"Gwah!!!"
Just as Kairo, Perona, and Robin stepped out of the desert Crocodile had created, a round little figure suddenly jumped out from behind a boulder.
It immediately struck a challenging pose at Kairo.
Its adorable appearance and shell-like "armor" on its back made its identity unmistakable.
It was a Kung Fu Dugong!
"!!! What kind of animal is that?"
Startled by the sudden appearance of the creature, Perona's eyes immediately lit up.
"It's so cute! Can I make it my pet?"
"That's a Kung Fu Dugong."
The moment Perona finished speaking, Crocodile's voice came from behind them.
"They challenge anyone they meet to a fight. If they lose, they accept that person as their master. But don't underestimate them—quite a few of them know Haki."
"S-So amazing!"
Perona exaggeratedly widened her eyes before turning around and shouting at the approaching Crocodile,
"Why are you following us? Don't tell me you're still unhappy about losing!"
"..."
Crocodile ignored Perona entirely and instead looked at Kairo.
"I don't understand why you're willing to reject my—"
Bang!!
Before he could finish speaking, Kairo dashed forward and punched the Kung Fu Dugong squarely on the head, knocking it flat onto the ground.
Crocodile blinked in confusion before letting out a long sigh.
"Kairo, perhaps we..."
Kairo interrupted him once again.
Looking at the flattened Kung Fu Dugong, he laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! You lost! Hurry up and acknowledge me as your master!"
Seeing Kairo happily playing with a Kung Fu Dugong, black lines appeared across Crocodile's forehead.
Is this guy serious?
With strength like his... and he's actually taking these little dugongs seriously?
Could he really just be a traveler?
The Kung Fu Dugong wasn't the type to go back on its word.
For them, defeat meant acknowledging the victor as their master.
It was their rule.
So even if Kairo hadn't said anything, it would still have climbed back up to pay its respects.
Dizzily getting to its feet, the Kung Fu Dugong immediately raised both flippers and bowed deeply toward Kairo, chirping enthusiastically.
Its utterly sincere expression made both Robin and Perona burst into laughter.
Perona couldn't hold herself back anymore.
She ran forward excitedly.
"Kairo! Kairo! It really accepted you as its master!"
"This is so much fun!"
"I want to play too!"
With that, she immediately began searching for another Kung Fu Dugong.
At the same time...
Every Kung Fu Dugong along the coast began rushing toward them.
Seeing this, Perona couldn't sit still any longer.
She leapt into the group and slapped one of the dugongs on the head.
Smack!
"Hm?"
Watching from the side, Crocodile's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The little brat can use Armament Haki too?"
Before he had time to recover from his surprise, Kairo suddenly shouted anxiously,
"Easy, little girl! Slow down!"
"Leave some for me!"
"I'm recruiting every last one of them!"
The moment he finished speaking, Kairo shot forward at high speed.
A rapid series of thumps echoed across the beach.
One after another, dozens of Kung Fu Dugongs were knocked sprawling onto the sand, while the rest immediately surrendered on the spot.
"Hahaha! Come on, come on!"
"Everyone line up and become my disciples!"
After defeating dozens of Kung Fu Dugongs, Kairo walked into an open area with a broad grin.
"Your master is in a good mood today."
"So I'm going to teach you something new."
"Heh-ha!"
The army of Kung Fu Dugongs lined up neatly before him, raising their flippers in perfect unison and shouting excitedly.
"So obedient!"
Kairo fought back another laugh before continuing,
"I'll demonstrate first."
"You all need to remember my movements."
"If anyone doesn't learn properly..."
"I'll expel you from the school!"
"Nya-ha!"
The Kung Fu Dugongs answered in perfect unison again, full of anticipation.
"Very good."
"What I'm going to teach you..."
"...is the Eighth Set of Radio Calisthenics."
"Watch carefully."
"First, march in place."
"Remember that?"
"Next comes the stretching exercise."
"Watch closely..."
As Kairo began demonstrating the movements, not only did black lines appear across Crocodile's face, but Robin also stared in stunned disbelief, her beautiful eyes growing wider and wider.
By the time Kairo had finished the entire routine, Crocodile had completely turned to stone.
First he had taught Crocodile the Three Character Classic.
Now he was teaching Kung Fu Dugongs radio calisthenics.
What kind of operation was this?
And never mind the Three Character Classic...
What on earth was the "Eighth Set of Radio Calisthenics"?
While Crocodile stood there completely petrified, Robin could only laugh helplessly.
Meanwhile, the Kung Fu Dugongs were learning with incredible seriousness, copying Kairo's every movement with surprising accuracy.
To be fair...
The routine had looked rather dull when Kairo performed it alone.
But once dozens of Kung Fu Dugongs joined in together...
It somehow became surprisingly entertaining.
Compared to the Kung Fu Dugongs following Kairo with ease, however, the ones learning from Perona had a much rougher time.
At first, Perona enthusiastically taught them various movements.
But after seeing that none of them could keep up with her rhythm, she simply activated her Devil Fruit ability.
The group of Kung Fu Dugongs following her immediately dropped to their knees in neat rows, looking utterly lifeless.
Crocodile genuinely couldn't bear to watch any longer.
He had seen plenty of bored people in his life.
But someone as unbelievably idle as Kairo...
This was a first.
Who else could have so much fun playing with Kung Fu Dugongs?
At the same time...
Because the Kung Fu Dugongs practiced the radio calisthenics with complete focus and quickly mastered the entire routine, the system notification finally sounded in Kairo's mind.
Hearing the prompt, Kairo immediately gave all the Kung Fu Dugongs a thumbs-up.
"Excellent work, everyone!"
"Your master still has to head to Alubarna, so I can't stay any longer."
"Don't be lazy."
"Make sure you practice the routine once every day!"
"Pi-ha!"
Hearing Kairo's words, all the Kung Fu Dugongs bowed deeply in perfect unison to bid their master farewell.
"That was pretty fun."
Smiling, Kairo nodded at the orderly line of bowing Kung Fu Dugongs before calling toward the other side,
"Little girl, let's go!"
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