"Eh? What's going on? Why didn't Jerry throw the grenade?"
"He must've gone mad. If he wants to blow himself up, why not do it somewhere else instead of here? He's going to drag us all down with him, cough cough..."
"No, something's off. He was about to throw it, but after that kid looked back at him, Jerry's expression changed, like he'd seen a ghost."
"That's impossible! How could a kid that young scare someone like Jerry with just a glance?"
Covered in dust from the explosion, the pirates argued back and forth, their faces full of confusion.
Takumi, however, didn't pay any attention to the chatter behind him. As he approached the tavern, a man dressed in a long brown-black fur coat and a black hat, with long hair, suddenly fell off a tall horse right in front of him.
Takumi recognized the man's outfit instantly.
It was Doc Q, the future ship doctor of Blackbeard's pirate crew, known as the "Grim Reaper." He was a ruthless individual.
Why he was here, Takumi didn't know—and frankly, he didn't care.
Looking frail and weak, Doc Q said in a raspy voice, "Excuse me, could you help me up?"
Takumi shot him an unimpressed glance and simply walked around him.
Doc Q, seemingly unfazed, pulled out a basket of red apples. As Takumi was about to pass him, he said, "These apples are my gift to you. I'm sickly by nature, but could you help me up in return? I'd appreciate it."
Takumi's expression didn't change. Ignoring the man's theatrics, he continued walking and entered the nearby tavern.
"What a heartless brat," Doc Q muttered darkly, his face turning grim.
As soon as he said that, his gaze landed on a group of people not far off. They looked like they had just arrived from somewhere else, and Doc Q smirked slightly.
Takumi had entered a tavern that was a mix of a bar and a restaurant.
Sitting down at the bar, he hadn't said a word when the bartender, surprised to see such a young boy, placed a glass of orange juice with ice in front of him.
Takumi looked at the drink with a blank expression.
"Hey kid," the bartender said kindly, "you're probably with a crew, right? This town isn't safe for someone your age to be wandering around alone. Just drink this juice and head out, alright?"
Takumi stared at the orange juice, picked it up, and downed it in one go. Then, pulling out some Berries, he said flatly, "Give me a drink."
"Eh?" The bartender was taken aback. "You can drink alcohol?"
Takumi nodded slightly. "Yeah."
The bartender, awkward but obliging, accepted the money and quickly poured Takumi a glass of liquor. Watching Takumi gulp it down like water, the bartender couldn't help but sigh. "I guess it's true. People who come to this town aren't ordinary. At your age, you should be carefree, playing with other kids. But here you are, calmly drinking like an adult. Seems like you've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Takumi, uninterested in small talk, replied, "Another."
The bartender gave a light chuckle. "Alright, hold on a moment."
Just as the bartender brought Takumi a second drink, two loud explosions echoed from outside.
"Ah, must be another fight," the bartender said casually, wiping a glass without much concern.
The customers inside the tavern continued eating and drinking, unfazed by the sound of explosions, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Takumi, equally unbothered, continued sipping his drink.
Suddenly, a furious voice from outside reached their ears.
"Damn it! Someone dared to kill my men! Get after him, boys! Capture that guy on the horse—I'm going to kill him!"
Takumi paused, putting his glass down. That voice sounded oddly familiar...
"It's probably that apple guy again," the bartender remarked with a laugh. "A few days ago, a sickly-looking man riding a horse showed up in Mock Town. He had a basket full of apples, handing them out to anyone who passed by. People who didn't know any better would take one, only to get blown up. So, kid, if you run into someone offering you apples, make sure not to take one."
Takumi remained silent, staring at his half-empty glass. Without a word, he lifted it and finished the drink.
Seeing that Takumi wasn't interested in conversation, the bartender shrugged and went back to his work.
Takumi ordered another two bottles of liquor, along with some snacks. As he quietly ate and drank, he listened to the pirates around him boast and gossip. None of them mentioned anything about the sky suddenly turning dark.
Just as Takumi finished his first bottle and opened the second, that familiar voice from earlier sounded again, this time much closer.
"Damn it, he got away! You two, handle the bodies. Mochi, Cabaji, stay here. The rest of you, return to the ship!"
After giving those orders, the man stormed into the tavern, his face twisted in anger.
Takumi didn't turn around. Just hearing the names of his subordinates was enough to confirm who it was.
It was Buggy.
Once an apprentice on the Roger Pirates, Buggy had grown up alongside Red-Haired Shanks. The two had been close friends until an incident where Buggy, due to Shanks, accidentally consumed the Chop-Chop Fruit—a Devil Fruit he had planned to sell for a fortune. Ever since, Buggy had harbored a grudge against Shanks. After the Roger Pirates disbanded, Buggy formed his own crew, the Buggy Pirates.
"Hey, get me the best food and drinks you've got here!" Buggy shouted, his voice echoing through the tavern as he and his two subordinates, Mochi and Cabaji, sat down at a table. His face was filled with irritation.
"Right away!" the bartender responded quickly.
Sitting at the table next to Buggy's were two men who couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Haha! Look at that guy's nose! It's hilarious!"
"Is he a clown or something? Haha... hey, buddy, why don't you give us a little performance?"
Buggy turned to glare at them, his face shadowed ominously. "You think my nose is funny, huh? You think I look like some kind of idiot with this big red nose?"
"Yeah, that's exactly what we're saying. It's big and red, haha!"
"Didn't expect you to be so self-aware! Haha…"
The two men laughed even harder, causing a ripple of laughter to spread throughout the tavern.
"Hehe, those guys are done for," chuckled Mochi, a man dressed in fur clothing and animal-paw shoes. His hair resembled a fluffy animal mane.
Buggy's other subordinate, Cabaji, who wore a plaid scarf and had hair covering his left eye, smirked. "Yeah, they're doomed. They've just made the biggest mistake of their lives."
As the laughter continued, Buggy's grim expression slowly twisted into a terrifying smile. "Looks like you're all ready to die. So, go ahead and die!"
******
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