Dragon's Hesitation!

According to regulations, naval warships are prohibited from privately spending money on coatings when entering or leaving the New World; they can only be coated at their base in the Sabaody Archipelago, just like Garp's 'Dog-Head Warship' in the future.

However, to apply coating at the base, some necessary procedures still need to be followed. It's not complicated: apply, and then wait for the base chief's permission. Of course, you can also refuse; this is one of Vidal's current rights.

"It's nice to see you again, Dragon."

Vidal himself came out of his office and met his old classmate at the port inside the base. Sure enough, the guy's face was very gloomy, and he looked like he had something on his mind.

This made him sigh inwardly, "Dragon is still too green; his cunning needs improvement." "Hmm, I'll leave the coating to you."

Dragon's attitude was somewhat cold, clearly indicating that he didn't want to have much interaction with Vidal, because in his view, this old classmate was obviously not on the same path as him.

There's a saying that goes, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together," so there's nothing more to say!

Vidal chuckled, completely unconcerned, and instead greeted them with a smile, "The coating will definitely take a few days. Today is my first day as base commander, how about we have a couple of drinks?"

"No need, hey, you!"

Just as Dragon was about to refuse and return to the warship, his right hand was suddenly grabbed by Vidal, which made his expression change.

"Come on, come on, I'll get you a glass of baijiu. You didn't seem to have tried it the other day!" Vidal pulled him toward the base's canteen, talking to himself as he walked, with the Kung Fu Dugong obediently following at his feet.

"Let go first!" Dragon's gloomy face immediately broke down, and he sighed helplessly as he followed.

It wasn't that he couldn't free his arm. Although Vidal's grip was indeed very strong, no matter what he thought of him, they were classmates he had known for many years, so how could he possibly struggle with all his might?

"Isoka, have the mess hall prepare a private room for us, no need for food!" But Vidal ignored him, looking like he was about to celebrate his new appointment with his friends, and gave the order to his secretary, Lieutenant.

"No need! I didn't agree to that!"

"Yes."

However, Isoka was well aware of her identity and completely ignored Dragon's advice, hurrying to the canteen to inform them, which left Dragon helpless.

The navy personnel that Dragon brought exchanged glances, but none of them dared to step forward and say anything.

Just kidding, a Rear Admiral and a Commodore, who gives them the right to interrupt?

Seeing this, Dragon had no choice but to shut up, listening to Vidal's happy mutterings in front of him while following him into the private room with a speechless expression.

"Hey, this isn't just to celebrate my inauguration, it's also because once you're in G-3, we probably won't have many chances to meet again."

Vidal looked at the other person meaningfully and said, then turned to the outside and ordered, "From now on, no one is allowed to disturb us!" After saying that, he closed the door of the private room and even locked it.

This made Dragon frown as he sat down across the table, and he began to feel wary, even though he couldn't figure out why Vidal was targeting him.

"I remember you love cake, don't you?" Vidal turned around and smiled at him, snapping his fingers crisply at the same time.

The next moment, more than a dozen green plants of various kinds sprouted on the dining table and transformed into all sorts of cakes at a speed visible to the naked eye, the most numerous of which were those small milk cakes that could be eaten in one bite.

"You even know I like to eat this?!" Dragon was very surprised to see this, wondering if he had shown any preference for this food during the Special Training Camp.

What he didn't know was that Vidal had seen his detailed information a long time ago, including his favorite foods and the fact that he had eaten half a cake by himself during the Special Training Camp.

After all, very few of the fifty people in the first cohort liked sweets.

"Cake with baijiu? I've never tried that before, haha!" Vidal laughed heartily, his laughter carrying quite clearly outside.

At the same time, a wooden bottle of baijiu appeared in his right palm. He opened the cap, and as the aroma of the liquor wafted out, he poured some into a small wine glass that had automatically appeared on the table.

"Come on, have a drink!"

"All right."

Seeing Dragon so enthusiastically pick up his Vidal, Dragon had no choice but to clink glasses with him and take a small sip; he certainly didn't dare to down it in one gulp.

"That's strong liquor."

Even just a tiny bit, the fiery sensation flowing down his throat still made Dragon frown, but the warmth in his stomach made him feel comfortable, and the aroma of the wine in his mouth made him unable to resist taking another bite.

"If you like it, I'll give you a few boxes when you leave!" Vidal picked up a small cake and took a bite. The sweet, milky aroma immediately cheered him up.

"Need not."

Dragon shook his head.

"Whether you want to or not, let's wait until we finish this bottle of wine before deciding," Vidal said, a smirk playing on his lips as he held the wine glass.

[Buzz--]

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint green light appeared on the floor, walls, and door of the private room, and in an instant, a thick layer of wood sealed the space.

"You!!"

With a bang, Dragon immediately stood up from his chair, his body radiating an aura that was enough to give people a strong sense of oppression—the power of Armament Haki.

Faced with such an imposing aura, Vidal remained completely unaffected. Instead, he raised a finger to his lips and lowered his voice.

Shh—don't rush.

Although the wooden plank provided some sound insulation, he still chose to proceed with caution, and his overly careful demeanor aroused suspicion in Dragon.

He noticed that Vidal wasn't exuding any aura, nor were his muscles tense; it was clear he wasn't about to attack.

"I'll do some preparations first, you wait a moment." After saying that, Vidal took out a Den Den Mushi with recording function from the pocket of his Justice Coat, and then gently pressed the button on it.

"Haha, this liquor is pretty good, isn't it!"

"Sakazuki was really tormented by that liquor that day!"

"Back in our days at the Special Training Camp..."

To Dragon's surprise, the Den Den Mushi was mimicking Vidal's voice, uttering sentence after sentence. And that wasn't all; two humanoid Wood Clones appeared on the dining table, and they picked up the wine glasses on the table and clinked them together.

The crisp clinking sounds, combined with the recording, gave the impression that the two were still drinking and chatting, which only deepened Dragon's confusion.

What are you doing?

"Let's go inside and talk!" Vidal said to him in a cryptic way, then patted the manatee sitting in the chair next to him. "Open the door."

"Wow!"

The manatee obediently let out a soft cry, then pushed its two little fists into the air beside it, and instantly a small door less than four meters high appeared out of thin air.

Dragon immediately spotted the green space inside the door. Vidal went in first and then called out to him in a low voice from inside.

"Come in quickly!"

To be honest, Dragon didn't want to go in, or rather, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't go in casually. It was clearly the Devil Fruit ability of the dugong, and the dugong was Vidal's pet, so it obviously carried a certain risk.

But the two Wood Clones and the Den Den Mushi playing the recording made him realize the deeper meaning behind Vidal's actions.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and went inside.

As the invisible Air Door slowly and silently disappeared, leaving only the still 'lively' private room tables...

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(Finally! Finally! After the laughter, Vidal is about to welcome his second comrade!! Both Vidal and I have waited too long for this day. Finally, we have a chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with Dragon in an absolutely safe place. It's not easy~)