Whitebeard had pretty much figured out why Garp had eventually given up on recruiting Takumi to the Navy.
The kid's eyes were resolute. He was clearly the type who, once he set his mind on something, would never regret it. Trying to convince him otherwise was practically impossible.
Whitebeard wasn't the kind of man who liked to force people into things. Since Takumi wasn't willing to stay, he had to let him go.
Still, Takumi's drinking habits fit perfectly with Whitebeard's own, and that was a big reason why the old man had made such a request of him.
After all, just drinking together wasn't a big deal, especially with someone as bold and free-spirited as Whitebeard.
Takumi didn't hesitate. "Alright, I'll agree to that."
Whitebeard had no doubt that Takumi was being honest with him, and his mood improved considerably. "Gurararara! Good! Let's keep drinking!"
With a nod of agreement, Takumi raised his gourd to finish off the last drop of wine. And at that moment, the system's voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! You have gained Whitebeard's friendship. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 40%.]
Hearing the notification, Takumi barely reacted.
Getting two sign-in progress milestones from his time with Whitebeard was something he had already expected. There was nothing particularly surprising about it.
"Hmm? Out of wine already?" Whitebeard asked, noticing that Takumi had stopped drinking.
Takumi nodded.
Whitebeard laughed heartily. "Gurararara! No problem! If there's one thing we don't lack, it's wine. There's a wine cellar down in the hold—go grab whatever you like."
Takumi wasn't shy about it. He stood up and headed down to the ship's hold.
While he was picking out some wine from the massive cellar, Takumi quietly used his Healing Palm Technique to fully recover from his internal injuries. He then hauled two large barrels of wine back up to the deck, where he and Whitebeard continued to drink to their heart's content.
Later, when Marco and Enel returned, they brought along a couple of shipwrights from Dock One to assess the damage to the Moby Dick.
Takumi, having had his fill of wine, eventually said his goodbyes and left with Enel.
Whitebeard didn't stop them.
After they were gone, Marco turned to Whitebeard. "Pops, have you really given up on trying to recruit Takumi?"
Whitebeard, still gazing at Takumi's retreating figure, smiled. "That kid has his own way of thinking. This era needs people like him. One day, he's going to change the world."
"Oh? Pops, you've got some high praise for him." Marco grinned. "If you're saying that, then that kid really must be something special."
Just as they were speaking, a voice suddenly called out in alarm.
"What happened to the Moby Dick? Did we come under attack? Pops, are you alright?!"
A tall, muscular man with dark skin and a curly black mustache came rushing up the deck. He wore a deep blue top hat, a pair of hoop earrings, and a half-unbuttoned blue shirt that exposed his chest. A pair of rapiers hung from his waist. This was Vista, one of Whitebeard's commanders, and he wasn't alone. He had brought a group of men with him.
Seeing that Whitebeard was unharmed, Vista let out a sigh of relief.
But then his expression darkened when he noticed the scattered crewmembers lying unconscious on the deck. "What happened to everyone?"
"Don't worry, they're fine," Marco waved him off. "They're just knocked out and should wake up soon."
Vista looked at him suspiciously, clearly unconvinced. "What exactly happened on this ship?"
Marco put on an innocent face, while Whitebeard let out a hearty laugh. "Gurararara! No need to fret, Vista. It was just a visit from an interesting little brat."
Vista blinked, confused. "An interesting brat? Who?"
Meanwhile, Takumi and Enel had made their way back to the heart of Water 7. The sky was darkening as night fell over the city.
After drinking heavily with Whitebeard, Takumi was starting to feel a bit tired. So, he found an inn and booked two rooms for them. Since their ship wouldn't be ready for another five days, they paid for five nights upfront.
"Uh, I'm not really tired yet," Enel said, stopping Takumi before he headed off to his room. "Mind if I go out for a bit? I promise I won't cause any trouble."
Takumi waved him off, indicating that he didn't care. He also tossed Enel a bag of Beli from his system inventory, then headed to his room to sleep.
Where Enel went and what he did after that, Takumi had no idea.
When he woke up, it was already past two in the morning.
Since he had gone to bed early, he had woken up early.
No longer feeling sleepy, Takumi decided to go out and grab a midnight snack.
Water 7 was a bustling city, even at night. Given its close ties to the World Government, the night market was particularly lively.
As Takumi crossed one of the many bridges that spanned the waterways, heading towards the brightly lit night market, he noticed a group of figures moving quickly through the shadows on the rooftops. The dim light made it hard to make out their faces.
However, one of the figures had a distinctively long nose, which caught Takumi's attention.
Takumi paused. "...Could that be CP9?"
He vaguely recalled that one of the undercover agents stationed at Dock One had a long nose.
Still, whether or not they were CP9 wasn't really his concern.
Shrugging it off, Takumi continued on his way to the night market.
After eating his fill, he made his way to the outskirts of Water 7 and found a quiet spot along the coastline. From his system inventory, he pulled out a fishing rod and began to fish under the moonlight.
Fishing had become a new pastime of his, something he had picked up during the journey from Thriller Bark to Water 7. It was a relaxing way to pass the time and sharpen his focus.
By the time the sun rose, Takumi had spent over three hours fishing and had only managed to catch five fish—three of which were no bigger than his hand.
Still, the number of fish didn't matter to him. He wasn't fishing for the sake of catching anything.
After releasing his meager catch back into the ocean, he packed up his fishing gear and headed back into town for breakfast.
On his way back to the central district, he spotted two men walking along the opposite side of the canal. One wore a black bowler hat with a pigeon perched on his shoulder, and the other had a square-shaped long nose and wore a black baseball cap.
Even with just a glance, Takumi instantly recognized them.
The man with the pigeon was Lucci, and the long-nosed man was Kaku.
They were both members of CP9, and not just any members—they were the strongest agents in the group.
It seemed like CP9 was finally making their move...
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