Ten minutes later.
Zoro and Sanji both had their ears yanked red, a slap mark on each of their faces, squatting at the courtyard gate with teary eyes, gluing the broken signboard back together.
"So many pieces... how are we supposed to fix this?!"
"You're the one who insisted on chopping it with a sword."
"And you're the one who kicked it to pieces first!"
Just as they were about to start bickering again, Zeff casually glanced over from inside the house. That single glance scared the two brats half to death. They immediately buried their heads and got back to work with all seriousness.
"They seem to listen to you quite well now, Uncle Zeff."
Shano chuckled as he sat across the table.
"You flatter me."
Koshiro brought over a tea tray and poured a cup for everyone, then said apologetically, "I can't bring myself to be strict with them. These two boys are far too mischievous. Most of the time, I have no choice but to rely on Mr. Zeff to discipline them."
Zeff didn't respond. His attention was fully captured by the mechanical leg Shano had just taken out. He turned it over in his hands with fascination, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"What an incredible piece of craftsmanship... I can't make heads or tails of how it's built… Lord Shano, can this really cure my leg?"
"Want to give it a try right now?"
Shano lifted his tea cup with interest.
He was also curious to see whether this mechanical leg—originally from a budget warrior—could truly restore Zeff to his peak condition.
"Yes!"
Zeff had been waiting for this moment. Without hesitation, he grabbed the mechanical leg with one hand and twisted off his wooden leg with the other!
Shano swiftly covered the eyes of the two little girls—his sisters. Pshhh! In an instant, blood sprayed from the open stump, and Zeff, gritting his teeth, violently jammed the mechanical leg into place...
"Ugh..."
Koshiro watched with his heart pounding. "Mr. Zeff, actually... you could've asked Granny Zilan to come over and do a proper leg-replacement surgery for you..."
"No need! I've always been impatient—I just can't wait, hahaha!"
Zeff burst out laughing. Nami and Nojiko struggled to pry apart Shano's fingers and peeked curiously through the gaps.
What they saw was the titanium-silver mechanical limb morphing in a bizarre way. At the connection point with his flesh, dozens of silver wires suddenly shot out, spreading rapidly in all directions.
Within seconds, they had reconstructed the cross-section of his knee, causing the mechanical leg and upper thigh to seamlessly integrate as one.
"Wow!!"
Nami and Nojiko exclaimed in unison, "That's amazing!!!"
Koshiro was also stunned. He instinctively glanced at Shano.
This technology was simply outrageous—completely unheard of. No... maybe, just maybe, there was someone in the world capable of such a feat.
Could it be that Lord Shano, during his travels, had met that mysterious sage?
"Oooohhhhh!!!"
Zeff's eyes widened as he felt that long-lost sensation of power returning to his leg. He started jogging back and forth across the tatami floor, more and more excited with each lap.
Suddenly, he let out a roar and spun around, lashing out with a powerful kick toward a wooden stake near the courtyard entrance!
Boom!
The stake, which had been embedded deep in the ground, shot out like a cannonball, carrying immense force. It struck the two boys squatting at the gate dead-on—
Thud!
They were sent flying like broken kites, soaring seven or eight meters before crashing into a cypress tree, their heads slumping onto each other's shoulders as they passed out.
"...Uh."
Feeling the strange looks from everyone, Zeff's face turned red. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"I swear I wasn't targeting those two brats... I just haven't stretched my legs in so long, I lost control of my strength."
Zoro and Sanji didn't protest. They stayed silent, clearly agreeing with the old man's explanation.
"Looks like it'll take some time to get used to."
Shano sipped his tea with a smile.
"Yeah."
Zeff crouched down and gently stroked his alloy leg like it was a treasure.
"It's back... I can feel it. That familiar sense of control—it's back. No... it's even stronger than before. Hm? What's this button do?"
"Don't—!"
Shano's pupils contracted as he quickly tried to stop him.
But it was too late. Zeff, acting like a kid who just got a new toy, didn't even finish his sentence before pressing the button with a click.
Boom!
The next moment, steam blasted out from his leg, and his whole body rocketed skyward like a missile, bursting through the ceiling and soaring into the sky—
Everyone else inside the house stared blankly upward at the tiny black speck vanishing into the clouds.
A long while later.
That black dot began growing again in their field of view, and Zeff's heart-wrenching scream could be faintly heard—
Shano sighed and gently set down his teacup.
He stood up and vanished in a flash. Leaping through the ceiling hole onto the rooftop, he looked up and locked onto the falling trajectory, then stepped off the roof using Geppo to ascend.
...
A few minutes later.
Zeff sat dazed on the tatami mat, his clothes a mess, hair and braided mustache sticking straight up as if gravity had flipped.
"Fun, huh?"
Zeff nodded vigorously.
"Never tried that before, right?"
Zeff shook his head rapidly.
"Then next time, wait for me to finish explaining before you randomly press stuff, you stubborn old man!"
Shano slapped the table with a scowl and pointed to the two buttons near the Achilles tendon.
"See this? The first one you just tried—it ejects high-pressure gas, letting you dash hundreds of meters in an instant. I don't even know its max output, but it burns through stamina fast. Use it sparingly."
"The second one? That one lets you toggle intense electricity or flames, which wrap around your leg to enhance your attack power. Also uses stamina."
"Oh?" Zeff's eyes lit up. "Then couldn't I use that to light the stove and cook meals? I'll never run out of fire again!"
"...You might actually be right."
Shano was dumbfounded for a second before snapping, "Cut it out with that chef's intuition of yours! This thing is for boosting combat ability, not for fire-starting in the kitchen!"
"Ahahaha, just messing with you!"
Zeff laughed heartily, then gradually straightened his posture. Looking seriously at Shano across from him, his expression grew solemn.
"Lord Shano, you saved my life, and then went to all this trouble to fully heal my leg… Something this amazing—it's worth hundreds of millions of berries, right? No, it's not even about money. I doubt there's a second one like it in the whole sea."
"I will remember this kindness forever!"
Taking a deep breath, Zeff suddenly bowed low until his forehead touched the tatami, his voice firm and resolute.
"You have my word. The promise from a year ago—now that it's fulfilled, it officially takes effect. From this day on, I am one of your crew!"
"In the coming years, I'll train hard to adapt to this leg and grow stronger, so when the day comes that I set sail with you, I won't be dead weight!"
Shano was caught off guard. He stood stunned for a while before he finally recovered.
Looking at the old man before him, he suddenly grinned and helped him up.
"Looks like I finally got my first official crewmate—one I can be proud of! Not only a master of legwork, but a top-notch chef too! I'll be counting on you."
"You flatter me too much. I should be the one learning from you—"
Zeff lifted his head, met Shano's eyes, and broke into a wide grin, showing off his pearly whites.
"Captain."