Red-Haired and Enel were both waiting outside the room. In fact, Takumi had sensed them long ago, but he couldn't be bothered to deal with them. As long as they didn't disturb his rest, he didn't care.
An hour passed before Takumi finally woke up, feeling refreshed. As he got up, the two outside instantly noticed his movements.
"Looks like the lazy bug finally woke up," Shanks grinned.
Enel glanced at him in annoyance. The past hour had been torturous for him. Shanks, acting like a chatterbox, had kept asking him all sorts of questions, prying into his life as if he were filling out a form.
Takumi opened the door and calmly walked out, passing between Enel and Shanks without saying a word.
"You little brat, it's been so long since we last met, and you can't even say hello? You're breaking my heart," Shanks joked, but his face remained cheerful as ever. He followed Takumi, walking beside him and continuing, "I never thought you'd come to this deserted place, Mihawk's turf of all places. You really are a traveler, going everywhere, hahaha! By the way, did you see Mihawk when you arrived?"
"No," Takumi replied flatly.
"Huh? You didn't? How long have you been on the island?" Shanks asked, still curious.
"Over two months," Takumi answered casually.
Shanks choked a little. "Two months? That's strange. I called here just ten days ago. The call went through, so if it wasn't Mihawk who answered, was it you guys?"
Takumi nodded. "Mm."
"Pfft, hahaha!" Shanks burst out laughing. "That's hilarious. Then again, you and Mihawk have similar temperaments. Picking up the phone and not saying a word is just like something he'd do. But even though it wasn't him, I guess I got lucky running into you! It's been a while, hasn't it? By the way, you've got two crewmates now, huh? Tell me, what did they do to make you open that blockhead of yours and take them on?"
Takumi remained silent.
Seeing this, Shanks teased him, "If you don't say anything, no one's going to mistake you for a mute."
Takumi retorted, "If you don't stop talking, I will."
"Hahahaha!" Shanks laughed heartily. "What's wrong? Are you embarrassed? I remember you not being someone who gets angry so easily. By the way, I bet you've grown much stronger over the past few years. How about we have a quick spar later so I can see how much you've progressed?"
"No," Takumi rejected him outright.
Shanks pouted in mock disappointment. "Why not? That's where you and Mihawk differ. That guy accepts any challenge thrown his way."
Takumi didn't respond, feeling slightly annoyed by Shanks' incessant talking.
"Fine, I guess there's no helping it," Shanks said, throwing up his hands in mock defeat. "How about we throw a banquet instead? Hahahaha!"
"A banquet?" Enel asked, looking puzzled. "Why would we need a banquet?"
Shanks stroked his chin thoughtfully before smiling. "If we need a reason, let's say it's to celebrate reuniting with Takumi. Hahahaha!"
Takumi: "..."
Enel: "..."
Shanks then threw an arm around Takumi's shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. "It's been ages since we had a good drink together, Takumi. You can't turn me down this time, alright?"
Takumi, irritated, brushed Shanks' hand off his shoulder and reluctantly replied, "Fine."
Enel, walking on Takumi's other side, asked quietly, "Are you really friends with this guy?"
Takumi responded, "More or less."
"More or less?" Shanks protested, clearly offended. "Come on, we're definitely friends!"
Enel couldn't help but feel exasperated.
Takumi had now crossed paths with two of the Four Emperors. Could he possibly know the other two as well?
This thought gnawed at Enel, and he asked, "Takumi, do you happen to know the other two Emperors as well?"
Takumi replied simply, "No."
Enel muttered, "But when Shanks called earlier, you also said you didn't know him…"
Takumi: "..."
"I just didn't recognize his voice," Takumi quickly made up an excuse.
"Pfft," Shanks laughed, immediately poking holes in the excuse. "If you're going to make up a reason, at least make it a believable one."
Takumi shot Shanks a look that seemed to say, "If you don't shut up, I'll punch you."
Far from being intimidated, Shanks grinned mischievously. "If you're not happy, let's settle this with a duel. I'm ready anytime!"
Takumi suddenly smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to challenge you."
Shanks blinked, caught off guard, before bursting out in laughter. "Hahaha! Don't say that too soon. You might end up eating your words. And by the way, you should smile more often. You look much better when you're smiling. It'd make the people around you feel less stressed."
Takumi's expression darkened immediately, and he changed the subject. "Do you have any other way to contact Mihawk?"
"Yeah, I do. Why? Do you want to meet him?" Shanks asked with a smile.
Takumi nodded. He figured that if Shanks could get in touch with Mihawk, he'd have a better idea of how long he'd need to wait here.
"That's unusual. Are you looking to challenge Mihawk in a sword duel?" Shanks asked casually.
Takumi nodded again.
Shanks frowned. "Are you deliberately trying to get on my nerves? Just because I don't have the title of 'World's Greatest Swordsman' doesn't mean my sword skills are bad. Why would you rather challenge Mihawk than me? That's not fair!"
Shanks paused for a moment before suddenly realizing something. "Wait a minute. This isn't like you at all. You're not the type to actively seek out duels. What's your motive for wanting to challenge Mihawk?"
Takumi didn't respond.
"Oh, I get it!" Shanks exclaimed, punching his fist into his palm as if he had just had an epiphany. "You want to defeat Mihawk and take his title as the World's Greatest Swordsman, right? Hahaha, makes sense! You've got a bounty of 1.4 billion Berries now, and the Celestial Dragons aren't that tough to deal with. Killing one wouldn't be hard for someone like you. But since they have the backing of the World Government, no one dares to touch them. Not many people know your true strength, and looking at you, they might underestimate you because of your age. You're just fifteen, after all. A lot of people are going to come after you because they don't know any better. So, one way to stop that from happening is to get a title that makes people think twice before messing with you."
Shanks paused briefly, then continued, "If you defeat Mihawk, you'll get the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman, and that'll stop most people from bothering you. But there's a downside to that, too. If you really do become the greatest swordsman, you'll have every sword-wielding maniac coming after you for a challenge. So, I've got a better idea. How about you take me on instead? After all, I'm one of the Four Emperors. If you defeat me, that's way better than defeating Mihawk, right? People would definitely keep their distance then!"
************
Please support me on Ko-fi at ko-fi. com/gered to read up to chapter 287!