The Pirate Adventure Began with Turning Down Red-Hair's Invitation

Both reacted instantly.

They leaped onto an intact section of the deck.

Only then did they avoid falling through with the collapsing planks.

Sanji, who had been watching from inside a nearby room, gaped in shock.

"Huh?" Garp exclaimed. "Lin Mo, what did you do?"

Lin Mo flexed his legs and shook his head. "Nothing."

Garp's mouth twitched. Like hell you didn't!

Lin Mo said nothing more and calmly walked past Garp.

Garp watched him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving."

Now that he had completed the check-in task here, it was time to go.

"What?" Garp said in surprise. "You're leaving already?"

Garp hurried after him. "Why don't you reconsider joining the Marines?"

"I won't," Lin Mo said firmly.

Sanji saw that Lin Mo was leaving.

Snapping out of his shock, he rushed after him.

"Lin Mo, are you really leaving? Right now?" Sanji asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah," Lin Mo replied evenly.

When the three reached the restaurant downstairs, Sanji ran ahead, spread his arms, and blocked Lin Mo's path. "You said you'd teach me kicking techniques! You haven't even taught me properly yet. How can you leave now?"

Lin Mo: "..."

"When did I say I'd teach you?" Lin Mo asked, at a loss for words.

Sanji froze. Thinking back, Lin Mo really had never said he would teach him.

"But... didn't you agree without saying it?" Sanji asked, looking hurt.

Lin Mo glanced toward Zeff, who was directing the cooks as they repaired the deck outside the restaurant. "You already have a good teacher."

Sanji bit his lower lip hard, looking as though he was about to cry.

Lin Mo walked past him.

Just before he reached the restaurant's front door, he thought for a moment and said it anyway: "ALL-BLUE is real."

Sanji's heart jolted.

He immediately turned to look at Lin Mo, who had already walked away.

He didn't think he had told Lin Mo about ALL-BLUE.

How did that guy...

Right!

That night, Lin Mo had asked about his dream, and he must have mentioned it in passing.

That guy actually remembered!

"Looks like you've made a good friend," Garp said, coming to Sanji's side. Grinning broadly, he watched Lin Mo's retreating figure with him.

Sanji glanced at Garp. The hurt and reluctance on his face gave way to a relieved smile, and he nodded firmly. "Yeah!"

Lin Mo reached the first-floor deck.

He told Zeff directly that he was leaving.

Zeff took it in stride and had his cooks prepare a small wooden boat used for supply runs.

The supply boat was twice the size of his old sailboat.

Lin Mo jumped aboard without hesitation.

He opened the System Navigation.

Then he set sail for his next check-in destination.

He had barely gone any distance when Sanji's voice rang out from the deck of the Baratie behind him.

"Lin Mo! Next time we meet, I'll use the best ingredients in the world to make you the best meal you've ever eaten! I promise!"

Garp called out too. "Even if we can't be comrades, we can still be friends! Lin Mo, next time we meet, let's have some delicious donuts together!"

Zeff shouted after him, "Lin Mo, you little brat! If you ever have nowhere to go, come back to the Baratie. At least here, I can promise you'll never go hungry."

Lin Mo neither answered nor looked back. He simply raised a hand and waved.

Zeff and the others stood on the deck, watching Lin Mo sail away.

Just then, a cook rushed out of the restaurant in a panic. "Boss, we've got a problem! There's a huge hole in the second-floor deck!"

"What?" Zeff's eyes widened. He turned to Sanji. "What happened?"

Only Sanji, Lin Mo, and Garp had been upstairs earlier.

Sanji looked away and muttered, "Vice Admiral Garp did it..."

"Huh?" Garp pointed at himself, caught between laughter and disbelief. "So I'm the one who did it?"

Loguetown: The Town of Beginnings and Endings

Lin Mo sailed across the sea in the Baratie's supply boat.

His next check-in destination was Loguetown.

He opened his Personal Attribute Panel.

Name: Lin Mo.

Age: 10.

Check-in location: Loguetown (0%).

Physique: All-Attribute Chakra.

Haki: Armament Haki Lv3, Conqueror's Haki Lv4, Observation Haki Lv3.

Skills: Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique (Beginner), Swordsmanship Lv6, Flash Step Lv3, Night Guy Lv2.

Six Powers: Finger Pistol Lv1, Iron Body Lv1, Shave (Locked), Geppo Lv1, Tempest Kick Lv1, Kami-e (Locked).

Weapon: Cursed Blade Stardust (Toyako).

System Space: 100 × 100 × 100 cubic meters.

After a quick glance, Lin Mo closed the panel.

When he thought of Loguetown, the first person who came to mind was the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

It was the town where Roger had been born—and where he had been executed.

That was why Loguetown was known as the town of beginnings and endings.

As for Loguetown's most famous landmark now, it was probably the Execution Platform in Central Square where Roger had been put to death.

After all, the former Pirate King Roger was someone many pirates admired.

Most pirates who came to Loguetown visited the Execution Platform.

Roger's Execution Platform was therefore very likely to trigger progress on a check-in task.

Once he reached Loguetown, he would have to visit it.

As for whom he might meet there, Lin Mo didn't care.

All that mattered was completing the task.

He put it out of his mind.

Then Lin Mo picked up his Wine Gourd and drank with relish.

Before he left the Baratie, Zeff had packed plenty of provisions and alcohol for him.

He had no need to worry about food.

After another three full days at sea, he finally spotted an island covered in buildings on the morning of the fourth day.

His new check-in destination, Loguetown, was here!

He moored the wooden boat by the shore.

The moment Lin Mo's feet touched land, the System Notification Sound rang in his head.

"Beep! Congratulations to the host for reaching the check-in location, Loguetown. Check-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 10%. Rewards: Beginner Swordsmanship: Divine Departure; Armament Haki level +1. Current Armament Haki level: Lv4."

Information about Swordsmanship: Divine Departure immediately appeared in his mind.

Lin Mo's eyes lit up.

Divine Departure was a sword technique used by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. With a high-speed swing, it sent out a Flying Slash infused with Haki that bypassed the opponent's weapon and struck their body directly.

It was an exceptionally powerful sword technique.

Even at the beginner level, its power was not to be underestimated.

Lin Mo was fairly pleased with the reward.

He entered town from the harbor.

It was still early. There were few people on the streets, and many shops had yet to open.

Lin Mo followed the street ahead.

The town's streets were a maze, and before long, he was lost...

He came down the steps of a narrow alley.

Lin Mo was about to ask someone for directions when he spotted a tavern named after Gol D. Roger.

Wasn't this the tavern Luffy would visit ten years from now?

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. Without another word, he pushed open the door and went in.

He was nearly out of alcohol anyway. He might as well restock first.

He followed a winding stone staircase down and soon reached the half-height wooden door to the underground tavern's main room.

Inside, the only person was a silver-haired old man setting upright the stools that had been turned upside down on the tables. He appeared to be getting ready to open.

Hearing someone at the entrance, the Tavern Owner turned to look.

Seeing a kid who appeared to be only a few years old, he said flatly, "Get lost, kid. This isn't a place for you."

Unbothered, Lin Mo pushed through the small wooden door and took a seat on a barstool. "A bottle of rum," he said calmly.

Pirate King Roger had once drunk rum at this tavern.

Lin Mo wanted to taste the drink the Pirate King had enjoyed.

When the Tavern Owner saw that Lin Mo had not only stayed but sat down at the bar, he stopped what he was doing and walked over, speechless. "Kid, do you even drink?"