บท 106: Chapter 106: Sky Island – Takumi Refuses to Return to the Blue Sea
Takumi was well aware of the conflict between the Skypieans and the Shandians.
Even so, their battle had nothing to do with him, and he had no intention of helping either side. As long as they didn't interfere with him, it didn't matter what they did.
Most of Gan Fall's attendants had followed him to the battlefield, leaving only two men, dressed in white with small top knots on their heads, to guide Takumi.
Takumi casually followed them up the giant vine. From below, the top of the vine was out of sight, as every few levels, large cloud islands obscured the view. Where there were cloud islands, there were buildings. The lower buildings on these cloud islands were mostly residences for Gan Fall's guards and attendants, while the God's Palace Gan Fall spoke of was located on a small cloud island at the very top of the vine.
Soon, Gan Fall's attendants led Takumi to a large courtyard with red tiles and white walls, occupying a vast area.
After exchanging a few words with the maids at the palace, Gan Fall's attendants left.
The maids quickly escorted Takumi to the guest reception hall and prepared a variety of fruits, drinks, and wines for him.
The wine on Sky Island was different from the wine in the Blue Sea. It tasted more like fruit wine but was even more refined and refreshing.
Overall, the taste was quite good.
With such fine wine, Takumi didn't mind staying a bit longer.
As the evening progressed and the sky outside darkened, Takumi drank several pots of wine by himself. Just as he finished the last sip from the pot in his hand, footsteps echoed from outside the reception hall.
Gan Fall, looking somewhat weary but cheerful, entered the hall with Buggy and his crew.
Buggy's expression froze when he saw Takumi sitting there.
"Huh? Why are you here?" Buggy's mouth twitched.
Takumi glanced at him calmly, not bothering to respond. Instead, he picked up another pot of wine and continued drinking.
Buggy: "..."
This brat… Could it be that he knew I'd already loaded the ship with gold and was here to demand a share?
No way! Why should this brat get to profit while I did all the work? Hmph! The gold is mine; he's not getting a single coin!
Buggy narrowed his eyes.
Gan Fall, having regained some composure, curiously asked, "Weren't you all supposed to come to Skypiea together? Amazon's photos showed you on the same ship. Buggy, from the way you're talking, it seems like you're not very familiar with this child?"
"Of course I'm not!" Buggy responded, clearly agitated. "It's all this brat's fault! He—"
"What did he do?" Gan Fall asked, puzzled.
Buggy paused, waving his hand dismissively. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. The point is, he has nothing to do with me anymore."
"Nothing to do with you?" Gan Fall's face darkened. "So, you're planning to just abandon this child?"
Buggy waved his hands. "I can't control him even if I wanted to. He's not part of my crew…"
"Buggy, that's a very irresponsible thing to say." Gan Fall's tone grew stern. "This child looks very young. If you leave him here alone, are you planning to just let him fend for himself on Sky Island? You've been here before, so you know how dangerous Upper Yard's jungle can be. Leaving a child alone here is too dangerous!"
Buggy: "..."
Dangerous?
Haha… The most dangerous thing here isn't the beasts in the jungle—it's the person you're most worried about!
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Buggy, seeing that Gan Fall was getting annoyed, turned to Takumi and asked, "Hey, brat, I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Do you want to come with me?"
"No." Takumi continued drinking calmly.
Buggy immediately pointed at Takumi and looked straight at Gan Fall, exclaiming, "See? It's not that I'm refusing to take him—it's his choice to stay!"
Gan Fall blinked and then turned to Takumi. "Child, are you sure you don't want to return to the Blue Sea with Buggy?"
Takumi nodded slightly.
"This…" Gan Fall was left speechless.
Buggy, on the other hand, patted Gan Fall's shoulder, laughing. "Hahaha, I told you! No one can control this brat. He's the one saying he wants to stay. What, am I supposed to stay here and wait until he feels like leaving?"
"I think you could." Gan Fall replied earnestly. "Maybe he's curious about Sky Island since it's his first time here, so he doesn't want to leave too quickly. As an adult, staying a bit longer to wait for him wouldn't be a big deal, would it?"
"WHAT!" Buggy stood there, petrified as if struck by lightning.
Kabaji and Mohji looked just as horrified.
Mohji leaned toward Buggy and whispered, "Captain Buggy, are we really going to wait here until Takumi decides to leave?"
Buggy quickly snapped back to reality, his expression shifting as he glared at Takumi. "Listen here, brat! All the gold on the ship was loaded by me, Kabaji, and the others. You didn't lift a finger, so don't even think about getting any of it!"
Takumi, unfazed, replied, "I don't care."
Seeing that Takumi genuinely didn't seem interested in the gold, Buggy finally sighed in relief. "Alright, as long as you're not after the gold, I might consider giving you a lift back to the Blue Sea. So, how long do you plan to stay on Sky Island?"
Takumi thought for a moment before casually answering, "Three or four years."
"Okay, three or four ye—" Buggy suddenly realized what Takumi had said and shouted in shock, "WHAT? Three or four years? Are you kidding me?! I'm not waiting here that long!"
Gan Fall was equally surprised. "Child, are you sure you want to stay on Sky Island for that long?"
Takumi calmly replied, "I'm sure. Buggy doesn't need to wait for me."
"Hah! You heard him!" Buggy couldn't wait to disassociate himself from Takumi, grinning ear to ear.
Gan Fall hesitated briefly before sighing. "Since you've made up your mind, you can stay at the God's Palace for now. I'll arrange a room for you."
Takumi gave a small nod of acknowledgment.
He had been in this pirate world for almost eight months now. Based on his understanding of Sky Island, in less than four years, Enel, the self-proclaimed God of Thunder, would arrive at Upper Yard.
All Takumi had to do now was wait for that so-called 'God' to come to him.
Buggy was overjoyed that Takumi wasn't returning to the Blue Sea with him. That night, in his excitement, he couldn't even sleep…
The next morning, with dark circles under his eyes, Buggy bid farewell to Gan Fall and prepared to return to the Blue Sea with Kabaji and Mohji aboard their gold-laden ship.
Having experienced the descent once before, Buggy clung tightly to the ship's mast as it sped down a vertical cloud pathway, plummeting rapidly.
Kabaji and Mohji, unaware of how intense the descent would be, were screaming in terror, clinging to each other and the lion, Richie, as if they were on a freefall ride.
"We're going to die!" Mohji cried, tears streaming from his eyes.
Gan Fall blew into a specially-made whistle, and a giant octopus appeared from a nearby cloud pathway, wrapping its tentacles around the ship. Its body inflated like a balloon, hovering over the ship like a hot air balloon.
******Important*****
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