The pinnacle of pirates begins with deceiving fate!

"Major, please come with me. I'll take you to the officers' quarters."

"Thank you for your help."

"..."

The two walked side by side down the street, with Huang enthusiastically explaining the local customs and culture of Marineford and highlighting the restaurants she liked.

John listened silently, unable to say a word.

Or perhaps it's because someone with such a heavy mind simply can't calm down and enjoy life properly.

Before long, the two walked through the streets and alleys and arrived at a small courtyard. Actually, it wasn't small at all; it could be described as a luxurious three-story detached villa, complete with a small garden.

But for John, who had lived in a super-large estate for a long time, it was a bit like going from luxury to frugality.

"Major, this is your officers' quarters. You'll be living alone!"

Huang stood with her hands behind her back, gazing enviously at the detached courtyard house. She also longed to move out and live on her own.

At home, Mom has too many rules!

John remained silent, turning to look at Huang, who was blinking her bright eyes, wondering why she was still there.

Phoenix noticed the gaze, turned her head to meet John's eyes, then quietly looked away and touched her face.

Does she have something on her face?

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, John sighed and said politely:

"As a thank you, how about... I treat you to dinner?"

"Really? Yay! Yay!"

Huang completely missed the politeness in his tone and jumped up happily. She then grabbed John's sleeve and walked out of the alley.

John, his face still grim, was being pulled along by Huang, somewhat regretting his feigned politeness towards the naive girl.

She couldn't understand at all!

"Major, how about we go get some oden?"

The two arrived on the street, and Huang pointed to the wooden cart parked at the intersection ahead.

She had her own agenda; that oden place was good and inexpensive, so John wouldn't have to spend money.

John broke free from Huang's hand and, under her questioning gaze, looked toward a luxurious restaurant at the corner of the intersection.

"How much meat is in oden? My justice is meat, so I want to eat butter hot pot."

"What kind of strange justice?"

Seeing John walk toward the restaurant on his own, Huang tilted her head and then quickly followed after him.

There were few diners in the restaurant. A violin played a melodious tune, and the warm lighting added a touch of romance to the atmosphere.

After taking her seat, Huang lowered her head and became reserved. She finally realized that she was having dinner with a man she was meeting for the first time in this kind of atmosphere.

It felt like a date!

"What would you like to drink? Beer? Red wine?"

"what?"

Hearing the question, Huang looked up and saw John holding a menu and ordering food. The menu covered the lower half of his face, revealing only his nonchalant eyes.

Phoenix bit her lip and whispered in a barely audible voice:

"I'm only seventeen, and my mom won't let me drink."

Immediately, the waiter standing to the side looked at John with a strange expression, as if he were a pervert.

John, seemingly oblivious, simply ticked off both the beer and the wine with his pen and handed them to the waiter.

The waiter took the menu, his lips moving as if he wanted to remind someone of something, but then he caught a glimpse of the epaulets on Huang Zhengyi's coat.

He's already a captain at such a young age, surely he doesn't need me to remind him?

Finally, the waiter took the menu and left silently.

While waiting for the food to be served, John stared at Huang, who remained silent with her head down, and a mischievous thought arose in his mind:

"Phoenix, I think I've discovered that some pirates have infiltrated in disguise."

"Ah! Where is it?"

Huang suddenly raised her head, her shy expression turning serious, her sharp gaze sweeping left and right.

John raised his hand and waved it in front of Huang's eyes to attract her attention, then pointed his index finger at himself.

"The pirates are here."

"Uh……"

Huang was stunned for a moment, then her seriousness turned into anger. She stood up, put her hands on her hips, and puffed out her cheeks.

"Major, that joke is too lame, it's not funny at all!"

"I just saw you were feeling down, so I wanted to lighten the mood."

John smiled and shrugged, thus gaining a general understanding of the current situation.

Phoenix genuinely didn't know his pirate identity, and Garp did keep his promise and kept it a secret.

The current situation is that Garp knows he is careless, so he wants to make Tsuru, who is meticulous and insightful, his direct superior, so that he can keep a close eye on him and prevent him from making any underhanded moves.

However, he was afraid that directly asking Tsuru would make her overthink and deduce his pirate identity, causing Garp to break his promise to keep his identity a secret.

Ultimately, the only way was to use a roundabout method, through Huang, to bring him into He's sight and let He take the initiative to take over.

In this way, his identity was kept secret, and the goal of making He his direct superior was achieved.

I didn't expect Garp to be so shrewd!

Garp's attitude of both trusting and doubting is just too contradictory!

And aren't you afraid he'll hurt He and Huang?

Chapter 82 Not Taking Pressure

"I'm not feeling down, I'm just a little..."

Huang pouted and sat down, her voice growing softer and softer.

John smiled as he rested his chin on his hand, but in his heart he was thinking of her mother, Crane.

The future Chief of Naval Staff, a contemporary of Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with them on the battlefield.

His combat strength is unknown, but he can outmaneuver the former Celestial Dragon Doflamingo with his wits alone.

John hates these kinds of intellectual players the most!

Moreover, there are several powerful monsters protecting them...

The hotpot meal was very enjoyable. John used various excuses to force Huang to drink three bottles of red wine, leaving her with glazed eyes and a face as red as a monkey's bottom.

As they left the restaurant and walked down the street, Huang was so unsteady on her feet that she could barely stand, so John had to kindly support her.

"Kid, you've learned your lesson now. Don't drink with strange men in the future."

Phoenix linked arms with John, resting her head on his shoulder, her pink lips parting slightly as she mumbled indistinctly, "Giggle giggle."

The strong smell of alcohol made John turn his head away in disgust, afraid that she might suddenly vomit on him.

"If you won't let me have an easy time, I won't let you have an easy time either!"

John smiled slyly, took out a Den Den Mushi, and dialed Karp.

Brubru

After a busy signal, the call was answered, only to be abruptly disconnected again.

"Are you a child?!"

John was so angry he gritted his teeth. He found a bench on the street corner, helped Phoenix sit down, and then started frantically calling Karp with both hands free.

Blue squeaky

After being repeatedly connected and disconnected five times, the sixth time the call finally connected, Karp's impatient voice rang out.

John! You're so annoying!

"Phoenix is ​​drunk, could you please come and pick her up?"

"What?! She's only seventeen and you let her drink alcohol! Do you have any humanity?!"

Garp roared in fury.

John rubbed his ears, which were itchy from the shock, and the lie came out of his mouth without hesitation.

"Dorag started drinking when he was seven years old, so it's not surprising that Huang started drinking at seventeen."

"Oh? Dragon told you? That brat's got some guts!"

The Den Den Mushi's simulated angry expression suddenly changed, becoming inexplicably smug.

Garp then realized what was happening and roared angrily.

"Where are you? You didn't do anything to Huang-chan, did you?!"

"It's on this side of the crossroads, come quickly."

John threw down a sentence and hung up the phone.

This time, it was Garp's turn to feel frustrated.

"Mmm~"

Phoenix, who was lying on the bench, let out a soft groan, leaned against John, and rested her head on his shoulder.

John pushed Phoenix's head away in disgust, but she clung to him like a piece of chewing gum. Not satisfied with that, she used both hands and feet to try and entangle John like an octopus.

When John saw Huang lift her leg and cross it over him, he was startled and pushed her away forcefully again.

"Men and women should not touch each other. I'm warning you, don't pretend to be drunk and take advantage of me!"

"Woo~ woo!"