Chapter 20: Setting Sail Alone.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

Smoker was promoted from Lieutenant to Commander two months ago and was transferred from his previous position.

Initially, he intended to disobey orders and stay in the Goa Kingdom.

But Hiruma convinced him to leave, saying that he had already provided all the guidance he could and that the rest was up to Smoker himself.

Of course, Hiruma also took the opportunity to make a killing from Smoker before he left.

Although Smoker was reluctant to leave, he immediately ran away after seeing the sum of money he had received in advance as a Commander's salary being turned into Hiruma's cigars.

"Straw Hat and Ace, aren't you two going to the Grand Line?"

"I'll be waiting for you in Loguetown. If you want to enter the Grand Line, you'll have to prove yourselves first, haha...oh~"

Smoker hugged a huge milk bottle and blushed, which was a rare sight.

Hiruma didn't even look back, saying, "Take this food with you on the road."

"Hahaha! Smoker, you won't be lacking food on your journey this time."

"I'm laughing so hard, Smoker, just hug that bottle of milk and use it as a raft to head to Loguetown!"

...

Although there was an age gap and differences in beliefs and ideals, Luffy and Ace still had a good impression of Smoker after all this time.

With Smoker's departure, Hiruma also prepared to start his own plan.

But before that, he had to complete the assessment of the two little guys.

"Luffy, you go first. Let me see how far you've come in Kami-e." Hiruma snatched a bow from Curly's hand and pointed the arrow directly at Luffy, which could be shot at any time.

Curly was a little uneasy and said, "Hiruma-san, this is not a good idea. If you're going to do it yourself, maybe we should switch to wooden arrows."

Hiruma ignored her and turned to the others. "Listen up, anyone who shows mercy will be forced to drink from the super-sized milk bottle!"

Everyone had a bitter expression but dared not defy his orders.

Drinking from the super-sized milk bottle would make their cheeks go numb from sucking on it for too long.

"Don't worry, attack as much as you want!" Luffy was quite confident.

At Hiruma's command, everyone bent their bows and shot arrows simultaneously.

Only him did not move, but simply pulled the bow into a full moon shape, waiting quietly.

"Rubber-Rubber Fruit: Kami-e!"

Luffy took a deep breath and filled his body with air, turning himself into a balloon and becoming light as a feather.

Meanwhile, dozens of arrows were shot at him in succession.

With the use of "Kami-e," Luffy's already light body became as light as a feather, allowing him to feel the changes in the airflow and float in the air without even looking at the arrows that were rapidly approaching.

Just as the arrows were about to pierce his body, Luffy was able to twist his body at the last second and successfully avoid them, all while keeping his eyes fixed on Hiruma.

Wave after wave of arrows was shot at Luffy, but they couldn't harm him in the slightest.

Hiruma smiled slightly as he watched Luffy's performance. He was satisfied, but whether or not Luffy could dodge his own arrow would depend on his true strength.

Hiruma activated his Observation Haki.

In the next moment, the whole world seemed to change in his eyes.

Everything slowed down, and Luffy's aura, including his current emotions, were completely revealed in his mind.

Suddenly, Hiruma made a move.

A streak of light flashed by, and the arrow headed toward the spot where Luffy would be in the next moment.

Of course, he didn't go too far. Using his Observation Haki to foresee Luffy's next move was like bullying a child. So, he gave Luffy a chance.

As long as Luffy could change the shape of his body to a certain degree, he could dodge the arrow.

As soon as Shiliew made his move, Luffy's body was covered in sweat.

This arrow completely sealed off all of his possible escape routes.

It wasn't like the other arrows that were shot at him. It was as if he was actively running towards the arrow.

He couldn't dodge it!

Luffy already knew that he couldn't dodge this arrow.

"Poof~~"

At a critical moment, Luffy exhaled some of the air he had just sucked in.

With the expulsion of air, his entire body twisted into an extremely exaggerated shape due to the force of the recoil.

His legs stretched out while his upper body shrank by half.

"Swish!"

The arrow, gleaming with cold light, grazed past the root of Luffy's thigh and pierced through several large trees in the distance before coming to a stop.

Luffy was shocked and covered in a cold sweat, looking down at the hole that had been ripped into his pants. "Master, you're so cruel! I almost couldn't pee in the future!"

Hiruma reached out and took out a card, which was the "Okama Experience Card" obtained as loot, "Don't worry, you can become an Okama. You are still young, and if you become a new human, you will definitely be a beauty in the future."

"Ace, it's your turn next."

Although Luffy was a bit of a cheat, that was also the unique aspect of his Rubber-Rubber fruit ability.

Overall, his performance was passable.

As for Ace, although he didn't like Tekkai, he still diligently practiced under Hiruma's threat of a "super-large milk bottle farewell."

Curly brought a sword and attacked.

At first, she didn't dare to attack too hard, but after a few attempts, she began to swing her sword with all her might.

However, even after her sword had become dull, she still couldn't harm Ace in the slightest.

Only Ace's clothes were thoroughly destroyed.

"Not bad, barely passing."

"In that case, I can leave with peace of mind."

As soon as Hiruma finished speaking, everyone was shocked.

"Master, where are you going? Are you going to sea?" Ace was shocked. Only Luffy, this carefree little guy, was not in a shock, but rather looked forward to it: "In that case, I'll reluctantly take you with me. How about being my vice-captain?"

"Bang!"

Hiruma punched Luffy's head, causing Luffy to almost burst into tears from the pain.

"You stay here obediently. You two listen carefully, you cannot go to sea until you're at least seventeen years old!"

He didn't dare to change Luffy and Ace's fate at will.

In case they went to sea too early and couldn't get the proper training, no one knew what accidents might happen.

For example, Luffy might not meet his comrades, or Ace might not obtain the Flame-Flame Fruit.

Seeing the two of them looking unhappy, Hiruma added calmly, "Unless you don't want to meet Sabo."

The two of them immediately became dispirited, not knowing whether it was because Hiruma was leaving or because they couldn't set sail early.

"Hiruma-san, this humble woman will go with you..."

Curly's words directly made Shige shudder.

"Stop!" Hiruma hurriedly stopped her from continuing: "I am leaving for a while and will come back after dealing with some things."

"So you two little guys had better not be lazy. Otherwise, you don't need a ship, just take the milk bottle and set sail to the sea on it."

With Hiruma's overall attributes now, setting sail was not a problem at all.

Not to mention the East Blue, he will be safe even on the Grand Line, at least the first half shouldn't be a problem.

The reason why he chose to go to sea at this time was to confirm some things.

"Calculating the time, that guy Arlong should have already been pardoned by the Navy. He should be on his way to the East Blue now."