When Garp slapped him like that, Zephyr's hand trembled as if he had Parkinson's, and the fish that had been about to bite escaped.
Zephyr jerked his head around, ready to explode, but the moment he saw Kaito, his expression cleared instantly. He shouted in delight,
"Kaito?! You're back!"
Kizaru shivered. He put down his fishing rod, slowly turned around, and forced an excited expression as he said,
"Kaito, meeting you here is truly too… uh, too much of a coincidence!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Akainu and Aokiji, muttering internally,
"Looks like those two got dragged along too… hope we won't get our salaries docked later?"
Kaito greeted the two with a smile, not mentioning Kizaru fishing during work hours at all, which made Kizaru breathe a massive sigh of relief.
After chatting briefly with Zephyr, Zephyr noticed that Kaito also came to fish. He looked him over and asked,
"Where's your fishing gear? Don't tell me you're planning to dive in and grab fish with your bare hands? That'd take away half the fun!"
Kaito raised his hand, and several large chunks of gold appeared on the ground. Kizaru's sunglasses were practically flashing gold from the shine. He swallowed—good grief, one random chunk of that gold could cover half his yearly salary.
Next, Kaito made the gold float in midair. A strike of lightning came down, and the gold melted into golden fishing rods— even the fishing lines were made of gold.
He equipped everyone with golden gear. When handing Kizaru his, Kaito even added,
"After we're done, you don't need to return the rods. Consider them gifts from me."
Kaito's extravagance moved Kizaru so much he nearly cried. If Kaido hadn't gone straight these days, he'd be off to Wano right now to run a light show for Kaido.
With bait hooked on, everyone sat down and began a leisurely fishing session.
However, for Luffy, fishing was clearly far too "refined." After barely sitting for a short moment, he squirmed like he was covered in ants— completely unable to stay still.
In the end, it took one proper Fist of Love from Garp to finally quiet him down.
The three Admirals each had their own unique fishing styles. Kizaru, while fishing, casually took out nail clippers and began trimming his already absurdly perfect nails.
Aokiji had lowered his eye mask and drifted into sleep under the gentle sea breeze.
Only Akainu stared intensely at his float, occasionally lighting a cigar with his ability. He sat there with a proper big-shot aura.
Garp picked his nose and then used the same hand to reach toward Sengoku.
"Sengoku, brought senbei? Gimme two!"
Sengoku dodged with a disgusted look and snapped,
"Didn't bring! Can't you prepare some yourself? You always mooch off me!"
"With our relationship, what's wrong with taking a few senbei from you? Stingy old man! Next time I'll just take that little goat of yours!"
"Nani? So you have been eyeing my goat! I'm warning you—drop that thought immediately, or I'll ruin your retirement!"
"Tch! Who wants your goat? Even plucked clean it isn't two taels of meat! And you feed it all kinds of weird things every day— I wouldn't dare eat it!"
So the two old men launched into a debate about whether Sengoku's goat was edible. Zephyr sighed helplessly beside them.
"You two are getting more childish with age. Can't you act like elders for once?"
Kaito waved his hand. He actually quite liked this atmosphere. With the world at peace, it was nice that everyone could relax like this.
In other worlds, once war ended, a whole wave of power struggles would inevitably follow. But the Marines were different. They would simply return to the lives they loved.
This was something Kaito liked most about the Marines in the pirate world— at least they didn't have troublesome schemers like Danzō around, which made things far more pleasant.
In just a short while, Hawk Eyes already had a good haul; half the basket beside him was filled.
But Zoro, newly accepted as Hawk Eyes' disciple, was doing terribly. His rod was steady as a mountain— it didn't move at all.
Hawk Eyes glanced at the scratching, fidgeting Zoro and said calmly,
"Fishing is like sword training. You must quiet your heart. And as a swordsman, once you sail alone, you must master fishing. It's a very practical skill."
Kaito secretly nodded. With Zoro's god-tier sense of direction, who knew how many days he'd drift at sea. If he couldn't fish, he'd starve long before reaching land.
Hearing that it related to sword training, Zoro immediately straightened his posture, suddenly less restless.
Hawk Eyes nodded approvingly. Then he looked at the basket beside Kaito— still completely empty. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Kaito, looks like your luck isn't great. Want me to give you a few fish later?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow. That was barefaced provocation. Gripping his rod, he replied,
"You're saying that a bit early. Maybe the one I catch will be enough for us to eat for an entire week."
Hawk Eyes shrugged, his expression clearly saying, Yeah, right.
But Kaito wasn't boasting. He had extended his fishing line extremely far. Once something bit it, it would definitely be a massive catch.
While the two spoke, Garp somehow hooked a huge turtle. He was so thrilled he whipped his head toward Luffy and shouted,
"Luffy! Look what your grandpa caught!?"
Luffy, worthy of being Garp's biological grandson, picked his nose and looked over, replying blandly,
"It's just a turtle. Calm down. It wouldn't even fill a tooth gap."
Smack!
A turtle slid slowly off Luffy's face, leaving its belly pattern deeply imprinted on it.
Ace and Sabo both shivered.
Why provoke him, Luffy?
Just then, Kaito's rod finally moved. His eyes sharpened. Judging by the force, something big had definitely taken the bait.
He didn't use any perception to check what he'd hooked— the whole point was the thrill of the unknown.
And with Kaito's physical strength, even a giant Sea King summoned by Shirahoshi could be hauled in with one finger. No matter the size, as long as the line held, he could pull it up.
To be safe, Kaito coated his rod and line with Armament Haki. The display immediately drew everyone's attention.
With a single-handed pull, Kaito heaved— and a plump figure soared up from the distant sea.
When the catch landed, Kaito focused his eyes and exclaimed in shock,
"Jinbe!?"