Lin Mo had originally thought that Garp had gone back to Windmill Village to find Luffy.
But, as it turns out...
That old fox actually returned to Baratie early in the morning with a net full of seafood!
Zeff was out on the deck with his chefs, repairing the outer board.
Seeing Garp return, he grumbled, "You're just in time. That guy's head is worth a few million Berries, but I don't need more than that. Just give me one thousand Berries and take that guy away."
Garp turned to look at the stiffened corpse nearby, scratched his head, and grimaced, "Who's that?"
Zeff, keeping a straight face, replied, "Krieg, the captain of that group that caused a ruckus here yesterday morning."
"Oh, oh, oh, I remember now," Garp bared his teeth and smiled. "Nice job, Zeff, one leg broken and you still managed to kill this notorious pirate. Hahaha, truly getting stronger with age."
Zeff: "..."
Zeff sighed, "It wasn't me who killed him."
"Huh?" Garp raised an eyebrow, "If it wasn't you, then who was it? Was it Lin Mo? Hahaha..."
"Yeah, it was him." Zeff grinned, looking all too pleased. "Last night, Marco came here. He saw Lin Mo kill Krieg in two moves with his own eyes. He even invited Lin Mo to join the crew."
"What?" Garp's face froze, his eyes wide open, "You mean Marco, the captain under Whitebeard?"
"That's right."
Garp's voice tensed, "Did that little brat agree to join him?"
Zeff shrugged, grinning mischievously, "Who knows? He's upstairs now. You can go ask him yourself."
"Damn it! I was the first to invite that brat!" Garp angrily tossed the net of seafood onto the deck and stormed toward the spiral staircase inside the restaurant.
Zeff watched Garp's retreating figure and added with a chuckle, "Oh, by the way, you should already know that Lin Mo has Conqueror's Haki."
Garp froze in his tracks.
Conqueror's Haki?
That brat actually has Conqueror's Haki!
Seeing Garp stop, Zhep continued, "You know, that brat's Conqueror's Haki is quite strong. He accidentally released it last night and knocked out both my people and Marco's."
Karp: "!" (Name is intentional 🤣)
Garp didn't stay to hear more. He immediately rushed upstairs.
Finding Lin Mo, he didn't say a word but threw a punch at him.
Lin Mo easily dodged the punch with Shunpo.
Garp swung his fist again. "Kid, you didn't actually agree to join Whitebeard's crew, did you?"
Lin Mo: "..."
"Why so quiet? Did you really agree to that idiot Marco?" Garp threw another punch.
"No!"
Lin Mo was getting annoyed.
He wrapped his fist in Lv3 Armament Haki.
No more dodging.
He punched out, clashing with Garp's iron fist.
Suddenly, a powerful shockwave spread from the point of impact.
Garp's eyes flashed with surprise.
Usually, when he used his Iron Fist to hit Luffy and Ace, he only used about ten percent of his strength.
Knowing Lin Mo's strength was impressive, he put in about thirty percent.
But...
He didn't land a hit.
In fact, Lin Mo blocked it!
This kid can use Armament Haki too!
With leg skills on par with Zeff and all three forms of Haki, he's also a swordsman.
How many more secrets is this kid hiding?
Garp grew more and more curious about Lin Mo.
Both pulled back their fists.
Just then, Lin Mo's system notification sounded in his mind.
Ding! "Engaged with Marine Hero Garp, progress +10%."
Ding! "Completed Baratie restaurant check-in mission. Congratulations, Host has unlocked Moonwalk and Storm Legs. Reward: Shunpo Lv+1, Night Kai Lv+1. Current Shunpo Lv: 3, Night Kai Lv: 2."
Moonwalk is one of the Six Powers, using strong leg strength to step on air and create a powerful levitation effect, allowing one to walk in mid-air like climbing stairs.
Storm Legs is another Six Powers skill, utilizing leg muscles to rapidly contract and expand, creating force, then kicking out quickly to compress the air, generating a vacuum-like attack that cuts through the opponent like a sharp slash.
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
With the new skills unlocked and upgrades to Shunpo and Night Kai, a powerful force suddenly spread from his feet.
He didn't move, but the deck under his feet cracked open with countless fine fissures, like a spider's web.
A loud 'crack' echoed.
The ground under Lin Mo and Garp collapsed, forming a large hole.
The two reacted quickly, jumping to the undamaged part of the deck.
Hidden in the nearby room, Sanji was watching the scene in shock.
"Huh?" Garp exclaimed in surprise. "Lin Mo, what did you do?"
Lin Mo stretched his legs and shook his head. "Didn't do anything."
Garp twitched his lips. "I don't buy that!"
Lin Mo didn't say anything more. He calmly walked past Garp.
Garp looked at him and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I'm leaving."
Since the check-in mission here was complete, it was time to go.
"What?" Garp was shocked. "You're leaving now?"
Garp hurried after him, saying, "Why don't you reconsider joining the Marines?"
Lin Mo firmly replied, "Not considering."
Seeing Lin Mo about to leave, Sanji snapped out of his shock and hurried after him.
"Lin Mo, are you really leaving? Are you leaving now?" Sanji asked, brow furrowed.
"Yeah." Lin Mo replied indifferently.
When they reached the downstairs restaurant, Sanji quickly ran ahead, blocking Lin Mo's path with his arms open. "You said you'd teach me leg techniques! You haven't even properly taught me yet. How can you leave now?"
Lin Mo: "..."
Lin Mo sighed, "When did I say I'd teach you?"
Sanji paused, thinking for a moment, and realized Lin Mo had never actually said that he'd teach him.
"But... but you didn't refuse, right?" Sanji said, looking all pouty.
Lin Mo glanced toward the deck, where Zeff was instructing the chefs to repair the boards. He said, "You already have a great teacher."
Sanji bit his lip, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
Lin Mo walked past him.
As they reached the restaurant door, Lin Mo stopped for a moment, thought about it, and then spoke. "ALL-BLUE really exists."
Sanji's heart skipped a beat.
He quickly turned to look at Lin Mo, who had already walked a bit farther away.
Had he ever told Lin Mo about ALL-BLUE?
No... he didn't think so.
Then how did Lin Mo...
Wait!
That night, Lin Mo had asked him about his dream, and he must have mentioned it then.
Lin Mo remembered!
"It looks like you've made a great friend." Garp grinned and walked up to Sanji, standing beside him as they watched Lin Mo's retreating figure.
Sanji turned to Garp, and the look of dissatisfaction and frustration on his face was replaced by a smile of acceptance. He nodded heavily. "Yeah!"
Lin Mo arrived at the deck on the first floor.
He immediately told Zeff he was leaving.
Zeff was surprisingly straightforward and had his chefs prepare a small wooden boat for purchases.
Looking at the boat, which was twice as large as his original small sailboat, Lin Mo didn't hesitate and jumped onto it.
He opened the system's navigation and set course for the next check-in destination.
Just as he was sailing away, Sanji's voice suddenly came from the Baratie deck.
"Lin Mo, next time we meet, I'll cook you the best meal with the best ingredients in the world! 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 good donuts together!"
Zeff added, "Lin Mo, if you ever have nowhere else to go, come back to Baratie. At least here, I can guarantee you won't ever go hungry."
Lin Mo didn't respond. He didn't even look back. He just waved his hand as he sailed away.
Zeff and the others stood on the deck, watching him leave.
At that moment, a chef rushed from the restaurant, looking anxious.
"Boss! Not good, there's a big hole in the second-floor deck!"
"What?" Zeff's eyes widened. He immediately turned to Sanji. "What happened?"
Since only Sanji, Lin Mo, and Garp had been upstairs...
Sanji turned his head, muttering, "It was Garp, the Admiral..."
"Huh?" Karp pointed at himself, confused and amused. "So, it was me?"
(Should I keep calling Garp, Karp? It's kinda fun 😂)