Otama looked at Komachiyo and Komachiyo looked at her as well.

Both the girl and the komainu had question marks in their minds. How could this strange brother fall asleep?

Otama called out "Brother" a few times, but the man with the cowboy hat covering his face slept soundly.

The little girl sighed lightly. This brother seemed to be another weirdo!

She kindly built a fire on the side, worried that this strange brother might freeze.

"What a good child," the young man murmured after Otama left. Then he fell asleep again.

...

After seeing Otama off at the teahouse, Vivi spent some time leafing through medical books. To be honest, it was really boring stuff to read! The medical practices in Wano were different from those in her homeland, Arabasta, making the learning process even more of a struggle.

A villager arrived with some news while she was immersed in her studies.

"Doctor-sama! Pirates! The pirates you've been looking for are here! A pirate ship has run aground near Okobore Town, and from what we could see, everyone on the ship seems to be unconscious."

Vivi was excited. Outsiders meant there might be a Den Den Mushi. Pirates or not, who cares?

She quickly informed Otsuru and hurried to the beach.

...

As for the young man Otama met, he didn't have the flying skills of Golden Lion or Vivi. He had a crew and his own ship, but while climbing the waterfall in Wano's outer sea, the pirate ship got caught in a whirlpool. He was cast out alone and washed ashore. The villagers of Okobore Town, a dozen miles to the north, found his crew and the pirate ship on a shallow beach. The ship had capsized, and the supplies and pirates were scattered over a hundred meters.

The villagers of both Amigasa Village and Okobore Town were in an uproar. They were frantically moving supplies around. The once lifeless atmosphere was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was running fast, grabbing whatever they saw. Anyway, it was all free!

When Vivi arrived at the shallow beach, she saw the stranded pirate ship and the bustling figures of the villagers. It reminded her of scenes from her past life, where lorries overturned on highways and nearby villagers scrambled to loot the cargo.

"Where are the pirates?" she asked.

Otama was busy munching on a radish almost as big as her head, her face all red. She pointed to a nearby tree stump with a worried expression. There were more than ten pirates tied up in a circle. Among them was the young man who had been sleeping on the beach.

The pirates all had their eyes closed, seemingly in a state of unconsciousness. They were apparently unaware that the supplies from their ship had fallen into the hands of the villagers.

Vivi casually watched the pirates, and suddenly her Observation Haki gave her a dangerous premonition. She quickly focused her gaze and said, "Huh? Otama, quick, step back!"

Based on some intuition, the young man tied to the wooden stump also opened his eyes and looked over.

Originally, the young pirate had a smile on his face, but when he noticed Vivi's presence, he became alert. The freckles on his cheeks seemed to ignite in the sunlight.

Cowboy hat, rosary around his neck and various tattoos on his arms - wasn't this Fire Fist Ace?!

Vivi was confident she could not be mistaken with such distinctive features.

But now, the relationship between their sides was unclear, and she wasn't going to judge friend or foe based on a small impression from the manga.

With her Observation Haki fully activated, she watched the other party carefully, not missing any subtle movements.

"You're the sister forcing the little one to read, right? You seem quite strong, interesting!" Ace had been awake for a long time, or rather, he had never slept in the first place.

The villagers had tied him to a tree stump, and for some unknown reason, he didn't resist. However, after Vivi arrived, he didn't dare to act as arrogantly.

A burst of flame shot up, startling Otama. She took a few steps back in surprise. The ropes binding the pirates were burned by the flames that had appeared out of nowhere. Ace, who stood 1.85 meters tall, shook his neck and got to his feet.

"I mean no harm. My Nakamas and I came to this country by accident. You can take this food freely, don't mind us," Ace said amiably.

Vivi, who had already taken on the role of spokesperson for the villagers, spoke up loudly, "By chance? Really? To get to this country, you have to sail up a thousand-meter waterfall. Normal people would retreat at the sight of such a waterfall. How stupid would anyone be to sail towards it? What is your purpose in coming to Wano?"

"Hahaha. Our Spade Pirates captain is indeed a bit foolish."

"Ace, you stupid captain, you got your lie busted so easily!"

"Ace, you're so dumb!"

Several pirates, pretending to be unconscious, stood up and laughed heartily. Ace joined in the laughter, showing no embarrassment at having his lies exposed.

The villagers all stepped back in unison. Due to the influence of Kaidou and the Beast Pirates, they harbored a deep hatred and fear of pirates.

Vivi, however, remained unmoved, just watching them laugh foolishly.

After laughing for a while, Ace used his right hand to lightly press the brim of his cowboy hat, striking a pose that looked somewhat handsome. "All right, I lied before. I am here to take Kaidou's head to become the new Emperor!"

Vivi kept a stoic expression on her face and did not utter a word.

It appeared that eating a Devil Fruit resulted in inflated self-confidence not only for her, but it seemed to be a common phenomenon, and right in front of her was a guy whose self-confidence had swelled to the extreme!

"Your crew calls you Ace, right? Is that your name?"

"That's right, I'm Portgas D. Ace!"

Vivi licked her lips, and a hint of bloody glow veiled her eyes. "You can't defeat Kaidou at all. Your provocations will only make Kaidou angrier. If you guys run away, it's these villagers who will suffer. Do you want to try a little competition? If you can't even beat me, then don't even mention Kaidou."

It was unusual to meet such a 'celebrity' and she felt uneasy all over if she didn't give him a few hits.

The current Ace looked pretty damn inexperienced, likely having just set sail and recently consumed the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit.) Vivi didn't think she would lose.

"Alright, bring it on!" Ace had been lucky after setting sail and hadn't encountered many strong opponents. Now his self-confidence was on a whole other level.

Vivi's challenge fueled his fighting spirit. He chuckled slightly at the thought of his opponent being a woman and seemingly two years younger than him.

He lowered his center of gravity, bent his knees slightly and assumed a defensive stance, signaling for her to make the first move.

"Be careful!" Vivi's right foot stomped the ground and her body shot forward like a released arrow, moving at a speed that left a series of afterimages. She covered a distance of more than twenty meters in an instant. With her five fingers forming claws, she launched a ferocious attack directly at Ace's face.

Her nails lengthened considerably, using "Rokushiki: Shigan" she had learned from Ain. Blood-red energy enveloped her fingertips, and the razor-sharp nails were as formidable as swords. If this attack landed, it could pierce even steel with five holes!

(End of the Chapter)