"Ha ha ha, serves you right," Koala said, unable to hold back her laughter. "You're always the one hanging up on us. How does it feel to be on the receiving end for a change?"
Sabo sighed, "I can't help it. I did let him down, so it's only fair if he holds a grudge."
Dragon remained indifferent. "If you want to head back, you could go with Crow."
"Nah." Sabo shook his head. "Takumi said he'd be staying at Baltigo to wait for you. I'll head back later."
---
Back at Baltigo.
Takumi hung up on the transponder snail without hesitation, leaving Terry Gilteo quite surprised. It was his first time seeing someone hang up on both Dragon and Sabo like that, and judging from Takumi's attitude, it seemed he wasn't scared of Dragon at all.
Seeing Gilteo lingering, Takumi asked calmly, "Do you need me to escort you out?"
Gilteo snapped out of his thoughts and hurriedly took the transponder snail from the stone table. "If you need anything, feel free to ask. If there's nothing else, I'll leave you to rest." He then quickly left the guest room.
Not long after Gilteo left, Enel and Kaku appeared quietly at the door.
Kaku smiled. "Captain, can we come in?"
Takumi nodded nonchalantly. "Go ahead."
Exchanging a look, both Enel and Kaku quickly entered.
"Captain, what is this place? Who's the 'leader' they mentioned?" Kaku asked curiously.
"This is a Revolutionary Army base," Takumi explained. "Their leader is Dragon."
"Revolutionary Army... Dragon?" Kaku was stunned. "Captain, you even know the leader of the Revolutionary Army?"
"Is that strange?" Takumi asked, indifferent.
"Of course it's strange!" Kaku said in disbelief. "You've met the Yonko, the Marine hero Garp, and now even the leader of the Revolutionary Army? Captain, your connections are something else..."
Enel, who had vaguely heard of the Revolutionary Army but didn't care enough to learn more, sneered at Kaku's astonishment. "What's so shocking? It's just the Revolutionary Army."
"Idiot," Kaku sighed. "Do you even know what the Revolutionary Army does?"
"Nope," Enel said bluntly.
Kaku chuckled. "The World Government considers the Revolutionary Army the greatest threat to world stability. Their goal is to overthrow the World Government."
"Oh, so what?" Enel shrugged. "The World Government is hunting us down anyway. An enemy of our enemy is at least an ally, right?"
"Well... if you put it that way, I guess you're not wrong..."
"The Revolutionary Army isn't the point," Enel said, looking at Takumi with displeasure. "Are we really staying here for six months?"
Takumi replied casually, "Yes."
The thought of spending half a year on this barren island made Enel groan. "This place has nothing to offer. I'd rather be on that island full of baboons—at least I could fight them."
"What's wrong with free food, lodging, and supplies?" Takumi said, unfazed.
Enel paused, considering this.
Takumi continued, "If you want a fight, I can spar with you."
"No, no..." Enel quickly declined. "The mighty Thunder God does not wish to be beaten up one-sidedly..."
"Pffft." Kaku couldn't help but laugh. "Ha ha ha, you really get scared when facing the Captain."
Enel glared at Kaku. "Long-nose, are you itching for a fight again?!"
Kaku waved him off. "You have the nerve to talk! Nine out of ten times, you're the one who starts things, you know?"
"You want a fight, huh?" Enel fumed.
"What else can you say besides 'you want a fight'?" Kaku retorted.
Enel: "..."
Kaku burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha, got nothing to say now, do you?"
Enel's face twitched. "Come on then, outside. I'll show you who's boss."
"Enough." Takumi, clearly irritated, punched both Enel and Kaku.
Enel pouted, "Why do you always hit me..."
Kaku sighed, "Why do I get hit too..."
Takumi threatened, "One more word and I'll send you both flying."
"Fine..." Kaku said reluctantly. "Staying here might be nice after all. A good time to rest and lay low."
"Lay low? Us?" Enel scoffed. "If the World Government comes after us, I'll fry every one of them!"
"You really like running your mouth, don't you..."
"Say that again, long-nose!"
Kaku: "..."
Seeing Takumi's clenched fist, Kaku immediately dashed out of the room, with Enel turning into lightning to chase after him.
The two fought their way downstairs, breaking furniture and even damaging a section of the staircase.
Gilteo had barely returned to his intelligence room when a Revolutionary Army member rushed in. "Mr. Gilteo, Takumi's crew members are fighting again..."
Gilteo sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "These guys are such a headache... Didn't anyone try to stop them?"
The messenger looked troubled. "We couldn't stop them..."
"Fine, go get Haku to handle it, and tell him I'm busy if he asks about me."
"Uh, understood, Mr. Gilteo."
Thus, Takumi and his crew began their temporary freeloading at Baltigo.
Since Dragon had given orders beforehand, the Revolutionary Army members stationed at the headquarters were nearly accommodating to all of Takumi's crew's requests.
Enel and Kaku fought constantly, breaking almost everything that could be broken.
Kaku also liked upgrading and researching his lightning absorption device. His frequent failures led to his assigned room being blown up multiple times.
Enel wasn't any less troublesome. If someone irritated him, he'd zap them with lightning, and he never missed his target if he sensed any discontentment.
While Takumi was more laid-back, he still ended up raiding the entire liquor stash the Revolutionary Army had stored in their supply warehouse.
Most notably, all three had enormous appetites. In just two months, they had almost depleted Baltigo's food supplies, pushing the already struggling Revolutionary Army to the brink.
After several calls to Dragon, Gilteo finally got word that Dragon's team was on their way back.
With tears in his eyes, Gilteo exclaimed, "Leader, if you don't come back soon, our headquarters is going to be torn apart..."
************
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