247. To Udon

"You are leaving today?"

Leo asked Zoro.

Zoro nodded and said, "The final battle is getting close. I need my sword."

Leo agreed. He looked at Hiyori and said, "I'll leave him in your care."

Hiyori chuckled.

Tama came out from the kitchen carrying a small sack. He handed it to Hiyori.

"Big sister, I packed a bunch of fruits for you."

Hiyori smiled sweetly. She accepted the sack and said, "Thanks Tama."

All of them walked out.

Komachiyo was resting infront of the house.

"You can take Komachiyo with you. A ride from Kibi to Ringo would take too long on foot."

Leo said.

Hiyori thanked them and got on Komachiyo. Zoro also jumped on it's back.

"Bye, bye, big sister Hiyori."

Tama waved them off.

When they disappeared from their sight Leo looked at Tama and asked, "Ready for your lessons?"

Tama nodded happily.

A day ago Leo thought about teaching Tama a Breathing Technique. After considering the pros and cons of every technique he settled on Flower Breathing.

He did consider Shinobu's Insect Breathing but he thought it wasn't suitable for Tama.

"Tama, Breathing Techniques are essentially about breathing in a lot of air and improving your body."

Since she was a kid he didn't explain in detail. He simply glossed over the basics and helped her with the stances.

Leo was a grandmaster swordsman and had read tons of martial arts theories as well as trained in a lot of them.

Tama was a kid. Her body was still growing so too much strenuous exercise would be counterproductive. So he improved the stances and reduced their difficulty by a large margin. Even a kid like her would be able to do diluted stances.

Though it's not as strong as the original, training in it for years will improve her physique and reaction time.

With Leo's help Tama clumsily did the stances. After doing a single set she was tired. Leo had her take a break and gave her water from the reservoir.

The abundant vitality in it would improve her body's metabolism as well as strengthen her bones and her flesh.

Leo taught between a set interval of time. Luckily Tama was clever and remembered the overall picture of the stances.

After half a day of training she was able to do it without Leo's help.

Finishing a set she jumped up happily, "I did it!"

Leo smiled, "Very good."

He was slightly surprised she was able to grasp the basic structure of the stances. Though it is useless without the proper Breathing Technique, it was still something.

Suddenly Tama paused and asked, "Big brother, where is big brother Luffy. You said he would come back after a few days. It's been so many days."

By the end of her words Leo sensed a bit of panic.

Smiling, he asked, "You wanna see him?"

Tama nodded.

Leo picked her up and said, "Then let's go see him."

Hitetsu just came out of the house when he heard Leo.

"Going out again?"

Leo nodded, "Tama wants to see Luffy."

Hitetsu shook his head and smiled inside. Leo indulged every one of Tama's whims.

"Alright, we'll be off then."

Leo grabbed a bunch of fruits and took a step. He walked through the air and took off into the sky.

...

Udon.

Smoke rose from iron chimneys. There were many people working tirelessly here.

This was a slaves camp. People who were part of the rebellious army or admired Oden and followed in his footsteps were imprisoned here.

They worked day and night without enough food to fill their bellies.

Among these group of prisoners were two people who were particularly eye catching. They were smashing through the rocks, filling the trolley with large pieces of crushed rock.

"Oi! Mugiwara! You're in the way!"

"Huh? Go somewhere else then."

"Why the heck should I!? Just move you idiot!"

One of the two was Luffy who was defeated by Kaido. He was thrown to work in the factory.

The other was also a famous pirate. One of the supernovas, Eutess Kidd!

Both of them were captured by Kaido and thrown to work as slaves.

"Those two are crazy!"

"How can they still move with kairoseki cuffs?"

The guards around the place were looking at them stunned. Those two were hauling out rocks faster than they could count them.

After hauling out more than their required amount they went to collect food.

Both of them ate their fill and continued to work.

Outside the factory.

Flare and a man with a large head dressed as a ninja scanned the number of guards at the factory.

"There is no sign of Queen."

The man in the ninja outfit was called Raizo. He was one of Oden's vassals.

Flare nodded and asked, "About the other man you said, is it possible to break him out without anyone noticing?"

Raizo shook his head, "Difficult. Kawamatsu's cell is at an open area. I can get close because of my skills, however it's impossible to get him out unnoticed."

Flare was deep in thought after he heard Raizo.

Bringing one more with me is no problem. But those jailers are a problem. They may not be as strong as Queen but they might notice the sudden disappearance of Kawamatsu.

As he was thinking Flare's kenbunshoku haki was triggered. He stared and looked up far into the sky.

...

Leo was tredding through the sky with Tama.

Here we are. That should be the factory.

He looked down and found the factory where Luffy should be.

His spiritual sense spread out. He immediately found Luffy. He was surprised to see the kid still so jumpy even after a through beating.

First, let's take care of that.

Leo raised his right arm and slashed. A sword light flashed and fell on a certain area of the factory.

Boom!

A small building was immediately cleaved in half.

"What's going on?!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Where is he?!"

The guards and the jailers were panicking. They looked around to find out where the attack came from.

Suddenly one of the jailers sensed something. He looked up and saw a person descend from the sky. He stepped through the air like he was on solid ground and landed softly infront of them.

Tama looked around. She was searching for Luffy, and she found him right away.

"Big brother Luffy!"

She waved her hand excitedly.

She totally ignored the glares they were getting from the guards and the jailers.

After spending a lot of time with Leo she grew to trust him unconditionally. With him beside her she wasn't worried about anything.

Flare was looking at the situation unfolding inside the factory with a smile.

"I guess we'll be taking down Udon."