Upon hearing Kaku's question, Terry Gilteo turned his gaze towards Dragon and said, somewhat reflectively, "Leader, if I remember correctly, you're from East Blue too, right?"
Dragon responded casually, "That's correct."
Kaku was surprised. "You're the leader of the Revolutionary Army, the man the World Government considers the most dangerous, Dragon?"
Before Dragon could say anything, Enel scoffed and said, "Tch, and you used to work for the World Government. I thought you'd know everything."
Hearing this, most of the Revolutionary Army members had surprised looks on their faces, and some even began to grow wary.
Seeing this, Kaku laughed awkwardly. "Relax, I left the World Government a long time ago. Now I'm just a humble shipwright under Captain Takumi."
The Revolutionary Army members looked skeptical: *A humble shipwright? This guy can beat us until we question our life choices.*
"Alright, everyone, get back to your duties," Dragon said, giving everyone a dismissive glance.
They exchanged looks but said nothing more, dispersing quickly.
Dragon then turned to Takumi. "Come with me."
With that, Dragon began ascending the stairs to the second floor of the base.
Takumi followed for a few steps before stopping, suddenly thinking of something. He turned back and glared at Sabo fiercely. "Don't mention my sister ever again. To anyone. Or I'll kill you."
Sabo paused, then gave a bitter smile. "Got it..."
Only then did Takumi turn around and continue following Dragon.
After Takumi and Dragon went upstairs, Enel and Kaku sidled over, both looking curious.
"Although she's gone, I'm still really curious—what kind of person was our captain's sister?" Kaku asked.
"Kid, come on, tell us. Was Takumi's sister pretty or what?" Enel added.
Faced with their questioning, Sabo thought for a moment and deftly changed the subject. "I haven't seen Takumi in a long time, and it seems like he hasn't grown at all. Are you guys mistreating him on the ship, not giving him enough to eat?"
Enel: "..."
*Who the hell is mistreating who here?!*
Kaku: "..."
*I give him the most nutritious food every day, and he dares question my care?*
"He's grown five centimeters compared to six months ago, alright?" Kaku said, exasperated. "Sure, being only 160 cm at fifteen is still short... but I've worked hard to make up for his lack of nutrition from before."
"Speaking of food," Sabo suddenly grinned, "I didn't have enough for lunch, and now I'm a bit hungry. I remember you guys saying you were going for afternoon tea—mind if I tag along?"
"Uh, Sabo, you're not joking, right?" The head chef of the Revolutionary Army looked over, his face turning pale.
Sabo scratched his head sheepishly, smiling. "No joke, I'm really hungry. I'm still growing, you know. Give me extra."
"You should already know our situation..." the head chef sighed, almost in tears. "Our food supplies are running low. Normally, we resupply every six months, but during the past few months, we've gone out three times for extra food... and our backup funds are almost depleted."
"Come on, we've been away for so long, just let Sabo eat his fill," Koala chimed in. "I'm a bit hungry too. Go prepare some food. We've seized quite a bit of treasure recently—most of it went to the refugees, but we kept a small amount for ourselves. It should cover the funds."
Hearing this, the head chef let out a sigh of relief. "Alright then, I'll cook up the remaining food. But Sabo, if you're free after eating, join the supply team and help get more provisions from the nearby islands."
"Sure," Sabo readily agreed.
Kaku added, "Since you're going out this afternoon, can you bring me along too? I need to buy some supplies for my experiments."
"If the long-nose is going, I'm going too," Enel said lazily. "This boring little island is driving me crazy. No idea when Takumi's leaving—I need to get out and clear my mind."
"You should probably stay here," Kaku sighed. "With your bad temper, you'll cause trouble as soon as you're around people."
"You just can't go a day without picking on me, can you?" Enel retorted.
"What, you want to fight?" Kaku shot back.
Seeing them bicker again, the head chef hurriedly called out to Terry Gilteo, who hadn't gone far, "Mr. Gilteo, please come stop them! They're about to fight again!"
Hearing the head chef's shout, Gilteo broke into a cold sweat. He quickly pulled over Karasu—the man nicknamed Crow—who was closest to him, and rushed back.
"Guys, please don't fight here," Gilteo pleaded, half-laughing, half-crying. "I'm begging you, take it outside if you want to fight. Our base can't take any more damage..."
Enel looked displeased, glaring at Gilteo. "What, you trying to tell *me* what to do now too?"
"Gilteo, why are you so afraid of them?" Karasu asked in his characteristic high-pitched voice.
Although he had often heard Gilteo complain to Dragon over the past few months, seeing it firsthand was still surprising.
"You don't know just how destructive these two can be," Gilteo said, exasperated. "We've replaced the furniture five times, and repaired the doors and walls over twenty times. Thankfully, Baltigo has plenty of stone, so we can fix it ourselves without much cost..."
"Pfft," Enel suddenly burst out laughing, "Hahaha! That voice of yours is hilarious."
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
Everyone else fell silent.
Except for Kaku, who didn't know the situation, all the Revolutionary Army members' faces turned pale.
Especially Karasu—his entire demeanor shifted to something menacing. In an instant, he transformed into a humanoid crow, his feathers becoming razor-sharp blades.
"Karasu, calm down," Gilteo tried to intervene, but he wasn't a match for Karasu's strength.
"This is bad," Koala muttered, frowning slightly. She was about to ask Sabo to intervene, but seeing him distracted and injured, she decided to handle it herself. She stepped in front of Enel, speaking firmly, "Karasu, don't start a fight here. It must've been a slip of the tongue. Just calm down."
Then she turned to Enel, whispering, "Hurry and apologize."
Enel, however, sneered. "Apologize? Do you know who I am? Who are you to tell *me* what to do?"
With that, Enel shot a lightning bolt directly at Karasu.
************
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