From the moment Smoker saw Takumi use Armament Haki to catch a bullet with his bare hand, he made up his mind.
If Takumi wasn't a pirate, then Smoker was going to recruit him into the Navy.
It wasn't just Takumi's natural talent for Haki at such a young age that caught Smoker's eye.
It was also his composure and keen observational skills.
Bullets travel incredibly fast. Most people, even if they can block a bullet, would find it nearly impossible to catch one with such precision. A tiny miscalculation would result in a bloody and painful injury.
But Takumi did it with ease.
That's why Smoker was so interested in him.
If he could get Takumi to join the Navy, it would be a huge win.
Smoker's intentions were clear.
Takumi, on the other hand, was quietly frustrated.
It was obvious that Smoker had been planning this from the start, just waiting for him to fall into the trap.
If Takumi had wanted to join the Navy, he would've accepted Garp's offer long ago—he wouldn't have waited until now.
Takumi was about to refuse when Aokiji's lazy voice cut in. "The kid's not a pirate, right? He doesn't have a bounty on his head and hasn't committed any crimes. Picking a fight with him... that's not really your style, Smoker."
Smoker shot Aokiji an annoyed look. "Whose side are you on?"
Aokiji waved him off. "I'm on the side of justice, of course. But there's no need to always resort to violence. It's a beautiful day—why not find a sunny spot and take a nap?"
Smoker was speechless.
Aokiji's words made it seem like he was bullying Takumi.
A bead of sweat rolled down Smoker's forehead.
After all, he was still in his twenties—young enough to care about his reputation.
"Hey, Takumi," Smoker said, clearing his throat. "It's just a friendly spar. You wouldn't turn that down, would you?"
"I refuse," Takumi replied flatly.
Smoker nearly choked on his cigar, coughing several times. "Cough, cough... Fine, no sparring. Then just join the Navy."
"No."
"Kid, don't push your luck!"
Aokiji interjected again, "Seems like the one pushing their luck here is you, Smoker."
Smoker was fuming. "Aokiji, did you come to Loguetown just to make things difficult for me?"
"Not at all," Aokiji said innocently, scratching his head. "I'm just calling it like I see it. If the kid doesn't want to join the Navy, then let it go. Why force it?"
"Takumi's talent would be wasted if he doesn't join the Navy," Smoker argued, his brows furrowed. "Sure, he says he's just a traveler now, but what if he becomes a pirate later on?"
Aokiji looked at Takumi. "Kid, are you planning to become a pirate?"
"Not interested," Takumi answered, unamused.
"See?" Aokiji turned back to Smoker. "He says he's not interested in being a pirate. You can let him go now, right?"
Smoker was at a loss for words.
Outside the office, a few Marines stood awkwardly, not sure what to do.
Smoker was stuck—he couldn't move forward or back.
If he stubbornly insisted on fighting Takumi, regardless of the outcome, his reputation would take a hit.
What irked him most was Aokiji's complete lack of support...
If Takumi were a pirate or had a bounty on his head, Smoker would have a reason to fight him.
But the kid wasn't a pirate, and there was no bounty.
That made things tricky.
Weighing his options, Smoker clenched his teeth around his cigar and said grudgingly, "Fine, you can go. But if I ever catch you doing something wrong, I'll hunt you down, no matter where you are!"
Takumi just gave him a look. Seriously? With your skills? Better not waste your energy.
With a calm "Oh," Takumi stepped past Smoker.
Smoker reluctantly moved aside to let him through.
Takumi left the office, and with a Marine guiding him, he collected his bounty.
Leaving the Navy base, Takumi followed his memory and headed back to Roger's Tavern.
Inside, Rayleigh was chatting with the tavern owner. When he saw Takumi return, he smiled. "So, how much did you get?"
Takumi handed over the money, keeping two million Beli for himself and giving Rayleigh the remaining two million, five hundred fifty thousand.
After all, Rayleigh had captured one more bounty than he had.
Rayleigh took one million for himself and handed the remaining one million five hundred fifty thousand to the tavern owner.
"Huh? This is way too much, Mr. Rayleigh. I can't accept this," the tavern owner said, trying to return the money.
Rayleigh grinned. "I'm staying in Loguetown for the next few days and I'll be staying here. Consider it payment for the drinks and the room."
"But... but it's too much," the tavern owner protested. "I really can't accept this, Mr. Rayleigh."
"If you don't take it, I'll take Takumi and go find another place to drink," Rayleigh said, getting to his feet as if ready to leave.
Seeing no other option, the tavern owner relented. "Alright, alright, I'll take the money."
He turned to Takumi. "Kid, you're not from Loguetown, right? If you don't have anywhere to stay, you can stay here with Mr. Rayleigh. You can drink as much as you want until you leave."
Takumi nodded. "Sure."
After all, it didn't matter to him where he stayed.
"Takumi," Rayleigh said suddenly, "you still owe me a drink."
Takumi sighed. "I know."
Rayleigh chuckled. "Well, since the owner here is covering all our drinks until we leave, you'll just have to buy me that drink next time."
Takumi just stared at him.
"Hahaha," Rayleigh laughed, cracking open a bottle and sliding it over to Takumi.
Takumi took the bottle, but just as he took a sip, the sound of footsteps came from the tavern door.
A group of thugs kicked open the small wooden door, barging in noisily.
"Bring out all the booze!" The leader of the group was a fat man with two large axes strapped to his waist, looking every bit the tough guy.
"Sorry," the tavern owner said with a blank expression. "This place has been reserved. You'll have to find another tavern to drink in."
"Hey! Do you know who our boss is? Talking to him like that—are you asking for trouble?" one of the lackeys shouted.
"Yeah, you better bring out the booze, or we'll smash this place up!" another thug added.
Behind them, a thin man wearing a red-snake patterned coat and a blue-and-white striped headscarf appeared at the entrance.
"Move aside," the headscarfed man said coldly.
The two thugs in front turned to sneer at him.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Never seen him before."
"You think you can order us around? Get lost if you know what's good for you!" they laughed.
Without a word, the headscarfed man pulled out a double-barreled pistol and, without hesitation, shot both men in the head.
********
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"Bastard! You're asking for it!"
"Guys, get him! Take down that gunman!"
The companions of the two men who were shot in the head immediately roared in anger and charged at the man in the headscarf by the door.
"You're the ones asking for it."
The man in the headscarf narrowed his eyes slightly, put away his double-barreled pistol, and pulled out two tonfa with rounded ends. In one swift motion, he dashed through the group of thugs.
When he stopped in front of their leader, the obese man, the entire tavern fell silent.
Behind him, every single one of the thugs collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
The previously smug, obese leader turned pale as a sheet. "You bastard! You killed my men! I'll make you pay for that!"
Shouting, he drew his twin axes and swung them at the man in the headscarf with all his might.
"Pathetic!" The headscarfed man scoffed, effortlessly shattering one of the axes with a single strike from his tonfa. Another quick strike landed squarely on the obese man's face, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the opposite wall.
"You bastard! What did you do to my tavern?!" The tavern owner's face twisted in anger.
Takumi and Rayleigh remained silent, both staring at the man in the headscarf.
Rayleigh didn't recognize him, but Takumi did.
It was Gin, the Demon Man, and the commander of the Krieg Pirates.
Krieg was the pirate captain Takumi had taken down at Baratie.
"Kid, I've been looking for you!" Gin snarled, his eyes filled with fury as he glared at Takumi.
When Krieg had gone to Baratie, Gin hadn't accompanied him because he had another mission.
When he found out that Krieg had been killed, he nearly lost it.
Gin was the most loyal member of the Krieg Pirates.
Driven by the need for revenge, Gin had been searching for Takumi ever since.
That's why he was here now.
Takumi stared at him with a hint of annoyance.
Gin was known for being ruthless and merciless, but also for repaying his debts.
If this were the original storyline, Gin would have been indebted to Sanji, and even knocked out Krieg to repay that debt.
But now that Krieg was dead by Takumi's hand, and Takumi had no debt to Gin, it was only natural for Gin to come after him.
"Oh? It seems there's quite a deep grudge between you two," Rayleigh said, still wearing his amused, spectator's smile as he took another drink.
The tavern owner, on the other hand, was furious. "Whatever grudge you have, don't settle it in my tavern! Look at this, you've broken several of my tables!"
Gin's face twisted in anger, and he turned his menacing gaze toward the tavern owner.
He pulled out his double-barreled pistol and fired a shot straight at him.
The tavern owner flinched in terror.
Rayleigh, still holding a bottle of booze in one hand, drew his sword with the other.
As the bullet flew towards them, Rayleigh deftly redirected its path with the flat of his blade.
The bullet whizzed past the tavern owner's hair, smashing into the liquor shelf behind him, shattering a bottle.
Gin frowned slightly.
Rayleigh, on the other hand, sighed in disappointment. "What a waste of good booze."
"Hmph!" Gin snorted, turning his focus back to Takumi.
Without another word, he fired several more shots at Takumi, then charged forward with his tonfa.
Takumi calmly tilted his head, dodging each bullet with ease.
As Gin closed in, Takumi drew his sword, Toya Lake.
Time to test out the Divine Departure technique.
With a flash of his eyes, Takumi swung his blade, infusing his strikes with swirling Haki.
The Haki-infused sword energy seemed almost sentient, twisting and turning to dodge Gin's tonfa before striking him directly in the back.
Gin spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing face-first onto the floor, unconscious.
"That... that was incredible!" The tavern owner was stunned.
Rayleigh, who had been watching with a relaxed expression, suddenly tensed up when Takumi used that technique.
"Wait a minute..." Rayleigh muttered in surprise. "Was that... Divine Departure?"
Takumi quietly sheathed Toya Lake and took a drink from his bottle.
Rayleigh's eyes widened as he looked at Takumi.
He was certain—Takumi had just used Divine Departure!
That was one of Roger's sword techniques.
Even if someone understood the principles behind it, most couldn't replicate it.
Even with natural talent, it required years of rigorous training to master.
But Takumi, this kid, had done it effortlessly.
Rayleigh had been skeptical when Shanks said Takumi had the potential to shake the world in the future.
Now, he believed it.
A boy who could easily master one of Roger's sword techniques...
There was no way he was ordinary.
"Aren't you going to hide?" Takumi asked flatly, taking another sip of his drink.
Rayleigh snapped out of his thoughts, finally noticing the sounds of Marines approaching from the alley outside, drawn by the commotion.
This kid's observation Haki is excellent, Rayleigh thought, glancing at Takumi with newfound admiration.
Rayleigh chuckled, got to his feet, and looked at the tavern owner. "Mind if I hide out in your storeroom for a bit?"
The tavern owner, confused but compliant, nodded.
Rayleigh strolled into the storeroom where the tavern kept its liquor.
Moments later, Smoker burst in with a group of Marines.
Seeing the corpses scattered across the floor, Smoker's brows furrowed. His eyes then landed on Takumi, who was casually drinking at the bar as if nothing had happened.
That kid again... Did he kill all these men?
Smoker turned to his men. "Take these bodies outside."
"Yes, sir!" The Marines sprang into action, dragging the bodies away.
Smoker sat down next to Takumi.
His gaze fell on the empty bottle next to him.
"Did you drink that bottle too?" Smoker asked, narrowing his eyes.
Takumi glanced at Rayleigh's empty bottle and continued drinking, ignoring Smoker's question.
Seeing that Takumi wasn't going to answer him, Smoker turned to the tavern owner and said, "Give me a glass of rum."
The tavern owner coldly replied, "There's no booze here for you!"
Smoker didn't seem to care about the tavern owner's frosty attitude. Using his smoke, he grabbed a bottle from the shelf, popped it open, and took a swig.
"Kid, did you kill those men?" Smoker asked, his face impassive.
"No," Takumi replied calmly.
Just then, one of the Marines called out, "Captain Smoker! There's one still alive!"
Smoker turned to see the Marine hauling up a man. When Smoker saw the man's face, he raised an eyebrow. "This is Gin, the Demon Man? The commander of the Krieg Pirates? I remember Krieg died a few days ago, and Gin's been hunting down the guy who killed him. But why is he here? Does that mean... you're the one who killed Krieg?"
Smoker turned his surprised gaze back to Takumi.
But Takumi just kept drinking, as if the whole thing had nothing to do with him.
********
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