Rejecting Red-Hair's Invitation

His face was grim.

He ate and drank alone in silence.

He was still thinking about his sunken boat.

It looked like he needed to find a new one.

Otherwise, he couldn't set sail.

Just then...

Marco approached Lin Mo's table with a glass of wine. "Lin Mo, how about a drink?"

Without looking up, Lin Mo picked up his bottle.

Marco didn't mind. He tapped his glass against Lin Mo's bottle.

Lin Mo took a long swig straight from the bottle.

Marco drained his glass and laughed. "Hahaha! I didn't know you could drink so much. When I was your age, I was still drinking soft drinks."

Lin Mo ignored him.

Marco sat down across from him and asked with a faint smile, "You don't work at this restaurant, do you?"

Lin Mo gave a casual grunt and kept eating.

Zeff and Sanji came downstairs together.

Zeff narrowed his eyes when he saw Marco sitting with Lin Mo.

Without dwelling on it, he told Sanji to take the plate of meat he was carrying over to their table.

"Baratie hasn't been this lively in ages." Sanji set the meat in front of Lin Mo with a grin.

Lin Mo glanced at him but said nothing.

Zeff came over too. Looking at Marco, whose eyes were still on Lin Mo, he asked, "You're Marco the Phoenix, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' first division, aren't you?"

Marco turned to Zeff and smiled. "That's right. I didn't expect anyone in the East Blue to recognize me."

Zeff smiled. "Shouldn't you be aboard the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship with Whitebeard? What brought you and your men to the East Blue? A mission?"

"Yeah. A small one. We'll head back in a few days."

"Oh, and thanks for helping out at the restaurant today."

"Heh, I'm not the one you should thank." Marco looked at Lin Mo again.

Zeff followed his gaze and froze. "You mean Lin Mo took care of Krieg and his men?"

Marco smiled. "He killed that walking arsenal in just two strikes without even blinking. Quite a kid."

"What? Two strikes?" Zeff exclaimed. "Krieg commanded a fleet of fifteen pirate ships, so he couldn't have been weak. Lin Mo killed him in two strikes? That's..."

"It's true," Marco said. "Lin Mo, do you have somewhere you're planning to go next?"

Lin Mo still didn't answer.

Zeff answered for him. "He's a traveler."

"A traveler?" Marco sounded surprised. "On your own?"

"Yeah." Lin Mo finished his last bite, wiped his mouth, and gave the answer calmly.

Marco smiled. "Doesn't traveling alone across this vast sea get lonely? Have you considered joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"No." Lin Mo stood up.

He didn't want to stay here any longer.

The boisterous atmosphere didn't suit him.

He was going upstairs to sleep.

Seeing that, Marco called after him. "Your boat's sunk. Without one, you can't go anywhere. Maybe you're wary because we're pirates, but there are all kinds of pirates. The Whitebeard Pirates aren't like ordinary pirate crews. Pops has the biggest heart in the world. He accepts us all as his sons, as his family. Trust me—once you meet him, you'll like him."

"No," Lin Mo said flatly. "I'm just a traveler. I don't need a home, a family, or ties to anyone. I appreciate the offer. If that's all, I'm leaving."

With that, Lin Mo kept walking.

The System Notification Sound rang in his mind.

Beep! Rejected Marco the Phoenix's invitation. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 80%. Reward: Observation Haki level +1. Current Observation Haki level: Lv. 3.

At the sound, Lin Mo stopped short.

No one else could sense that his Observation Haki had improved.

But he could tell clearly: he could now hear people breathing within several hundred meters and even sense fish swimming underwater!

He still couldn't sense their heartbeats, though.

Seeing him stop, Zeff asked, "What's wrong, kid?"

Lin Mo came back to himself, then remembered something.

He turned to Zeff. "Does Krieg have a bounty?"

Zeff looked puzzled. "He only recently made a name for himself in the East Blue. It's not much—just a few million Beli, I think. Why?"

"His body is still outside," Lin Mo said. "You can have the bounty. Give me a small boat."

Zeff paused.

Then he laughed. "A few million Beli for a small boat? That's generous of you."

"Money doesn't matter to me." Lin Mo turned and continued upstairs.

After a moment's hesitation, Sanji hurried after him.

"Ah." Marco sighed. "I guess I'm not charming enough. I couldn't even win over one kid."

"Haha." Zeff laughed. "Lin Mo's a strange kid. It's not just you—he turned down both me and Garp without a second thought."

"Hm? Garp?" Marco said in surprise. "You mean the Marine Vice Admiral, Iron Fist Garp?"

"That's right." Zeff nodded. "Garp pestered Lin Mo for two days and still couldn't change his mind. He left this morning. Good thing you arrived tonight. You'd have had trouble if you'd run into him."

Marco fell silent. His gaze drifted toward the Spiral Staircase, where Lin Mo had long since disappeared.

Without another word, he rose.

He headed out of the restaurant.

Watching him go, Zeff smiled with anticipation. "You turned down offers from the Hero of the Marines and the strongest pirate crew without batting an eye, Lin Mo. What sort of future awaits you?"

Marco returned to his ship alone.

He immediately called the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship, the Moby Dick, on a Den Den Mushi.

The call connected quickly.

"Get Pops on the line. Hurry!" Marco said urgently.

The person who answered jumped and rushed the Den Den Mushi to Edward Newgate, who was drinking with his crew.

Whitebeard picked it up. "What's wrong, Marco? Run into trouble in the East Blue?"

Marco smiled. "Pops, I met one remarkable kid."

"A remarkable kid?" Whitebeard asked. "How so?"

"With just two swings of his sword, he easily killed a pirate in the East Blue who commanded fifteen pirate ships."

"Oh? That's not bad."

"There's more," Marco said. "He also turned down an offer from Garp the Hero."

"What? Garp?" Whitebeard sounded surprised. "The Marines tried to recruit the kid?"

"That's right. We missed Garp and never crossed paths. The owner of this Floating Restaurant said Garp spent two days trying to persuade the kid and got nowhere."

"Garp isn't the sort to waste his time on something like that." Whitebeard thought for a moment. "What's the kid's name? How old is he?"

"His name's Lin Mo. He's about ten, I think."

Whitebeard was stunned. "What? Only ten?"

At the Floating Restaurant: The Result of Unwittingly Letting Haki Leak Out

At first, Marco had invited Lin Mo to join them simply because he admired the boy's strength and composure.

It hadn't mattered if Lin Mo refused.

But now...

The Marines had their eye on the kid!

And it was Garp the Hero, a man who held the rank of Vice Admiral despite being stronger than an Admiral, who had taken an interest in him!

That alone proved Lin Mo was no ordinary kid.

That was why Marco had called Whitebeard to report what had happened.

Whitebeard was thoroughly astonished by what he'd heard about Lin Mo.

He wanted to recruit him, too.

But then he thought about it.

Garp had spent two days trying and failed. The kid was clearly firm in his convictions and hard to sway.

"Marco, did you invite him?" Whitebeard asked, his voice calm again.

"Yeah, but he turned me down," Marco said helplessly. "He said he's a traveler and doesn't need a home or family. He's a tough one."

"Hahaha!" Whitebeard burst out laughing. "A traveler, huh? What an interesting kid. I'd like to meet him."

In a Staff Room on Baratie's second floor...

Lin Mo had only just entered.

Sanji came running up, brimming with excitement.

"Lin Mo, Lin Mo! Were you really the one who took down Krieg?"

Sanji's eyes shone as he asked.

"Yeah," Lin Mo said casually.

"That's amazing! Everyone was scared of Krieg, but you're about my age and you weren't scared at all. You even beat him easily! I'm so jealous. I wish I were as strong as you. How'd you beat him? Did you use your sword? But it's a Wooden Sword, so it couldn't kill anyone. Did you kick him instead? Ah, I'm so excited! Lin Mo, tell me what happened!"

Lin Mo: "..."

Was Sanji always this much of a chatterbox?

In One Piece, Sanji hadn't talked this much!

And when he did talk a lot, it was to pretty women.

What was going on?

So annoying!

While Lin Mo was growing fed up with Sanji...

The System Notification Sound rang in his mind again.

Beep! Earned Edward Newgate's recognition. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 90%. Reward: Conqueror's Haki level +1. Current Conqueror's Haki level: Lv. 4.

Lin Mo hadn't even had time to wonder how he'd somehow earned Whitebeard's recognition when Whitebeard wasn't there.

A powerful force spread outward from him.

It lasted only an instant.

But it knocked Sanji unconscious.

Conqueror's Haki was different from Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

When its level rose, any expert nearby could feel it.