

"Master Kojiro, there's a call for you."

As Kojiro was examining the gifts, his butler approached with a Smart Tanishi, a communication device. Kojiro hadn't been carrying his usual communication equipment while discussing matters with Hyogoro, so the call had come to the house phone instead.

"Hmm? Who is it?"

"It's Madam Setsuna..."

...

"Miss Setsuna, it's me. What's the matter?"

"It's nothing major. I'm outside your house in Kibi. I might need to go inside to find something. If I break anything, just send the bill to Kuri afterward, and I'll compensate you."

"Huh?"

Kojiro was momentarily confused and didn't quite understand why she needed to go into his house to find something.

"Those two kids somehow ended up following your Little Kai. I happened to track them here, so sorry to bother you."

"It's okay, it's okay, feel free to do whatever you want."

"Thanks."

With Kojiro's approval, Setsuna ended the call.

"Master Kojiro, it's about time you thought about having children. Sasaki Family only has you now. If you... Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But here's a list of eligible women in Wano Country. Would you consider it?"

"Uncle, I'm really not interested in getting caught up in marriage right now..."

As Kojiro grew older, his butler became increasingly insistent on urging him to marry, which made Kojiro quite exasperated—especially after witnessing Setsuna's daily life, he had even less desire to join that kind of life.

Meanwhile, outside Kojiro's residence in Kibi...

Setsuna sniffed the air, becoming more certain of her suspicion that her two children had indeed gone inside. Originally, she thought they were too young to need a Vivre Card, but now she had changed her mind. She decided to make one of them as soon as they returned.

"Let's go, Leavanny. I might need your help in a bit."

Hey guys, I will release 2 extra chapters for 300, 500 power stones for this week.