10,000 Berries is quite a hefty sum in the world of pirates, especially for an average family.
Clearly, it wasn't going to cost that much to repair the wall that Zeff had shattered.
Lin Mo, back when he was in Windmill Village and Shimotsuki Village, would hunt in the nearby valleys and then trade what he caught for money to buy some alcohol.
He never exchanged too much, just enough to last him for a while.
So, right now, he had less than a thousand Berries on him. Far from enough to pay Zeff's outrageous demand of 10,000 Berries.
At this moment…
In the kitchen nearby…
A few cooks heard the noise from the hallway and quickly ran out.
When they saw Zeff covered in wood shavings with some scratches on his face, looking somewhat disheveled, they immediately became angry.
"Boss, are you okay?"
"Huh? What happened? Who did this to you, boss?"
"Dammit! Who dares hurt our boss? They won't get away with this! Who did it? I'll go deal with them!"
"Enough!" Zeff shouted at the cooks, "I'm fine, just go back to the kitchen and serve the customers!"
"But, boss, you're hurt! Let me get you the first aid kit!"
"Boss, who did this? Tell us, we won't let them off the hook!"
The cooks still weren't willing to return to their duties.
"It was him." Sanji pointed at Lin Mo, who looked like he had nothing to do with the situation, "He did it, I saw it with my own eyes!"
The cooks all looked at Lin Mo.
After a moment of silence, they burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, Sanji, are you kidding? That kid is about the same age as you, right? He hasn't even grown any hair yet, how could he hurt the boss?"
"Yeah, that kid? I could flick him away with one finger, Sanji, you better get your story straight before making such claims. Hahaha!"
"Hey, hey, I'm telling the truth!" Sanji said angrily, "Old man, tell them, he was the one who knocked you out!"
Zeff's face darkened, and he shouted, "You idiots, if you don't get back to work, get out of Baratie!"
At that, the cooks started to get nervous and quickly ran back to the kitchen to get back to work.
"And you!" Zeff glared at Sanji, "If you don't want to be fired, get back and start washing the dishes!"
"Huh?" Sanji was surprised. Despite the complaints in his heart, he could only obey.
No matter what, he couldn't leave Baratie! He couldn't leave Zeff!
Clenching his fists, Sanji returned to the kitchen and began washing the dishes under Zeff's orders.
In an instant, the hallway was left with only Zeff and Lin Mo.
"Hey, kid," Zeff said, brushing off the dust from his clothes, his face emotionless, "If you can't pay the 10,000 Berries for the damage, then you'll have to work for it."
"No," Lin Mo immediately rejected him.
He wasn't about to work for anyone.
Zeff frowned slightly. "If you don't want to stay, then pay the full compensation!"
Lin Mo pulled out two money pouches, each containing 300 Berries, and tossed them to Zeff. "This should be enough for the repairs."
Zeff stared at the two pouches in his hands, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You damaged my ship. How much you pay is up to me. If I say it's not enough, then it's not enough. Since you're just a kid, I'll let you off easy. Stay here and work for two months, and then I'll let you go."
The situation at Baratie was a bit special. The cooks were all battle-hardened people.
Pirates often came here to eat and cause trouble, so the cooks frequently fought with them, and many who came to work here were scared off.
There were always many customers at Baratie, but with too few staff, everyone was kept busy.
Therefore, Zeff's goal wasn't really to get that much money; he wanted Lin Mo to stay and help out.
Lin Mo, of course, realized this.
He wasn't going to play into Zeff's hand.
"No," Lin Mo rejected again.
At that moment, a prompt sound from the system echoed in his mind.
Ding! "You have rejected Zeff's work offer. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 20%. Reward: New skill—Night Kai Lv1."
Night Kai!
Lin Mo's eyes flashed, his heart tightening with joy.
He knew that interacting with Zeff would complete his sign-in task.
But he hadn't expected the system to grant him a new skill.
A skill from Naruto—the one that almost kicked off the final arc!
Night Kai is the ultimate technique from the Eighth Gate of the Eight Gates of the Chakra—a technique so powerful it could twist space itself when executed with full strength!
This skill was incredibly powerful.
But the downside was that it required burning life force to use.
Lin Mo was concerned about this.
He couldn't help but ask in his heart: System, will using Night Kai burn my life force?
Ding! "No, it won't burn your life force. For levels below Lv6, it has no adverse effects on the host. After Lv6, using Night Kai will consume a significant amount of chakra and stamina each time."
Hearing that, Lin Mo felt slightly relieved.
Zeff saw that Lin Mo hadn't said anything and had an odd expression on his face, as if something had made him especially happy.
"Hey, kid!" Zeff said, annoyed, "What are you doing? Are you even listening to me? Do you really think you're in a position to negotiate with me?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Lin Mo calmed himself down.
He looked up and gave Zeff a cold glance, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "Still the same answer, I refuse."
Zeff took a deep breath and attacked again. "Dammit, kid, a man needs to admit his mistakes and take responsibility for them. I'm only asking you to work for two months!"
"I refuse!"
This time, Lin Mo didn't dodge.
Instead, he took the initiative and rushed toward Zeff.
As Lin Mo charged, a faint red steam began to emanate from his body.
Just as they were about to collide…
A kick was thrown.
Lin Mo's foot slammed into Zeff's prosthetic leg.
Although it was a prosthetic, the damage it could cause with its leg techniques was not insignificant.
In fact, when Lin Mo's body began to emit steam, Zeff immediately sensed something was off.
In his time on the Grand Line, he had met people who gave him a sense of threat due to their strength.
But those people were all over 20 years old.
Yet here, he felt a hint of danger coming from a mere kid.
At this point, it was too late for Zeff to retract his leg.
Their legs collided, locking for three full seconds.
Then, both of them bounced back and retreated several steps.
Zeff had used only 30% of his power.
But for most people, 30% of Zeff's strength would be enough to send them flying.
"Kid, who exactly are you?" Zeff frowned, "What's the name of that technique you just used?"
Lin Mo casually stretched his right leg, nonchalantly replying, "Night Kai."
"Huh?" Zeff said, "That's the name of your move?"
Lin Mo nodded. "Mm."
Zeff was taken aback for a moment. "What a weird name for a technique..."
But weird or not, this kid in front of him had certainly earned his respect.