Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Tom Warms Up with Wine and Cuts Down Adrian

On the other end, Spandam seemed to have finally straightened up, his tone returning to normal: "Sabaody Archipelago? What kind of information could there be in a place like that? I'm busy right now!"

"Busy? Do you have time to drink coffee?" Teo muttered under his breath, fearing that Spandam might hang up, and quickly got to the point, "It's information related to Water 7."

"What did you say?" Spandam's voice suddenly rose, and the sound of a table and chairs falling over came through the Transponder Snail. Then followed by Spandam's angry roar, "Damn chair, why did it suddenly break!"

After a few quiet seconds, Teo cautiously continued, "Commander?"

"Go on."

"Very well." Teo summarized the situation briefly.

"I see, I see. Hahaha..." The Transponder Snail mimicked Spandam's triumphant smile, its arrogance rivaled only by the laughter of the Four Emperors of the Uchiha Clan. "Well done, you two. Now immediately gather all the information you can on this Bizzness, fax it over to me, and then investigate his routes."

With a special device added to the Transponder Snail, it could function as a fax machine. The Transponder Snail family did its best to assist in remote office work.

"Yes, Commander. And what about the explosion case we're currently investigating?"

"Put that on hold for now. There's nothing interesting about the explosion case; that place is exploding every day." Spandam couldn't be bothered with anything else. He just wanted to find Bizzness, expose Tom's Workshop, and force out the location of the Pluton blueprints.

It was crucial to realize that the Sea Train project was almost complete. By then, the accusation of "creating a ship for the Pirate King" that Tom carried would be nullified. Spandam would have a hard time trying to capture the world's top shipwright again.

With such great fame and significant contributions to the entire island, if he wanted to plot against Tom, he needed a reasonable excuse.

Having such an unexpected possibility now, even if this merchant had the slightest connection to Tom's Workshop, Spandam wasn't going to let it slide.

Furthermore, he couldn't take any new actions before the Sea Train was completed. Investigating this situation for now seemed like a good idea.

...

After squarely pinning the troublesome old swindler with accusations, Adrian felt quite pleased. He was in such high spirits that during his practice session, he impulsively challenged Tom.

"Tom, I think I'm doing pretty well!"

Tom looked up, setting down the cookie that had a chunk bitten out of it by Adrian, and calmly changed into his suit.

In the past, he would have simply tossed the cookie aside, but having experienced a period of hunger, along with Adrian's teachings, Tom had developed a habit of not wasting food.

After setting down the cookie and planning to come back to it later, he poured himself a cup of hot tea, remembering the story Adrian had told him – "Pour the tea, and I'll be back."

In terms of combat, Adrian had made considerable progress. He engaged in a 30-second sword fight with Tom, and the result... was best left unspoken. Nevertheless, he lasted much longer than before when Tom defeated him in three moves.

Tom's swordsmanship amazed Rui Mengmeng, overturning her preconceptions. She decided to learn swordsmanship from Artoria – a normal person couldn't learn Tom's unique swordsmanship techniques.

Where else would you see someone retracting their head into their neck to dodge an opponent's attack?

Where else would you find someone dropping their hat during a fight, then bending over to pick it up while continuing to fight?

It's better to learn some techniques that normal people can actually use.

While Rui Mengmeng began learning the basics from Artoria, Adrian, during his break, pondered whether he had gained any new abilities.

However, he didn't discover anything new. Just like before, whether it was his regenerative ability or his magical power, they didn't appear immediately. Perhaps he needed to observe for a while longer, and there was no need to rush.

Adrian planned to wait until Rui Mengmeng mastered the basics and then spar with her. He looked forward to the day when he would no longer be the weakest in the tavern.

The bar opened as usual in the evening, and the "house flying in the sky" incident from the previous day remained a hot topic of discussion.

Occasionally, people mentioned that the Marines had removed several bodies from the base, claiming that the bounty hunters who had been captured were seriously injured and couldn't be saved.

Adrian struck up a conversation here and there and learned that a total of ten bodies had been recovered, all of them being human traffickers before they were apprehended.

"It seems Vice Admiral Kadar is probably okay." Adrian knew that these people had been dealt with by Kadar, but the Marines had likely chosen to cover it up. Adrian wasn't sure if it was to save face for the newly appointed Admiral Aokiji or if they simply didn't want to punish a Vice Admiral for dealing with a few scumbags.

Not long after, an inconspicuous old man walked in leisurely.

Adrian didn't pay much attention to the bell ringing on the door; he thought it was just an ordinary customer coming in.

However, he noticed Artoria putting down her snacks and her expression turning serious. Following her gaze, Adrian observed the situation more carefully:

With white hair and deep wrinkles on his forehead, wearing round glasses, a scar over his right eye, and a beard on his chin that somewhat resembled a barcode, he seemed kind when he smiled.

Adrian gestured to Artoria, trying to figure out how to talk to him to make it seem like he didn't know him at all.

Artoria saw Adrian's hand signals, associating the number 13 with the island's strongest, "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh, who resided on GR-13 of the Sabaody Archipelago – the Pirate King's right hand.

"A bottle of wine, please." Rayleigh had already seated himself at the bar, casually dressed in a yellow long-sleeved shirt and a white cloak, but he wore shorts on his lower body, a haphazard ensemble of clothing.

Adrian turned around, opened a bottle of wine, and placed it in front of Rayleigh. It was the same wine Roger had favored, so it was only natural for Rayleigh to like it too.

"Don't be nervous, young lady over there. I mean no harm." Rayleigh noticed Artoria's guarded stance and maintained his friendly smile.

Artoria stood next to Adrian, wary of a person with such a powerful presence, especially one who was a pirate. It was better to be cautious.

Rayleigh picked up the wine bottle and took two sips directly from it. His gaze swept across Artoria, Rui Mengmeng, and Tom before finally settling on Adrian. "Young man, do I seem familiar to you?"

"Ah? May I ask your name? I think this is the first time I've seen you, sir. Were you a regular customer at this tavern

before?" Adrian felt a sense of unease. Rayleigh's demeanor suggested that he was here for a specific purpose.

"Haha, I am..."

"Oh, isn't this the laminating old Ray? Heard you lost all your money gambling a few days ago, and now you have money to drink again?" A shipwright, quite familiar with Rayleigh, playfully draped his arm over Rayleigh's shoulder.

This confirmed Adrian's suspicion – this guy didn't even bother trimming his beard or changing his name, yet he boldly posed as a laminating craftsman. What an halfhearted attempt at hiding.

If the Marines weren't aware of his presence, something fishy was definitely going on; they must have realized he was harmless as long as he didn't cause trouble.