Chapter 474: Babysitting

Chapter 474: Babysitting



Cherry was rather pleased with the outcome of her little performance. It truly went off without a hitch. She had half expected some hidden powerhouse from the Shogun's castle to come out and get in her way, but instead it was as she anticipated; no such person would care about a random child.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Toko had also believed her little fib about rescuing her from a would-be kidnapper pretty much instantly, which made babysitting her a lot easier.

Right now the two of them were crossing the wasteland away from the Flower Capital. Toko sat on Cherry's shoulders and hummed an unfamiliar tune with a big smile on her face.

Cherry glanced up at her. "You know, you don't have to keep smiling any more. I fixed you up for as long as you don't eat any more of those nasty fruits."

"Mhm!" Toko acknowledged and kept on smiling anyway.

'This kid is nothing like her father. He refused to smile even when he was happy, yet she's so thrilled that she doesn't have to that she can't stop,' Cherry thought with a shake of her head. Even the other children at Ebisu Town weren't this determined to be in a good mood.

*RAAAWWWR!!!*

A mutated tiger leapt out from behind a boulder and pounced on them.

*/Voom*

The tiger froze in midair. The glare leveled upon it by the larger of the two manfolk chilled its heart into ice. Despite the fact that tigers couldn't perspire, it still managed to break out into a nervous sweat. It dared not move for fear that doing so would be the last time it ever did so.

"Hahahahaha!" Toko clapped her hands and laughed as the tiger tumbled helplessly to the ground, unmoving.

Cherry regarded the beast coldly before turning away from it with a huff.

The tiger couldn't feel relieved yet, though; not until she was long gone. It hadn't felt this helpless under a glare since it was a mere cub following its own mother around.

Cherry picked up the pace a little bit. She had been keeping her speed down since she was carrying Toko, but there was little point in that if random beasts were going to attack her.

Fortunately, Toko was a rambunctious child. The strong wind blowing through her pink hair was a delight rather than being overblown into a disaster.

"Trees!" Toko tapped Cherry head and pointed out the greenery that appeared on the horizon as if she couldn't also see it with her own eyes.

"Yes, I see them. That's where we're going," Cherry said.

"Not to the town over there?" Toko asked, pointing at the settlement adjacent to the forested mountain.

"My business is with the folks living on the mountain, not those in the town," Cherry explained patiently.

Kin'emon plopped himself down onto a crate. "Yasuie is alive, then? That's great news!"

"You knew him?" Cherry asked.

"Yes. He was the Daimyo of Hakumai. Competent, loyal, and honorable; all things that Orochi wouldn't want in someone under his banner. How was he doing?" Kin'emon asked, with hope

in his eyes.

"He looked like a beggar, but then most honest people in Wano do. Otherwise, I'd say he was pretty motivated, helping all the people that he can," Cherry said.

"Mm, that sounds like him. He was never one to wallow when the going got tough. I'm not surprised that he hasn't changed in all this time." Kin'emon had a far off look in his eyes. He refocused on Toko, a hand coming up to his chin. "Although, I never imagined he'd have a child, let alone during such dark times..."

"I'm adopted!" Toko raised a hand and chirped.

"Ah, that makes much more sense." Kin'emon nodded.

"Anywho! I'm sure there's something I can do around here." Cherry gracefully changed the subject.

"We have pretty much everything taken care of actually," Kin'emon said. "Things are going remarkably well!... Suspiciously well..."

"If you don't need me, then I can go find something else to entertain me. Like assassinating Orohochi, maybe?" Cherry looked genuinely thoughtful.

"No!" Kin'emon shouted, finding himself the center of attention again. "I mean... I'm sure we can find something for you to do."

"I'm just messing with you, man. Did you forget that I'm babysitting?" Cherry patted Toko's head. "Besides, look at this crap..."

Cherry drew a sword from a passing basket in Wanda's arms. "I wouldn't even use this to whittle with, let alone kill a man."

"Well, you don't generally use a sword to whittle with..." Kin'emon got tangled up in

semantics.

"Not with this you wouldn't, but that?" Cherry pointed at the rapier on Dogstorm's hip. "I could turn a tree into scale models of everyone here in half an hour with /that sword. /This doesn't even deserve to be called a sword! It's just a- a sharp bit of metal!"

"Technically-" Kin'emon started.

"If you're about to say "all swords are sharp bits of metal", then I might just demonstrate the

difference by skinning you alive twice and asking you which was more pleasant," Cherry spoke with an eerie tone that sent shivers down his spine.

Kin'emon decided it was better to remain silent than to ask how she could do it twice.