Aokiji's sudden arrival didn't surprise Lin Mo or Rayleigh in the least.
It was the tavern owner, especially upon hearing that Aokiji was a Marine, whose face had turned pale as a ghost.
When Aokiji asked for sherry, the tavern owner didn't even react at first.
His mind was preoccupied with what to do—he didn't want Rayleigh to get caught.
Seeing that the tavern owner didn't respond, Aokiji repeated, "Boss, can you hear me? I'd like a glass of sherry, please."
"Ah!" The tavern owner suddenly snapped to attention, his face instantly sour, and he spoke with a displeased tone, "We don't have sherry here! If you want some, go to another tavern in town!"
"Oh, you don't have it?" Aokiji scratched his head, his gaze drifting to the rum that Lin Mo was drinking, then continued, "Then give me a bottle of the same drink this kid is having."
The tavern owner clenched his fists, angry, "I told you, we don't have any! Whatever alcohol you want, we don't have it! Since noon, this tavern has been booked by Mr. Rayleigh and young Lin Mo. All the alcohol here belongs to them, and I'm not selling a drop to you! If you understand, get out of here immediately!"
"Why are you so upset?" Aokiji said with a helpless tone. "I just want to drink. Since the place is already booked, there's nothing I can do."
"Boss, give him a bottle," Rayleigh said indifferently.
The tavern owner was in disbelief, "Mr. Rayleigh, he's the Marine who's after you, why are you letting him drink?"
Rayleigh waved his hand, "It's fine, it's fine. Even if he does want to catch me, he still has to see if he can do it, hahahaha."
"..."
The tavern owner was caught in a dilemma.
Aokiji continued, "Don't worry, I'm not here to capture Rayleigh. Although, I am surprised to run into him here."
Actually, what surprised him more was that Lin Mo was with Rayleigh.
The tavern owner sighed and shook his head, then took a bottle from the shelf and placed it in front of Aokiji.
Aokiji opened the bottle and took a sip.
His gaze turned to Lin Mo, and he spoke again, "I didn't expect that you knew Rayleigh. Maybe Smoker's worries will come true after all."
Smoker's worry was that Lin Mo would refuse to join the Marines and eventually join the pirates.
Lin Mo sighed, "Don't worry, it won't happen."
"Humans are the most fickle species," Aokiji took another sip and continued, "Even you can't make choices for your future self right now. After all, no one can guarantee what your circumstances will be like in the future."
Lin Mo understood the logic.
So what?
Let's not even talk about how the system he was bound to—the Traveler System—had already limited his choices.
Even without the system, with his personality, he wouldn't join either side.
Some things would never change.
Lin Mo chuckled lightly and replied, "I know what I'm doing. Whether it's the Marines or the pirates, I'm not interested, not now, and not in the future. Whether you believe me or not, it's none of my business, and I don't need to explain much to you."
"Hehe." Aokiji smiled and asked, "You really don't want to consider joining the Marines?"
"I'm not considering it."
Just as Lin Mo finished speaking, a system prompt sounded in his mind.
'Ding! Rejected the invitation from Marine Admiral Aokiji, Sign-in Progress +10%, Current Total Progress: 60%, Reward: Armament Haki Level +1, Current Armament Haki Level: Lv5.'
Immediately, Lin Mo felt a surge of strength within him.
The increase in Armament Haki level didn't make anyone around him notice, so neither Aokiji nor Rayleigh realized that he had become stronger.
Interesting.
Lin Mo couldn't help but chuckle.
When he interacted with Shanks and Garp before, they invited him a few times before the progress was triggered. Aokiji, however, seemed to casually ask, and it immediately triggered the progress.
Indeed, seeing isn't always believing.
"Oh, well, never mind then." Aokiji wasn't like Garp, who would pester and even play tricks. Since Lin Mo didn't want to, Aokiji let it go.
He silently took another sip of his drink and continued, "I'm not capturing you now, but that doesn't mean I won't later. I promised Smoker that I would help him on Roger's memorial day. If you do anything suspicious, I won't hesitate to capture you."
Rayleigh laughed, "Hahaha, I'm just here to pay respects to Roger. After that, I'll leave. Don't worry, unless it's something I absolutely must do, I won't make any trouble, hahaha."
"That's for the best." Aokiji finished his last sip of alcohol, preparing to leave.
"Don't you want to drink a few more bottles before you go?" Rayleigh asked with a smile.
Aokiji waved his hand, "No, I still need to give Garp a call."
Lin Mo: "..."
Lin Mo finally understood why Aokiji had specifically come to this tavern.
It seemed like Garp was behind this...
That old fox, even though he wasn't here, still found a way to cause trouble...
After Aokiji left the tavern, he called Garp.
On the other end of the line.
Garp hurriedly asked, "So? Did that kid Lin Mo agree?"
Aokiji scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Heh, he refused."
Garp: "..."
Garp sighed, "Really, I knew this would happen. Oh well, let him be."
Aokiji continued, "By the way, when I went to the tavern to find Lin Mo, I saw Rayleigh."
"Eh? You're saying who?"
"Rayleigh, the Dark King."
"That guy is in Loguetown? Wait, why is he with Lin Mo?"
"I don't know, they seem to be drinking buddies." Aokiji scratched his head and continued, "Rayleigh said he retired from piracy, and Lin Mo clearly stated he wouldn't join either the Marines or the pirates. So, them being drinking buddies isn't so strange."
Garp: "..."
Garp: "Ah hahahaha, that seems to be the case, hahaha. As long as Lin Mo doesn't become a pirate, it's fine... Hey! Luffy, stop right there! What? You want to become a pirate? Damn, you and Ace can only join the Marines, there's no other choice!"
After hearing the sound of Luffy getting beaten up by Garp's iron fists, Aokiji hung up the phone.
Putting the Den Den Mushi back in his pocket, Aokiji yawned and lazily made his way to the Marine base in Loguetown.
Inside the tavern.
After Aokiji left.
The tavern owner finally let out a breath of relief. "Looks like this Marine named Aokiji is pretty easy to deal with. He seems much easier than Smoker. He even knows Mr. Rayleigh. He should at least be a Vice Admiral, right?"
Rayleigh, sipping his drink, casually said, "No, he's the Marine Headquarters Admiral."
The tavern owner froze for a moment, then exclaimed, "Eh? Marine Headquarters Admiral? Him?"
Rayleigh smiled and said, "Yep, but what you should be surprised about isn't that Aokiji's an Admiral."
The tavern owner, confused, asked, "Is there something more shocking than a Marine Admiral coming to Loguetown?"
Rayleigh looked at Lin Mo, who was still silently drinking, and smiled, "The fact that a Marine Admiral, the laziest one at that, personally came to invite Lin Mo to join the Marines, shouldn't that be more surprising?"