Starting by Rejecting Red-Hair's Invitation - Chapter 48

Lin Mo had no idea that Red-Hair had also come to Alabasta.

Riding a Camel, he leisurely made his way through the vast sea of sand.

It wasn't long before—

A huge whirlpool of sand suddenly erupted from the ground directly ahead of him.

A gigantic purple lizard emerged from the sand, opened its enormous bloodied maw, and lunged at Lin Mo and the Camel he was riding.

Lin Mo calmly studied the lizard before him.

He felt nothing. Back when he had been at sea, he had killed plenty of Sea Kings many times larger than this lizard. In his eyes, this lizard posed no threat at all.

His mount, however, was merely an ordinary Camel. The moment it saw the giant lizard, it was scared witless.

As the giant lizard drew near, the Camel bolted wildly in every direction to save its own life, carrying Lin Mo along with it.

Lin Mo said helplessly, "Don't panic. I'm here, so you'll be fine."

The Camel ignored him completely.

It carried him away from the correct route to Alubarna and sprinted wildly in a direction even Lin Mo had no idea would lead.

Chapter 68 — Alabasta: As Expected of You, Truly Outstanding

Red-Hair hurriedly pursued Lin Mo's path the entire way.

When the small figure riding a Camel appeared within his line of sight, Red-Hair had not even had time to celebrate before a giant desert lizard appeared.

Then, the Camel carrying Lin Mo put every ounce of strength it had into running at an unbelievable speed—and took off...

Seeing that Lin Mo was about to disappear from his sight again, Red-Hair immediately sped up after him.

Just as he was about to catch up with the giant desert lizard following Lin Mo—

Another giant desert lizard suddenly emerged from the pile of sand beside him, opened its enormous mouth, and swallowed Red-Hair whole.

These giant lizards appeared in pairs throughout Alabasta.

Almost the instant the lizard swallowed Red-Hair—

A flash of blade light appeared.

The lizard's head was instantly cleaved in two by Red-Hair.

The moment Red-Hair's feet touched the ground—

The lizard chasing Lin Mo saw its companion get cut down. Enraged, it turned back, intending to avenge its companion.

Seeing Lin Mo's figure grow farther and farther away, Red-Hair had no time to bother with anything else. As the giant lizard approached, he felled it in a single stroke, slicing it in half as easily as cutting tofu. Then he quickly continued after Lin Mo, shouting as he ran, "Lin Mo, it's me! Wait for me..."

Although they were already far away, Lin Mo could still sense that the auras of the two giant lizards had vanished.

He also sensed a familiar aura.

When he looked back—

He saw a red-haired man wearing a Straw Hat chasing after him in the distance.

Lin Mo immediately felt speechless.

Red-Hair... why had he come to Alabasta...?

And how had this guy known he was here?

To think he had actually run into Red-Hair here by coincidence. Perhaps this guy could claim a share of the credit for his mission in Alabasta.

With that thought, Lin Mo tugged on the Camel's reins, trying to make the frightened Camel stop.

But no matter how hard he pulled, the Camel showed no intention of stopping.

With no other choice, Lin Mo applied a little more force and suddenly yanked the reins backward.

The Camel's entire front half was forcibly reared into the air. Just as it was about to fall, Lin Mo lightly leaped away and landed safely on the sand beside it the instant the Camel hit the ground.

The Camel struggled to climb back up from the sand. It looked around in confusion, and only relaxed after seeing that the giant lizards pursuing them had vanished.

Only a few minutes later, Red-Hair caught up.

"You sure ran fast, kid." Red-Hair grinned.

Lin Mo's gaze fell on Red-Hair's Straw Hat and his two intact arms.

That wasn't his original hat... So Red-Hair had given his Straw Hat to Luffy?

Also, in Lin Mo's memory, Red-Hair should have lost an arm while saving Luffy after being bitten by Lord of the Coast in Foosha Village.

Could it be that the Lord of the Coast that was originally supposed to bite off Red-Hair's arm was the one Lin Mo had killed when he left Foosha Village?

Without thinking about it any further, Lin Mo withdrew his gaze and asked casually, "Where are Beckman and the others?"

"They're waiting for me on the coast near that Town." Red-Hair shrugged. "Forget about them. Hahaha, Lin Mo, it's been more than half a year since we last met. Did you miss me?"

"No."

"Hahaha." Red-Hair laughed loudly. "That attitude of yours really hasn't changed at all. Hahaha..."

"So why did you come looking for me?"

"Can't I come by for a chat even if nothing's wrong?" Red-Hair grinned. "On the way here, I heard about a kid around ten years old who would drink at a tavern whenever he reached an island, then buy a huge supply of alcohol. I knew it had to be you. So I followed the direction you had sailed in and deduced that you would come to Alabasta. I didn't expect to guess correctly. What great luck."

"Oh."

Lin Mo answered indifferently, then took hold of the Camel's reins and continued forward.

The surroundings were filled with golden sand. Unfortunately, it happened to be a cloudy day, so he could not use the sun to determine the direction. He could only walk randomly and rely on luck, then ask for directions when they reached the next Town.

When Red-Hair saw Lin Mo leave, he immediately followed at his side, talking as he walked. "I really didn't expect you to reach the Grand Line so quickly. I thought it would be several years before we met again."

Lin Mo continued walking forward in silence.

It really should have taken several years. Then, thanks to your efforts, it happened ahead of schedule. As expected of Red-Hair—you're truly outstanding...

"Hahaha..." Red-Hair laughed loudly, picked up his Wine Gourd, and took a drink. His gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed the two swords hanging from Lin Mo's waist. He could not help asking in surprise, "Huh? Have you started practicing Swordsmanship?"

Lin Mo ignored him.

Red-Hair's gaze landed on Sandai Kitetsu, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "That sword... Why does it look so much like Kitetsu? Could it really be Kitetsu?"

Lin Mo casually replied with an "Mm."

"That's a Demon Sword." Red-Hair was shocked. "You can even wield a Demon Sword..."

Lin Mo chuckled softly. "Why couldn't I? Only people with weak wills are controlled by Demon Swords."

Red-Hair froze for a moment, then burst out laughing again. "Hahaha, that's right, that's right. With your willpower, some random Demon Sword couldn't possibly control you. I was overthinking it. Hahaha..."

"So," Lin Mo asked helplessly, "how long are you planning to make Beckman and the others wait?"

What Lin Mo meant was that Red-Hair should hurry back instead of continuing to follow him.

Red-Hair, however, did not care in the slightest. "I promised them I'd return within ten days. It's fine. We haven't had a proper drink together in a long time. When we reach the next Town, let's find a tavern and have a good drink together. My treat."

If it was only drinking, it was not entirely unacceptable.

Lin Mo did not think much of it and gave another indifferent "Mm."

In high spirits, Red-Hair followed beside him. His gaze shifted to Lin Mo's Wine Gourd. "That gourd of yours looks pretty good. Where did you buy it? I'll get one myself later."

"Shimotsuki Village."

"Huh? Shimotsuki Village?" Red-Hair stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "The Shimotsuki Village with a place called Isshin Dojo?"

"Mm."

"Hahaha, no wonder you know Swordsmanship now. So you went to that dojo. I heard its master is a very formidable Swordsman. Have you sparred with him?"

Lin Mo answered calmly, "No."

Red-Hair asked strangely, "Huh? Why not?"

Lin Mo gave him a speechless sidelong glance.

This guy is so annoying...

Seeing that Lin Mo did not answer, Red-Hair thought for a moment before continuing, "Don't tell me you thought you couldn't beat the dojo master and chickened out, hahaha..."

Lin Mo: "..."

"Hahaha." Red-Hair laughed loudly. "I was only joking. You're the strongest kid I've ever met. There's no way you'd just get beaten wherever you went. Hmm... Let me think. Given your personality, you probably thought it was too much trouble and didn't feel like fighting, or something along those lines. That's why you didn't spar with the master, right? Tell me, am I right?"

Chapter 69 — Alabasta: Red-Hair's Generosity

Lin Mo was not the sort of person who would take the initiative to cause trouble.

Unless it was necessary, he truly would not go looking for trouble by challenging someone to a spar.

So Red-Hair's guess was mostly correct.

Even so, Lin Mo still did not want to answer any more of his questions.

Once someone as talkative as Red-Hair got started, he would continue endlessly.

Ending the conversation forcefully the moment it began was one of the few ways Lin Mo could think of to stop Red-Hair from continuing to pester him.

"You really are cold, you know. Doesn't traveling alone get lonely?" Red-Hair saw that Lin Mo was ignoring him, but did not mind at all and continued. "By the way, there's something I want to share with you. When I was in Foosha Village, I met a very interesting person. His name is Luffy. Do you know him?"

Lin Mo: "..."

I know...

Red-Hair continued, "Do you remember that Straw Hat of mine? My former Captain gave it to me. Lin Mo, you definitely can't guess who my former Captain was. Hahaha, I'll give you a chance. Take a guess. There's a prize if you get it right."

Lin Mo: "..."

Sorry, I know that too...

"Huh? Why aren't you saying anything? How about I give you a hint?" Red-Hair said with a grin. "My former Captain was a great Pirate who ushered in an entire era. How about that? You can figure it out now, right?"

Lin Mo: "..."

You're so annoying!

"Hahaha." Red-Hair continued, "Then I'll tell you. I used to be an apprentice aboard the ship of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. My Straw Hat was given to me by my Captain. Pretty impressive, right?"

When Red-Hair saw that Lin Mo was not surprised in the slightest, he scratched his head and continued, "Your reaction is honestly a little discouraging. Is it really not surprising that I used to be a member of the Roger Pirates?"

Lin Mo: "..."

Surprising? I knew all about your background ages ago, okay?

"Hahaha." Red-Hair laughed loudly. "Forget it. If you could really be surprised by something this trivial, you wouldn't be Lin Mo. Captain Roger's Straw Hat means a great deal to me, but I gave it to Luffy. Do you know why?"

Lin Mo: "..."

I know... So how long are you planning to keep talking to yourself?

Red-Hair suddenly became serious. "I saw the future in Luffy. Perhaps he'll lead the future of the Pirates someday. So I placed my Straw Hat on him, and I believe Luffy won't disappoint me."

It was rare to see Red-Hair so serious.

Lin Mo could not help taking another look at him.

Red-Hair shifted his gaze to Lin Mo, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. He continued, "If you were willing to join my Pirates, I would stake the future of the Pirates on you as well. What I'm saying might sound a little unfair to Luffy, but your potential is truly the greatest I've ever seen. And you're still growing. It's no exaggeration to say that, in the future, you'll become someone capable of easily stirring up the entire world."

Lin Mo: "..."

Red-Hair's affirmation and praise did not make Lin Mo happy. If anything, they made him want a drink.

Without thinking much about it, he picked up his Wine Gourd, pulled out the stopper, and took a drink.

Seeing that Lin Mo showed no reaction at all, Red-Hair let out an awkward laugh. "Hahaha... When other people receive this kind of praise from me, their tails shoot straight up into the sky. But you're something else. You don't react at all, as if you knew everything already."

Lin Mo: "..."

What else could I do? Was I supposed to play along with your performance?

The two continued walking forward like that.

After walking for nearly three hours, the alcohol in Red-Hair's Wine Gourd was almost gone. At last, he spotted a lush green Town in the distance.

"Lin Mo, I see a Town!" Red-Hair said excitedly.

Lin Mo replied helplessly, "I see it too..."