Takumi immediately recognized the man before him.
It was Kizaru.
Even though the Navy Headquarters was located near Sabaody, Kizaru, being a high-ranking admiral, wouldn't be here without a reason.
Was he here for the Devil Fruit? Or had the Navy received intel about the Revolutionary Army coming to rescue someone?
Or perhaps… a Celestial Dragon had been attacked, and the Navy sent him to deal with it?
Whatever the reason, Takumi knew that Kizaru was not one to take his job too seriously.
Regardless of Kizaru's intentions for being in Sabaody, Takumi didn't want to get involved with him at all.
However, as he tried to change direction and leave, Kizaru still noticed him.
"Hmm? Isn't this Takumi? Sabaody sure has some dangerous kids showing up lately," Kizaru remarked, scratching his head as he took long strides, appearing right in front of Takumi in an instant.
"Just in time. I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a female Celestial Dragon wearing sunglasses?" Kizaru asked nonchalantly, staring at Takumi.
A female Celestial Dragon with sunglasses? Wasn't that the one he encountered yesterday?
After a brief moment of silence, Takumi responded, "No, I haven't."
"Hmm? That's strange. Even Sengoku has been unreachable," Kizaru mused, pulling out a small black transponder snail and speaking into it, "Moshi moshi, Sengoku, can you hear me? Eh? No sound at all, how odd…"
Takumi glanced at the transponder snail in Kizaru's hand.
That was a Navy-issued snail used for eavesdropping. If Sengoku could actually receive his call, that would be even stranger.
Enough of this. Takumi thought it best to distance himself from Kizaru as soon as possible.
As Takumi started to move away, Kizaru followed him, still fiddling with the transponder snail that no one would ever answer, continually muttering, "Moshi moshi."
The sound of it gave Takumi chills, and he couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure that thing can even make calls?"
"Hm?" Kizaru tilted his head to glance at Takumi, then looked back at the black transponder snail in his hand. Just as he was about to respond, another snail in his pocket began to ring.
Kizaru stopped walking.
Seeing this as his chance, Takumi quickened his pace and slipped away.
Kizaru, now holding the still-ringing transponder snail, started patting himself down, eventually pulling it out.
As soon as he answered it, Sengoku's voice barked through the line: "What took you so long to answer? Have you arrived at Sabaody yet?"
"I'm here," Kizaru replied, casually putting away the eavesdropping snail.
Sengoku's voice continued, "Have you found the Celestial Dragon?"
"Not yet," Kizaru lazily scratched his head. "I looked around but couldn't find them. It's strange, weren't we supposed to meet in Area 1?"
"Huh? Area 1? Who told you that?" Sengoku was exasperated. "Did you even pay attention during the morning briefing? I clearly said Area 31!"
"Oh, Area 31. I'll head over there now," Kizaru replied nonchalantly.
"And one more thing, I just received intel that in six days, a Devil Fruit will be auctioned in Area 1 of Sabaody. Akainu and Aokiji are currently on missions and won't be able to make it back in time. Since you're on duty in Sabaody this week, I'm putting you in charge of acquiring that Devil Fruit."
"Six days from now, huh…" Kizaru sighed in annoyance. "But my current assignment only lasts five days. Does this mean I'll have to stay an extra day? Does that count as overtime?"
Sengoku: "..."
"Yes… it counts as overtime," Sengoku responded, clearly fed up. "Anyway, the budget is set at 3 billion berries. Try to win the auction for the Devil Fruit."
"Got it."
"Good, now get to work."
With that, the call ended.
After putting the snail away, Kizaru looked up, only to realize that Takumi had long since disappeared.
"He sure can run fast," Kizaru muttered. Just as he finished, a surprised voice called out from behind him.
"Huh? Admiral Kizaru?" A young Marine, dressed in uniform and carrying a rifle, ran up to him.
Kizaru turned to glance at the young man.
The Marine stopped in front of Kizaru, panting heavily. "Admiral Kizaru, thank goodness you're here! We've discovered Revolutionary Army members on the island. Please help us capture them!"
Kizaru: "…"
Meanwhile.
After leaving Area 1, Takumi wandered around until he reached the more peaceful tourist zones of Areas 40 through 49.
Based on Kizaru's mention of a female Celestial Dragon, Takumi quickly deduced that this was related to yesterday's incident.
All this trouble over a dog… bringing in a Navy admiral, no less. Truly fitting behavior for the Celestial Dragons.
Luckily, the woman hadn't seen his face. Otherwise, things would have gotten much more complicated if Kizaru had confronted him directly.
Takumi pushed the thought aside and continued exploring the area. Before long, he found a moderately sized tavern and decided to stop in for a drink.
After about half an hour of drinking, the tavern door suddenly swung open.
A man with short black hair rushed in excitedly. "Did you hear? A group of Revolutionary Army members has infiltrated the island, and the Navy is chasing them down. They've already caught two of their officers!"
"What? Revolutionary Army? What are they doing here? That's some serious guts," one of the patrons remarked.
"Their officers got caught so easily? That's pathetic…" another chimed in.
"What about the rest of the Revolutionary Army? Don't tell me the Navy only managed to capture two officers."
The man who had brought the news sat down casually and continued, "You don't get it. Officers are worth far more than regular members. But we don't know how many Revolutionary Army members are actually on the island. The Navy is likely going to start searching this area soon."
Just as he finished speaking, the tavern door opened again.
A group of heavily armed Marines entered.
The lead Marine addressed the crowd inside, "Has anyone seen a blonde kid wearing a hat?"
"A blonde kid? Haven't seen one…"
"I heard there was a blonde kid causing a stir in Areas 1 through 29 yesterday. Maybe that's who you're looking for."
"I saw him!" The man who had entered earlier quickly raised his hand. "When I came into the tavern, I saw a blonde kid heading southeast. If you hurry, you should be able to catch him!"
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