Red snow

Since we finished buying everything, I decided to spend some time perfecting the Mantra while playing with Haku.

The game is simple: I blindfold myself and activate the Mantra in a small radius to get used to recognizing the signals I receive. As I walk, I point at a signal and say if it's a man, woman, child, or animal, and Haku has to tell me if I'm right or wrong.

So, you can probably imagine the scene. A giant being led by a young child with their eyes covered, randomly pointing at things.

People crossed their arms, waiting for me to stumble, but too bad for them; it's easy to control what's within two meters of me. So even after several minutes, I kept walking without bumping into anything, and people got bored and went back to their business.

"It's getting better, Mr. Enel," Haku told me as he simply enjoyed the stroll in a new place. "Keep it up!"

I have to admit that now that I'm experiencing it, Enel has left me impressed. To think he can hear that entire surface on the Sky Island shows that he's probably one of the best Mantra users in the world, even with the support of the Devil Fruit.

I can only sense the bio-electric signals of others at the moment, and my range is nowhere near as wide. I don't even attempt to listen to what they're saying or anything like that because I think it would overload me with information. One step at a time.

After practicing for a while, I removed the blindfold and returned with Haku to the inn, asking them to serve us some food. They brought us steamed vegetables, chicken soup, and some bread.

The vegetables are alright, the soup is quite watery, and don't get me started on the bread. I had to dip it in the soup to finish it, but considering the price I paid, I guess I couldn't expect freshly baked bread.

I laughed when Haku poked my arm and asked if he could have another apple with puppy dog eyes. I think my apples just gained their first fan, so naturally, I gave him one.

Both of us yawned and went to sleep, but I encountered a problem. The futon here is too small for me and only covers half of my body.

When Haku saw my legs and head sticking out, he covered his mouth with his hands, trying to contain his laughter, unsuccessfully. Meh, at least my back is padded; it will have to do for now.

I woke up the next morning and noticed something heavy on my right arm. I turned my head and saw that my arm had become a hugging pillow, courtesy of Haku.

I'd take a picture if I could because it looks like a koala.

"Sky Island delivered. Go to XXXXX to claim it."

Suddenly, the remaining sleep disappeared. I checked the time on the wall clock, which seemed about to fall, and saw that breakfast time had already passed, so we wouldn't get anything at the inn when we leave.

"Haku, get up; we have to go."

"Ten more minutes..."

"If you get up, we can have lunch on a cloud."

"I'm awake, I'm awake!"

I've completely tamed him.

By the way, how am I supposed to explain our relationship now? Am I his new father figure? Tutor? Master? Big brother?

It's clear that I can't say we're twins; we don't have the same hair color, and that could give us away. I guess I'll wait to see if he tries to call me something other than "mister."

"Do we have everything?"

"Yes! I checked twice."

I wonder if this is how Tsunade feels with Shizune.

"Let's go; my special house is finished, and I think you'll like it."

The island is located ten thousand meters above sea level, and I'll make it clear that I've taken care of things like oxygen supply, atmospheric pressure, altitude sickness, etc.

Supposedly, beyond eight thousand meters of altitude is the "death zone" for humans, something I'm naturally going to use to my advantage.

As for how Luffy and his crew survived there, I'm not worried. The world of One Piece is so crazy that there are even space pirates. Logic feels sad in that world.

I want to get to the designated place quickly, so Haku ends up on my shoulders again as I take big steps to leave the village. I'm hearing that they've discovered that several people died nearby; I think they're referring to those Haku killed, and he seems to think the same because he's gripping my head tightly.

We fall silent; I don't know what to say right now, and I can't keep distracting him every time. He needs to accept what he did, make amends, and let go little by little.

We're passing through an infrequently traveled path, and I see bloodstains in the snow. It has a vivid color without darkening, so it seems quite fresh. The direction of the trail is the same as where I need to go, so I guess I have no other choice.

"Haku, you have to listen to me now. If I pat your leg, you have to close your eyes and hold onto my head very tightly, okay?" I told him with a serious but calm tone. "Don't open them no matter what you hear. Can you do that for me?"

"Mmm!" Haku nodded with determination, but I know he's not comfortable.

"Pinky promise?"

I raised my hand, and I could feel his small hand holding onto my pinky, so it seems like it's a pinky promise.

He leaped onto the branches, and I'm moving forward slowly because I'm not used to using this mode for transportation, so I have to stop and look at which branch to jump to each time.

I'm hearing metal clashes, screams, and explosions, so I guess some Kirigakure ninja squad must be fighting against a spy or something.

"Surrender, and we'll make your death less painful!"

"That's right, Rasa has turned you into a sacrifice for us, Kirigakure. Just accept your inevitable fate!"

"Today is the day of your death, Pakura!"