Chapter 133: Thriller Bark - Vice Admiral Garp, Truly Reliable

When Takumi returned to the ship, he found Enel slumped in a small wooden chair in the cabin. His face was scribbled with doodles, and his nose and mouth were comically connected by two chopsticks. The sight was downright ridiculous.

But, at least Enel's shadow had returned.

Normally, there's no waking someone who's had their shadow stolen, even when it's returned. They'd be out cold for days.

So Takumi approached Enel and, without a word, coated his right fist in Armament Haki. With about seventy percent of his strength, he delivered a loving "Iron Fist" straight to Enel's head, without hesitation.

Bam! The force of the punch smashed Enel's head right through the wooden floorboards of the cabin. His body remained on deck, but his head dangled beneath, with a large bump forming almost instantly.

A few seconds later, Enel slowly regained consciousness.

Feeling the pain throbbing in his skull, he jumped up and realized he was back on the ship. Seeing Takumi nearby, he blurted out, "What the hell happened?"

Takumi, not in the mood to explain much, simply said, "Let's go. Time for the next island."

"Huh?" Enel blinked, before suddenly remembering the beating he had received from Moria. Anger welled up, and he shouted, "Damn it! I'm the God of Thunder! I can't believe that bastard got the best of me! I'm going back to finish him off!"

"He's already dealt with," Takumi replied flatly.

"What?" Enel looked at him in disbelief. "Wait, did you take him down?"

Takumi's face said it all: "Obviously."

Enel's mouth twitched as he noticed the hole his head had left in the floorboards. "Uh, I don't know how to fix ships…"

Fortunately, the hole didn't affect the lower gear mechanisms that powered the propellers. The ship's seaworthiness wasn't in jeopardy—it just looked a bit unsightly.

"No big deal," Takumi shrugged. "There are plenty of shipwrights on the next island."

Then, opening the system's navigation map, Takumi pointed towards Water 7 and said, "Head that way."

With no room for protest, Enel used his powers to levitate the ship into the air, steering it towards the direction Takumi had indicated.

After they left the fog-choked waters of the Florian Triangle, Enel spoke up again, "Shouldn't we recruit a shipwright? It'd be handy to have one on board for repairs."

Though Enel phrased it as a suggestion, his real motive was clear—he didn't want to be the lowest-ranking crew member.

Takumi could care less about what Enel was thinking.

In his mind, as long as he was on the ship, there was no one capable of causing damage to it.

Besides, adding another person would only bring more unnecessary chatter. Enel was already on board because of his unique abilities as a "human generator." More crew would just be… annoying.

"We'll see," Takumi said lazily, strolling out of the cabin. He set up his favorite deck chair on the main deck and stretched out for a nap.

Although Takumi hadn't outright agreed to bringing a shipwright aboard, he hadn't rejected the idea either. That glimmer of hope filled Enel with newfound enthusiasm.

Two days after Takumi and Enel had left, Moria woke up under the care of Dr. Hogback.

"Damn it!" Moria gritted his teeth, his body still wrapped in bandages.

Perona, equally furious, fumed, "That brat, Takumi! If he hadn't used my body as leverage, Lord Moria wouldn't have lost! It's so frustrating!"

"What's the deal with that kid anyway?" Hogback asked, his face dark with concern.

"Who knows?" Moria's frustration mounted. Unable to let it go, he snapped at Perona, "Get me the Den Den Mushi!"

Meanwhile, at Marineford...

Vice Admiral Garp sat alone in Sengoku's office, munching on senbei and sipping tea, waiting for Sengoku to return. Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi on Sengoku's desk rang.

Garp initially ignored it, but the ringing continued relentlessly, getting on his nerves. Finally, unable to bear it, he picked up.

The moment the line connected, Moria's voice came through, "I have urgent intel for Marine Headquarters!"

Still lazily chewing on his senbei, Garp replied, "And who are you?"

"Huh?" Moria paused, confused. "This isn't Sengoku... Who is this?"

"I'm Garp," the vice admiral said, wiping his senbei-covered hands on his shirt before casually picking his nose. "What's this urgent intel?"

"Vice Admiral Garp?!" Moria exclaimed, recognizing the name and feeling a bit more at ease. "I need you to inform Sengoku that someone's appeared who could disrupt the entire balance of the seas. His name is Takumi, and he's just a kid."

Hearing the name, Garp's once-sluggish demeanor shifted into excitement. "Did you just say Takumi?"

"Yeah…" Moria hesitated. "Do you know him?"

Garp, suddenly filled with righteous indignation, barked, "Nope! Never heard of him! But what's he done that's so world-shaking?"

At the mention of Takumi, Moria's fury reignited. "That little brat had the nerve to attack me—one of the Seven Warlords! I barely made it out alive!"

"Hmm? That kid doesn't usually attack people for no reason," Garp mused, scratching his chin. "You must've done something to tick him off."

Moria's brow furrowed. "Whose side are you on? I'm a Warlord working with the Marines! Him attacking me is the same as defying the entire Navy!"

"Hahaha, calm down!" Garp roared with laughter. "Of course, I'm on your side! Don't worry, I'll let Sengoku know all about this."

But for some reason, Moria felt a bit skeptical about Garp's reliability. "You'll really tell him, right?"

"Of course! I'm a vice admiral of the Marines! You've got my word."

"Alright, I'll trust you." The moment Moria finished, Garp hung up the Den Den Mushi.

Not long after, Sengoku returned to the office.

He wasn't the least bit annoyed to find Garp lounging in his chair. Instead, he joked, "What, thinking of taking my position as Fleet Admiral?"

"Hahaha! If I really wanted it, do you think I could take it?" Garp fired back, laughing heartily.

"Enough with the jokes," Sengoku waved him off, unamused. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much," Garp said, standing up and tossing Sengoku the last of the senbei. "Want some senbei?"

Sengoku didn't hesitate. He snatched the bag and polished off the entire contents in one bite.

"Ah!" Garp complained. "I only meant for you to have a taste, not eat it all!"

"Too bad!" Sengoku chuckled. "You handed it over. Now, if you've got nothing else to say, get out of here and get back to work."

"Tch," Garp grumbled. "Actually, I wanted to take a few days off."

Sengoku blinked. "Time off? For what?"

"My grandson's missing me, so I figured I'd visit Windmill Village for a bit," Garp said, scratching his head with a grin.

Luffy, in Windmill Village: No, I don't miss you. Please don't come back!

Sengoku sighed. "You just got back, and now you're leaving again…"

Garp quickly added, "I'll also deal with some East Blue pirates while I'm at it. You know, make it a business trip."

After eyeing Garp for a moment, Sengoku sighed again. "You've already caught most of the pirates in East Blue... But there have been reports of a few new pirate crews causing trouble. Fine, go on your 'business trip,' and check on your grandson while you're at it."

"Great, I'm off then!"

"Wait," Sengoku called out as Garp turned to leave. "Did anyone call while I was gone?"

With a sly grin, Garp answered, "Nope."

As long as Takumi wasn't setting himself up as an enemy of the Marines, Garp couldn't care less about the rest.