Patri Vic took several bottles of fine wine from the counter and set them in front of Whitebeard, then told him that Golden Lion had arrived.
"Shiki???" Whitebeard took a hearty swig of wine and said with a displeased look.
"It was just a little sparring."
Patri Vic hadn't paid much mind to Golden Lion's sudden attack.
Whitebeard fixed his gaze on Patri Vic. Since Patri Vic had put it that way, there wasn't much more Whitebeard could say.
Still, he thought highly of Patri Vic.
He'd become friends with Patri Vic because he admired his personality and how different he was from everyone else.
Compared to the vicious pirates on Hachinosu who loved to fight, Patri Vic was practically a lotus rising unstained from the mud.
"How much longer are you planning to stay on the island?" Patri Vic asked casually.
"Another month or two, probably. Captain Rocks isn't just recruiting strong fighters from Hachinosu Island. He's invited strong fighters from all over the world, too." Whitebeard took a sip of wine and answered honestly.
Whitebeard had joined the crew at the rank of officer.
People at their level would spend the next two months traveling around the world to invite famous pirates to join the Rocks Pirates.
So even if the Rocks Pirates stayed on Hachinosu Island for two months, the two of them wouldn't have many chances to meet.
"Is that so?" Patri Vic took a long swig of wine and wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth.
"But... Vic, do you really not want to join the Rocks Pirates?" Whitebeard asked seriously.
He'd only just started getting to know the Rocks Pirates, and they weren't as bad as he'd imagined.
Still, they weren't exactly as friendly as he'd imagined, either.
"What do you think of the Rocks Pirates?" Patri Vic asked in return.
"Some of the pirates on board had a few conflicts today, but Rocks put a stop to them. He also spoke with me, and so far, I've got a pretty good impression of him." Whitebeard thought it over for a moment before sharing his honest opinion.
"A pretty good impression?" Patri Vic replied with an inscrutable smile.
For now, Rocks was still stepping in when the crew fought among themselves. But what about after some time had passed?
As long as the officers weren't fighting to the death, Rocks wouldn't interfere at all. He'd let them fight it out.
Perhaps he'd stepped in today just to make a good impression on Whitebeard.
"If I can't find what I'm looking for, I'll just treat the Rocks Pirates as a place to hone my skills." Whitebeard gulped down several mouthfuls of wine and replied nonchalantly.
"That really isn't a bad choice."
Patri Vic smiled faintly and didn't say anything more.
"Do you really plan to stay on Hachinosu Island forever and work as a little server, Vic?" Whitebeard asked after a brief silence.
"And why wouldn't that be a good choice?" Patri Vic said with a smile.
If he could, he wanted to raise his Hashirama Senju character template's completion to one hundred percent before going out to sea.
That way, he could be sure he wouldn't be in any danger.
But reaching one hundred percent would take a great deal of time.
There were no longer any daily missions. To improve his Hashirama Senju completion, he had to train his Nintaijutsu.
"Since that's what you want, I won't try to talk you out of it."
"But, Vic... have you gotten stronger again?" Whitebeard suddenly noticed that Patri Vic's presence had grown more powerful.
It wasn't his imagination. He could feel it. They'd only seen each other yesterday, so how had Patri Vic's presence grown so much stronger since then?
"Have I?"
"Want to spar a little, Vic?"
"Forget it. I'm no match for you."
"I won't use my full strength."
"Then I'm in." Patri Vic nodded.
To improve his character template's completion, he first had to train his Nintaijutsu.
Fighting was the best way to improve his Nintaijutsu.
He was sure to gain a lot from fighting someone as strong as Whitebeard.
"Gurarara... Don't start crying when I beat you, Vic." Whitebeard stood up and laughed.
"I've never cried in my life." Patri Vic stood up, stretched, and headed for the tavern door.
They couldn't fight inside the tavern. There were only a few bottles of unbroken wine left, and if they fought there, not a single one might survive.
The two of them went outside and stood on the ground.
"Come on."
For this fight, Whitebeard wouldn't use Murakumogiri, his Devil Fruit powers, or Armament Haki.
Patri Vic grinned and suddenly threw a punch. The attack came so unexpectedly that Whitebeard almost didn't react in time.
"Bang!"
Their fists collided, and a powerful gust swept in every direction. The surrounding grass was riddled with cracks.
"Your strength really has improved a lot, Vic." Whitebeard didn't put any force into his punch, focusing instead on feeling the power behind Patri Vic's attack.
Whitebeard's guess had been right. Patri Vic really had gotten a lot stronger.
"I'm still nowhere near as strong as you."
Attacking Whitebeard left Patri Vic feeling a little weak. After all, his opponent was a master of Body Technique.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Their fists collided again and again, sending powerful shock waves surging in every direction.
Whitebeard held back, allowing Patri Vic to keep up with him.
"Bang!"
Purple steam suddenly enveloped Patri Vic. A powerful current swept out in an instant, and immense gravity pressed down on Whitebeard.
"Crack!"
Countless cracks appeared in the ground around them, spreading like fractures in shattered glass.
"Is that the power of a Devil Fruit?" Whitebeard asked, slightly surprised.
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