One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

Takumi had assumed that Garp had returned to Windmill Village to check on Luffy. But as it turns out, the old fox was back at Baratie early in the morning, carrying a net full of seafood.

Zeff was outside with his cooks, repairing the deck. When he saw Garp return, he grumbled, "You're just in time. That guy's head is worth a few million berries. I won't even ask for more. Just give me ten thousand berries and take him away."

Garp turned to glance at the stiff corpse nearby, scratched his head, and said, "Who's that?"

Zeff, his face stern, replied, "That's Krieg, the captain of the crew that caused trouble at the restaurant yesterday morning."

"Oh, right, I remember now," Garp grinned, showing his teeth. "Not bad, Zeff. Even with a leg missing, you managed to take down this notorious pirate. Hahaha, still as tough as ever!"

Zeff: "..."

Zeff sighed, "It wasn't me who killed him."

"Hm?" Garp raised an eyebrow. "If it wasn't you, then who? Don't tell me it was Takumi? Hahaha…"

"Yes, it was him," Zeff said with a grin, clearly enjoying the reaction. "Marco was here last night. He saw Takumi kill Krieg with two strikes, then invited him to join his crew."

"What?" The smile froze on Garp's face as his eyes widened. "You mean Marco, the Phoenix, one of Whitebeard's commanders?"

"That's right, it was him."

Garp asked anxiously, "Did Takumi accept his offer?"

Zeff shrugged, smirking, "Who knows? He's upstairs right now. You can ask him yourself."

"Damn it! I was the one who invited that brat first!" Garp threw the net of seafood onto the deck, grumbling as he stomped towards the restaurant's spiral staircase.

Zeff watched Garp's retreating figure with amusement and added, "Oh, by the way, Takumi has Conqueror's Haki. I'm guessing you already knew that?"

Garp froze mid-step, a look of shock flashing across his face.

Conqueror's Haki? That kid actually has Conqueror's Haki!

Seeing Garp stop in his tracks, Zeff continued, "And I've got to say, that kid's Conqueror's Haki is pretty formidable. Just a slight slip of it, and he knocked out all of my men and Marco's crew too."

Garp: "!"

Without another word, Garp dashed up the stairs.

When he found Takumi, he didn't waste time with words, immediately throwing a punch.

Takumi used Soru to dodge with ease.

Garp kept swinging, "Brat, you didn't agree to join Whitebeard's crew, did you?"

Takumi: "..."

"Why aren't you answering? Don't tell me you really agreed to join that bird-brain Marco?" Garp threw another punch.

"No!" Takumi was getting irritated.

He wrapped his fist in Armament Haki at Level 3, decided not to dodge, and met Garp's fist head-on.

The impact sent a powerful shockwave rippling out from where their fists collided.

A flash of surprise crossed Garp's eyes.

Usually, when he used his "Fist of Love" on Luffy and Ace, he only used a tenth of his strength.

Knowing Takumi was strong, he'd used thirty percent of his strength this time.

But not only did he fail to land the punch, the brat actually matched his strength!

It seems this kid can use Armament Haki too!

He has leg techniques that rival Zeff's, mastery of the three forms of Haki, and he's also a swordsman.

How many more secrets is this kid hiding?

Garp's interest in Takumi grew even more intense.

The two retracted their fists simultaneously.

In Takumi's mind, the system's notification suddenly rang out:

[Ding! Fought with Marine Hero Garp, sign-in progress +10%.]

[Ding! Sea Restaurant Baratie sign-in task completed. Congratulations, host, for unlocking Moonwalk and Tempest Kick, with rewards of Soru Level +1 and Night Guy Level +1. Current Soru Level: Lv3, Night Guy Level: Lv2.]

Moonwalk is one of the Six Powers, allowing the user to kick the air with such force that they can move as if walking on air.

Tempest Kick is another Six Power technique, where a rapid kick creates a sharp, compressed air blade that can cut down opponents with the force of a blade.

Takumi raised an eyebrow.

With the new skills unlocked and the upgrades to Soru and Night Guy, a surge of power radiated from his feet.

Standing still, without doing anything, the deck beneath his feet began to crack, spiderwebbing out from where he stood.

With a loud crack, the section of the deck where Takumi and Garp were standing collapsed into a hole.

Both reacted quickly, leaping onto the intact part of the deck, avoiding the collapse.

Sanji, who had been secretly watching from a nearby building, was left gaping in shock.

"Eh?" Garp was stunned. "Takumi, what did you do?"

Takumi flexed his legs and shook his head, "Nothing."

Garp's eye twitched: I don't believe that for a second!

Takumi didn't say anything more, calmly walking past Garp.

"Where are you going?" Garp asked.

"I'm leaving."

Now that his task at Baratie was complete, it was time to move on.

"What?" Garp was surprised. "You're leaving already?"

Garp quickly followed, saying as he walked, "Why don't you reconsider joining the Marines?"

Takumi replied firmly, "Not happening."

Seeing Takumi was serious about leaving, Sanji snapped out of his shock and hurried after him.

"Takumi, are you really leaving? Right now?" Sanji asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Takumi responded casually.

When they reached the restaurant's ground floor, Sanji quickly ran ahead, blocking Takumi's path. "You said you'd teach me some leg techniques. You haven't even properly taught me yet. How can you leave now?"

Takumi: "..."

"When did I ever say I'd teach you?" Takumi asked, bewildered.

Sanji hesitated, realizing that Takumi had never actually said those words.

"But... But I thought you implied it," Sanji said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Takumi glanced at Zeff, who was overseeing the repairs to the deck outside. "You already have a pretty good teacher," he said.

Sanji bit his lip, looking like he was about to cry.

Takumi walked past him.

Just before reaching the restaurant's entrance, he paused and decided to say one last thing: "ALL-BLUE is real."

Sanji felt a jolt in his chest.

He turned to look at Takumi, who was now walking away.

Had he ever told Takumi about ALL-BLUE?

How did that guy know...

Wait!

That night, Takumi had asked about his dream, and he might have mentioned it in passing.

That guy actually remembered!

"It looks like you've made a good friend," Garp said, coming up beside Sanji, grinning as he watched Takumi's retreating figure.

Sanji glanced at Garp, his previous frustration replaced by a smile. He nodded firmly, "Yeah!"

Takumi reached the deck on the first floor.

He informed Zeff about his departure.

Zeff didn't hesitate, ordering his cooks to prepare a small supply boat for him.

Looking at the supply boat, which was twice as large as his original small sailboat, Takumi jumped aboard without hesitation.

He activated the system's navigation and set sail for his next sign-in location.

He hadn't gone far when a voice called out from Baratie's deck.

"Takumi, next time we meet, I'll use the world's best ingredients to make you the most delicious dish! I promise!"

Garp's voice followed: "Even if we can't be comrades, we can still be friends. Next time we meet, let's eat some delicious donuts together, Takumi."

Zeff added, "Takumi, if you ever have nowhere to go, come back to Baratie. At least here, I can guarantee you'll never go hungry."

Takumi didn't reply or look back. He simply raised a hand in farewell.

Zeff and the others watched him sail away.

Just then, a cook came running out from the restaurant, looking panicked. "Boss, something's wrong! There's a big hole in the second-floor deck!"

"What?" Zeff's eyes widened as he turned to Sanji, "What happened?"

Since only Sanji, Takumi, and Garp had been upstairs earlier, Sanji turned away, mumbling, "It was Vice Admiral Garp who did it..."

"Eh?" Garp pointed at himself, laughing awkwardly, "Was it really me?"

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