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

Chapter 50 Something worth leaving behind

I ate lunch with a strange mood.

Barrett ate three servings in a row before stopping. It was the most delicious and filling meal he had ever had.

Only the children in the cafeteria looked at him in surprise, wondering how he could eat so much food.

Some young men and women looked at him with envy, while others looked at him with curiosity.

But none of them were malicious, just like the first time he stepped into the young soldiers' barracks.

Everyone is so curious about why he is so strong.

This made Barrett feel worried and scared. He didn't want similar things in his memory to happen again. He just wanted to be an ordinary tool, even if he could stay in a similar time forever and watch everything quietly, that would be enough to make him feel satisfied.

"Here, have some Coke."

Tokos kindly handed over a bottle of Coke.

Barrett reached out and took it without any words of thanks or courtesy, because he was already used to it.

Take what others give you, this is the truth he learned when he was in the orphanage, otherwise he will lose even the insignificant things.

He opened the bottle cap clumsily, and the gas rose slightly, soaking his rough hands with bubbles.

"Gulu gulu gulu"

After finishing the drink in one gulp and casually touching the corner of his mouth, Barrett put the empty bottle and lunch box neatly in place, then sat silently beside Tokos.

The silent words seemed to be saying: And then?
Tokos was embarrassed. There was really no communication at all. He took all the initiative, as if he was holding a tool to familiarize himself with the process.

He just... felt overwhelmed. Even though he had been a butler for more than 30 years, he still felt exhausted.

But he did not complain. He also felt sorry for Barrett's past experiences and understood his strange behavior now.

If Barrett's talent was lower, then maybe the kind-hearted Mr. Ross would have brought him back from the beginning?
Just like that kid from Sakaski.

Tokos would not blame Ross, because without Ross, Barrett might even die in the near future. Even if luck allowed him to survive, his life might be spent in misery and confusion.

Not knowing how to live, one can only place one's spirit on a person or even an object, and repeat this process over and over again until destruction.

"Well, let's go. Actually, there's not much to introduce here. I'll just walk around and talk about whatever comes to my mind."

Tokos said as he stood up and left, with Barrett following closely behind.

Soon, they started from the cafeteria and came to the only empty area in the central area, a training ground, where ordinary children were trained.

At this moment, many children have come here to exercise spontaneously. There are only a few Nasdaq family members who are like instructors to teach. The real teaching is only in the morning, and the afternoon is free time.

Barrett looked at those children as if he were looking at himself and his companions in the past, except that the treatment they received was vastly different.

.........

"This is a church. Master Ross originally said it was called an academy, but later the name was changed back. After all, there are very few children who can truly learn knowledge. Most of them are more interested in playing around."

This church was the place where Barrett was controlled for more than two seconds.

This place is not big, but the number of children staying here at this moment is less than one-third of the full capacity. Some of them are making noise, some are communicating and discussing, and a few are studying alone.

As for Barrett, he only felt envy. As for "yearning"? He felt unworthy.

……

"This is a small garden. The flowers and plants here are all grown and cared for by family members spontaneously. They were there before the base was built and have been preserved until now. Do you want to try to take care of it yourself?" In the northwest corner of the base, there is a very small garden. It is the only place where the ground is not covered with clouds and is paved with bluestone roads.

Taking the sprinkler and fertilizer handed to him by Tokos, Barrett followed his example and carefully took care of these beautiful plants.

In addition to colorful flowers, there are also rare and beautiful plants.

For example, there was a kind of shy grass that Barrett fiddled with for a long time without getting tired of. Finally, he seemed to realize something and stopped, waiting quietly beside Tokos.

However, he planned to come over and take care of her whenever he was free in the future. He really liked the feeling just now.

.........

It was not until nearly seven o'clock in the evening that Tokos took Barrett around the entire central area and completed his mission for the day.

Back to the starting point.

"Click"

Pushing the door open with the key, Tokos walked in with Barrett.

"This is the room that Master Ross has arranged for you. You can rest here in the future. Just go to Rossburg and wait after dinner at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Tokos said, handing the stack of Baileys to the other party and said:
"The rest of the time is yours. Take these Baileys and try whatever you want to do. Starting today, try to be nicer to yourself."

He patted the other person's shoulder and left the room with a smile.

Barrett watched the other person's back as he left, and only looked at the Bailey in his hand after a long time.

This was the first time he touched something called Bailey. Before, he had only occasionally seen soldiers taking it out to show off to each other. It seemed to be called "salary" and "reward."

He placed Bailey on the table in the room, not intending to use it but to keep it.

He didn't want anything, and his only interest at the moment was to tend to the plants in the small garden and tease the shy grass.

What's more, Tokos was very good to him, and those Baileys were like medals awarded to him by Douglas Gray, something worth keeping in his memory.

He threw away everything he had, even though all he had was a medal.

Now that I have not found a goal or meaning to pursue, I will just keep everything I want to preserve.

Barrett stood up, walked out of the house, closed the door, hung the key on the handle, and then walked towards the small garden following the path he remembered.

Free time needs to be cherished.

"Hmm? Hello big guy, are you finally willing to leave there?"

Little Mona was floating in the air, and she looked so beautiful in her black and red Lolita dress.

But Barrett ignored the other party and walked over to Mimosa pudica, stretching out his hand to tease the other party.

Seeing that the other party didn't even bother to pay attention to her, Mona pouted angrily with her cheeks puffed up. It was the first time she had seen such a boring guy. He was even more boring than those brothers who only knew how to fight all day long!
I thought there was another big brother like Sakaski who could play with me.

By the way, when will Brother Sakaski come back? Without him watching over us, even blasting sea monsters is less fun.

"Forget it, let's get acquainted. My name is Mona, what's your name, big guy?"

"Barrett."

Barrett responded and said no more.

(End of this chapter)