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Although Sabo had guessed the truth, few believed him, and some even voiced their objections.
"Seastone is so rare. Even if you could get some, crushing it into powder and mixing it into seawater seems like such a waste, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, and seastone is so hard. Forget about crushing it—turning it into powder is nearly impossible. If you ask me, there's no way that water gun has seastone powder in it."
"But I think Sabo's reasoning makes sense—even if it's unlikely."
The group continued arguing.
Sabo just smiled and said nothing more. After all, it was only his guess.
Kaku didn't expect Sabo to figure it out so quickly, but even if he was right, Kaku wasn't going to admit it.
"The water gun does contain a special powder," Kaku said with a smirk, "but it's not seastone. Seastone is so rare—why waste it by turning it into powder? Wouldn't it be better to make seastone handcuffs or weapons instead?"
Sabo blinked, puzzled. "You have a point, I suppose."
"Oh, leader, you're here." At that moment, a Revolutionary soldier greeted Dragon, who had walked over.
The conversation quickly returned to the earlier clash.
"Leader, did you go easy on Takumi?"
"Why couldn't your attack reach him? Did he use some kind of trick?"
"Leader, all of our money was on you. You didn't hold back, did you?"
The Revolutionary soldiers looked at Dragon expectantly.
Dragon waved a hand dismissively. "I wasn't holding back..."
For the soldiers, this was like a bolt from the blue.
Kaku collected all the money bet by the soldiers, and then handed a third of it to Koala.
Koala didn't hesitate to accept it.
Around them, the soldiers began to complain.
"This is so frustrating..."
"Well, at least Koala made a small profit."
"Ugh, my entire savings are gone..."
"A bet's a bet," Koala said with a smile. "If you gamble, you have to be prepared to lose. The way you're acting now is embarrassing—aren't you worried people will laugh at you?"
Koala's words quieted the soldiers, despite their dissatisfaction.
Kaku handed Enel's golden staff back to him, and then brought the rest of the money to Takumi. "Captain, take half of this money. I want to use the other half to buy some supplies on a nearby island later this evening."
"Take it all," Takumi said indifferently.
Kaku handled all the purchases for their ship anyway, so Takumi didn't care.
"Hey, hey, I won that money from betting, didn't I?" Enel complained. "Don't I get a share?"
"What do you need money for?" Kaku retorted. "Whenever you buy something, it's always the same few items. Can't I just bring them back for you?"
Enel was speechless.
"I want to go too!" Enel insisted. "I want to visit the nearby island!"
Kaku sighed. "Don't make trouble..."
Enel's expression twitched. "How am I making trouble? Fine, I promise not to cause problems."
"You just standing there is trouble," Kaku replied. "I'm not taking you."
"Damn it, you're asking for it!" Enel shot a bolt of lightning at Kaku.
Kaku quickly fled, with Enel chasing after him. The two were once again engaged in their usual brawl.
The Revolutionary soldiers at Baltigo, as well as Takumi, were used to this scene.
Some of the soldiers who had recently returned with Dragon were still confused.
Dragon turned to Takumi. "Since you don't want to join the Revolutionary Army, how much longer do you plan to stay in Baltigo?"
Takumi thought for a moment. "Not sure."
That answer made Koala feel a chill in her heart.
Except for Dragon, Sabo, and Koala, everyone else wished that Takumi and his crew would leave as soon as possible.
Just then, the head chef, who had prepared food, waved to everyone from the base's entrance. "Everyone, come eat!"
Sabo rushed back first.
Seeing this, the others quickly followed suit.
"That guy..." Koala chuckled, shaking her head. She looked back at Dragon and Takumi, who hadn't moved. "Leader, Takumi, aren't you going to eat?"
Both silently shook their heads.
Koala shrugged and walked back slowly.
Once Koala was gone, Dragon spoke again. "You've been on this island for almost half a year, so you should know quite a lot about the Revolutionary Army's situation."
Takumi nodded.
Dragon continued, "During these past months, Gilteo has been reporting to me about you three. If you were willing to join us, you could stay here as long as you wanted. But since you won't join, I have a lot to consider as the leader here, and I can't keep taking care of you three indefinitely. I'm sure you understand."
Takumi nodded again.
Of course, he understood, and he remembered all the hospitality the Revolutionary Army had shown them these months.
Takumi wasn't the type to like owing people favors. After thinking for a moment, he said calmly, "Wait here a moment."
"What are you doing?" Dragon asked.
Takumi didn't answer. He used Shunpo to appear to go back to the ship, but really he just wanted a moment away. He retrieved a Devil Fruit from the system storage and returned to Dragon, handing it over.
"Is this..." Dragon looked at the Devil Fruit in Takumi's hand, surprised.
Takumi spoke casually. "A token of thanks for your hospitality over the past five months."
A Devil Fruit had a minimum value of over 100 million Berries, and they were extremely rare. Even with a lot of money, without luck, it was almost impossible to get one.
Takumi had chosen the Zoan-type Giraffe Giraffe Fruit, which was originally meant for Kaku.
He had plenty of Devil Fruits, so giving one away as a thank-you gift was no big deal.
Dragon hadn't expected Takumi to be so generous, but he didn't take it immediately. After a moment of silence, Dragon frowned slightly. "I never wanted anything from you. A Devil Fruit is a very precious thing—you should keep it."
"I don't need it," Takumi said indifferently. "Enel and Kaku are already Devil Fruit users, and I don't need it either. If you don't take it, I'll just throw it away."
Dragon stayed silent.
Then, Takumi really did throw the Devil Fruit away right in front of Dragon.
Before it hit the ground, Dragon hesitated, then used his power to summon a gust of wind, catching the fruit and bringing it back to him.
The Giraffe Fruit landed gently in Dragon's hand.
Takumi wasn't surprised. He had expected it.
"A Devil Fruit as a token of thanks—that's quite heavy," Dragon said, looking at Takumi.
Takumi shrugged. "It's just a useless thing to me. Besides, you can use it to appease your subordinates."
The Revolutionary Army was strong, but they weren't strong enough to wage war directly against the World Government yet.
So the army needed strong people, and they needed Devil Fruits that could help create strong fighters.
Giving this Devil Fruit was, without a doubt, a great favor to Dragon and the Revolutionary Army.
"Alright, I'll take it," Dragon said. "Thank you, Takumi."
Takumi waved a hand dismissively. "It's me who should thank you."
Later, when Enel and Kaku returned to the base, all the food prepared by the head chef had already been eaten. Enel was so furious he almost used his lightning powers, but Kaku managed to stop him.
To calm Enel down, Kaku finally agreed to let him join in on the supply run to the nearby islands.