At the coast, several navy soldiers carried boxes toward Arton's ship with serious expressions. Despite their solemn faces, a closer look would reveal barely suppressed amusement among them, shared by many on the naval ship, except for Garp.
"Arton, could you leave some for me?" Garp pleaded. "Don't take everything away, okay? It took me a lot of effort to get this fine tea from Sengoku, and these Senbei were taken from him too. You can't find them anywhere else."
On the naval ship, Garp followed Arton, lamenting as they walked. In Arton's arms was a wooden box filled with tea leaves and senbei.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you're quite a figure yourself, aren't you?" Arton turned to Garp with a broad smile. "We should honor a bet, right? Since you've lost, these items are no longer yours."
With a big smile at Garp, Arton then leaped from the deck of the naval ship straight onto his own, handing the box to Carina.
Garp was about to follow suit when Arton waved him off, "Don't come over. I'm about to set sail. You should attend to your own matters. Don't you have naval duties to fulfill?"
"Everyone, set sail!" commanded Arton.
Hearing Arton's command, the crew immediately hoisted the sails, ready to embark as they had prepared to sail earlier.
The moment the sails were raised, the ship set sail across the sea with the wind.
Garp gripped the railing of the navy ship tightly, his teeth clenched as he stared in the direction Arton and the others were leaving.
Clearly, the loss of Senbei, tea, and donuts weighed heavily on him.
Arton stood at the stern of the ship and, without hesitation, used the diary system to take a photo of Garp.
[Today was truly a special day.]
[Unexpectedly, I met such a legendary figure here.]
[And even had a fight with one of his people, thankfully, I won.]
[By the way, I also got a good deal out of this old guy.]
[Looking at his expression, those unaware might think I bullied him badly, hahaha.]
Those who held diary copies were curious about Arton's message.
Kaya: "A legendary figure? I hope nothing happens to Arton-san."
Nami: "Please don't let anything happen, I'm still waiting for you to help redeem Cocoyasi Village."
Vinsmoke Reiju: "Judging by Arton's tone, he seems quite relaxed; there shouldn't be any danger."
Charlotte Smoothie: "For Arton, who knows the past and the future, to acknowledge someone as a legendary figure, this person must be extraordinary."
Nico Robin: "A legendary figure from the East Blue, who could it be?"
Meanwhile, in the women navy officers' chat group.
[Hina: Who could be considered a legendary figure by Arton?]
[Ain: That man knows many things about this world, since he calls them a legendary figure, it must be someone quite powerful.]
[Gion: It's not necessarily the case. Arton knows the past and future; it could be someone who is weak now but becomes strong enough in the future to be called a legendary figure.]
[Hina: As expected of Vice Admiral Gion, your analysis is spot-on.]
[Tashigi: Given Arton's character, he would normally take photos to keep as memories. Why is there no movement from him this time?]
[Ain: Could he have forgotten?]
[Gion: Maybe he got held up by something.]
Gion's intuition was very sharp.
Arton did not upload the photo of Garp in time.
Indeed, he was held up by something.
...
"Bad news?!"
Carina noticed Arton's message and was startled. Without thinking, she threw the box Arton had given her earlier onto the floor.
"Hm? What are you doing, Carina?"
Arton was about to upload a photo of Garp looking frustrated when he heard Carina's voice. Looking at the box on the deck, he was somewhat puzzled.
"That, this…"
Carina bit her lip, then took a step forward and tightly hugged Arton's arm to her chest.
Arton felt the soft touch on his arm and became even more puzzled.
"What's wrong, Carina... Mmph!"
Before he could finish speaking, Arton felt his lips touched by something soft.
Then, something nimble moved from Carina into Arton's mouth.
Arton's eyes widened, and he stood frozen in place.
The photo he had intended to upload was forgotten aside.
"Wow... amazing, is this the kiss?!"
Uta covered her mouth with her hands, looking on in amazement at the very familiar scene.
"Familiar," of course, because similar scenes occurred in Arton's doujinshis.
***
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