"You could put it that way."
Barn spoke casually, but everyone else aboard erupted into an uproar, discussing his possession of two fruit powers.
Ignoring their chatter, Barn played with Fitz, who had long since flown back onto his head, and said to Whitebeard,
"Hey, Newgate, you know I'm blind. I can't sail on my own, so I'm planning to stay aboard your ship for a while. That all right?"
Whitebeard naturally agreed, laughing as he said,
"Guhahahaha! What's this, Barn? Do you want to be my son too?"
Hearing that, Barn knew Whitebeard had agreed, but the way he answered was hardly something to be happy about.
Barn stopped playing with Fitz on his head, turned to "look" fiercely at Whitebeard, and spat out one word.
"Scram!"
Whitebeard answered with triumphant laughter.
"Guhahahaha..."
Seeing Barn like that delighted Whitebeard, and he sat on the deck laughing nonstop.
"Guhahahaha!"
The more Whitebeard laughed, the more pronounced and menacing the bulging vein on Barn's forehead became.
"Hey, Newgate, have you finished laughing yet?!"
Barn finally snapped, unable to take it anymore.
"Guhahahaha! Barn, you're such a poor sport!"
Barn could hardly say anything to that. He merely turned his head away and pouted.
Whitebeard rose from the deck, handed his blade to a nearby pirate, and announced loudly,
"Boys! Barn has decided to stay aboard our ship!"
Whitebeard's voice cut the chatter short, but an even louder uproar broke out a moment later. Some cheered loudly to welcome Barn, while others kept discussing it.
"What? Pops said 'Demon' Barn is staying aboard our ship?"
"Of course! Would Pops lie?"
"No way. Isn't he about the same age as Pops? He just looks a little younger. He became Pops's son just like that?"
"Who knows? Maybe Pops's incredible power won him over."
Barn's eyes might not work well, but his ears were exceptionally sharp. He heard every word those pirates said.
Whitebeard definitely left that vague on purpose to screw me over!
That was what Barn thought, but he still had to accept the opening Whitebeard had given him. He stood up, waved to the pirates, and put on a smile, though it was rather strained...
No one noticed the two people in a corner of the deck: Marco and Vista, whom Barn had sent flying at the start...
"We're doomed, Vista! Did you hear that? Pops said that Barn guy is staying aboard our ship!"
Marco's brows were practically twisted into knots as he spoke to Vista, looking ready to cry.
"Yeah, I heard. What about it?"
Vista seemed perfectly calm. He stroked his peculiar mustache as he spoke.
"What about it? Didn't you see how strong that Barn guy was? He can fight Pops to a standstill! I provoked him so much at the start. Won't he bully me to death from now on?!"
Marco looked increasingly distraught. He even grabbed Vista's arm and shook it nonstop, looking for all the world like a bullied little girl.
Hearing that, Vista stroked his mustache again, then nodded and said,
"You seem to have a point..."
Marco's face went white at Vista's words. He turned his neck stiffly, only to see Barn's smiling face...
"Oh no, oh no! Vista, he's looking at me!"
Vista patted Marco on the shoulder and said,
"You're overthinking it... Mr. Barn can't see..."
"Boys! Go prepare a feast! We're throwing Barn a welcome party tonight! Thatch, I'm leaving it to you!"
"Leave it to me, Pops!"
A man dressed like a chef, with a pompadour hairstyle, gave Barn and Whitebeard a respectful, gentlemanly bow before withdrawing.
Hearing there would be a feast, the pirates grew even more enthusiastic and answered with a loud cheer.
At the feast, the pirates passed drinks around in a lively bustle, while Barn competed with Whitebeard in drinking.
Whitebeard's capacity for alcohol was truly impressive. Even after years of practice in both his previous life and this one, Barn still couldn't outdrink him.
Just after Barn drained another cup, Marco approached with Fitz perched on his head and a jug of wine in his hand.
When Fitz saw Barn, the bird left Marco's head and landed on Barn's.
Feeling that familiar weight on his head, Barn smiled faintly and said,
"I was just wondering where you'd flown off to. So that's where you were."
"Chirp, chirp."
"Mr. Barn..."
Marco's trembling voice reached him.
Recognizing Marco's voice, Barn's ears twitched, and he turned to "look" at him, still smiling.
Seeing Barn turn to "look" at him made Marco even more nervous.
Strange. Isn't he blind? Why do I feel like I can't hide a single secret from him?
With that thought, Marco swallowed and explained why he had come.
"Mr. Barn, I came to apologize. I overestimated myself and offended you earlier. Please forgive me!"
As he spoke, Marco bowed ninety degrees to Barn.
"Chirp, chirp."
Even Fitz leaned down from Barn's head and gently pecked his forehead, pleading on Marco's behalf.
Barn was torn between annoyance and amusement. He took the wine from Marco's hand and drank it, then scratched Fitz under the chin and said with a smile,
"Marco, how did you convince Fitz to put in a good word for you? Fitz is usually very wary of strangers."
Seeing Barn drink the wine and hearing those words, Marco knew he had been forgiven. He straightened up, scratched his head, and said,
"I don't know either. Fitz seems to really like me."
Is it because he ate the Phoenix Fruit?
That was what Barn wondered.
Watching this from the head seat, Whitebeard smiled, nodded, and said,
"Guhahahaha! Marco, my boy, Barn has been a famous pirate for over twenty years. Why would he hold anything against a young brat like you? Go have a drink!"
Hearing his Pops say that, Marco ran off happily with his cup.
Whitebeard watched Marco leave, a faint smile spreading across his face, which had already begun to show fine wrinkles. Then he turned back to Barn and asked,
"Barn, you vanished for twenty whole years. Some said you were missing, and others said you were dead. Where were you all that time?"
Hearing Whitebeard's question, Barn answered,
"Twenty years ago, the pirate crew I belonged to was struck by a plague. Thanks to the Life Fruit, I was the only survivor... I spent these past twenty years training my Haki on Amazon Lily."
After saying that, Barn became noticeably subdued, lowering his head as though lost in thought.
Whitebeard knew he had brought up a painful memory. Seeing Barn like that, he said nothing more and silently drank a cup of wine.
After a while, Barn said with his head lowered,
"Newgate, thank you!"
"What?"
"Nothing!"
Barn raised his head, his face bright with a heartfelt smile.
It had been a long time since Barn had felt this happy...
Barn stood up and left the dining room.
Watching Barn's retreating back, Whitebeard shook his head.
"That guy..."
After leaving the dining room, Barn climbed up to the Lookout alone, guided by Fitz.
Leaning against the mast, Barn smiled. He smiled with pure joy, until his laughter turned to tears...
"How long has it been since I last had days like these? It's just like being with the Rumbar Pirates... Brook, York, Mabu, Bullong, Sako..."
Barn recalled all the little moments he had spent with the Rumbar Pirates, remembering each familiar face.
He smiled through his tears...
He took out the harmonica Brook had given him back then and ran his fingers over the inscription, "Barn Bashut."
"I wonder if Brook has woken up yet..."
Barn brought the harmonica to his lips and played a melody he hadn't heard in twenty whole years.
"Yohohoho!"
Whitebeard also left the dining room. He looked up and gazed intently at Barn, who sat in the Lookout playing his harmonica, before returning inside.
When the tune ended, Barn put away the harmonica, wiped the remaining tears from his face, and tied the black ribbon over his eyes again.
With a thought, he called up the system interface.
His battle with Whitebeard had earned him half a level's worth of experience, something Barn hadn't expected. It would have taken him half a year of fighting Sea Kings to earn that much, but what surprised him even more was in the skill tab.
Three black circular sockets had appeared beneath the icon for the Awakening skill, Dark Sky Wave Eye, which had originally been grayed out.
"What's this?"
Barn was puzzled. Can I learn the Awakening skill now? But do I need to meet certain conditions?
Just then, Barn noticed a newly appeared window labeled "Mailbox."
Was this activated during my battle with Whitebeard too?
The mailbox tab was flashing white. Barn tapped it with his finger and opened the "Mailbox."
There was only one letter inside. It had no message, only an attached item.
The item was a round seal engraved with a lion roaring with its mouth open.
Barn clicked to claim the attachment. As he played with the round seal, its information appeared in his mind.
Proof of the Strong Awakening quest material. Recognition from the strongest man in the world, "Whitebeard" Edward Newgate. Do you want to be my son too?
Reading the item description, Barn didn't know whether to laugh or cry. One line, however, caught his interest: "Awakening quest material." Could it be...
With some doubt, Barn dragged the seal onto the Dark Sky Wave Eye icon in the skill tab. It immediately slotted into place. The Dark Sky Wave Eye icon flashed once before turning gray again, but one of the three circular sockets beneath it had turned yellow...