The Pirate Who Refused Red-Hair's Invitation

"Some pirates are far craftier than you think. The ones caught at the harbor are small fry," Smoker said gravely around his cigar. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling something big is coming. Something might happen on the anniversary of Roger's death in a few days."

"Hmph! So what if it does?" the Tavern Owner snorted. "I just run a tavern. Besides, someone's booked the whole place for the next few days. I'm not taking any other customers. Catch pirates at the harbor or in the streets and alleys, I don't care. Just stay out of my way."

"Booked the whole place?" Smoker asked, mildly surprised. "By whom? Lin Mo?"

"Yes, him," the Tavern Owner said curtly.

He would never give Rayleigh away.

Smoker paused, then nodded. "Makes sense. The kid just collected a hefty bounty today. He can afford it."

Smoker finished the last mouthful of wine in his bottle.

He put down some Beli and stood. Before leaving, he gave Lin Mo another look. "Kid, are you staying until after the anniversary of Roger's death?"

"Maybe. Depends on my mood," Lin Mo said.

"Heh. Depends on your mood, huh?" Smoker said nothing more and left the tavern.

Not long after Smoker left,

Rayleigh came out of the storeroom.

"Hahaha! Looks like that young Marine has his eye on this tavern," Rayleigh said with a laugh.

"Mr. Rayleigh, I'm getting a headache over this, and you're laughing?" the Tavern Owner grumbled. "Ever since that Smoker fellow was transferred to Loguetown, he's been coming here every few days. He's caught quite a few pirates in my tavern. They've nearly wrecked the place more than once."

"There's good and bad in everything. He may cause you trouble by coming here so often, but he probably saves you plenty, too." Rayleigh took another bottle of wine, pulled the cork, and drank. "Most pirates aren't exactly reasonable."

"That's true." The Tavern Owner sighed. "If only all pirates could be like Roger."

"Hahaha! Enough talk. Come drink with me." Rayleigh invited him to a drinking contest.

The Tavern Owner smiled despite himself.

Then he headed for the door. "You two start without me. I'll shut the door so no more troublemakers come in."

Rayleigh took a long drink and looked at Lin Mo, who seemed to have had enough. "I've barely started, and you're already done?"

"I've had plenty..." Lin Mo said.

"Hahaha! You really are still a kid. Say, want to hear about Roger? I've got plenty of stories about him that no one else knows."

"Not interested."

"Don't be so cold." Rayleigh grinned. "Ah, it's been ages since I enjoyed a drink this much. I'm thinking of going out to find some fun later. Want to come?"

"No," Lin Mo said at once.

He could guess what Rayleigh meant by "fun" with his toes.

It was almost certainly gambling...

After the Roger Pirates disbanded and Rayleigh settled in the Sabaody Archipelago, he had become an old man who loved to gamble.

Aside from his coating work, he spent his days drinking or gambling at the Casino.

Despite his first-rate Observation Haki, he often lost everything.

Sometimes he even lost the money he needed to buy wine.

To get more money, he would even hand himself over to human traffickers and sell himself...

In any case, Lin Mo had no interest in gambling.

Why not spend that time sunbathing somewhere and taking a nap?

Seeing that Lin Mo truly had no interest, Rayleigh relented. "All right, I'll go alone. Ah, I feel lucky today. I might win quite a bit. Hahaha!"

Bottle in hand, Rayleigh walked steadily toward the tavern door.

There he ran into the returning Tavern Owner.

"Mr. Rayleigh, where are you going?"

Rayleigh smiled. "There's an underground Casino nearby, if I remember right. It hasn't closed down, has it?"

"Huh?" The Tavern Owner looked baffled. "It's still open, but there've been fewer gamblers these past few years. It's losing money. I doubt it'll last much longer."

"Hahaha! As long as it's open. I'll go take a look."

"Mr. Rayleigh, I don't remember you gambling before. What got you hooked on it now?"

"A little wager is good fun. I'm only going to play a little. See you. Don't wait for me at dinner."

Laughing, Rayleigh left the tavern.

The Tavern Owner scratched his head awkwardly.

Lin Mo gave a wry smile.

Losing everything counts as a little wager?

The Lazy Admiral Forced to Act

Not long after Rayleigh left the tavern, Lin Mo went out too.

It was still early.

Lin Mo found a quiet little stretch of sand by the sea. Behind a rock near the shore, he took a reclining chair from System Space, settled into it, and prepared to sleep.

He had only been asleep a few minutes

when faint footsteps approached.

"A Le? Such a nice spot, and you got here first."

A languid voice reached Lin Mo's ears.

He frowned slightly.

That voice...

It's Aokiji, isn't it?

Lin Mo couldn't be bothered with him. Without opening his eyes, he turned his head and went back to sleep.

Aokiji's mouth curved into a smile. He said nothing, put on his sleep mask, and fell asleep standing straight beside Lin Mo.

Time passed.

Behind the rock, the big man and the small one slept soundly.

A pirate ship slowly approached the seemingly deserted beach.

It stopped near the shore.

Dozens of people in plain, inconspicuous clothes quietly disembarked.

They made their way toward town with care.

Then they passed the rock and saw the two people behind it.

They froze!

"What's with those two?" a young man in a tricorn hat asked nervously. "Boss, they might've seen us. Should we kill them?"

The pirate ship's captain, an ugly man with a bushy beard, smacked him on the head. "Idiot! They're asleep. They probably didn't see us. Shh! Keep your voice down and don't wake them."

"But Boss, I think they're pretending! Let me go check!"

"Yeah, let Little Jia take a look. If they're faking it, word that we came ashore will reach the Marines soon. We might be caught right away."

"Boss, stay here and watch. I'll check."

"Idiot, don't go!" the bearded man tried to stop him.

But Little Jia had already drawn his sword and was inching toward Lin Mo and Aokiji.

"I'm going in, Boss!" Little Jia whispered nervously over his shoulder.

The bearded man pressed a hand to his forehead.

The rest of the crew could hardly contain their excitement.

"Go on, Little Jia! Show those two what you can do!"

"Don't chicken out. Be a man! Don't let us down."

"Hahaha! Little Jia's got this. Even if those two survive, they won't come away unhurt."

"Uh... Doesn't the man sleeping on his feet look familiar to you?"

"Old Bu, your eyes are going. Everyone looks familiar to you..."

As for Lin Mo,

he and Aokiji had noticed the pirates before they even came ashore.

They had walked softly when they disembarked and hadn't seemed intent on waking him, so he had let it slide. He saw no reason to bother with small fry.

But now,

despite all their talk of keeping quiet, they wouldn't stop chattering. Lin Mo was getting annoyed.

Little Jia stopped in front of Lin Mo and Aokiji. After hesitating between them, he cautiously extended his sword toward Lin Mo.

The tip came within five centimeters of Lin Mo's face.

Lin Mo's eyes snapped open. Little Jia flinched, and the sword slipped from his trembling hand.

"A Le, why are you still here?" Aokiji pushed his sleep mask up onto his forehead and gazed lazily at Little Jia.

Little Jia's legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. "I knew it! They were pretending to sleep... Boss, what do we do? Should we kill them?"

He looked pleadingly toward the bearded man.

The man's face went pale. "Get back here!"

Little Jia immediately scrambled back to him, crawling right in front of Lin Mo and Aokiji.

The bearded man said nervously, "You two had better not try anything. I'm a pirate with thirty men under me. There are only two of you. You can't beat us all. Promise you won't tell the Marines we came ashore, and we'll spare you."

"The Marines?" Lin Mo gave a cold laugh and pointed at Aokiji. "He's one."

"Huh?" The pirates were stunned.

Aokiji scratched his head. "I did promise Smoker I'd help him catch pirates, but I said I'd do it on the anniversary of Roger's death. Go on. I'm not planning to catch you now."

"What? Is he really a Marine?"

"Oh, come on! What rotten luck. Why did we run into a Marine the moment we came ashore? We're finished. He's bound to report us."

"Ah! I remember him now. He really is a Marine! I saw his picture in the paper recently. He's Aokiji, an Admiral from Marine Headquarters!"

"What? A Marine Admiral? Old Bu, are you sure you're not joking?"

"It's true! I swear it's true. He really is Aokiji, an Admiral from Marine Headquarters!"

"Ahhh! We're finished! A Marine Admiral could wipe us out with one finger! Boss, what do we do?"

The pirates had fallen into complete chaos.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Aokiji's forehead. "I told you I'm not here to catch you. Will you listen to me?"

But none of the pirates took in a word he said.

Every one of them, their captain included, looked utterly hopeless.

"Forget it! We're dead either way, so we might as well fight. Even if the odds are slim, maybe a miracle will happen. Come on, boys!"

"Right! Better to take a chance than wait here to die. Get them!"

"Charge, boys!"

As the pirates rushed toward him, Aokiji felt thoroughly miserable.

He glanced at Lin Mo beside him.

Lin Mo had risen from his chair without a trace of expression. He even straightened his clothes, looking for all the world like an innocent bystander.

"Honestly," Aokiji said, "I told you I'm not here to catch you. Can't any of you listen? All you had to do was leave. This is ridiculous..."

The pirates charged in.

Aokiji had not wanted to fight. He easily dodged several of their clumsy attacks, then...