"You want to learn Fishman Karate? All of you?"

Brynlee, Nami, Koala, and Nojiko all nodded firmly, and Kuroobi crossed his arms over his chest, obviously unconvinced. There was even the hint of a sneer, though he obviously tried his hardest not to show outright disdain. While the Fishmen had grown… softer, Brynlee had found that Kuroobi was, surprisingly enough, the hardest nut to crack – he genuinely loathed humans and only respected people who proved their strength.

"Why?" he finally asked.

"You're the greatest martial artist on this island, and a master of your craft," simply answered Brynlee. "If anyone can teach us, it's you."

"Because I want to honor Fisher Tiger's memory," firmly said Koala, determined.

"It looks cool! I want to be strong, too!" beamed Nami.

"Some of the boys in the village said we couldn't do it 'cause we're girls. I want to kick their ass and prove them wrong!" huffed Nojiko.

"Also, you're the only one we can trust not to go easy on us," concluded Brynlee. "Any other teacher would be too scared to hurt us, but you'll prioritize the results over our feelings – and that's exactly what we need if we want to grow stronger."

"Ah, and of course, there'll be proper compensation given for training a future Revolutionary agent," quickly added Koala.

"And we—"

"Fine, fine!" cut Kuroobi, obviously tiring of their nagging. "Come back here tomorrow at six in the morning. Anyone late will be punished. There will be no whining, no talking back. I expect the utmost dedication. If you can't even manage that, then don't bother coming."

They all immediately straightened up, exchanging matching grins before chorusing their thanks and running off. Kuroobi groaned, rubbing his face a bit.

I'm only doing this because Captain Arlong asked me to, he huffed internally. They'll quickly give up once they realize they aren't capable. After all, Fishman Karate is for Fishman – there's no way these little girls could pull off a single move…

"CHA!"

Kuroobi blinked slowly as the target before Nami splintered under the strength of her blow. The orange-haired girl beamed as the others quickly gathered around to congratulate her for mastering her first move so quickly.

They've been learning for a few weeks only, and I only taught them that move three days ago, thought Kuroobi, torn between being disturbed and awed. Perfect form, perfect redirection… Her blow was impeccable…!

And, as if that wasn't enough, Nami proceeded with utterly destroying the other girls' targets as well – it hadn't been a fluke.

I thought her genius lied in her mapping skills… but it looks like she'd a prodigy. A very, very faint smile twitched the corner of his lips for a second. Interesting.

Come on, come on, come on…!

[SIDE QUEST COMPLETE!]

Orange Is the New Gold

Pick 10,000 tangerines.

Reward: 100,000 B

"YES!" exclaimed Brynlee, pumping her fists in the air.

But her joy was of short notice as a new objective for 20,000 tangerines popped up.

… and here we go again.

"—and finally, there's this one guy named Bartolomeo who's probably in Loguetown right now. He should be around 17 years old, meaning he should be well on his way to becoming a mafia kingpin right around this time. He mostly works in the weapon and information trade, and he'll grow a big enough network to extend his influence in 150 towns. In other words, you should definitely look into befriending the guy. He won't look like much, and his personality is pretty abrasive, but it'll definitely be worth your while – as long as you can convince him that he's got the winning hand in this potential partnership, of course."

"… how in the seven hells, Bryn?"

"I was in Loguetown before being ferried to Cocoyashi," shrugged the girl, only half-lying. "Not for long but hiding in the shadows meant getting involved in some shady business. I simply happened to hear of him at the time, so I figured it could be a good lead for you."

"But those aren't just speculations, Brynlee. You talk as if—"

"Oops, look at the time! I'm gonna be late for my karate lesson! Later!"

Without hesitation, Brynlee kicked the window opened and jumped out of the office, located on the third floor of the marine watchtower. A distant 'whoop!' echoed as she flew away, and Captain Belo Betty watched her disappear in the clouds, heaving out a small sigh. She couldn't make sense of the girl's incredible knowledge, really, and it was both frustrating and amusing.

One day, I'll figure you out, Lucky D. Brynlee, she swore, before picking up one of the numerous papers Brynlee had given her. But until then, I suppose there's no harm in looking into the information you so generously provide us with.

Brynlee's laugh echoed in the distance, and Belo Betty smiled.

Things were good.

Alright!

First thing first, thank you to everyone who reacted quickly and helped me report. The situation was handled swiftly, so thank you! Hopefully, I won't have to worry about something like this happening again...

I also want to thank everyone who shared their ideas for this story, it definitely helped shape this chapter and the next few ones!

Finally, a little detail I believe I forgot to mention before: Brynlee's knowledge is essentially based on mine. In other words, I'm trying to make a realistic foreknowledge, in the sense that she wouldn't have access to the internet or other means of research to remember absolutely everything. As such, there are things that may escape her notice and there are things that she may forget, if only because I either didn't know or didn't remember myself xD

Anyway, that's all for now! The next chapter should be up sometime this week! And don't forget to review!