Thirty minutes later.
"Blegh!"
The scarred Marine leaned against the ship's rail, puking his guts out, looking like he was about to collapse.
And in the center of the deck, Tatsuki was already surrounded by piles of Berries he had won, along with a stack of IOUs. At his feet, the giant rum barrel was empty.
"Who... who else?!"
Tatsuki's face was flushed red, and his eyes were glazed. He looked like he was about to fall over at any moment. But only he knew that this was all acting.
The Storm-Storm Fruit's power was operating silently, quickly vaporizing the alcohol entering his stomach and expelling it through his pores. Aside from the strong smell of booze on him, he was clearer-headed than anyone else.
"I don't accept this... this kid's luck is too good..." An old soldier muttered incoherently, slumped over the table with a handful of bad cards still in his hand.
"Luck?"
Tatsuki sneered inwardly as he counted the money.
This is skill!
[Ding! The host engaged in mass gambling while on duty and set a trap to win money from colleagues!]
[Gained Violation Points: 500!]
[Ding! The host took the lead in binge drinking, seriously damaging the military image!]
[Gained Violation Points: 200!]
[Ding! Established a "God of Gamblers" image, corrupting the atmosphere of the entire warship!]
[Gained extra reward: Violation Points +500!]
The system notifications kept chiming, and Tatsuki's mood was at an all-time high.
"Kyahahahaha!"
Garp, who had been sitting in the main seat watching the show, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into a hearty laugh.
"Interesting! So interesting!" Garp tossed the last piece of senbei into his mouth, his eyes full of appreciation.
He liked the strong, and he liked interesting people.
Tatsuki had the strength to overturn the entire Elite Camp and with this kind of reckless attitude that allowed him to mingle with anyone, he was simply tailor-made for Garp's ship.
He stood up, and a terrifying aura instantly erupted, silencing the entire area.
Garp grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth. "Since everyone is so happy, let's have a banquet!"
"ROAR!!!"
The Marines, who had been depressed about losing money, were instantly revived the moment they heard the word "banquet," raising their glasses and meat with beast-like roars.
...
As the night deepened, the sea breeze dispersed the smell of alcohol and meat, and the deck was covered with Marines who had passed out in various positions.
Tatsuki declined the invitations from several old soldiers who wanted him to "sleep side-by-side" and walked to the bow of the ship alone.
The sea breeze blew away the scent of alcohol from his body and brought with it the unique chill of the ocean at night.
He counted tonight's harvest—one hundred thousand Berries in cash, three hundred thousand in IOUs, and nearly three thousand Violation Points.
"This life has prospects."
Tatsuki lit a cigarette and took a deep breath. However, when he rounded the giant main turret and reached the very front of the bow, his footsteps suddenly halted.
A man was standing there quietly, gazing out at the pitch-black sea in the distance. His figure was upright, yet it exuded a sense of loneliness and melancholy that was completely out of place on this ship. It was a heavy aura, as if he were carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.
Tatsuki's brow quirked slightly.
There was actually someone with this kind of vibe on this ship?
That melancholy and heavy aura was incredibly out of place with the wild and unrestrained atmosphere on Garp's warship.
Tatsuki's curiosity was piqued. He took a bottle of expensive-looking wine from the arms of a fallen Marine nearby and walked over slowly.
"Blowing in the cold wind all by yourself, why not have a drink?" Tatsuki's voice wasn't loud, just enough for the other party to hear.
Hearing the sound, the man slowly turned around.
When his face was fully exposed to the moonlight, Tatsuki's pupils constricted sharply, and his heart skipped a beat.
It was a young face but one written with stories, with sharp features and eyes as deep as a bottomless abyss.
The most eye-catching thing was the red tattoo on his left face, burning like fire.
Monkey D. Dragon!
The future Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, designated by the World Government as the "World's Worst Criminal," Garp's biological son, and Luffy's father.
Holy shit!
A storm instantly erupted in Tatsuki's mind.
How could he be on this ship?
Calculating based on the timeline, Dragon was indeed still serving in the Marines during this period, but because his ideas were too radical and he deeply detested the internal corruption of the Marines, he had been in a state of being depressed and unappreciated.
It was said that his temperament changed drastically after the God Valley Incident, but Tatsuki never expected that he would actually run into this future super big shot on Garp's ship.
Tatsuki's heart pounded wildly, not from fear, but from extreme excitement.
Fooling Sakazuki only made his thinking more extreme.
But if he could fool this future leader of the Revolutionary Army, the Violation Points generated...
Tatsuki's face instantly switched to that trademark sincere smile, brighter than sunlight.
He seemed completely unfazed by the unique tattoo on Dragon's face and naturally handed over the wine in his hand.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to check on your post." Tatsuki shook the bottle, the liquid making a crisp sound inside.
"I just saw you standing here alone, looking like you have a lot on your mind. I just arrived on this ship and wanted to find someone to chat with and get to know a new colleague."
Dragon's eyes were full of vigilance and aloofness.
He knew Tatsuki.
Or rather, in the recent Marineford, there was no one who didn't know this name. The monster rookie who swept through the entire Elite Camp by himself, rejected a top-tier Logia fruit, and then went to the North Blue to pull off the feat of confiscating family properties.
In Dragon's impression, such a person was either an ambitious man or a lunatic.
"I have nothing to talk about." Dragon's voice was low and raspy, carrying a coldness that kept people away, as he turned to leave.
"Is that so?"
Tatsuki didn't mind, unscrewing the bottle cap on his own as a mellow wine aroma instantly diffused.
"I thought that for the son of the 'Marine Hero' Vice Admiral Garp to be so worried, it must be something extraordinary."
Dragon's body stiffened suddenly, and a flash of severity crossed his deep eyes.
Although his identity was not a secret in the Marines, few people dared to point it out directly to his face.
"You investigated me?" Dragon turned around, his tone icy.
Tatsuki didn't reply, walking straight to the ship's railing, looking at the churning black waves below, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat ethereal.
"I heard Borsalino mention in a casual chat that you've been to many allied nations on missions as an escort officer? Even... you were present at that God Valley Incident a few years ago?"
Hearing the words "God Valley," Dragon's pupils contracted violently.
That was the beginning of his nightmare.