After Shanks and his crew left, Takumi and Mihawk each returned to their rooms. One went to read a book, the other to read the newspaper.
Takumi had been reading for only half an hour when Kaku, covered in soot, appeared at his door.
Glancing at him casually, Takumi asked nonchalantly, "What's the matter?"
Kaku hesitated for a moment, then entered the room and took out the Den Den Mushi Shanks had given him. "This is the Den Den Mushi Mr. Shanks gave us. I thought it would be better for you, Captain Takumi, to keep it."
"It's fine, you keep it," Takumi said, flipping through his book indifferently.
"No, really, you should have it." As Kaku spoke, he placed the Den Den Mushi on the small round table in front of Takumi.
At that very moment, Takumi's system notification chimed in his mind.
[Ding! You have obtained a Den Den Mushi. Progress +20%. Current total progress: 80%. New skill unlocked: Master-Level Telepathy]
Information about telepathy then fused into Takumi's mind.
This new ability allowed him to communicate mentally with others and could even be used with multiple people simultaneously across a wide range.
In other words, with this skill, he wouldn't need to speak; he could convey his thoughts directly to anyone he wanted...
Although this ability wasn't very offensive, it could be quite useful in critical situations.
All in all, the skill wasn't too bad.
Takumi glanced at the Den Den Mushi on the table. He hadn't expected that this little thing would trigger a progress task...
After placing the Den Den Mushi down, Kaku was about to leave.
Suddenly, Takumi called out to him, "Wait."
Kaku stopped and turned back with a smile, "Is there something else you need me to do?"
Takumi glanced at Kaku's scorched appearance, closed his book, and stood up. He picked up the Den Den Mushi from the table and walked over to Kaku.
As Takumi approached, Kaku felt an unexpected surge of nervousness.
Takumi stopped in front of him and directly stuffed the Den Den Mushi back into Kaku's pocket. "I told you to keep it, so keep it."
Kaku laughed awkwardly, "This is a Den Den Mushi that can contact a Yonko. I'm just a shipwright on the ship. Something this valuable should be kept by the captain."
"I told you to keep it," Takumi repeated, clearly not in the mood to argue. Then he raised his hand suddenly.
Kaku flinched, thinking Takumi might hit him over the Den Den Mushi issue.
To his surprise, Takumi was simply using his healing technique to treat Kaku's injuries.
If Kaku had been seriously injured, it would make sense for Takumi to heal him, but he'd only been zapped a few times by Enel's lightning, and his injuries weren't severe enough to need Takumi's help.
So why was Takumi healing him now?
Kaku wondered what was going on.
After finishing the healing, Takumi spoke, "Get ready. You're coming with me to the shore."
Kaku was confused, "What are we going to the shore for?"
Takumi walked past him, his tone calm, "Fishing."
As Takumi left the room, Kaku's emotions were a mix of confusion and surprise.
Healing him out of the blue was strange enough, but now Takumi was taking him fishing?
Takumi was known for preferring to be alone. Even though Enel and Kaku were also on the ship, most of the time, Takumi kept to himself. He even fished alone, never inviting Enel or Kaku along.
What was happening now?
Kaku thought he had a good grasp of Takumi's personality, but now, Takumi seemed like someone he couldn't understand at all.
Could it be that Shanks had told Takumi about him being an undercover agent for the Government?
No… If Takumi knew, he would've kicked him off the ship by now.
Maybe Takumi wanted to take him fishing just to get rid of him quietly?
At that thought, Kaku's expression turned serious.
Takumi's voice called from outside, "Hurry up."
Snapping back to reality, Kaku took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm, answering, "Got it."
He hurried out and caught up with Takumi, who had already grabbed his fishing gear.
Takumi handed Kaku an empty bucket to carry.
They walked to the nearest shore in silence.
The journey only took a few minutes, but to Kaku, it felt like it dragged on for years.
When they finally reached the shore, Takumi skillfully set up his fishing gear and sat on a clean rock, focusing on fishing.
Kaku, meanwhile, stood by nervously, mentally preparing for a potential fight to the death.
However, after half an hour passed and Takumi had caught two fish, each over thirty centimeters long, Kaku couldn't hold back any longer and asked quietly, "Captain Takumi, did you bring me fishing because you have something to say to me?"
Takumi replied casually, "No."
"Really? Nothing at all?" Kaku wasn't convinced. "You usually fish alone. Why ask me to come with you today?"
"I'm just in a good mood."
"Uh? In a good mood?" Kaku was stunned and then let out a helpless laugh.
Was that supposed to be a reason?
Just because he was in a good mood, Takumi made Kaku follow him, giving him a scare for no reason?
This was too ridiculous...
And Takumi's mood was far too unpredictable, constantly shifting without rhyme or reason.
Was his good mood because Shanks and his crew had left the island today?
Thinking about how Takumi insisted that Kaku keep Shanks' Den Den Mushi, Kaku started to believe his theory.
For the next two hours, they didn't talk much, but Kaku gradually relaxed from his initial tension.
As the bucket filled with fish, Kaku asked, "Captain Takumi, the bucket's almost full."
Takumi glanced at the bucket, thought for a moment, then reeled in his line, packed up his fishing gear, and said calmly, "Let's head back."
"Okay." Kaku picked up the bucket full of fish and followed Takumi. As they walked, Kaku remarked, "I think next time we fish, we should bring some snacks. We could eat while we fish."
Takumi responded indifferently, "Sure."
"Hahaha, this was my first time fishing with someone. It wasn't bad. If there's another chance, could I try fishing too?" Kaku laughed.
Takumi didn't mind, "You can."
Soon, the two returned to the castle.
While Shanks and his crew had been on the island, they'd had parties every day. The atmosphere was lively, but the food was incredibly greasy.
Meat at every meal, almost no vegetables—Takumi had had enough.
"Make something lighter for dinner tonight," Takumi instructed Kaku.
Kaku smiled and agreed.
That evening, Kaku prepared a meal with seven or eight lighter dishes, the heaviest being a pot of fish soup.
At the dinner table, four people sat down to eat.
What should have been a relaxed meal became somewhat awkward due to Mihawk's presence.
"It seems your crewmates aren't too happy to see me," Mihawk remarked coldly.
"Don't mind them," Takumi replied, pouring himself a glass of rum before sliding the bottle to Mihawk.
Mihawk glanced at the bottle but said nothing, pouring himself a glass and drinking without expression.