The laughter in the tavern was loud and mocking.
"Hahaha, are you serious? Drinking tea and juice in a tavern? Those two are huge and can't even handle a drink!"
"And look at that kid. What's he, like fourteen? Can he even drink alcohol?"
"This is too funny! The two big guys are outdone by a kid, hahaha…"
Despite the mocking comments, Garp and Takumi didn't care at all.
Enel, on the other hand, was fuming. He had never been humiliated like this before. Back on Sky Island, anyone who dared defy him would end up dead!
If it weren't for Garp and Takumi being here, those laughing fools would already be fried to a crisp.
Enel chuckled darkly, "Fools. Ignorant Blue Sea trash."
Garp slapped Enel on the back, laughing heartily, "C'mon, Sparky, don't sweat the small stuff. You'll wear yourself out if you take everything so seriously!"
Enel: "..."
Takumi stayed quiet, tossing some of the freshly earned beri onto the bar.
The bartender, all smiles, quickly pocketed the money. "Right away," he said cheerfully, then hurried off to prepare the drinks they had ordered.
After all, the tavern was there to make money. As long as a customer had beri, they'd sell whatever was available.
At that moment, the door to the tavern swung open.
A group of young men strolled in.
Leading them was a tall, slender man with flowing blonde hair, six vertical lines replacing his eyebrows, and a black cross tattooed on his throat. He wore an open, ruffled white shirt and black pants, his left shoulder protected by a piece of armor. His face was calm but carried a melancholic air.
"Oi, boss! Get us two crates of booze, and bring some snacks—extra biscuits!" one of the men shouted to the bartender.
The bartender finished placing Takumi, Garp, and Enel's drinks in front of them and gave a quick nod to the newcomers, "Right away."
The group then casually found a couple of tables in the middle of the tavern to settle down at.
"Who are they? They look tough..." whispered one of the other customers.
"Better keep quiet, those guys don't look like they'd be easy to mess with."
The crowd, who had been laughing at Takumi and his group just moments ago, quickly fell silent, not daring to make a sound.
"Captain, look at the guy over there," one of the newcomers said, pointing at Enel. "He's got drums on his back! Isn't that uncomfortable? Hahaha..."
Enel: "..."
The blonde man ignored his subordinate's comment. His gaze instead landed on Garp, sitting in the middle of the bar.
Without a word, the man pulled out a deck of cards, expertly shuffling them before drawing a few and laying them in the air. His expression remained blank as he spoke.
"Success in battle: zero percent. Escape chance: zero percent. Defense and evasion: zero percent."
"Huh? Zero percent success in battle?" one of the man's lackeys asked in confusion. "Captain Hawkins, who's that about? Is it the guy with the white headscarf?"
Hawkins didn't even glance at his crewmate. He looked directly at Garp, still expressionless. "The legendary Marine hero, Garp the Fist."
"Hm?" Garp turned his head toward Hawkins. "Do I know you?"
Hawkins?
Takumi immediately recognized the name.
This guy would be one of the Supernovas in six years, with a bounty exceeding 100 million beri, standing alongside Luffy, Zoro, and the others.
As a Devil Fruit user with the power of the Straw-Straw Fruit, Hawkins could redirect damage using his voodoo-like abilities, and even transform into a massive straw monster. But more notably, he was a fortune teller. Before doing anything, he would always read his cards and let fate decide his course of action.
Because of this calculated approach, he earned the nickname "The Magician" and was sometimes referred to as "Hawkins the Half-Sage."
At this point in time, Hawkins had probably just started his pirate crew, and his bounty hadn't even been issued yet. So, it made sense that Garp wouldn't recognize him.
"A Marine hero? That old man is Garp?" someone whispered.
"Wow… Why is Garp the Fist here? Wait, he's in civilian clothes…"
"Maybe he's on vacation? But I thought his hometown was in East Blue. What's he doing in the North Blue?"
Hawkins' men murmured amongst themselves.
The atmosphere in the tavern shifted as more people recognized Garp. Faces went pale as customers lowered their heads, embarrassed at their earlier mockery.
"Ahahaha! Relax, everyone. I'm just here on vacation," Garp laughed heartily.
One of Hawkins' men leaned in and whispered to him, "Captain, maybe we should leave. He's still a Marine, and if he finds out we're pirates, we're done for."
"Pirates, huh?" Garp's sharp ears picked up on the whisper.
"Ah, no, we're not—" The lackey broke into a nervous sweat.
Hawkins calmly shuffled his cards again and drew a new set. His voice was calm. "Chance of being captured: zero percent. He doesn't plan on arresting us."
"Ahahaha! You're an interesting one, aren't you?" Garp chuckled. "What's with this 'zero percent' talk? Fortune-telling?"
Hawkins nodded. "That's right."
Garp's eyes lit up with curiosity. He pointed at Takumi and Enel. "How about you tell their fortunes next?"
Hawkins: "..."
"Go on. Otherwise, I might have to arrest you after all," Garp said with a grin.
Hawkins sighed internally but drew two more cards, glancing at them. His face remained impassive, though the results were unexpected.
"Chance of capture: fifty percent…" Hawkins muttered, feeling an unusual shift in the cards. The odds were changing rapidly.
Even though it was only fifty percent, the fact that Garp was involved made capture far too likely. If the Marine hero wanted to, capturing them would be easy.
Taking a deep breath, Hawkins asked, "What do you want me to predict?"
Garp scratched his chin, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "Why don't you tell me the odds of these two becoming Marines?"
Hawkins hesitated briefly, then turned to face Takumi and Enel.
If Garp saw potential in them, they had to be powerful.
After a quick shuffle, he pulled a few more cards and let them hover in the air.
Garp watched in anticipation.
Takumi and Enel, however, both looked unimpressed.
Hawkins studied the cards, then said, "Their chance of becoming Marines is zero percent."
"Really? Not even a sliver of a chance?" Garp looked genuinely disappointed.
Enel, sipping his apple juice, scoffed, "This is boring."
Takumi just kept drinking his liquor.
Suddenly, Enel glanced at Hawkins with a sly look. "Hey, fortune-teller, what are my chances of beating Takumi in the future?"
Hawkins: "..."
Are they seriously treating me like some street-side fortune teller?
Can I just refuse?