Tom got hit—slapped a few times by the fish he had just caught using his tail.
No one expected to see a cat slapped by a 60-70 cm fish in their lifetime. The slaps looked painful just to watch.
So the fish was grilled, which made Tom furious on the spot.
The elderly men found it amusing and handed over fish from their own buckets to Tom.
While watching Tom grill the fish, they chatted casually.
A plump old man asked, "Did you just mention Biznis?"
Bob replied, "You know him?"
"I've met him. He used to frequent my restaurant."
"You run a restaurant? Then how…" Zhang Da Ye wanted to ask why he didn't stick to work and went fishing early in the morning.
"There's nothing strange about that. Some of those guys run grocery stores, seafood shops, a milk station, and a clothing store—they all come out to play here."
Zhang Da Ye was surprised. He had bought cups, towels, and other items from their stores. The little girl who delivered milk daily, Miko, was the granddaughter of one of the old men.
"They mostly hand their shops to their kids and come out to have fun," Bob explained, urging, "If you know him, speak up."
The restaurant owner continued, "I only know he's a very successful businessman, polite to others, expected to soon add another merchant ship. But there are rumors he's done a lot of shady things behind the scenes."
Suspicion grew. Zhang Da Ye asked, "Where is he now? The civilian port at 44GR?"
"Usually docked nearby, but they seem to have set sail just yesterday."
Zhang Da Ye was speechless. Solid evidence—the guy must have realized something was off during the call and immediately fled.
Yet, a major business boss being so timid? Why not just bring a hundred or so thugs to capture him?
The restaurant owner kindly warned, "If you want to do business with him, be extra careful. This guy is probably a hundred times craftier than Old Bob."
"I spit. Who's crafty? Your restaurant charges are just greedy!"
"You don't get it. My restaurant is high-end, selling the environment, atmosphere, and service, got it?"
Two old men bickered. Four watched the show, grabbing grilled fish from Tom's cooking, exclaiming, "Delicious!"
When the fish reached them, even Bob and the restaurant owner stopped arguing. It really was too tasty. They could quarrel after finishing.
A few minutes later, the clothing store owner licked his fingers and said, "Brother, bring your cat here next time, pick any clothes you want from my store."
"Same here," chimed in the other owners.
"We'll come by when we have time," Zhang Da Ye said politely. "We have business to attend to now."
A joke—food shops letting them eat freely? That's asking for trouble.
These people seemed nice, so Zhang Da Ye decided not to take advantage.
Leaving 58GR, Zhang Da Ye planned to check the 44GR port and also visit 57GR to talk to the Scott brothers, who had caused trouble at the tavern before.
After gathering the needed information, they returned.
"Those three brothers were hired as well," Zhang Da Ye frowned. What kind of enemies are these?
"Biznis's ship set sail exactly around the time of the call," Artoria noted. His style suits an assassin—one failed strike and he disappears a thousand miles away. The hardest part isn't defeating him but locating him.
"What can we do then?" Zhang Da Ye had no idea. Once they've set sail, there's no way to find them.
"If we can't do anything, then don't do anything," Artoria said. "If he gives up, we can search slowly later. If not, next time he won't escape."
"Even hiring kidnappers, he won't give up easily. Next time, he might be a killer," Zhang Da Ye thought. The saying about how far a businessman would go for profit seemed applicable here.
"Or… Tom, can you make some kind of enemy detector? Track him worldwide," Zhang Da Ye suggested suddenly.
A question mark appeared over Tom's forehead. Did you misunderstand me?
"…Not possible? Fine, let's just buy ingredients to take home."
...
On the way back, Zhang Da Ye carried large and small bubble packs like helium balloons, mostly filled with ingredients, including the seafood Artoria had been longing for.
Suddenly, birds chirped, and dozens of papers rained down from above—news delivered by carrier gulls.
Hearing people's exclamations, Zhang Da Ye realized this was an extra edition.
Extra editions are temporary newspapers issued to report major events quickly. Here, carrier gulls deliver them for free.
The head of the World Economic News Agency, nicknamed Big News Morgans, is an ambitious journalist. He sometimes publishes biased news for money but also dares to defy the World Government for big news.
At this time, his newspaper was expanding, occasionally giving away free extras.
Zhang Da Ye caught a paper like everyone else:
"Former Navy Vice Admiral Borsalino, codename Kizaru, promoted to Admiral!"
After former Admiral Zephyr focused on training recruits, the Navy finally had a new Admiral.
The article briefly introduced Kizaru's career and achievements, including a photo from his promotion. The current Kizaru didn't yet look as sly as he would later, though still not very attractive.
The article boldly speculated that Kuzan and Sakazuki, also called "monster vice admirals," would soon become Admirals, bringing unprecedented strength to the Navy.
That's it? Zhang Da Ye thought something big happened. Is an Admiral's appointment worth an extra edition?
Hearing the cheers of those around him, he realized that for ordinary people, a stronger Navy means more safety. Another Admiral can deter pirates and discourage wannabe pirates.
Today, many might come to the tavern to celebrate. Busy day ahead.