Even though it was just a simple dinner,
Marco and his crew had turned the atmosphere into one of pure joy,
as if they were at a grand banquet.
They ate meat in big chunks, drank alcohol by the gallon, and laughed loudly, chatting without restraint.
Before long, they even started singing Binks' Sake—a song almost every pirate knew by heart.
Even the chefs of Baratie, seeing that things had quieted down, joined in the fun.
As for Lin Mo—
he seemed like he belonged to a completely different world.
With a serious expression,
he quietly ate and drank alone.
His mind was still on the matter of his sunken boat.
It seemed he needed to figure out a way to get a new one.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to set sail again.
At that moment—
Marco came over to Lin Mo's table with a glass of wine in hand, smiling.
"Lin Mo, how about a drink together?"
Lin Mo didn't even look up. He just picked up the wine bottle.
Marco didn't mind at all. He proactively clinked his glass against Lin Mo's bottle.
Watching Lin Mo take a long swig straight from the bottle,
Marco downed his own drink in one go and burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha! I didn't take you for such a drinker. When I was your age, I only drank juice!"
Lin Mo didn't respond.
Marco sat down across from him, half-smiling, and asked,
"You're not from this restaurant, are you?"
Lin Mo gave a nonchalant "mm" and kept eating.
Zeff and Sanji came down the stairs together.
Seeing Marco and Lin Mo sharing a table, Zeff narrowed his eyes a little.
Without saying much, he told Sanji to bring a plate of meat over to Lin Mo's table.
"Baratie hasn't been this lively in a long time," Sanji said with a grin, setting the plate down in front of Lin Mo.
Lin Mo glanced at him but said nothing.
Zeff walked over as well and looked toward Marco, who was watching Lin Mo closely.
He asked, "You're Phoenix Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, right?"
Marco turned his gaze to Zeff and smiled.
"That's right. Didn't expect someone in the East Blue to recognize me."
Zeff chuckled and went on,
"Aren't you supposed to be on the main ship with Whitebeard himself? What brings you here to the East Blue? On a mission?"
"Yeah, just a small errand. I'll be heading back in a few days."
"By the way, thanks for what you did for the restaurant today."
"Heh, I'm not the one you should be thanking." Marco's gaze shifted back to Lin Mo.
Zeff followed his eyes and was surprised.
"You mean Lin Mo's the one who took down Krieg and his men?"
Marco smiled.
"He didn't even blink. Took that walking arsenal out in just two hits. Quite the kid."
"What? Just two hits?" Zeff was stunned.
"Krieg commanded fifteen pirate ships! He wasn't weak. And he got killed in two strikes? That's..."
"It's true." Marco continued,
"Lin Mo, do you have anywhere you're planning to go next?"
Lin Mo still didn't answer.
Zeff responded on his behalf.
"He's a traveler."
"A traveler?" Marco asked, surprised. "Alone?"
"Yeah." Lin Mo finished the last bite of his meal, wiped his mouth, and casually replied.
Marco smirked.
"Traveling the vast seas alone—don't you get lonely? Ever thought about joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"No." Lin Mo stood up.
He no longer wanted to stay.
This lively, cheerful atmosphere didn't suit him.
He planned to head upstairs and sleep.
Seeing this, Marco quickly called out,
"Your ship has already sunk. Without one, you're not going anywhere. Maybe you're hesitant because we're pirates—but pirates come in all kinds. The Whitebeard Pirates are different. Pops is the most open-hearted man in the world. He treats us like his sons, like family. Trust me—if you meet him, you'll definitely like him."
"No," Lin Mo cut him off. "I'm just a traveler. I don't need a family, nor ties or bonds. I appreciate the offer. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
He continued walking.
Just then, the system prompt sounded in his mind:
'Ding! You've declined Marco the Phoenix's invitation. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 80%. Reward: Observation Haki +1 level. Current Observation Haki Level: Lv3.'
Hearing this, Lin Mo paused.
Even if no one else could sense the change,
he could clearly tell—he could now feel the breath of everyone within hundreds of meters,
even the movement of fish in the water nearby!
He couldn't yet sense heartbeats, though.
Zeff noticed Lin Mo stop suddenly and asked, "What's wrong, kid?"
Coming back to his senses, Lin Mo suddenly thought of something.
He turned to Zeff and asked,
"Does Krieg have a bounty?"
Zeff looked confused.
"He only recently started making waves in the East Blue, so not much. Just a few million Berries, I think. Why?"
"His body is still outside," Lin Mo said calmly.
"The bounty's yours. Just give me a small boat."
Zeff was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"You're pretty generous—trading a few million Berries for a boat."
"Money doesn't mean much to me." With that, Lin Mo turned and headed upstairs.
Sanji hesitated for a moment, then jogged after him.
"Man..." Marco sighed,
"Is my charm really not enough to convince a kid?"
"Haha," Zeff laughed.
"That brat Lin Mo has a strange personality. You're not the only one—he even turned down me and Garp."
"Huh? Garp?" Marco was surprised.
"You mean Vice Admiral Garp—the Iron Fist?"
"That's right," Zeff nodded.
"Garp hung around trying to recruit Lin Mo for two whole days and still failed. He just left this morning. Lucky you guys came at night—if you'd run into Garp, it would've been a pain."
Marco said nothing, but his gaze shifted to the spiral staircase where Lin Mo had disappeared.
Without thinking much more, he stood up and walked out of the restaurant.
Zeff watched his back, a small smile of anticipation tugging at his lips.
"To calmly reject invitations from both the Navy's hero and the world's strongest pirate crew... Lin Mo, what kind of future awaits you?"
Marco returned alone to his ship.
He immediately used a Den Den Mushi to call the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates' main ship.
The call quickly connected.
"Put Pops on the line—hurry!" Marco's tone was urgent.
Startled, the crew member quickly handed the receiver to Whitebeard Edward Newgate, who was drinking with his men.
Whitebeard picked up the Den Den Mushi.
"Marco, what's wrong? Ran into trouble in the East Blue?"
Marco smiled.
"Pops, I met an extraordinary kid."
"An extraordinary kid?" Whitebeard asked curiously.
"What kind of extraordinary?"
"He took out a pirate with fifteen ships in just two sword strikes."
"Oh? That's pretty impressive."
"And that's not all," Marco continued.
"He also turned down an offer from the Navy's hero, Garp."
"What? Garp?" Whitebeard was surprised.
"The Navy tried to recruit him?"
"Yeah. We missed Garp—didn't cross paths. But the restaurant's owner said Garp hounded the kid for two days and still couldn't convince him."
"Garp's not the type to do something like that without reason..." Whitebeard mused.
"What's this kid's name? How old is he?"
"His name's Lin Mo. He looks to be about ten years old."
Whitebeard's eyes widened in shock.
"What?! He's only ten?!"