Chapter 39: Hope
When he first crossed into this world, it was known as a five-dimensional space, one layer higher than Earth's four-dimensional space. However, the technology in this world was clearly not as advanced as Earth's. It seemed that something here was more advanced than Earth, possibly the physical strength of the people and the Devil Fruits.
Having decided to uncover all the secrets of this island, Kado naturally could not return to the passage to investigate the relief. The majestic palace in front of him should hold records about the island.
Following the stairs leading into the palace, to his surprise, there were no guards around. Kado thought of two possibilities: one was that the Naga Kingdom didn't worry about outsiders attacking the palace, and the other was that the king's strength was so abnormal that they didn't fear anyone causing trouble.
Climbing up the stone steps of the great hall, Kado's nose twitched as a strong scent of food filled the air, giving him a familiar feeling.
"Sanchi!"
Kado sighed and followed the scent to another side hall.
Inside the side hall, Sanchi had his sleeves rolled up, holding a large iron pot and tossing ingredients into it. His eyes glinted with excitement, occasionally adding strange items to the pot.
"Sanchi, you're quite lucky, huh?" Kado called out as he walked over and sat at a long stone table. On the other side of the table sat a large, round, and stout man, fighting with a large pile of food. To him, eating wasn't about just eating, but more about stuffing his face. A full plate of food was lifted and poured directly into his mouth before being discarded to the side, waiting for more dishes to be prepared by Sanchi.
"Oh, Kado, come try this. This is my new cooking method. It should be really delicious!" Sanchi placed the large iron pot on the table, casually pushed a pile of empty plates into a neat row, and with swift motions of a metal spoon, filled the empty plates with food. He then placed the pot back on the stove to continue cooking.
"Glug..."
Unable to resist the delicious aroma, Kado, like the stout man across from him, began eating enthusiastically.
"Hey, Sanchi, do you know where Fite is?" Kado mumbled, asking.
"Oh, he seems to have gone out with the palace guard team to hunt sea kings," Sanchi replied while continuing to cook.
"Really? You still believe him? He probably went out to survey the local customs and terrain, writing his reports," Kado said disdainfully.
"Heh, that's what he said when he left. He mentioned that there's very little existing information about this island, and he was determined to do a thorough investigation," Sanchi said, placing the large iron pot on the table again. His cooking speed was impressive.
"Who's this fat guy?" Kado asked, pointing at the man across the table.
"Who else? The king of this place."
Kado nearly choked on his food, staring in shock at the man. Now that he had taken a proper look, the man in front of him was wearing a gold-trimmed robe and was indeed plump, but without his terrifying eating habits, he could almost pass for a king.
"You mean this guy is the king?" Kado asked, still shocked.
"Yeah," Sanchi said, stepping forward to put his arm around the man's neck and ruffle his hair. "It's not easy finding someone who appreciates my cooking. He's a kindred spirit."
The plump man, whose tongue was nearly out from overeating, finally stopped eating, looked at Kado, and asked, "Who's this?"
"My other companion, and my captain," Sanchi answered.
"Wow, a new chef! I'll finally get to eat my fill!" the man exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, yeah, who said the chef's companion must also be a chef?" Sanchi retorted angrily.
Kado wiped away the cold sweat, thinking, this isn't a king, this is just a pig that eats everything.
At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. A figure stumbled in, gasping for breath.
"Your... your Majesty... it's... it's not... okay!" The figure spoke, then slapped himself, correcting, "No, no, it's actually great!"
The plump man threw a crystal vine at the figure, saying, "Drink some water and speak."
After taking a sip from the crystal vine, the figure calmed down and looked ecstatic. "The guard team discovered an island... an island! We can return to the human world!"
"What?!" The plump man nearly knocked over the table, but Sanchi quickly held him down, leaning over the table and turning his head to ask, "Really? Really? I've never tasted food from other places. I've heard their food is very different from ours."
"Still a pig!" Kado commented calmly.
The figure explained the details, and Kado understood.
This morning, the guard team, along with Fite, had gone hunting sea kings. Fite had split off to survey the terrain, intending to document data. As a sniper, Fite had exceptional vision and had spotted a small black dot in the distance, which seemed to be growing larger. After informing the captain of the guard team, the captain wasn't sure what to make of it but managed to bring a telescope. After careful observation, they confirmed the black dot was an island. The appearance of an island meant there could be people there, which meant Skull Island might be drifting back into the human world. Excited, the guards rushed back to report the good news to the king.
After hearing the report, the plump man slapped the table and said, "Let's go see it. I've been living on this pile of stones. I don't even know what an island looks like."
The guards led the way, and the four of them headed toward the direction where the island had been spotted. As they passed the wooden door, the plump man looked disdainfully at the large hole in it and said, "The Chief Executive insists on using a wooden door to show how different the royal family is. Now look at this, we have to repair it every now and then. It's so annoying."
When they opened the door, two guards were still there. One of them greeted the king, "Your Majesty, the door's broken again. We can't fix it. Could you help us?"
The other guard, holding a wooden plank, said, "We found some new wood. It looks much stronger than the old stuff."
Kado glanced at it and realized that it was the wreckage of the ship he had arrived on.
The plump man, eager to see the island, waved at the guards and rushed off.
Guard A: "What's with the King? Why the rush?"
Guard B: "Maybe he's going to find a woman. He's twenty now; it's time to find a queen."
Guard A: "No, I bet it's because the guard team caught a rare sea king."
Guard B: "What a drag. We're on duty today. We can't go out and have fun."
End of chapter
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