The Days of Being the Richest Man in the Ninja World

[V3] - Chapter 26. A Guiding Light

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Today.

The sun was bright.

The sea was calm.

Kizaru, who was planning to enjoy an early retirement life within the Marines, stretched comfortably, then glanced at the nearby clock. "Yo, is it time?"

Excellent!

It's time to eat~

Another lazy morning spent as a slacker.

Truly wonderful~

However… the known distance between the Marine Headquarters Admiral's Office and the Marine Headquarters Mess Hall is ten kilometers. With his light-speed ability, he could get there in the blink of an eye, but…

"It's still such a bother~" Kizaru stretched again, then lazily yawned and slumped back onto his desk. With his oddly shaped mouth and slow tone, he muttered to himself, "Maybe… I'll just have someone bring it to me today! Yo~ That's a pretty good idea!"

With that thought—

As if making an important decision in his heart, he prepared to continue slacking off without guilt.

Kizaru picked up the morning newspaper next to him, intending to lay it over his face… take a good nap now, and once everyone was mostly done eating, he could have someone bring the food over.

However.

Just as he unfolded the newspaper to cover his face—

Suddenly.

Kizaru froze, staring at the paper in his hand. Then his eyes narrowed slightly, and an intrigued expression appeared on his face. He opened the paper fully and held it up, making himself comfortable to read while lying down.

On the newspaper—

"Kuzan?!"

That's right.

He saw a photo of Kuzan.

As one of the Marines' three Admirals, of course he had to read the news about a fellow colleague.

Besides, observing the seas' patterns and changes was part of a Marine Admiral's daily responsibilities—so that he wouldn't be clueless during meetings later.

Though… he never really cared much about that.

Still—

Why was Kuzan in the news?

And what was that in his hand?

A cup of… something?

Yuto Milk Tea?!

Kizaru was briefly surprised, then curiously scanned further down the article.

After a while.

He finally nodded in realization and muttered to himself, "The East Blue…"

He didn't expect that guy Kuzan to have done so much over in the East Blue. Good thing he didn't go himself—looked like a huge hassle~

However—

"Yuto Delivery?!" Kizaru let out a strange, rhythmic whistle, then kept reading with growing interest on his face.

It seemed he had discovered something amusing—

Even more interesting than seeing news about Kuzan!

Yuto Delivery… Yuto Group…

Could it be related to that business organization that defeated Crocodile?

He had been hearing from his subordinates recently… apparently their milk tea was quite tasty!

Kizaru's eyes narrowed. With that odd mouth shape of his, he muttered to himself, "Oh, they even deliver to your doorstep?"

Then he looked further down.

A variety of dishes—it all looked pretty delicious.

Especially that Yuto Milk Tea—his subordinates had been praising it constantly. He'd been curious, but hadn't bothered since he didn't want to go far.

And now it was this convenient?!

They even delivered it directly!!!

And below that…

Discount coupons?!

His heart skipped a beat.

Could the Yuto Group… be a conscientious organization?

With curiosity on his face, he blinked. "Maybe… I should try it?"

With that thought—

Kizaru directly pulled out the Den Den Mushi from his coat and dialed the number listed on the flyer.

After a moment—

He saw the Den Den Mushi put on a weird little hat.

His eyes narrowed, and in his lazy tone, he said, "Moshi moshi~ I'd like to place an order!"

...

At the same time.

An order had come in from Marine Headquarters!

Everyone stared in disbelief at the order in their hands. While they had heard before that the Yuto Group had a partnership with Marine Headquarters and had recently opened a delivery route there, they didn't expect… someone from Marine Headquarters would actually order delivery?!

Don't they have a mess hall over there?

As one of the strongest forces on the sea, wouldn't the Marine Headquarters' mess hall be top-tier? It was said that Marine meals weren't just delicious but incredibly abundant!

So why order delivery?!

Especially since the Yuto Delivery route on the Grand Line had only just opened—and Marine Headquarters had already placed an order!

Even though it was just one!

Even though it was just simple milk tea and fried chicken!

Even though… the distance to Marineford was incredibly far, and by the time it was delivered, it might already be cold and lose its flavor…

But Marine Headquarters really placed an order!

Everyone's hearts tightened.

Now that they'd accepted the order—

They had to prepare it with care and deliver it quickly!

Especially since it was an order from Marine Headquarters!

It absolutely had to be treated seriously!

This alone showed that the Yuto Group had connections at Marine Headquarters—no wonder there was a photo in the newspaper showing them alongside a Marine Admiral!

Clearly… the Yuto Group was no ordinary business organization!

And that made sense.

Their business covered both East Blue and the Grand Line. Even if all they sold was milk tea, fried chicken, and barbecue, being able to grow to this scale already showed that the Yuto Group had extraordinary capabilities.

"Get the food ready! The journey is long! We must cross the seas to deliver this!" shouted the manager of the Yuto Milk Tea shop closest to Marineford. "Time is tight—we must not be careless in the slightest!"

With that—

"Yes, sir!"

All the staff began quickly preparing the order.

However—

It was just one milk tea, one serving of fried chicken, and some snacks. It didn't take long to get it ready.

But.

Who was going to deliver it?

You know, that place was not only far, it was Marine Headquarters!

Not somewhere ordinary people could just go!

The sea—

It was extremely dangerous!

If they traveled by ship… even with the Yuto Group's newly released mini delivery yachts, a journey of that distance might not even arrive on time. Most delivery people would likely end up feeding the Sea Kings midway!

So—

After the delivery was packed and ready, the seafaring delivery staff in the store all looked at each other in dismay. If it were a neighboring island, they could manage. But that far…

That was suicide!

In an instant—

Everyone started to reject the idea in their hearts.

With awkward smiles on their faces, they said, "Even though the delivery fee for this order is very high, still… sorry…" and sighed helplessly, "This just isn't something we can deliver!"

"That's right! This is way too much! That's Marine Headquarters we're talking about!"

"This is just making things difficult for us! It's absolutely impossible to deliver on time!"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

Everyone began to complain helplessly, thinking this order was just Marine Headquarters deliberately making things hard for them—completely impossible to fulfill!

But—

This was the first order from Marine Headquarters!

Were they really just going to give up like this?!

Especially since if they gave up… the end-of-month rating for this Yuto Milk Tea shop would definitely drop. Then what? Wage deductions, performance cuts, no year-end bonuses?

Just thinking about it made the manager's heart skip a beat. He looked at the delivery men, all with refusal written on their faces, and shouted, "Have you all forgotten what Instructor Duy said during training? As delivery men… once you accept an order, you must do everything in your power to deliver it into the customer's hands! What you're doing now goes against the Yuto Delivery Code! You punks! Hurry up and deliver it!"

However—

No matter how angry the manager got, they simply couldn't deliver it!

This was just too much to ask!

All the delivery staff averted their eyes, unable to meet the manager's gaze—but still firmly refused to deliver the order.

Someone even pursed their lips and muttered quietly, "Even Duy-san probably couldn't deliver it! The 'God of Delivery'? Don't joke—there's no way even the God of Delivery could cross an entire sea and deliver an order on time!"

As soon as those words were spoken—

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Even though Headquarters had assigned Duy-san as their head instructor, and everyone said he was a veteran delivery man, unrivaled in the delivery world, and even revered as the 'God of Delivery' back in his hometown… but who's to say his hometown wasn't just some remote little village?

They'd never seen it for themselves—so who knew?

And seeing that all the delivery workers refused this order…

The manager sighed internally.

He had to admit it was true.

The distance was far… the trade route hadn't even been opened yet—it really was difficult.

Just like they said—even Duy-san might not be able to manage it.

Headquarters had clearly arranged everything well, assigning deliveries to the nearest shops—so why did an order from Marine Headquarters, so far away, even get accepted?

It was completely outside the delivery range.

As expected—

The Yuto Group really did have special ties with Marine Headquarters!

The manager gave a bitter smile and shook his head, glancing at the carefully packed delivery order. He said helplessly, "It looks like this one… will have to be cancelled!"

With that, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

As if saying it out loud lifted a huge weight off his shoulders. "Alright, everyone—back to work. Take on the usual orders. I'll report the reason to Headquarters later. As for this order…" he gritted his teeth, "We're abandoning it!"

There was no choice.

It had to be given up.

However—

Just as he finished speaking—

And everyone was starting to feel relieved—

Suddenly.

A flash of green light shot in and rushed straight into the shop!

Everyone noticed it immediately.

Especially the delivery staff who had been through training—at a glance, they recognized the figure who burst in, and their expressions filled with disbelief. "Duy-san?!"

Duy-san is here?!

Could it be…

All the delivery workers turned their heads to look down at the order slip on the table they had just given up on. "Duy-san's going to deliver this order?!"

"It's already packed?" Duy picked up the delivery bag with a smile. "This order… should be delivered by me, Might Duy!"

As soon as he said that—

And was about to head out—

The manager stopped him and said, "Duy-san! No need to deliver it! It's too far! The sea is full of danger, and it's way beyond our delivery range! I've already decided to cancel it! Please don't take the risk!"

"That's right! That's right! No need to deliver it!"

"If it's delivered late, we might even get a complaint—it's better to just cancel it now!"

"There's no way it can be delivered~"

All the delivery staff spoke with pained smiles, trying to dissuade Duy-san—especially since, for some reason… he was glowing all over with a strange green light.

They said, "Please… just give up~!"

However—

Just as they said that—

Time was already tight, and Might Duy, who had been about to charge out, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned back around and stared with burning eyes at the group of students he had trained.

He kept staring silently.

That look—

Made everyone suddenly feel a twinge of shame inside. They all lowered their heads.

But—

What they said wasn't wrong!

It really was undeliverable!

Even if they got scolded—it just couldn't be done!

Just as they thought Duy-san was going to scold them harshly—

"I've already said this before!" Duy-san's face lit up with a sunny, confident smile. "Once an order is accepted! Unless the customer cancels it themselves! No matter how dangerous it is… as delivery men, we must deliver it!"

"But… we'll fail!"

"Even if you know you'll fail! You still must never give up! Youth is all about moving forward with courage!" Duy turned back around again, smiling with confidence. "Fail this time! Fail the next time! But the time after that… we'll succeed for sure! Failure is a part of youth too, BOY! If you don't even dare to try, and just give up—then your youth is already over!"

As soon as he finished speaking—

His body erupted with steam—whoosh!

Duy-san charged out, and everyone stared emotionally at his figure!

That silhouette, radiating dazzling green light—

It was brilliant beyond words!

In that moment—

Everyone felt as if they understood something deep in their hearts. They looked toward the distant Duy-san with reverence, as though gazing upon—

A beacon of life!

A guiding light for delivery men!

Suddenly—

Someone shouted loudly, "Duy-san! You can do it!"

Immediately—

Everyone else couldn't hold back anymore and shouted together with heartfelt admiration, "You can do it, Duy-san!"

Next time—

They wouldn't give up either!

They would become amazing delivery men just like Duy-san!