Starting as a Pirate by Rejecting Red-Hair's Invitation

Then he poured the rest of the wine into his Wine Gourd.

He returned the empty bottle to Sanji.

He was just about to leave.

Sanji hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

"To hunt." Lin Mo said it casually.

Sanji froze for a moment, then remembered seeing Lin Mo kick a cannonball more than an hour ago. He immediately grew excited again and hurried after him, going downstairs with Lin Mo.

As they walked, he asked, "Are you going to hunt Pirates? I saw you kick away that cannonball just now, and I also saw you cut a Pirate ship in half with a single strike of your Wood Sword. You're amazing, Lin Mo. Can you tell me when you started training your leg techniques?"

Lin Mo: "..."

This question sounds a little familiar...

Chapter 24: Floating Restaurant: Vice Admiral Garp's Shock

Lin Mo remembered.

Wasn't this the same question Zoro had asked him back in Shimotsuki Village?

He didn't think much about it.

Lin Mo used the same answer he had given Zoro to reply to Sanji: "Less than half a day."

"Huh?" Sanji was startled and almost dropped the wine bottle in his arms. "You're kidding, right? In less than half a day, you managed to kick that stinky old man to a draw?"

"Believe it or not." Lin Mo gave the same answer again and brushed Sanji off.

Sanji was stunned for a moment, then continued following Lin Mo's unceasing footsteps. "It's unbelievable, but you don't look like you're lying, Lin Mo. How did you train your leg techniques? Can you teach me?"

Lin Mo seemed to see the Mission Progress bar waving at him.

But there were too many people in the restaurant. It was not yet time to give Sanji private instruction.

"Come find me tonight."

After saying that, Lin Mo walked straight toward the restaurant's entrance.

Sanji did not follow him any farther. His grip on the wine bottle tightened involuntarily, and his body actually began to tremble with excitement.

"He means he'll teach me, right? This is great! I'll definitely study hard, definitely!"

"Hey, brat!" At that moment, a customer waiting for his meal at a nearby table impatiently called out to Sanji. "The wine you're holding is what I ordered, right?"

Coming back to himself, Sanji immediately replied with a grin, "Yes, here it is."

Still grinning, Sanji opened the bottle and poured the wine for the customer.

But after pouring for a long while, not a single drop came out. Only then did he remember that Lin Mo had poured all the wine from this bottle into his Wine Gourd just moments ago...

Lin Mo arrived on the Deck outside the main entrance on Baratie's first floor.

The cargo ship that had originally been moored beside his Small Boat had somehow been replaced by a Marine Battleship.

At that moment.

Garp was standing on the Deck of the Marine Battleship.

Seeing Lin Mo come out of Baratie, Garp grinned and asked, "Brat, are you leaving?"

Lin Mo could not be bothered to answer. He jumped onto his own small sailboat, untied the ropes, and sailed toward the direction of the Calm Belt.

He was not planning to leave Baratie.

He merely wanted to find some Sea Kings to fight and practice his hands and feet, while bringing one back to Baratie.

It had been the same when he lived at Isshin Dojo.

He would not eat and stay at someone else's place for free.

So he would bring his prey back as payment.

Garp saw Lin Mo sail away in his Small Boat.

He immediately had his men lower a military Small Boat, then boarded it and followed.

Garp and Lin Mo maintained a distance of fifty meters between them the entire time.

At first, he did not notice anything.

After sailing for nearly half an hour, he finally realized something was wrong.

"Brat, do you know what lies ahead?" Garp shouted toward Lin Mo's back.

Lin Mo did not answer him.

Garp immediately increased his speed. When he was about to catch up with Lin Mo, he continued, "The Calm Belt is just ahead. Once a ship enters, it won't be able to move. Don't go any farther."

Lin Mo ignored him and continued forward.

Garp scratched his head, then suddenly laughed. "There are plenty of Sea Kings in the Calm Belt. Quite a few Sea Kings lurk around it too. With as little meat on you as that, brat, you wouldn't even be enough to get between their teeth. Hahaha..."

Just as Garp's laughter faded.

A dense mass of bubbles suddenly rose from beneath the water directly ahead of them. The surface began to churn.

The surging waves violently rocked the Small Boats carrying the two men.

A huge Sea Ape emerged from the center of the churning spray and roared as it slapped a palm toward Lin Mo and Garp.

"Lin Mo, get back." Garp bared his teeth in a grin, his expression turning slightly more serious.

Lin Mo gave a light laugh. He truly had no intention of making a move, and he gestured for Garp to go ahead.

Garp leaped into the air from his Small Boat, clenched his fist, and grinned as he slammed it hard into the Sea Ape's head.

A flash of lightning and flint.

The Sea Ape's eyes bulged from the blow. Then its eyes rolled white, and it crashed onto the surface with a bang.

The splash flew in all directions.

Just then.

Another enormous Sea King frog rose behind the two of them.

"Damn it, brat, watch out!" Garp shouted.

He had no time to save Lin Mo.

The enormous frog opened its foul-smelling mouth. A dark-red tongue covered in barbs rapidly lashed toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo glanced at it calmly.

Without the slightest hurry, he drew Toyako and appeared to slash with it casually.

The enormous frog's tongue abruptly stopped less than half a centimeter from him.

It did not even let out a roar.

By the time Lin Mo hung Toyako back at his waist, the enormous frog's head had already separated from its body.

Garp stared at Lin Mo in astonishment.

Just as Lin Mo turned around and prepared to continue forward.

A black spike more than three meters long emerged from the mouth of the enormous frog's severed head. It shot toward Lin Mo at incredible speed.

Garp was about to shout for Lin Mo to dodge.

Before he could say anything.

Lin Mo tilted his head slightly. The highly poisonous spike brushed past his face less than half a centimeter away before shooting into the seawater with a hiss.

Garp was so shocked that his mouth fell open.

This brat had leg techniques powerful enough to trade kicks with Red-Leg Zeff, superb swordsmanship, and now he had even mastered Observation Haki to such an impressive degree.

With strength like that, it was no wonder he dared to travel alone at sea.

He really was a promising talent. It would be a waste if he did not join the Marines!

At this thought, the smile on Garp's face grew even wider.

He actually abandoned his somewhat larger boat and jumped onto Lin Mo's Small Boat.

"Brat, join the Marines! I can make you even stronger." Garp said with a grin.

Lin Mo said disdainfully, "Go back to your own boat!"

"Brat, if you don't agree, I won't go back. Hahaha, don't underestimate my perseverance, Garp's perseverance. As long as you agree, I'll go back."

"No."

"Don't be so quick to reject it. There are plenty of benefits to being a Marine. As long as you follow me, you won't have to listen to those old geezers at Marine Headquarters. You can do whatever you want. With me protecting you, no one in the Marines will dare touch you."

It sounded like this man was serious.

Lin Mo looked at him calmly.

His answer remained the same: "Not interested."

"Hey, don't be so stingy." Garp did not restrain his expression at all, looking utterly disappointed. "I really want to recruit you."

"No need to say anything else." Lin Mo insisted. "I won't use my life to protect so-called justice, and I don't want to rely on others to become stronger. I only want to be an unfettered traveler, nothing more. The Marines' system doesn't suit me. No matter how much you say, it won't help. Stop wasting your time on me."

Garp had originally intended to tempt Lin Mo with more benefits, but when he saw the unwavering look in his eyes, he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

"Honestly." Garp pretended to feel regretful. "Not joining the Marines is your loss."

Lin Mo smiled but said nothing.

At that moment, the System Notification Sound rang out in his mind.

Ding-ding! Rejecting Garp the Hero's invitation. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 50%. Reward: Armament Haki level +1. Current Armament Haki level: Lv3.

Chapter 25: Floating Restaurant: Who Is Krieg?

The rewards for completing progress missions were related to the person who triggered the mission.

The reward Lin Mo received from Garp was an increase in his Armament Haki level, exactly as he had expected.

Increasing his Armament Haki and Observation Haki did not release any aura.

Therefore, only Lin Mo himself could sense it.

Garp could not detect that Lin Mo's strength had suddenly increased.

Afterward.

Lin Mo drove Garp off his boat.

Garp reluctantly returned to his Small Boat and watched Lin Mo continue sailing forward.

After thinking it over, he still could not rest easy and followed him.

It was not until evening that the two of them returned to Baratie one after another.

Lin Mo brought back a large fish more than three meters long.

He had wanted to bring back a Sea King.

Unfortunately.

Even the smallest one could capsize his boat.

He could only give up.

Baratie had a limited number of rooms for its employees.

Usually, three or four people shared one room.

So Zeff arranged for Lin Mo to stay in the room where Sanji lived.

That night.

As agreed, Sanji followed Lin Mo to the Deck outside the second-floor back door.

Faint moonlight shone over the two of them.

Unable to contain his excitement, Sanji hurriedly said, "Lin Mo, I'm ready. Let's begin!"