Just as the bullet was about to hit Sanji...
A single chopstick suddenly appeared, striking the side center of the bullet with incredible precision, knocking it off course. It grazed Sanji's hair and embedded itself in the wooden wall behind him.
"Oh ho, so you're actually a kind-hearted one." Garp said with a smile, looking at Lin Mo, who now had only one chopstick left.
Lin Mo used the last remaining chopstick to pick up the final fried dumpling on his plate, took a bite, chewed slowly, and swallowed it.
The man leading the group, angry at the interruption, shouted, "Who did that? Whose chopstick was that? Step forward, now!"
Lin Mo finished his breakfast with a sip of wine, then hung the wine gourd back on his waist.
He stood up and began walking step by step toward the front entrance where the group of pirates stood.
"Ah, what is that kid trying to do?"
"Don't go over there! They're vicious pirates—they'll kill you!"
"Kid, sit back down!"
Voices of worry filled the air around him from the other patrons.
Lin Mo, as if he hadn't heard any of them, continued walking forward.
Garp, still smiling, watched Lin Mo.
He wasn't worried about Lin Mo in the slightest.
In fact, it was the pirates who were in trouble.
"Brother Strong, let me take care of this brat!" a pirate wearing a blue headband said, grinning wickedly as he charged at Lin Mo with a machete.
Lin Mo casually sidestepped the clumsy, flawed attack with ease.
"Damn it! You're dead meat, brat!" The headbanded pirate gathered his strength and lunged at Lin Mo again with full force.
Lin Mo dodged lightly a couple more times, then countered with a swift knifehand strike to the pirate's back, knocking him to the ground.
The man called "Brother Strong" squinted his eyes and noticed the wooden sword hanging from Lin Mo's waist. He sneered, "You little punk, pretending to be something you're not—I'll send you straight to hell today!"
With that, Brother Strong raised his gun and fired several shots at Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo, watch out! Get out of the way!" Sanji shouted anxiously.
Lin Mo used Shunpo (Flash Step) to dodge all the bullets with ease, and in a blink appeared right in front of Brother Strong, kicking both his knees.
Losing his balance, Brother Strong fell to the ground.
"Damn you, brat! Do you know who I am?" Brother Strong roared, jumping up from the floor. "Men, get him! I want this brat dead and buried!"
"Yes, Brother Strong!"
The restaurant instantly became chaotic.
A swarm of pirates rushed at a boy no older than ten.
Lin Mo remained calm as he watched them come.
He loosened up his legs.
Then, using only basic attacks, he swiftly and accurately struck the pirates' waists, chests, ribs, and other vulnerable areas.
Soon, the group of pirates were all lying on the floor, writhing in pain.
Lin Mo glanced indifferently at the defeated enemies scattered on the ground.
He stepped past them and headed toward the exit. Just before walking out, he left them with one sentence:
"If you strike the right spot, you can bring down your enemy even without great strength."
There was a moment of silence.
Then the whole restaurant erupted in cheers.
"Wow! That kid was amazing! He beat all those pirates by himself!"
"Maybe those pirates were just weak, haha. Still, the kid's got some skill."
"But what did he mean by that thing he said before he left?"
"No idea—but that was awesome! Hahaha..."
Garp had initially wondered why Lin Mo didn't just use his sword or the powerful leg techniques he'd shown the previous day against Zeff, but instead used ordinary kicks.
Then he noticed Sanji, standing by the stairs, trembling slightly.
Recalling Lin Mo's final words before leaving, Garp immediately understood: "This kid's pretty interesting."
Sanji wasn't shaking from fear.
He knew Lin Mo's last sentence had been meant for him.
Understanding the meaning behind those words had moved him so much, it made him tremble.
As soon as Lin Mo boarded his small ship, the system prompt sounded in his mind:
Ding ding! Guided Sanji in kicking technique. Sign-in progress +20%. Current total: 70%.
As expected, no reward yet.
But that was fine—only 30% to go. Looks like the mission at Baratie was going smoothly.
Lin Mo untied the rope that had been keeping his boat docked.
Then he continued sailing toward the Calm Belt.
That evening.
When he returned, the small military boat that had been there earlier was gone.
Which meant—Garp had left.
One annoying guy gone—Lin Mo felt rather pleased.
He tied up his boat properly.
Then tossed a giant octopus he had brought back to the kitchen.
Just as he was about to leave, a group of chefs led by Patty blocked his way at the kitchen entrance.
Patty smiled and said, "Lin Mo, the boss said you're just staying at Baratie temporarily. I think you've got some real skills. Why not stick around and work here long-term?"
"No," Lin Mo said flatly. "I can't cook."
"No worries, we can teach you."
"Yeah, yeah! Even though we didn't see your moves, if Patty is praising you this much, you must be awesome."
"Just stay, man. You don't seem to have anywhere else to go anyway."
…These guys… what the heck?
Lin Mo sighed. "I'm a traveler. I've got many places to go. I'm not going to settle down anywhere, and I'm not interested in being a chef. Instead of wasting time trying to keep me, why don't you all focus on improving your own cooking?"
"What? You're turning us down that bluntly?"
"You could at least be a little more polite…"
"Hey! What are you all doing? Are the customers' orders done yet?" Zeff's voice suddenly called from outside the kitchen.
The group of chefs scattered like mice, hurrying back to their stations.
Zeff, expressionless, looked at Lin Mo. "Come with me."
Lin Mo calmly followed him out to the deck.
After a brief silence, Zeff said, "Thanks for what you did this morning."
"No problem," Lin Mo replied calmly.
"And about Sanji—that was you, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know why you'd help that brat… but still, thank you."
"It's nothing."
"Heh." Zeff chuckled. "I heard everything they said to you earlier. You really have no intention of staying?"
"None," Lin Mo answered directly.
"Garp's already left. So when do you plan to go?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment and said, "Soon."
Just as he finished speaking—
At the stairway.
A chef who had just gone down to serve food came rushing back up in a panic.
Seeing Zeff right there, he said urgently, "Boss! Bad news—Don Krieg has arrived with fifteen pirate ships!"
"What?" Zeff frowned slightly.
"He says he's here to settle a score with Sanji and Lin Mo!"
"Hmph! How bold!" Zeff's face darkened. "Let's go—I want to see what kind of nerve this Krieg has to cause trouble at Baratie!"
In Lin Mo's memory, Don Krieg and Zeff were supposed to meet ten years later, when Luffy came to Baratie.
Why were they meeting now?
Just as he was about to head downstairs too, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention—a pirate ship approaching Baratie across the water.
That…
Lin Mo stared in surprise at the pirate flag flying from the ship.
A skull with a cross of two bones behind it—and an upward-curving crescent-shaped mustache...
Isn't that the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates?