After the meeting adjourned, Taro wanted to go back for a nap. Just as he turned back into the residential area, he saw Aokiji appear at the intersection.
He leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his coat draped over the crook of his arm, and his head slightly lowered.
Taro was stunned for a moment, not expecting Aokiji to seek him out, but he quickly reacted,
"Does the Admiral have business with me? Let's talk inside."
After sitting down in the room, Taro first poured a glass of wine for Aokiji, then poured one for himself, and then quietly waited for the other party to speak.
Aokiji picked up the wine glass, stared at it for a while, and asked softly, "You also like drinking sherry wine?"
Taro was taken aback. These words sounded somewhat familiar. He thought for a while before remembering that when he first drank with Teacher Zephyr, Zephyr had asked the same thing.
Teacher Zephyr had also mentioned back then that there was another fellow who loved drinking sherry wine. Could he have been talking about Aokiji?
"Yes, Admiral Kuzan!" Taro said solemnly.
After taking a sip, Aokiji became even more lethargic. "No need to be so formal, let's just chat casually."
The two had a less-than-pleasant encounter after the Enies Lobby incident, so Taro did not dare to be careless in the slightest. After giving a hum of affirmation, he picked up his wine glass and waited for the other party to speak.
"You're Teacher Zephyr's student, right? I am too, from the third class."
After Aokiji finished speaking, Taro still only nodded in response.
Zephyr's students were spread across the entire Marine; everyone knew that.
You, a dignified Admiral, specifically came to my door just to say this?
"You seem to be very wary of me?" Aokiji lightly tapped his forehead with a finger. "Why?"
Taro lowered his eyelids and thought for a moment. "Admiral, communicating like this is quite tiring. Please speak plainly; I will answer whatever I can."
Aokiji didn't expect Taro to be so straightforward. After being stunned for a moment, he became a bit more serious.
"Earlier at the Fleet Admiral's place, I asked if the Marine would win, and you didn't answer. Do you think the Marine won't win?"
Taro contemplated for a long time before raising his head to look at Aokiji. "No!"
"Even if we defeat Whitebeard, the Marine still won't have won?"
"Even if you kill him, the Marine still won't have won!"
"Then who will win? Blackbeard?"
"Yes!"
The two went back and forth with questions and answers, and communication became much smoother, yet it came to an abrupt halt. Aokiji stopped asking questions, and Taro stopped speaking, as they each drank their wine.
After a long time, Aokiji spoke again to break the silence. "I've been observing you since the first time you came to Marineford!"
A flash of surprise flickered in Taro's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.
"Oh? I wonder what the Admiral has observed?"
Aokiji stared at Taro again for a while. "When I first saw you, although your strength was decent, you actually hadn't been cultivating for long, had you?"
Taro remained noncommittal.
Aokiji didn't press him and continued,
"After that, your strength improved by leaps and bounds. What surprised me even more was that you don't seem to have a Devil Fruit ability!"
"And then?" Taro said indifferently.
"And then? Vice Admiral Taro, isn't all of this strange enough?" Aokiji tilted his head.
Taro sighed. "It is very strange, but there are too many strange things in this world! Mine is nothing special."
"What are you plotting in Alabasta?"
This question from Aokiji startled Taro, but he immediately calmed down.
"Plotting? No, I'm just participating in some reconstruction work. Teacher Zephyr is also involved in this."
"If you don't trust me, do you not trust Teacher Zephyr either?"
Hearing this, Aokiji fell silent for a long time before nodding. "It's precisely because of Teacher Zephyr that I didn't look deeper into the role you're playing in it."
Taro breathed a sigh of relief, his mind finally at ease.
"You're hiding a lot of things, Taro." Aokiji finished the last of his wine and stood up.
"However, based on the Marine's standpoint, you haven't done anything too out of line yet, so I won't do anything to you!"
"You... take care of yourself!"
After saying that, he walked straight out.
Holy crap, you come to my door to warn me and tell me to take care of myself?
Believe it or not, I'll give you a set of Five Consecutive Lightning Whips!
Taro curled his lip and watched Aokiji leave... "I told you, this ship isn't accepting visitors today. Go back now."
Having had enough sleep, Taro strolled leisurely to the pier. From a distance, he could hear Old Mike shouting a reprimand.
"I've also said that I'm not here for a visit. I want to see Taro. Hurry up and call him out!"
The person arguing with Mike was a Marine. His back looked very sturdy, and from the sound of his voice, he didn't seem very old.
Taro walked over. "What's wrong? What are you two arguing about?"
"Vice Admiral, this..."
Mike gave a salute, but as soon as he spoke, he was interrupted by that Marine.
"You're Taro?"
The Marine, who had his back to Taro, turned around and asked somewhat rudely.
Only then did Taro see the visitor's appearance clearly. It was indeed a youth. A bit of sparse beard had just started to grow around his mouth, but his build was tall and sturdy, and his face was handsome—especially his light blue eyes, which were sharp and bright.
"How bold! How dare you address the Vice Admiral by his name!" Mike was furious and was about to teach this youth a lesson.
The youth had an even fiercer temper and was about to draw his sword immediately.
Taro pressed down on his shoulder and then said to Mike, "It's fine. Let's talk on the ship."
Once the three of them were on the deck, Taro finally asked, "Alright, who are you? What do you want with me?"
The youth just stared fixedly at Taro without saying a word.
Taro understood and nodded to Mike, signaling for him to excuse himself first.
After Mike left, the youth finally spoke slowly.
"My name is Sherman, nicknamed 'The Lone Madman.' I've come this time to challenge you!"
Hearing the youth's introduction, Taro almost laughed out loud.
Sherman? That sounded like the name of a certain tank model from his previous life.
And that title, 'The Lone Madman,' sounded way too silly!
There's such a character in the One Piece world?
Taro thought for a long time but couldn't remember. Could he be a minor character who appeared in a movie?
'The Lone Madman' Sherman saw that Taro's gaze toward him was very strange and immediately became furious.
"Are you laughing at me? Are you?"
"No, definitely not," Taro denied with a straight face, but a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"I see you laughing! You're about to lose it!"
"Hahahaha!"
Taro could no longer hold it in and burst into loud laughter.
Sherman's eyes turned red. With a'shring,' he drew his sword and glared at Taro. "I want to duel with you!"
Taro was slightly stunned as he looked at Sherman's reverse-grip sword stance.
"Which unit are you from? Whose subordinate are you?"
As a hot-blooded youth, Sherman had been mocked by Taro and was in no mood to listen to his nonsense. With a swing of his right arm, he slashed his sword horizontally toward Taro.
Taro lightly tapped with his right index finger. Blue-black Armament Haki enveloped his fingertip, striking the center of Sherman's sword blade and sending him stumbling back several steps.
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