Really... can't he just shut up for once?
Lin Mo gave him a look of disbelief.
The tavern owner froze for a moment, then exclaimed in astonishment, "Oh! Why didn't I think of that! Lin Mo, what kind of person are you? Why would a Navy admiral personally come to invite you?"
Why? Lin Mo wanted to know too.
He had already rejected them countless times, yet they kept coming back again and again, shamelessly inviting him.
Were all their faces this thick?
Fortunately, Aokiji was lazy and gave up after just one rejection.
If he encountered more people like Garp, he'd probably lose his mind.
Lin Mo didn't answer the tavern owner's question and silently continued drinking.
Rayleigh couldn't help but laugh, "Haha, with your mindset, you might be a natural swordsman. Who knows, you might become the youngest swordmaster in the world."
"I'm not interested." Lin Mo replied, looking at him with a tired expression.
Rayleigh continued, "Fame isn't something you can just ignore or brush off. Once your strength reaches a certain level, people will automatically give you the title of 'the strongest.' Even if you don't want to be a swordmaster, it won't matter."
Indeed.
The so-called 'strongest' isn't something you can just declare for yourself. When your power exceeds people's expectations and surpasses those labeled as the strongest, they'll naturally stick that title on you. It's not about whether you want it; once others acknowledge your strength, they'll label you with it.
That's why Lin Mo found it troublesome.
He didn't need those labels.
He didn't want to interact with people, and certainly didn't want to fight with them.
He would rather remain anonymous, blending into the crowd, quietly completing his sign-in tasks, experiencing the world's landscapes, and drinking fine wine from every corner of the world. That was enough for him.
But for some reason, he kept encountering troublesome people...
Lin Mo finished the last drop of alcohol in his bottle, wiped his mouth, and said, "Whatever, the labels don't matter. As long as they don't interfere with me, it's fine."
"You really are open-minded." Rayleigh smiled, "You're different from everyone I've met. A lot of adults can't do what you do. Lin Mo, are you really just a kid?"
Lin Mo glanced at him and chuckled lightly. "Ten years old, thanks."
"Hahaha!" Rayleigh burst into laughter. "Ten years old, you're something else."
The tavern owner looked at the two of them, completely confused.
Rayleigh turned to him and said, "Boss, bring a few more bottles over. Tonight, I'm not leaving until I've drunk with Lin Mo. We're going to drink till we drop! Haha!"
"Ah, sure!" The tavern owner nodded and immediately began bringing out bottles of alcohol from the shelf, stacking them up in front of Lin Mo and Rayleigh at the bar.
That night, Lin Mo and Rayleigh drank so much that they almost couldn't tell who had the better drinking capacity.
It was the first time since coming to the Pirate World that Lin Mo almost got completely drunk.
Under the tavern owner's guidance, Lin Mo went to the room the owner had prepared for him.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, the system's notification sound rang in his mind.
Ding! Competing in drinking with "Dark King" Rayleigh, sign-in progress +10%, current total progress is 70%.
For a moment, Lin Mo paused and couldn't help but chuckle.
He hadn't expected that competing in drinking with Reilly would trigger a progress task.
Although there was no reward, it was still a win.
Not thinking much of it, Lin Mo closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The next few days.
Lin Mo wandered around the town whenever he had time and took naps at his favorite spots.
Aokiji had also noticed those spots, and the two often ended up there together—one lying on a lounge chair, the other standing, both taking naps.
As for Rayleigh, during the day, he would occasionally catch some bounty criminals and have the tavern owner take them to the Navy base to exchange for bounties. Then, he'd take the money and continue gambling. In just a few days, he had single-handedly revived a nearly bankrupt casino.
At night, Lin Mo and Rayleigh would happily drink together at the tavern.
Smoker, as he had said before, almost every day would go to Roger's Tavern to stake out, and he did manage to catch a few famous pirates secretly landing.
As for Bartolomeo, he almost followed Lin Mo everywhere.
I have to say, the guy's tracking skills were indeed better than Zoro's.
Even so, no matter how far Bartolomeo tried to hide, he couldn't escape Lin Mo's Level 5 Observation Haki.
Until the day of Roger's Execution came.
That morning, Rayleigh asked the tavern owner for two bottles of rum and took Lin Mo out.
Lin Mo didn't really want to go, and there was no need to, but thinking that it might trigger a sign-in task, he followed.
The sky outside was gloomy, and it was drizzling.
Rayleigh, holding a black umbrella, walked side by side with Lin Mo.
Soon, they arrived at a narrow alley near the central square.
Because of the weather, there were very few people in the square.
Not a single Navy soldier in sight.
Both Lin Mo and Rayleigh could sense that many Navy personnel were hiding in the surrounding buildings, lying in ambush.
If any suspicious person approached the execution platform, they'd be captured immediately.
"Looks like getting to the execution platform won't be easy." Rayleigh remarked, gazing at the execution platform, which was only about 200 meters away. "I wasn't there when Roger was executed. Do you want to know why?"
Lin Mo remained silent, not answering.
Honestly, he wasn't very interested.
Rayleigh glanced at him and smiled. "I guess you don't want to know. Heh, if I had been there, even if he blamed me, I would've had to step in and save that fool."
"So," Lin Mo pointed at the two bottles of alcohol Rayleigh was carrying under his arm, "what's your plan?"
Before Rayleigh could respond, a loud explosion came from the main street.
Instantly, the square was filled with screams.
There had already been few people, and now they all fled in panic.
"Well, that's unfortunate." Rayleigh said with a half-smile. "I was going to wait until there were more people to blend in, but now if we go, we'll be sitting ducks for the Navy, haha."
Lin Mo gave him a look of disbelief.
With your strength, are you really afraid of the weakest bullets in the Pirate World?
Lin Mo's gaze shifted toward the main street, which was now covered in thick smoke from the explosion.
After the smoke cleared, the main street was empty, except for a large crater where the explosion had occurred.
It was as if the bomb had appeared and exploded out of nowhere.
Inside a nearby building.
Smoker, chewing on his cigar, used binoculars to watch the situation on the main street. After the smoke cleared, he saw that no one had emerged, and he frowned deeply.
At that moment, a sailor came to report: "Report! There are two suspicious people at the southwest alley."
Smoker immediately turned the binoculars to the direction the sailor had pointed.
Sure enough, in a narrow alley under a black umbrella, there stood two people.
The taller one wore a hood, making it hard to see their face. However, the shorter one—Lin Mo—was clearly visible.
"Lin Mo?" Smoker furrowed his brows. "What's he doing here? And the person next to him doesn't seem to be the tavern owner... Who is that?"