The days when I wanted to be a human being

In this way, the days passed quietly as the school bully beat the three little ones.

As the main body could not break out for a long time, the two clones began to adjust their daily behavior.

The fisherman is fine, since he just sits in the sun and doesn’t consume much energy.

The school bully was no match for him. He stopped beating up the three little ones and instead stood aside and supervised their training.

Later, the two clones spent most of the day sleeping.

Although they can replenish their energy by absorbing water, the consumption of mental energy can only be slowed down by sleeping.

After all, Zhou Ling hasn't found anything that can help him cultivate his spiritual power over the years, so this is the only way.

On this day, in broad daylight, when the school bully and the fisherman were sleeping in bed, they both suddenly opened their eyes.

They heard unfamiliar footsteps approaching the house.

The person who came was not anyone from Windmill Village.

In order to save mental energy, they now basically do not use their mental power on a large scale.

Instead, we use listening to identify the existence around us.

To do this, they memorized the footsteps of everyone in the village.

The visitor knocked on the door, and he knocked very lightly.

"Dong~dongdong~"

The fisherman and the school bully looked at each other.

"Go open the door." The school bully said and closed his eyes again.

The fisherman climbed out of the bed and asked, "Who is it? What's the matter?"

After the people outside heard the fisherman's voice, they stopped knocking on the door.

The fisherman rubbed his eyes, uncovered the quilt, put on his slippers, and walked toward the door.

The body can ignore consumption, so it is natural to save as much as possible. If you can walk, you will walk and never fly. If you can wear shoes, you will never go barefoot.

Although the school bully had his eyes closed, his hand had unconsciously touched Zang Feng under the quilt.

"... "

The fisherman who opened the door looked up at the person who came.

The man was wearing a very familiar straw hat, underneath which was a head of red hair.

There is also a familiar green handle on the back.

The fisherman was silent for a moment, then unconsciously raised his voice to alert the school bully, "Shanks?"

After hearing the fisherman's reminder and knowing who the person outside the house was, the school bully let go of Zang Feng and fell asleep again.

The fisherman folded his arms over his chest and looked at the silent Shanks.

Since his spiritual energy could not be replenished, the fisherman's clone seemed a little listless.

Shanks seemed to be recalling something, his eyes fixed on Zhou Ling's face.

His eyes gradually turned red.

Zhou Ling raised her eyebrows and was about to speak when Shanks hugged her.

She could feel Shanks's hands were very strong, and she could hear the suppressed sobs in her ears.

Zhou Ling noticed that at the entrance of the tavern not far away, there were many people leaning their heads and looking over here.

Even at the windows of the pub, there were quite a few people crowding together.

"Rakilu, please stop crowding here. I can't see."

"Humph, go look at the door, if you can't see it."

"Shh! She's looking over here!" Jesus Bu, who had very good eyesight, saw that Zhou Ling's gaze had shifted to them, and hurriedly asked the people around him to be quiet.

...

It was the first time she saw so many people in a pub.

Zhou Ling's attention was drawn back to Shanks by his body twitching uncontrollably due to sobbing.

She smiled helplessly, reached out and patted Shanks on the back, "Alright, alright, you're such a grown-up, and you're still crying, aren't you uncomfortable?"

“No sugar this time.”

"Poof!" Shanks couldn't help but laugh.

He reached out to wipe his tears, stood up straight, and looked at Zhou Ling's only remaining eye. "Miao, long time no see, how are you doing?"

"…Not bad. You seem to be doing well and have gained quite a few followers."

After Zhou Ling finished speaking, he closed the door and walked past Shanks to the fishing spot.

Shanks looked at Zhou Ling's frail figure and followed her without hesitation.

"No, that's a partner."

"..." Zhou Ling looked at the head that had been poking its head out of the tavern and had shrunk back, and smiled unconsciously, "It's comparable to Roger."

When Shanks heard Zhou Ling mention Roger, he pressed the straw hat on his head.

Zhou Ling sat down in the same place where she had always sat before. She subconsciously wanted to cast the rod, but suddenly she remembered that she hadn't been fishing for a long time.

The two sat on the shore, looking at the sparkling sea, in silence for a long time.

Zhou Ling was too lazy to talk. She squinted her eyes, feeling the sea breeze blowing gently across her face, and breathing in the fishy smell of sea water mixed in the wind.

The sea breeze blew and the sun shone on her body, making her feel warm and making her want to sleep right there.

She hadn't enjoyed herself like this in a long time.

It took a long time for the main body to break through its limits. Several years have passed, and it still doesn't seem to be waking up.

Fortunately, she finally waited for Shanks.

But there is still some time before that happens, so she has to hold on for a while longer.

Shanks, who was standing by, looked at Zhou Ling's loose hair being blown by the sea breeze, and she looked listless.

He seemed to have fallen asleep, and his breathing became very shallow. If it weren't for his good hearing, he might not have been able to hear it.

Shanks asked with a worried tone, "Myo, are you okay?"

Zhou Ling, who had almost fallen asleep, opened her eyes, turned her head weakly, and glanced at Shanks, "Probably... should be... okay."

If there was a problem with the main body, she would have problems too. I think the main body should be fine.

Hearing Zhou Ling's uncertain words, Shanks smiled helplessly, "What do you mean by probably? If it's okay, then it's okay. You're really worrying, hey!"

"How about... you... go back and rest."

Zhou Ling exhaled, "You're right. If nothing else, I'll go back to sleep. If anything else, you might as well ask Makino."

"He's the owner of the tavern." He emphasized it because he was afraid that Shanks didn't know who Makino was.

As she said this, she stood up, but because she hadn't moved for a long time, she staggered, and just as she was about to fall into the sea.

Shanks hurriedly grabbed Zhou Ling who was about to fall, "Are you really okay like this? You can't..."

Shanks thought of Roger who was terminally ill.

"What are you thinking about, kid? I'm not that sickly guy like Roger." Zhou Ling suddenly understood what Shanks had not yet had time to say.

Although now she does seem to have a terminal illness.

After pulling his arm out of Shanks's hand, he stood up and was about to walk back when he saw Luffy and his two companions running out of the woods.

Ever since the school bully's clone fell asleep, Luffy and the other two had to train on their own.

Because the two clones fell asleep a long time ago.

Luffy was very surprised because he hadn't seen Zhou Ling for a long time, and he ran towards her first.

Ace and Sabo were also surprised to see Zhou Ling.

The three of them were running and shouting something.

"Great, it's my godmother!"

"Godmother!"

After all...she hasn't been out for a long time.

Shanks didn't care much about the three children who suddenly appeared.

Because Zhou Ling's physical condition seemed to be very bad.

His attention was all on Zhou Ling.

In addition, Luffy and the other two did not shout in unison, which caused Shanks to have some misunderstandings.

He widened his eyes and looked at Zhou Ling.