Chapter 29: The Sea Restaurant - Marco's Recruitment Attempt

What should have been a simple dinner had quickly turned into a lively celebration.

Marco and his crew brought the atmosphere to life, laughing loudly, drinking heartily, and singing together as if they were at a grand feast. Soon enough, they even broke out into "Bink's Sake," a song almost every pirate knew by heart.

The cooks at Baratie, seeing they weren't too busy, decided to join in the fun.

But Takumi, on the other hand, seemed completely out of place in this joyous scene.

With a serious expression, he sat alone, quietly eating and drinking, his thoughts still consumed by the loss of his boat.

He realized he would need to figure out a way to get a new ship if he wanted to continue his journey.

At that moment, Marco walked over to Takumi's table, holding a cup of sake. "Takumi, how about a drink together?" he offered with a smile.

Without even looking up, Takumi grabbed his bottle of sake.

Unfazed, Marco lightly clinked his cup against Takumi's bottle, watching as Takumi took a large gulp straight from the bottle.

After downing his own drink, Marco laughed heartily, "Haha! I didn't expect you to handle your liquor so well. When I was your age, I was still drinking juice."

Takumi remained silent, uninterested in conversation.

Unbothered, Marco took a seat across from him, studying him with an amused expression. "You're not from this restaurant, are you?" he asked.

Takumi responded with a noncommittal grunt, continuing to eat his meal.

Zeff and Sanji came down from upstairs, noticing Marco and Takumi sitting together. Zeff narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't dwell on it. He instructed Sanji to bring a plate of meat over to Takumi's table.

"Baratie hasn't been this lively in ages," Sanji remarked with a grin as he placed the dish in front of Takumi.

Takumi glanced at him but said nothing.

Zeff approached as well, his gaze shifting to Marco. "You must be Marco, the 1st Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, right?" he asked.

Marco turned to Zeff, smiling. "That's right. I didn't expect to be recognized in the East Blue."

Zeff chuckled, continuing, "Shouldn't you be with Whitebeard on the main ship? What brings you to the East Blue with your crew? On a mission?"

"Just a small task. We'll be heading back in a few days," Marco replied casually. "And by the way, thanks for your help with the restaurant today."

"Heh, you should be thanking someone else, not me." Marco's eyes shifted back to Takumi.

Following Marco's gaze, Zeff was momentarily surprised. "Are you saying Takumi dealt with Krieg and his men?"

Marco smiled. "He didn't even blink—took Krieg down with just two strikes. That kid's something else."

"Two strikes?" Zeff echoed in surprise. "Krieg commanded a fleet of fifteen pirate ships, which means he wasn't weak. And yet, just two strikes...?"

"It's true," Marco confirmed. Then, turning back to Takumi, he asked, "Do you have any plans on where to go next?"

Takumi didn't answer, so Zeff responded for him. "He's a traveler."

"A traveler?" Marco asked, intrigued. "By yourself?"

"Yeah." Takumi finished the last bite of his meal, wiped his mouth, and answered briefly.

Marco grinned. "Traveling alone on the vast ocean—doesn't that get lonely? Why not consider joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"No," Takumi replied flatly as he stood up.

He had no interest in staying in the lively atmosphere any longer. He planned to go upstairs and get some rest.

Seeing this, Marco quickly called out, "Your ship's gone now. Without a ship, you won't be able to go anywhere. Maybe you're wary of us because we're pirates, but the Whitebeard Pirates are different from other crews. Pops is the most generous man in the world. He treats us like his sons, his family. I'm sure if you met him, you'd come to like him."

"No," Takumi refused again. "I'm just a traveler. I don't need a family or attachments. I appreciate the offer, but I'll be going now."

With that, Takumi turned to leave.

In his mind, the system's notification sounded:

[Ding! By rejecting Marco's invitation, your sign-in progress has increased by 10%. Current progress is 80%. Reward: Observation Haki level increased by 1. Current Observation Haki level: Lv3.]

Takumi paused for a moment.

Even though others couldn't sense the enhancement in his Observation Haki, he could clearly feel the difference. He could now detect the breaths of people within a few hundred meters, even sensing the movements of fish in the water!

But he still couldn't quite hear their heartbeats.

Seeing him suddenly stop, Zeff asked, "What's the matter, kid?"

Snapping out of it, Takumi turned back to Zeff and asked, "Is there a bounty on Krieg?"

Zeff didn't understand the question at first but then replied, "He's only recently started making waves in the East Blue. The bounty isn't much, just a few million Berries. Why?"

"His body's still outside," Takumi said indifferently. "The bounty's yours. I just want a small boat."

Zeff was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled. "You'd trade a few million Berries for a small boat? You're quite generous."

"Money doesn't matter to me." With that, Takumi turned and headed upstairs.

Sanji hesitated briefly before jogging after him.

Marco watched them leave, a hint of regret in his voice. "Guess I'm not as charming as I thought. Couldn't even sway a kid."

Zeff laughed. "Takumi's a strange one. It's not just you—he turned down both me and Garp's invitations without hesitation."

"Garp?" Marco asked, surprised. "You mean Vice Admiral Garp, the 'Hero of the Marines'?"

"That's right," Zeff confirmed with a nod. "Garp stuck around for two days, trying to convince Takumi to join the Marines, but the kid wouldn't budge. Garp only left this morning. Lucky for you, you came in the evening. If you'd run into Garp, you might've had a tough time."

Marco fell silent, his eyes drifting toward the staircase where Takumi had disappeared.

Without another word, he stood up and made his way outside.

As Marco walked away, Zeff watched him, a small, expectant smile playing on his lips. "To reject offers from both the Hero of the Marines and the strongest pirate crew without a second thought... I wonder what your future holds, Takumi."

Marco returned to his ship alone, immediately calling the Whitebeard Pirates' main vessel, the Moby Dick.

The call was answered quickly.

"Get the phone to Pops, now!" Marco's urgent tone startled the crew member on the other end, who rushed to hand the receiver to Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, who was enjoying a drink with his men.

Whitebeard picked up the receiver. "Marco, what's going on? Are you in trouble out there in the East Blue?"

Marco grinned. "Pops, I've come across a remarkable kid."

"A remarkable kid?" Whitebeard repeated, curious. "How remarkable?"

"With just two sword strikes, he effortlessly took down a pirate who commanded a fleet of fifteen ships."

"Oh, that's impressive," Whitebeard acknowledged.

"But that's not all," Marco continued. "He also turned down an offer from Garp, the Marine Hero."

"What? Garp?" Whitebeard was surprised. "The Marines are trying to recruit this kid?"

"That's right. We just missed Garp—he left before we arrived. The owner of this sea restaurant said Garp spent two days trying to convince the kid but couldn't."

"Garp isn't the type to waste his time on trivial matters," Whitebeard mused. "What's the kid's name? How old is he?"

"His name's Takumi, and he's about ten years old," Marco replied.

"What! Only ten?" Whitebeard exclaimed in shock.

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