One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

Takumi had no interest in the commotion at the port. His focus was solely on capturing more bounty targets and beating Rayleigh!

Since he had accepted the challenge, losing wasn't an option.

However, the sixth bounty target he was tracking had unfortunately merged with the crowd heading toward the explosion at the port.

Without hesitation, Takumi followed.

As he blended into the crowd, getting closer to his target and preparing to strike, Rayleigh suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Right in front of Takumi, he swiftly knocked the target unconscious.

In a flash, Rayleigh had grabbed the man and disappeared into the crowd with lightning speed.

Before he vanished, Rayleigh shot Takumi a cheeky grin.

Takumi was left speechless.

He did that on purpose! Rayleigh definitely did that on purpose!

With no other option, Takumi started searching for a new target.

As he turned to leave, his gaze landed on a small alleyway. There, he spotted a familiar figure—Bartolomeo, clutching a sword as he looked around, seemingly searching for something.

Takumi's eyes locked onto the sword Bartolomeo was holding.

Isn't that the Sandai Kitetsu…? How did it end up in his hands?

Before Takumi could process this, Bartolomeo noticed him.

Their eyes met.

Bartolomeo's expression quickly turned from surprise to excitement.

Takumi sighed internally.

As expected, that guy was looking for him...

Seeing Bartolomeo approaching, Takumi wasted no time. He quickly darted away through the crowd, hoping to avoid getting entangled with Bartolomeo.

But no matter how fast Takumi was, in the unfamiliar streets of Loguetown, he soon found himself cornered in a narrow alley by none other than Bartolomeo.

Bartolomeo, holding the Sandai Kitetsu, blocked Takumi's path with an eager grin. "Finally! I've been looking everywhere for you, the guy who caught that bullet with his bare hands!"

Takumi didn't respond.

Bartolomeo, with a grand gesture, extended the Sandai Kitetsu toward him. "I noticed you seemed really interested in this sword at the shop earlier. You can have it!"

Takumi glanced at the Sandai Kitetsu that Bartolomeo was offering him.

Once again, he was speechless.

When had he ever shown that he was so attached to this cursed blade?

Seeing Takumi's silence, Bartolomeo continued, "Haha! I know you might feel bad about taking something for nothing. Don't worry, this sword is just a small gift. I'm Bartolomeo, and I'm officially inviting you to be my right-hand man!"

Takumi bluntly replied, "No thanks."

Without another word, he walked past Bartolomeo with a stoic expression.

"Huh?" Bartolomeo was momentarily stunned. He quickly caught up, once again blocking Takumi's path. "I'm the boss of three whole streets now. Stick with me, and I promise you'll be living the high life. No one would dare mess with you!"

Takumi didn't bother responding and once again walked past him.

Bartolomeo, clearly frustrated, angrily unsheathed the Sandai Kitetsu and pointed it at Takumi. "Hey! I'm being serious here! How could you just reject me like that!"

No sooner had he spoken than a shiver ran down his spine.

He hadn't intended to actually attack Takumi, but his body moved on its own, forcing him to swing the cursed blade at him.

"Wha—what's happening? My body… It's out of control! Hey, watch out!" Bartolomeo shouted as he swung the sword at Takumi.

With a simple sidestep, Takumi avoided the strike.

As Bartolomeo raised the sword to strike again, Takumi swiftly struck Bartolomeo's hand with a powerful knife-hand chop.

The intense pain forced Bartolomeo to release his grip, and the Sandai Kitetsu clattered to the ground.

At the same time, Bartolomeo's body returned to normal.

He looked at his hands, then at the fallen sword, a shudder running through him. "What the hell is this cursed sword? It made me attack him!"

Takumi coolly replied, "Only those with weak wills are controlled by the sword."

With that, he resumed walking.

Bartolomeo stared after Takumi's retreating figure in awe.

Scratching his head, he recalled how earlier that morning, Takumi had wielded the sword with ease, as if it were nothing.

The more he thought about it, the more his admiration for Takumi grew.

"As expected from someone I admire!" Bartolomeo clenched his fist in excitement. "Amazing! Someone like him is exactly the kind of person who should be my partner!"

As Takumi left the alley and returned to the main street, the system's notification echoed in his mind.

[Ding! You have gained Bartolomeo's admiration. Sign-in progress +10%. Current total progress: 30%. Reward: New skill—Fairy Sphere.]

Information about the Fairy Sphere skill quickly flooded into Takumi's mind.

Takumi stopped in his tracks.

The Fairy Sphere was a legendary super magic from Fairy Tail, capable of creating a wide-area, invincible protective barrier that could even freeze time within it.

It was an incredibly powerful defensive magic!

Takumi never imagined that he'd gain such a formidable skill from Bartolomeo.

This was definitely a win.

It seemed that guy was useful after all.

In a much better mood, Takumi prepared to resume his bounty hunting.

While he was reviewing the wanted posters, a tall man with curly hair, wearing a green visor and dressed in a white vest over a dark blue shirt, rode past him on a bicycle, a cold aura surrounding him.

Takumi instinctively looked up.

Even though the man had already cycled away, the distinctive hairstyle and outfit were enough for Takumi to recognize him.

It was Admiral Aokiji!

Rayleigh coming to Loguetown made sense—he was here to pay respects to Roger.

But why would an Admiral like Aokiji show up in Loguetown at this time?

Could he be here to meet with Smoker?

From what Takumi recalled, Aokiji and Smoker did seem to have a decent relationship...

Before Takumi could dwell on it any longer, the roar of a motorcycle engine caught his attention.

Smoker, riding his smoke-powered, amphibious trike, was rapidly approaching.

Aokiji and Smoker met up without issue.

The two of them stopped in the middle of the street and exchanged a few words.

Whatever they discussed, Takumi had no interest in. He was about to leave when—

Smoker suddenly spotted him.

Starting up his trike, Smoker sped toward Takumi, pulling a dramatic drift to block his path.

Takumi stared at him, exasperated.

With a cigar in his mouth, Smoker stared Takumi down. "Where do you think you're going, kid?"

Aokiji, having followed Smoker on his bike, stopped beside them. After giving Takumi a once-over, he turned to Smoker. "Smoker, what's with all the urgency? Did this kid do something?"

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