Outside the restaurant in New Moon Village, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows.
Pedro pulled Wanda and Libo under a large tree, his expression serious as he lowered his voice.
“Listen to me, the Marine aren’t heroes at all!
They are the World Government’s army, specifically for catching pirates!”
“Pirates?” Wanda tilted her head, her fluffy tail wagging gently. “What are pirates?”
“They’re bad guys!” Pedro clenched his fist, trying to recall information Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had mentioned.
“They burn, kill, plunder, and commit all sorts of evil!”
“Then if the Marine catch bad guys, aren’t they heroes?” Libo blinked her pink eyes, asking innocently.
Pedro was momentarily speechless, his ears twitching unconsciously. “Uh… well, I heard that even adventurers were…”
“Hey! Pedro.” At this, Wanda’s expression darkened. “You wouldn’t like pirates who burn, kill, plunder, and commit all sorts of evil, would you?”
“No! Wanda.” Pedro quickly waved his hands. “I… I…” Pedro, who had tangled himself in his own words, was a bit speechless.
“Even though Libo-chan was treating, Gern still paid for the meal in advance!” Libo said, hands on her hips, feeling righteous.
“So, he’s clearly a good person! And you said the Marine are righteous.”
“Sister Libo, it’s not that simple!” Pedro scratched his ears in frustration.
“Boss Nekomamushi said that even though the Marine catch pirates, they also…”
“Also what?” Wanda pressed, her voice cold. She was now very suspicious that her friend had been led astray.
Pedro opened his mouth, but realized his understanding of the Marine was limited to a few scattered phrases.
So, after much stammering, he could only blurt out, “Anyway, they’re not good people!”
“Hmph!” Libo puffed out her cheeks and lightly tapped Pedro’s head.
“Nekomamushi and Inuarashi themselves ran off to adventure.
Now their lives are unknown, and you’re still listening to them? Do you want to sneak out too?”
“I…” Pedro covered his throbbing head, momentarily speechless.
“And!” Libo’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she jumped up excitedly.
“Gern can make carrots jump out of the ground by themselves!
How could someone so amazing be a bad person?”
“Carrots jumping out by themselves?!”
Wanda and Pedro were children after all, and hearing such a thing, they instinctively exclaimed in unison, their faces full of disbelief.
“Really!” Libo gestured wildly. “He just… like this…” She mimicked Gern’s movement, waving both hands.
“Then ‘whoosh,’ all the carrots popped out of the ground!”
“Popped out by themselves?” Pedro and Wanda exchanged glances, clearly astonished by this magical ability.
Wanda’s tail wagged excitedly. “So cool! I want to see it too!”
“Could it be a trick? There are people in town who do performances like that.”
Although Pedro still had doubts, Libo’s description made him curious.
“Absolutely not!” Libo said with absolute certainty. “He didn’t have time to prepare at all; it was sudden!”
Seeing Libo’s confident expression, Pedro hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed. “Alright… but if there’s anything wrong with him, we must tell the Elder immediately!”
“Don’t worry!” Libo patted her chest. “Sister Libo is very good at judging people!”
…
Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Gern leaned by the window, his gaze gently fixed on the three arguing outside, a slight smile playing on his lips, a deep glint in his eyes.
“Mokomo Dukedom… is indeed as naive as the rumors say.
A country like this, if it could become my aid…”
Thinking of this, a brief future plan appeared in Gern’s mind.
Using Mokomo Dukedom as an external force, leveraging the Mink Tribe’s powerful combat ability and loyalty, to provide more possibilities for his actions within the Marine.
Especially the Sulong form and the ability of the entire tribe to discharge electricity, they are simply a naturally born combat race.
Instead of being tricked by Nekomamushi and Inuarashi into trusting the useless father and son of the Kozuki family of Wano Country, it’s better to follow me!
Especially Momonosuke! He’s completely trash, he did nothing the whole time, relying entirely on Kin’emon (even going to beg Luffy was Kin’emon crying on his knees).
Even Kin’emon knew it was shameful to entrust his country to Luffy.
Yet, during the great war, he said, “We can only surrender.”
Later, when he saw Luffy was about to lose, he casually dismissed all of Luffy’s efforts with a light remark about misjudging “his strength.”
If Luffy hadn’t gone all out in Gear Five even when on the verge of death to liberate Wano Country, hehe…
Momonosuke, what right do you have?
He even claimed all the credit for liberating Wano Country without doing anything later on.
“Hehe, Kozuki Oden is already on Whitebeard’s ship. Now, calculating the time,
Momonosuke should be born in the next two or three years.” Gern withdrew his gaze and lightly tapped the table.
Let’s not think about this annoying matter for now. What needs to be done now is… to first gain the trust of the Mink Tribe,
Especially straightforward young people like Libo.
Just then, the restaurant door was pushed open, and Libo skipped in,
Followed by a curious Wanda and a still wary Pedro.
“Gern!” Libo shouted excitedly, “Pedro and Wanda want to see how you make carrots jump out too!”
Hearing Libo’s words, Gern smiled slightly and stood up. “Haha, of course.”
As he spoke, Gern extended his hand, and faint vibrating particles condensed in his palm. Then he gently pressed them into a flowerpot in the corner by the window.
Instantly, the roots of a few green plants suddenly loosened, and with a “pop,” they sprang out of the soil, landing steadily in Libo’s hand.
“Wow!” Wanda and Libo exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes wide.
“So cool!!” Although Pedro tried to act calm, his twitching ears betrayed his shock.
“I can do more than just make carrots jump out, you know.” Saying this, Gern directly looked at the water glass on the table.
Then, from a distance, he injected a small amount of vibration waves into the water glass, causing it to disintegrate silently,
And while the glass shattered, the water maintained its original form under the influence of the vibrations.
“This…”
This trick was much more impressive than vibrating carrots, directly captivating Pedro, Wanda, Libo, and the other Mink Tribe members in the restaurant!
“This is just a small trick.” Gern smiled modestly. “If you like, I can teach you something even more amazing.”
As he spoke, Gern directly activated Armament Haki on both hands, and a black sheen shimmered in the eyes of the three.
“Really? As hard as iron.” Libo excitedly grabbed Gern’s arm. “Libo wants to learn!”
“Sister Libo!” At this, a worshipful Pedro finally reacted and couldn’t help but speak out a reminder,
But Libo was completely immersed in joy and couldn’t hear him at all.
Gern looked at Pedro and smiled, “Pedro, I know you have concerns about the Marine.
But I assure you, I am only here to make friends, with absolutely no ill intent.”
Pedro stared into Gern’s eyes, trying to find a hint of falsehood, but Gern’s gaze was open and firm.
Finally, Pedro nodded slightly. “I believe you.”
“Of course.” Gern extended his hand. “We can start as friends.”
Pedro firmly grasped Gern’s hand, then suddenly leaned closer and whispered,
“Also… also, I want to learn that trick of yours too.”
…
Meanwhile, the other Mink Tribe members in the restaurant also came forward.
“Um…” A goat-Mink Tribe member wearing a straw hat suddenly darted out from the corner of the restaurant, “Could you also help with my potato field…?”
“And my carrot field!” An elderly rabbit-Mink Tribe woman tremblingly raised her hand. “It’s really hard for my old bones to bend down…”
“My cabbage…”
“My onions…”
In a flash, all the Mink Tribe members in the entire restaurant surrounded them, clamoring with requests.
Libo was pushed aside, stomping her foot in frustration. “Hey! I met Gern first!”
Gern looked at the group of fluffy residents frantically rubbing their faces to show friendliness, and couldn’t help but laugh as he raised his hands, signaling for quiet. “Everyone, one by one.”
“I’m willing to pay!” The goat-Mink Tribe member pulled out a few shiny metal pieces.
“I can exchange with the best carrots!” The elderly rabbit-Mink Tribe woman brought out a basket of bright red carrots.
Gern shook his head and smiled gently. “No payment needed, this little thing is easy for me.”
Perhaps… in this simple country, establishing true friendship, honesty is more important than any plan.