In the Marineford residential area, Finn walked with Gion to the pub they often frequented, the 'Marine Club.'
Before he even pushed the door open, he heard Garp's loud laughter coming from inside.
"That guy is really fast. We obviously left the Fleet Admiral's office together, right?" Finn said jokingly with a smile.
Gion said with a smile, "You were delayed for a while on the way with Spandine. Garp-san must have rushed here as soon as he left."
"Hahahaha..." Finn laughed heartily, then pushed the door open and walked in.
As soon as he entered, he saw Nojiko chasing Ace with a hammer. Although they were both kids over three years old, Nojiko's combat ability was obviously superior to Ace's. She was worthy of being a little one who'd survived the battlefield.
Nami and Luffy were placed on a wine table. These two little ones were just babies and could barely move, let alone run on the ground.
At this moment, Garp was sitting next to the wine table, laughing as he watched Ace stumbling around avoiding Nojiko. He seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
Bell-mère was wiping the bar of the tavern. Not far away, Hina was holding a barrel of wine and had just placed it on the counter.
"I was wondering why there's a closed sign at the door? Turns out it hasn't been dealt with yet? And you, Hina, my vacation is over and you're still hanging around here. Don't you want this job anymore?" Finn walked up to Garp with a smile and complained.
While arranging the remaining bottles and other items, Hina said without turning her head, "Admiral, I'm helping the tavern. It's wrong for you to say that."
"What's wrong?" Finn reached out and flicked Luffy's exposed little belly, causing Garp to glare at him fiercely.
"You have shares in this tavern. I'm helping here, which means I'm working for you, Admiral. Not only do you not pay me, but you also try to frame me?" Hina said unhappily.
Finn was stunned for a moment. Then, under Garp's murderous gaze, he flicked Luffy again before nodding. "You have a point!"
Gion slapped Finn's troublesome hand away from Luffy, then asked Bell-mère, "Is there anything else that needs to be prepared?"
Bell-mère put down the rag in her hand, washed her hands in the sink beside her, smiled, and shook her head. "Nothing. The drinks have been restocked today. We can open tomorrow."
"Where is Mr. Po?" Finn also asked.
Hina said without even turning her head, "He's gone. It's been almost a week, right? He went back to his hometown in the West Blue."
"Leaving so soon? I didn't even get to say goodbye to him. What a pity..." Finn said, his tone slightly melancholic.
Speaking of which, he'd known Boss Po for almost ten years since coming to Marineford. Suddenly, the old guy had disappeared from Marineford without even saying hello and returned to his hometown in the West Blue.
If nothing unexpected happened, they were unlikely to meet again in this lifetime.
It was somewhat regrettable when he thought about it.
Garp also nodded. "Yeah, he left so soon. I heard Zephyr and Sengoku invited him for a drink before he left, but we didn't get the chance..."
Finn nodded at first, then paused for a moment before saying, "Huh? Wait a minute. I even got a membership card with over two million berries on it. Bell-mère, did you inherit all these things from him?"
Bell-mère was stunned for a moment, then shook her head. "No, before he left, he spent several days here specifically refunding the money. When he left, he said all the accounts had been settled... I saw that Admiral Sengoku and the others had received their refunds from Boss Po."
"Damn it..." Finn was about to lose his composure.
This old bastard had scammed him out of a huge sum of money before leaving?
Garp, standing nearby, nearly died of laughter. He clapped Finn's shoulder several times. "I'm quite clever. I've never signed up for a membership here. I always pay in cash..."
Finn glared at the guy, but soon he smiled again and shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. I've been eating and drinking for free at his place before."
If they really counted the past ten years, Finn had probably consumed more than two million berries worth of food and drinks thanks to Boss Po.
At this moment, Hina said, "Ah, the money is here with me. Boss Po returned it to me."
Finn felt a bit moved. Sure enough, that guy wasn't so shameless after all.
Boss Po had left, taking his stories from Marineford with him.
And now, Bell-mère had come, bringing with her Nojiko, Ace, Nami, and Luffy. Perhaps this Marine Club would become even more legendary and story-filled in the future?
Just as Finn was thinking about this, Bell-mère placed three full wine glasses on the table, almost spilling the wine on Luffy.
"It will officially open tomorrow. Even though you're all shareholders, it's impossible not to charge you. Let me treat you to a drink today, alright?" Bell-mère said with a smile.
Finn, Gion, and Garp all picked up their glasses and said with a smile, "Thank you very much."
"It'd be even better with a couple more dishes!" Garp said carelessly.
At this moment, the door of the tavern was pushed open again. Then a tall but lean figure walked in from outside, holding some bags in his hands.
"Ah, Mr. Garp, Finn, Gion, as expected, you're all here. I knew it," the figure said with a smile.
"Kuzan, why are you here?" Finn asked curiously.
"When you weren't in Marineford, Hina came to me for help. I know much more about what goes on here than you do," Kuzan raised his eyebrows.
After he finished speaking, he raised the bag in his hand and asked with a smile, "Who said it'd be best to have a couple more dishes?"
Garp's eyes lit up. He laughed. "As expected of someone I raised. Kuzan, come on, sit down and have something to eat and drink with us!"
Gion picked up Nami and placed the sleeping baby in the stroller beside them, then tossed Luffy in as well, making room for everyone to drink and eat.
As soon as Kuzan sat down, he unpacked the food in the bag and placed the still-warm dishes on the table. Finn also lent a hand, then asked casually, "Kuzan, this isn't good for you. Sakazuki will be going to G-1 in a few days. When he comes back, he'll definitely be promoted to Admiral. Borsalino is also doing great work with the Science Unit and is an Admiral candidate. He's just waiting for Admiral Sengoku to retire or be promoted to Fleet Admiral. But you're stuck at the Vice Admiral position and not moving. Are you ready to be a nobody?"
Kuzan finished setting the table and casually picked up the wine glass Finn had just sipped from. He blew a puff of cold air on it, turning it into a chilled drink. After taking a sip, he said, "I'm different from you vulgar people who pursue power and status. I now have higher spiritual pursuits. You wouldn't understand..."
"Good grief, you can talk big after just one sip?" Finn laughed.
At this moment, Bell-mère also came over with a few more wine glasses, and Hina beside her even brought a barrel of wine. The two of them sat down and filled the glasses.
"You have no idea how respected I am at the academy now. I finally understand why Mr. Zephyr was so determined to step down from the Admiral position. Watching the young seedlings of our Marines grow up day by day and become the future of our organization, the sense of accomplishment... tsk tsk," Kuzan said pretentiously.
"Forget it, Vice Admiral Kuzan. I've heard from my junior friends at the academy that you only have a few classes a week and spend most of your time sleeping in the sun on the playground," Hina exposed Kuzan's lie on the spot.
Upon hearing this, Kuzan quickly said, "What do you mean sleeping? I was contemplating the teaching curriculum!"
"Hahahaha..." Everyone started laughing.
"Don't be happy too soon, Kuzan," Gion said suddenly.
Kuzan was stunned for a moment, then asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"When we were at the Fleet Admiral's office earlier, Admiral Sengoku said that after Sakazuki goes to G-1, he's going to deal with you properly," Gion said gloatingly while drinking.
Kuzan breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand nonchalantly. "It's nothing. Admiral Sengoku has said it many times, but he's always been very busy and doesn't have time to bother with me too much. Besides, my attendance rate is also quite good. When there's a mission, I'm also on duty..."
However, at this point, he still murmured somewhat uncertainly, "Shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Haha, take care of yourself," Finn also said with a wicked smile.
Garp grabbed a chicken leg and said as he chewed on it, "Actually, Sengoku is right. You really are getting more and more lazy. It's time to find you something to do..."
"How about I go back and apply to have Kuzan work under me? I'll definitely not let him sit idle," Finn pulled out a cigar, bit it between his lips, and teased with a smile.
But before he could light the cigar, Gion snatched it from him, glared at Finn, and said, "The little ones are here!"
Finn finally realized what was happening and quickly put it away. Bell-mère, who'd been about to light a cigarette, smiled awkwardly. "Hahaha, I forgot, I forgot."
Kuzan obviously had no intention of responding to Finn's words. Instead, he said, "Dragon has had a child, and Mr. Garp has become a grandfather. Time flies by so fast."
Upon hearing this, Finn's thoughts drifted back to when he'd first come to Marineford and lived with Kuzan in the ward.
Then, a nostalgic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he said softly, "Yes, time flies."
"Smoker asked me to tell you not to forget your three-year agreement," Kuzan suddenly smiled.
Finn's expression froze, then he said insincerely, "What three-year agreement? I didn't make any agreement with him. It was Master Zephyr who told him three years. If he has any objections, he can go talk to Master Zephyr himself... I don't believe he'd dare betray his teacher and ancestors."
Counting the time, Smoker had been undercover as a pirate for two years. In the blink of an eye, it had been three years.
That really was fast.
After a brief pause, Finn continued, "But I do have something to discuss with him recently, so I need to find an opportunity to meet him in secret. Where is he now?"
"New World," Kuzan said without looking up.
"New World?" Finn murmured. It was perfect timing. Stussy should be involved in this matter as well.
Speaking of which, he'd promised Stussy last time that he'd visit the New World to see her, but he hadn't gone. This time was a good opportunity to go see Stussy, strengthen their relationship, and solve the Marines' economic problems while he was at it.
"It seems I'll have to pick a time soon to go to the New World again," Finn said after taking a sip of wine.
"I'm going too, I'm going too! I haven't seen Smoker in a long time!" Hina quickly raised her hand.
"Hahaha, okay, I'll take you with me then," Finn laughed.
"Alright, let's stop talking about this and drink!" Garp said, holding up his glass.
Afterward, everyone raised their glasses and clinked them together to celebrate in advance the opening of the pub tomorrow. Then they started chatting about many random topics.