One Piece: Adopting Akainu at the beginning, adopted son Barrett

Chapter 244 Three Steps in Life

Haiyuan calendar year 1493, half a year later.

East China Sea, near the doldrums.

The Calm Belt is a land ring that divides the four seas. It intersects with the sky ring of the Red Soil Continent, and together they divide the four seas.

The area in the middle of the doldrums is called the Grand Line, which is divided into the first half and the New World by the Red Earth Continent.

"Emperor of the Sea? Three Emperors, Morgause is really bold to say that, don't you think so, Mona?"

On a sloop, Barrett held a newspaper and asked the girl sitting on his shoulder, his tone full of longing and teasing, and his facial expression was not concealed at all.

He had long been accustomed to this appearance and did not hide anything he was thinking or feeling, nor was there any need to do so.

With the sea breeze blowing on her shoulders, Mona looked down at the headlines in today's newspaper. The pattern of the new world is now completely divided.

Led by Whitebeard Newgate and Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, they jointly cut off the two largest sea areas in the New World as their territories, and then the guerrillas led by Roger cut off the rest of the territories, forming an alternative situation of the two countries intersecting.

He completely established the power and status of the Pirate Emperor. Large swaths of islands and kingdoms in the New World were completely subjugated to him. He could indeed be called the Emperor of the Sea.

This is not only an explanation of the current situation of pirates, but also a recognition of the strength of the three emperors. Therefore, even if Roger has few territories at all, he is still classified as an "emperor".

It’s a pity that Shiki the Golden Lion is dead, otherwise the Four Emperors would have joined forces.

"So arrogant! Is Psy determined to go it alone? He's so supportive of Pirates, we may not see him at the next big party."

Mona just laughed twice and then joked that if the news was released in this way, even if his father invited the other party to a dinner, the brothers and sisters in the family would probably all roll their eyes at that birdman.

She herself doesn't care about pirates because she has never experienced what her brothers and sisters have experienced, but she also understands the evil and badness of pirates and would not be unable to kill them.

Moreover, as a favorite of everyone, understanding the general tendencies of family members is both instinctive and necessary.

After teasing Morgause, Mona noticed the change in Barrett's mood and expression, and said with a smile:
"Why, Barrett, do you want a famous title too? Then let's go to the New World, find some pirates to bully, and then come up with a famous title for Uncle Bird to promote!
Psy gave you the title of knight before, but to be honest, I don’t like this title very much, let’s just change it to something more appropriate!”

"I want to, but I don't need to. It's enough to be recognized by everyone."

Barrett expressed his thoughts bluntly, which made Mona, who had just become interested, put her hands on her face, looking unhappy.

Sometimes she herself couldn't figure out what attracted her to Barrett. He was a dull man with a blunt mouth, and he didn't have any of the mystery and fun that girls liked.

But... he seems to have his own unique charm.

"Forget it. If you don't want to think about it, then forget it. I've finished reading today's headlines. Next, next. I remember that every issue of Psy's news has interesting things. I like reading this part the most."

Mona smiled happily, then returned to normal and urged Barrett to get over the matter quickly and serve the main course.

The interesting things she talked about were some gossips on the sea. Perhaps it was because the little seagulls photographed by Morgans were harmless and very good at hiding, which led to them often recording many "interesting" things.

For example, an official from a world government went to amusement park to have fun, but ended up being framed by a trap set up by his rival, which not only made him look bad but also allowed his rival's rival to take over, and so on and so forth.

"Let me see. The new leader of the North Sea underworld, the twelve-year-old young master of the Donquixote family, the sea gangster Doflamingo?"

"A twelve-year-old gang leader? My sixth brother seems to like this. Wow, this is incredible. I'm afraid that Beihai, which has only rested for a few years, will be in chaos again. This guy must have a strong backing."

"I don't know. It's not in the newspaper."

Barrett was also a little surprised. Was he so powerful when he was only twelve years old?

As for the mafia, I've heard of it but never seen it. Judging from the name, it doesn't seem like a good organization, but it feels very cool.

Maybe it was because of this inexplicable feeling that Lucas liked this kind of thing? I just don't know what he will think after seeing this news.

Shaking his head to get rid of these thoughts, Barrett continued reading, muttering to himself about those exaggerated titles as he read:
"《Late-night exposure play, the way the nobles set the trend.》 Hmm, what is this?"

"You can't look at this! Tear it up, tear it up!"

Before Barrett could look down, Mona, with her face flushed red, summoned a little ghost and tore off that part of the newspaper, crushed it, and threw it into the sea in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, he secretly blamed Morgans.

Really, can this kind of adult content really be registered in newspapers? Didn't newspapers in the past not have this kind of content? Is Psy planning to change his career?

Barrett glanced at the strange Mona and scratched the back of his head, wondering why she was so excited.

With his knowledge of observation, he had actually already read through the content of just a few hundred words. It was just a simple activity of the king of an allied country, inviting the nobles to a late-night open-air banquet.

As a result, due to lack of preparation, a few ferocious beasts broke out from the open air and messed up the banquet. Several nobles were given extra meals. It was a little fun with a bit of blood.

He didn't understand, but he continued reading:
"The Rear Admiral was cheated on, and he chose...

"A kingdom of demons suddenly appeared in the sea. Should they be classified as a new species?"

"How many young hearts have been deceived by Bigmom's bounty photos when she was young?"

《Navy's Amazing Fun, "Yes, Mokasi is indeed my master, but can't I like him?"》"

"Um!?"

Mona was alert. Without waiting for Barrett's reminder, she floated down from his shoulder, put her head close to Barrett's chest, stretched it close to the newspaper, and began to read with her eyes wide open.

She first looked at the date. This was a piece of news that happened half a year ago, but she didn't know why it was only published by Morgause now.

The cause was that Gion, the adopted sister of Vice Admiral Tsuru of the Navy Headquarters and the flower of the contemporary navy, returned from studying outside. Not only did she become a rare swordsman, but she also started to get involved in beauty makeup, which was rare.

And Kake, the descendant of a naval admiral and her childhood sweetheart, arranged an elaborate confession.

Whether it is the flowers, candlelight, dinner, etc., everything is top-notch and cannot be faulted even in the aristocratic circle.

I thought this was an ordinary confession that would either start with agreement or end with rejection.

Until their conversation was recorded by a device on a seagull...

[“I’m sorry, Kaji, you’re a good person and my good friend, but I already have someone I like.” Faced with Kaji’s repeated confession, Gion did not refuse, but said something that was even more difficult for Kaji to accept than a rejection.

She...has fallen in love with someone else!
"That's great, Gion, I knew it... Wait! What did you say!?"

Kaji's originally confident figure suddenly became distorted. The extreme contrast made him look much darker. His mouth opened as if it was cracked, and his clear pupils became dilated.

After a long while, he trembled and asked:

“Who…?”

Kaji clenched his fists. Even though he already had the answer in his mind, he still didn't want to believe it.

Gion has only been following one man all these years, who else could she fall in love with?
"Ugh……"

Gion sighed and said the name without hesitation:
"Mokashi, who else could it be?"

"But isn't he your master? How could you? How could he do that? Ahem...how could this happen..."

Following Gion's words, Kake's heart finally died, tears flowed from his eyes, and he felt like he had lost all desire to live.

But Gion did not choose to comfort his friend who had trained and grown up with him during his youth. Instead, he rubbed salt into his wounds and said:

"Yes, Mokasi is indeed my master, but can't I like him? Who said that a master and an apprentice can't fall in love? Besides, he's not much older than me.

Jiaji, there is absolutely no possibility between us. You have such a good background, there is no need to hang on me. There are many girls in the sea for you to choose from, so why bother? "】

"Wow~ Uncle Mokasi is really awesome, and Uncle Bird is really something. I'm afraid you won't want to go to Cloud Island and Marinford anymore, right? You really offend people everywhere."

Mona laughed happily for a while after reading the newspaper. This guy named Kaji is probably famous all over the sea now, but it's probably not a good reputation.

Barrett nodded, then stared at Mona's face.

Fortunately, Mona likes me...

Although he was a dullard, he could see Mona's bold moves from time to time over the past six months. Even if he was stupid, he understood her intentions.

It’s just... he just didn’t dare to admit it, just like a cicada seeing the late autumn scenery for the first time. Even though it knew the wind and snow were coming, it could only sleep in the cold mud.

The soil that could be easily chiseled became another obstacle and shackle on his mind, as if he did not know how to use his own strength correctly.

He had long since let go of his past, but was still bound by it, unsure if he was truly worthy of... Mona's likes and love.

.........

Time passed quietly, and the sloop spent a whole day wandering in the sea near the doldrums, always lingering in the same area.

Nearing midnight, Barrett, who had been waiting for a whole day, finally spoke:
"Let's go, starting from Upside Down Mountain, we'll go to the Grand Line. I heard that each island there has four distinct seasons, which should be fun."

"Won't you wait a little longer?"

Mona sat next to Barrett, peeling an orange in her hand.

Barrett told her many things, including the reason why they were waiting here. It seemed that there was a kind of sea king that would appear in this area. This was a task assigned to Barrett by her father.

Find them, kill them, and take out an unknown object from their bodies.

Only on this point did Barrett rarely keep silent to her, and Mona did not delve into it. It might be something her father had warned her about, otherwise Barrett would not have been so harsh with her.

If that was true, then it would be wrong for her to pry too much into the matter, as it was immature.

"It's okay. Father said that this is just a side thing. Of course, your feelings are more important this time."

Barrett shook his head, stood up and began to control the direction of the sailboat. Even in the dark, he could still figure out the direction from the conditions on the sea.

Although he is not as good as a professional navigator, his powerful observation Haki makes up for it well.

Mona smiled, liking Barrett's answer.

"Eh~ so sour!"

Mona peeled the orange, took out a slice and put it in her mouth. Before she could swallow it, she spit it out because of the sour feeling. She even felt a hint of bitterness in it. It was obvious that the orange was about to go bad.

"Barrett, I'll buy the fruit next time. You really don't know how to choose..."

"Sorry, I thought they all looked similar, so I didn't think much of it."

Barrett, who was driving the boat, turned around and apologized, because they would be away for a long time this time, so they had to prepare the corresponding supplies in advance, especially fruits, which were the indispensable nutritional "gold" on the sea.

He was responsible for purchasing fruits for the trip, while Mona bought other necessities.

But I didn't expect that I would mess up and buy unfresh fruits. The owner of the fruit stall cheated me!

"Forget it, forget it. Come, try it. I'll feed you!"

Mona did not continue to blame, but rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked to Barrett with the remaining peeled orange, and handed it to the latter's mouth with a sly smile on her face.

This is a rare "delicacy". I have tasted it. As the culprit, Barrett must try it too, right?

On the opposite side, Barrett stared at the orange that Mona handed to his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to free up one hand to pick it up and then put it into his own mouth.

After tasting it, he felt that there was no special taste. It had a sour taste, but it was not obvious to him.

"Humph!"

Faced with Barrett's actions, Mona snorted in dissatisfaction, kicked Barrett's thighs twice with a little temper, then turned her back and ignored him.

She has hinted so clearly, why does Barrett always try to avoid it?
Sometimes I really don't know whether he is a real blockhead or a fake blockhead. This time when she came out with Barrett, she was ready to go back and be scolded by her father.

I don’t know when Barrett will be able to face his true self and take the last step in his life.

(End of this chapter)