Chapter 125: Old Friends Reunited

Although Mori Ogai already knew the news that Dazai Osamu had switched to the rival team, he did not take any subsequent actions, as if he had never seen the news.

The colonel went to the United States again. I heard that the person in charge there was set up by someone from another organization and is now being targeted by the FBI. He has to go there to take control of the situation.

A few days after this incident, the Armed Detective Agency was reported in the newspapers. It was a scandal about a serial murder case in which members of the Armed Detective Agency ignored the safety of the hostages, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people.

Ace glanced at the picture on the newspaper, which showed an unfamiliar face.

"There's a new guy at Ranbu."

The focus outside of Mori Owl is not on the newcomers of the Armed Detective Agency.

[Hmm, Apostle of the Blue…]

"The newspaper said it was related to the King of Cang... Hmm... It sounds familiar, this King of Cang."

Ace thought about it, but couldn't remember where he had heard it.

It's been a while, and the Port Mafia didn't have any direct contact with the Lord of the Sky at that time, so it's no wonder Ace couldn't remember it.

[It should have been about five years ago, right around the time when Chuuya first joined.]

"Really?"

[Anyway, this is something the detective agency can handle on their own, so you don't need to meddle in it.]

"oh."

[I heard that the last hacker member of their club has retired.]

Ace paused and said "Oh" again with a blank expression.

Mori Ogai didn't seem to notice his change of mood, and continued: [It is said that the man in the picture in the newspaper had previously brought in a kid with good hacker skills, who is now studying with the Armed Detective Agency.]

Ace said "Oh" again in a dry voice, and he seemed to understand what Sen Ou wanted to say.

[What a pity, the kid's father is an active police officer in Kanagawa, so it's probably impossible to rescue him.] Mori Ogai sighed and said with emotion, [It's great, the Armed Detective Agency is obviously just a small organization with a few small members, but it has an endless supply of talents.]

“…”

This time Ace didn't answer.

Although the relationships in his own family were very strange, for example, his grandfather was a navy and he himself was a pirate, he still felt that it was unacceptable to attempt to kidnap children from other decent families to do crooked jobs.

For example, when he heard that his younger brother Luffy wanted to be a pirate, he was influenced by Red-Haired Shanks. Later, every time Luffy said in front of his grandfather that he wanted to be a pirate, his grandfather would say that he would beat Red-Haired Shanks up and then lock him up.

The kid's father is an active policeman, so he should be quite skilled. What if he is as skilled as his grandfather? Given Mr. Ouwai's physical condition, if he tries to tempt the kid to join the mafia, he might end up collecting Mr. Ouwai's corpse.

The last time he fought with Ji De, Mr. Ouwai's back injury took several months to heal.

Ah, that's not right. He is now one with Mr. Ouwai. If Mr. Ouwai is gone, he should be gone too, and he won't be able to collect Mr. Ouwai's body.

Mori Ogai also said with a hint of meaning: [Alas, Akutagawa was not bad before. I wanted to recruit him into the Port Mafia. If you had said earlier that he was a militant esper like Chuuya, I wouldn't have missed him.]

"I think it's good that Ryunosuke is the way he is now. At least he has his own goal." Ace said slowly.

[Our world is different. In the Age of Exploration a few hundred years ago, being a pirate might have been a promising career, but times have changed.]

Of course, Moriogai also knew that Ace used to be a pirate, so he naturally didn't think there was anything wrong with being a pirate, so he tried to change the other party's mindset. Otherwise, what if he met a new Diamond in the future and he was told to be a pirate again?

However, Ace's attention was immediately distracted when he heard the keyword "Age of Discovery". He asked curiously, "Age of Discovery? Is it the same as the Age of Pirates over there?"

Mori Ogai was also led astray by him. He thought for a moment and replied: "It is quite similar. There were indeed many famous pirates at that time, and the first circumnavigation of the world was also completed in that era."

Ash immediately became interested: "Famous pirate... can you tell me about him?"

[A famous pirate...] Mori Ogai, who has a rich knowledge reserve, thought about it and decided to talk about the most famous pirate in history first. However, his first sentence stunned Ace so much that he shut himself off.

[The most famous pirate at that time was probably Edward Teach, Blackbeard.]

Ace: ...???

His most hated traitor was Marshall D. Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard; his father Whitebeard, whose full name was Edward Newgate.

This guy nicknamed Blackbeard, whose full name is Edward Teach, was so terrified just by hearing his name that he couldn't bear to listen to it!

Mori Ouwai continued to popularize science: [I remember that this Edward Teach was Spanish, he...]

"Okay, stop talking!" Ace said with a face full of resistance, "I don't want to hear it anymore!"

Who wants to continue listening to such an annoying combination of names? Of course, the annoying part he was talking about was the part that was the same as Teach, and the part about Dad certainly didn't count!

Moriowa was a little confused. He had never heard of Whitebeard's full name, because every time Ace mentioned him, he would say "my father Whitebeard" and never "my father Edward Newgate". As for Teach, the only thing he said was "the bastard who betrayed his father and his companions". So now he had no idea what sore spot of Ace's that he had touched with his words just now.

The strategic capitalist subconsciously wanted to try and test Ace's surprise point again. Who knew that Ace would change the topic before him: "It seems that the tonic I got for you last time has been eaten. I'll go to the doctor to get some new ones."

Then he stood up and walked out the door with great force.

Mori Owl: ???

[Wait a minute! Stop right there! ! ]

Who needs to take tonic, you char siu! !

…

After seeing Dazai Osamu's information from the intelligence, Ace went to the Armed Detective Agency to take a look a few days later. Not only Dazai Osamu was there, but Oda Sakunosuke was also there, as well as two unfamiliar people, a young man and a boy.

When Ace arrived, it was the youngest boy who opened the door.

Ace blinked and followed the boy inside. Just as the unfamiliar blond young man was about to ask him if he had any requests, Dazai Osamu waved and said hello: "Hey, Ace."

Ace grinned and greeted back, "Yo, Zhi."

Oda Sakunosuke, who was concentrating on writing, raised his head and said, "Ace."

"Hey, Sakunosuke. It looks like you guys are doing well lately."

The blond young man turned around and looked at the two of them, "Do you all know each other?"

"Well, we're friends, I guess." Dazai said, turning to Ace and introducing him, "This is Kunikida Doppo, my new colleague. He's a guy who plans his life down to the last detail. His expression will be hilarious when you break his plans!"

Kunikida Dopo immediately roared, "Dazai!"

Dazai pretended not to hear and introduced another person, "This kid is called Taguchi Rokuzo. He is currently an intern at our company. He usually doesn't come because he has to go to school. He came today because it's Saturday."

Taguchi Rokuzo nodded politely: "Hello."

"Hello." Ace sat down next to Dazai Osamu's sofa in a familiar manner. "By the way, where are Ranpo and Akiko? Aren't they here?"

"As for Ranpo-san, he's out on a field trip with the president. He and Ms. Yosano are going to restock medical supplies."

Kunikida Dopo muttered to himself, "He even knows Ranpo-san and Yosano-san..."

"Kunikida-kun, you're so horrible. Are you surprised that Ace knows us? He used to be a member of the detective agency, so of course he knows Ranpo-san and Yosano-san~"

Kunikida Doppo: !!

He was shocked and said, "Is it, it's you, senior!?"

Dazai Osamu's expression changed instantly, "I was just kidding you."

Oda Sakunosuke, who was about to ask Ace when he worked at the detective agency, silently swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Taguchi Rokuzo, who poured tea for Ace, was speechless and said, "Mr. Kunikida, you have only known him for a short time and you have been deceived so many times. Why do you still believe him?"

Before Kunikida Doppo could answer, Dazai Osamu said, "Perhaps it's because Kunikida-kun is too honest and easy to trust others."

Kunikida Dubu looked at him suspiciously: "How dare you say good things to me?"

Dazai Osamu immediately shouted: "What? Am I only good at saying bad things about others? What kind of person am I in your eyes?"

Kunikida Doppo obviously hasn't experienced enough, and his resistance is not strong. If it was the tortured Nakahara Chuuya, he might just sneer and ridicule him, but now it's Kunikida Doppo who is here. Hearing Dazai Osamu say this, he felt a little guilty for a moment, "Sorry."

Taguchi Rokuzo, who had just spoken for him, suddenly stopped talking.

So why did you believe it again?

Ace smiled with emotion and said, "Haha, you guys have a good relationship, Zhi has also made a new friend."

This time, Oda Sakunosuke also nodded in agreement and said with satisfaction: "The new environment is very good. Dazai is happier here than before."

He looked like a kid who had adapted well to his new environment.

Dazai paused for a moment and said nothing. Kunikida Dopo frowned, "Mr. Oda Saku, don't treat him like a child. He's already an adult! You'll spoil him if you keep doing this."

“Will he?” Oda Sakunosuke’s expression did not change. He said on Dazai’s behalf, “Don’t worry. Dazai is a good boy and he won’t be corrupted.”

Dazai Osamu immediately smiled triumphantly.

"I'm relieved to see that you're doing well. Have you decided to work in the Armed Detective Agency in the future?"

"Yeah." Dazai Osamu's expression calmed down. "No matter what, I still want to thank you for what happened back then."

Ace asked blankly, "Ah? What's going on?"

"Nothing," Dazai Osamu said casually, "Shall we go out for dinner tonight? If we leave early, we can finish eating before going back to Mr. Mori's place."

Kunikida Dopo rolled his eyes and said, "You want Mr. Ace to treat you to a meal, right?"

"Haha, it doesn't matter. I still have some money now anyway?" Although strictly speaking the money was not his, "Don't worry, I can still afford a meal. I won't let you eat for free, haha."