"Is there any way?"
Tied to the stone pillar, Luffy shouted angrily, "Of course we should fight! Hiding in the mountains—what's the point of that, old man? Everyone should team up and fight back against those damn noble bastards, beat them all up and send them flying!"
Sabo's incident hadn't happened long ago—he still remembered it clearly!
"…" Manba glanced at Luffy and sighed, choosing not to respond.
"Stop yelling."
Shano frowned and tapped Luffy's face with the sheath of his sword. "Let the adults talk. Kids should stay quiet."
This unlucky kid—he talked even less sensibly than he would in the era of the Five Emperors.
The kingdom's army was well-equipped and backed by the World Government. How could ordinary people fight back against that?
Even if all the bandits in the Korbo Mountains united, it would still be like throwing eggs at a rock.
In a world where power belonged to individuals, bottom-up resistance was even harder—it often felt like a joke.
Even if hundreds of thousands or millions of people gathered— Could they withstand Conqueror's Haki? Could they survive a barrage of magma from the sky?
A single spark might ignite a prairie fire—but in this vast sea, it simply didn't work like that. Only a small handful of the strong could climb to the top and push for change from above.
That's also why Shano had never been too interested in joining the Revolutionary Army.
It wasn't that he looked down on them—just a difference in path.
After all, feeling one's way across the river wasn't wrong. Being able to hold onto their ideals and act on them for so many years was still worthy of praise.
In this rotten world, the existence of such a group was already rare and valuable.
"How many people do you have in total?" Shano turned to look at Manba and asked.
"Counting me… thirteen."
Manba's expression dimmed. "That night, I originally pulled over twenty people out of the sea of flames… but the elderly, the women, the children, and some who were already sick… in the end, they didn't survive the harsh mountain conditions…"
The rest of the "bandits" also looked sorrowful and lowered their heads.
"You've already done enough," Shano shook his head.
The guy looked only in his early twenties.
Instead of fleeing when disaster struck, he risked his life to save others. After entering the mountains, he pretended to be a wanted bandit to protect the refugees. He was a real man.
Shano glanced around.
Leaving these remaining people to barely survive in the mountains wouldn't lead anywhere good.
Either they'd die for various reasons—or, after giving up their moral compass, turn into true bandits.
If he hadn't seen it himself, he wouldn't care. But since he did, it was hard to just ignore it.
Shano thought for a moment, recalling the 400 million berries he had in the bank.
Originally, he hadn't planned to withdraw it—just leave it there to collect interest and use it to pay for shipbuilding once he set sail.
But now, he had a vague idea in mind.
"To be honest, if I were still dead broke, I wouldn't bother with you all—and I wouldn't have the means to either."
Shano looked at Manba and shrugged lightly. "But what can I do? I guess I can barely call myself a rich man now. So maybe I can help out a little."
"Rich man?"
Luffy's eyes lit up instantly. "So you're really rich, huh, uncle? Are you gonna give them money? Can you give me some too? I'm broke too!!!"
All those meals he'd mooched off with Ace and Sabo down in the market streets—he hadn't paid a single one yet!
"Who are you calling uncle?!" Shano snapped, smacking him on the head. "I'm barely older than you. If you wanna suck up, at least call me big bro!"
"Oh…" Luffy rubbed the red mark on his cheek, looking wronged.
"Pay off your own debt!"
After glaring at him, Shano turned back to the starving villagers around them, deep in thought.
He didn't plan to just throw money around like Luffy said.
They'd just met. No emotional connection. Suddenly handing out money just because he pitied them—it would feel too weird.
Besides, better to teach someone to fish than give them fish.
"My family owns an orange orchard—we're planning to expand, but we're short on workers."
He glanced at the straw hat on Luffy's head. "I was planning to head home today anyway. Why don't you all leave the Goa Kingdom with me and come back with me instead? Settle down over there. How does that sound?"
He kept it vague.
His real plan was to take a few tens of millions out of his savings, and keep the rest as his sailing fund.
He didn't just want to expand the orange orchard—he also planned to set up a few home-style workshops to process the harvested oranges.
The oranges from Cocoyasi Village were top quality. Even the best citrus fruits from his past life couldn't compare.
But raw agricultural goods didn't sell for much.
Otherwise, Bellemere wouldn't have to spend all year tending the orchard—yet before Shano grew up and became the family pillar, they were still too poor to even buy Nami new clothes.
With his plan, they could turn the quality oranges into things like pickled slices, candied peels, canned goods, and jam—significantly increasing their value.
The workshops could be managed by Manba, and if Bellemere wanted to chill, she could. If she wanted to stay busy, she could keep caring for her beloved orchard.
Given their remote location and limited trade routes, it might not make them rich.
But it could improve their living conditions, and more importantly, help these struggling people make an honest living. That was more than enough.
"R-Really?!"
Manba froze for a moment, then grabbed Shano's hands with excitement he could barely hold back. "Sir, you're really willing to take us in—and even give us jobs?!"
"Yeah. Let everyone pack up—we'll head out together in a bit."
Shano nodded slightly. "Don't worry about the boat fare. I'll cover that too."
"Awesome!"
"We're saved—we're finally saved!"
"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"
The starving people nearby, who had at first been full of disbelief, suddenly burst out in emotion once Shano confirmed his words.
Some cried, some dropped to their knees on the spot, others silently wept and hugged each other in relief.
Winter had arrived. These days in the mountains had been full of fear, hunger, cold, and suffering.
"Thank you… thank you so much…"
Manba choked up. "You've practically saved the lives of these thirteen people. I—I'm not good with words, but… sir! From now on, my life belongs to you! Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it!"
"Sir, us too!" the villagers echoed loudly.
"Waaah…" Luffy also started crying. "How about untying me first, uncle? I can't wipe my tears—this is really uncomfortable…"
Shano gave the kid a speechless look, then drew the katana from his back.
Swish, swish.
In a flash of steel, the ropes binding Luffy's limbs were cleanly sliced.
"Whoa! Awesome swordsmanship!"
Luffy rotated his wrists, marveling at the precision—then both his arms suddenly started bleeding, and he shrieked in panic, quickly tearing his shirt to wrap the wounds. "Aah! Why did you cut my skin too?!"
"…"
Shano coughed awkwardly, sheathed his sword again, and turned to the dark-skinned man before him.
"Shano," he said. "What about you? What's your real name? What should we call you?"
"Just call me Manba."
The man shook his head sincerely. "To be honest, I used to be a servant raised in a noble household. The butler gave me a random name, and I never liked it. But I've used 'Manba' for a few months now and gotten used to it—might as well stick with it."
"Alright, Manba! Bring anything important with you. We're leaving now!"
Shano laughed heartily.
Once everyone began to prepare, he finally turned his gaze back to Luffy. Before they left—this last important thing, of course he hadn't forgotten.
"That really hurt, Shano-ossan!"
Luffy pointed at his arm wounds with a pout. "Next time you cut ropes, aim better, will you? Makes me not even want to thank you for saving me!"
Though, he was just saying that.
He had a good impression of the guy who showed up and helped these starving folks out right away. And anyway—he was finally free!
No more worrying about how to hunt and pay back ten times the meat he'd eaten.
"Sorry about that. Guess my swordsmanship still needs work."
Shano smiled gently. "To make it up to you, how about I show you a magic trick?"
"Magic trick?!"
Luffy immediately perked up, crouching monkey-style on a nearby table. "Yes! Yes! Show me!"
And then…
The next second, right as the kid was watching wide-eyed and dopey-faced—Shano suddenly reached out…
…and took the straw hat right off his head.