Farewell

Half a year later!

"Brat, I've got everything ready for you." Jaba carried a bundle in one hand and handed it to Mark.

"Old man, make sure you take good care of yourself while you're home alone." Mark accepted the bundle and spoke with concern.

"You ungrateful brat, wasn't it enough for you to head out to sea on your own? You even ran off with this old man's granddaughter." Jaba took a deep drag from his pipe, speaking impatiently.

Daisy, standing beside Mark, made a face at Jaba and said in a crisp voice:

"I was the one who asked Mark to take me with him, you stinky old man! You're the one getting carried off! Bleh~~~"

Jaba was instantly left speechless. Only after a long while did he finally spit out, "Forget it... Go on... Just go, both of you... It's fine if I'm left as a lonely old man. Maybe one day I'll have a heart attack, and I can just bury myself right where I fall..."

Mark and Daisy exchanged a glance, both at a loss for words.

If this old man had heart disease, Mark would do a handstand and shit on the spot.

"Hmph!" Their speechless expressions nearly made Jaba lose his breath. After a moment, he snorted heavily and said nothing more, puffing away at his dry tobacco pipe.

Seeing Jaba sulking like a child, Daisy and Mark spent a long time comforting him before finally persuading him.

Mark slung the bundle over his back. After bidding Jaba farewell, he left the oak craft shop.

Other than the bundle, he carried only a Mountain-Splitting Axe.

Daisy carried even less than Mark. Aside from a somewhat ornate flintlock pistol, she had only a floral dress and a pink teddy bear bag.

The flintlock pistol had been taken from Buffettla.

Daisy was not skilled with cold weapons, but under Jaba's training, she had become fairly adept with firearms. It was more than enough for self-defense.

Half a year ago, after Third Grandpa's funeral, Mark had told Jaba about the path he intended to take. Jaba had fallen silent for a moment before agreeing.

As an old pirate, he still supported Mark's dream. Hadn't he been the same back then?

A real man should go out and make his way in the world.

He just had not expected Daisy to insist on going with Mark.

So, over the past half year... Mark had suffered greatly.

If his physical constitution had not strengthened again after killing Buffettla and the others, he might not have endured it.

He trained from dawn to dusk every day. The Mountain-Splitting Axe he practiced with had been chipped dull from all the chopping, so he eventually asked the blacksmith uncle to forge him a heavier one.

The Mountain-Splitting Axe on his back now weighed over a ton.

The results of his training were also remarkable. He had learned most of Jaba's axe techniques. Although there were some differences between using a double-handed axe and a Mountain-Splitting Axe, after Jaba's modifications, the axe techniques suited Mark's Mountain-Splitting Axe even better. And that was not all—his command of the Dark-Dark Fruit's abilities had also deepened considerably.

Jaba had even taught Mark Haki without holding anything back.

After all, Mark was still the grandson he had raised. If he encountered those Logia Fruits, without Haki's support, he would only end up getting crushed.

Mark learned Haki very quickly.

Even someone as worldly as Jaba had been shocked.

In half a year, he had awakened both Observation Haki and Armament Haki. His Armament Haki had even progressed from a mere prototype to the point where he could coat his body with it. (Not everyone was Luffy—getting beaten up did not mean you gained everything...)

Of the three types of Haki, aside from Conqueror's Haki, which could only be awakened through innate talent (he would have it—could he still be the protagonist without Conqueror's Haki?), he had awakened and mastered both other types.

It could be said that Mark could now survive even in the New World.

After all, he was only sixteen. He would not turn seventeen for another half year.

Mark's departure did not cause much of a stir in Moss Town. Only a few neighboring residents knew that he was leaving.

Amid Aunt Ma, Uncle Dong, and the others' tearful farewells, Mark boarded a sailboat he had built himself.

"Little Mark, remember to take care of yourself."

"Take good care of Daisy, Little Mark."

"If you get tired out there or suffer any grievances, then come back. Moss Town will always be your home!!!" Aunt Ma's eyes were red as she constantly rubbed at her tearful eyes with her plump hands.

Looking at the neighbors who had come to see him off, waves of reluctance passed through Mark's heart. But once he gripped the Mountain-Splitting Axe, his expression quickly became resolute.

"Aunt Ma, Third Uncle, goodbye!!! Please tell the old man that we'll miss him. Tell him not to miss us too much—we'll take good care of ourselves..."

Mark's eyes were red as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Daisy on the deck, desperately waving goodbye to the people on shore.

At that moment, Jaba was pressed against the side of a wooden house. Aunt Ma and the others stood on the other side of it. Tears streamed endlessly from his eyes, but his stubborn nature would not allow him to cry out loud.

A man should venture out onto the sea. He did not want tears of family affection to hold Mark back from his path.

"Go... Go chase your dreams. This old man... I've always supported you... Ha... Hahahahaha!"

Tears continued to stream down his face as Jaba took a fierce swig of liquor and burst into laughter.

"Why... can't these tears... stop!"

Mark waited for a long time, but the person he had hoped to see never came. Disappointed, he raised the sail.

Watching Moss Town grow farther and farther away, Mark fell into deep memories.

"Sigh, who abandoned this child..."

"Brat, you soaked this old man's tobacco in water again."

"Look, you should put force through your wrist with this swing, press down with your fingers..."

"You're so stupid. How did you carve such an ugly mouse?"

"His name is Jerry, and he isn't ugly at all!"

"Brat, that's not how you use Haki!"

"You little punk, are you asking to be beaten again!"

As he gazed at Moss Town receding into the distance, Mark's eyes turned slightly red. He stood blankly on the deck for a long while.

The sailboat was very simple: a small cabin filled with piles of food and ingredients, while the deck outside was completely empty.

The milky-white sail rustled in the sea breeze.

He remembered how, when he first set sail, Jaba had said Mark had it far better than he did back then. Jaba had sailed toward his dreams on nothing more than a little wooden raft.

Mark took a deep breath, rubbed his slightly reddened eyes, and turned to enter the cabin.

Daisy was already sobbing uncontrollably. Jaba was Mark's grandfather, but he was her grandfather too.

Both of them were reluctant to part with Jaba, and equally reluctant to part with the villagers.

But they each had their own dreams. Even if they did not leave today, they would leave someday. Those who parted always found it hard to let go.

Although they had made up their minds beforehand, from the moment they boarded the boat, they had truly left Moss Town behind.

Mark patted Daisy on the shoulder and said gently, "Daisy, tell me whatever you want to eat, and I'll make it for you!"

Daisy raised her little face. Her purple eyes glimmered with tears, making her look especially pitiful.

She said through her sobs, "I want a hamburger, the kind with cheese and mozzarella!"

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued crying.

Mark gently patted Daisy's shoulder without saying anything. At this moment, silent comfort was the warmest thing of all.

Little Daisy, don't you like peppered salt beef? A hamburger with cheese and mozzarella—that was Jaba's favorite...