Broadcast
The three men settled into comfortable conversation as the premium sake loosened tongues and eased the perpetual tension of imprisonment. Although Garp existed as a prisoner on paper, he maintained valuable connections to the outside world that his cellmates lacked—connections that transformed him into their primary source of external information.
Kuzan would call periodically using a heavily encrypted Den Den Mushi, inquiring about the old man's wellbeing with genuine concern that transcended their formal student-teacher relationship. If requests made by Mister Garp remained reasonable and didn't compromise operational security, Admiral Aokiji would employ his considerable resources and authority attempting to satisfy them discretely.
For example, the senbei crackers that Mister Garp loved consuming habitually arrived in large bags from outside Still Water Prison's supposedly impenetrable security, smuggled inside through channels only an Admiral could access. The connections required and difficulties involved in such operations remained known exclusively to Kuzan—the elaborate deceptions, the bribes paid to certain guards, the blind spots exploited in Thresh's supernatural surveillance.
Having a spy positioned at Marine Admiral level provided Garp—stripped of his Marine status and authority—with invaluable intelligence about major events transpiring across the seas. After the old man concluded each encrypted conversation and disconnected the Den Den Mushi, he would descend to the third floor prison, relaying sanitized summaries of current affairs to his two younger cellmates.
This information sharing represented one of the few kindnesses available to them—keeping imprisoned legends connected to the world they'd once shaped, even as that world moved forward without them.
"The current maritime landscape becomes increasingly incomprehensible with each passing year," Garp admitted gruffly, chewing his beloved senbei with the methodical rhythm that helped him process uncomfortable truths. "Sometimes people genuinely must acknowledge they're growing old and obsolete."
The former Marine Hero conceded that he remained strong despite advancing age. Even with inevitable physical decline eroding his legendary capabilities, Garp could still demolish Vice Admirals through pure combat experience and residual power. However, the seas' rapid transformation generated profound unfamiliarity—as though he'd fallen asleep in one era and awakened in a completely different world governed by incomprehensible rules.
The Four Emperors were expanding and accumulating their respective strengths through wildly divergent methodologies, each pursuing power according to their unique philosophies and circumstances. Except for the Big Mom Pirates—which tragically couldn't maintain pace with the mainstream power echelon due to their leader's deteriorating mental condition—the other three Yonko organizations had evolved into unshakeable behemoths that dominated their territories absolutely.
The Blackbeard Pirates occupied Beehive Island and absorbed most territory formerly controlled by the Whitebeard Pirates before that legendary crew's catastrophic dissolution. The never-sleeping Marshall D. Teach had spent recent years systematically hunting Devil Fruit users across all seas, acquiring their powers through his mysterious capability. Intelligence suggested Teach had secretly assembled an entire legion of Devil Fruit users—dozens, perhaps hundreds of ability users serving under his command, creating an army whose versatility rivaled the New Marine's institutional advantages.
The Beasts Pirates had transformed Wano Country into a military fortress rivaling Mary Geoise's defenses. The closed nation's natural barriers—waterfalls, treacherous currents, isolation—were augmented by massive artificial fortifications and weapons factories. More terrifyingly, the ancient creature still wandered that sea region perpetually, serving as Kaido's personal watchdog. The monstrous beast possessed sufficient size and power to capsize Marine battleships through casual movements, rendering conventional naval assault essentially impossible.
The Joker Pirates eschewed fixed territorial claims entirely, operating as a mobile empire that shifted locations according to strategic necessity. However, since the catastrophic Iron Blood War whose details remained classified beyond Garp's access, the Clown Emperor had deliberately maintained low profile, intentionally fading from the New Marine's mainstream surveillance focus. Nobody understood what conspiracy Buggy cultivated behind his theatrical facade.
According to intercepted Den Den Mushi communications monitored by Marine intelligence over the past two months, the Yonko organizations had begun coordinating with unprecedented frequency. The density and regularity of their communications far exceeded any historical precedent, triggering maximum alert status across New Marine headquarters. Senior strategists recognized this pattern—similar communication spikes had preceded previous major conflicts, including the Marineford War and the Iron Blood War.
However, despite extensive surveillance operations, neither the Marine nor World Government possessed concrete intelligence regarding the Four Emperors' specific intentions. External observers couldn't read minds or predict strategies without direct evidence. Extremely sensitive matters would never be discussed via Den Den Mushi regardless of encryption—such communications could always be intercepted or decoded eventually. For truly critical planning, the Yonko would meet personally, conducting face-to-face negotiations in locations impossible to monitor.
"Are the Four Emperors genuinely planning coordinated war against the Marine?" Shanks asked with characteristic perception, his analytical mind cutting through speculation to identify core strategic questions. "But what advantage would such conflict provide them? I cannot envision scenarios where they benefit from direct confrontation."
The former Yonko keenly grasped the fundamental problem despite lacking recent intelligence. When individuals reached the Four Emperors' elevated positions, they inevitably prioritized their own interests with ruthless pragmatism. Rashly initiating war against the current Marine represented profoundly unwise decision-making—the risk-to-reward ratio simply didn't justify the expenditure.
The New Marine led by Fleet Admiral Artoria Pendragon possessed unprecedented hard power that dwarfed any previous maritime institution. Shanks remained uncertain whether any future organization could surpass this particular iteration's sheer combat capabilities. The military boasted twelve formally organized Admirals—each representing world-class combatants whose individual strength rivaled or exceeded the Yonko themselves. Several possessed abilities that defied conventional power scaling entirely.
In large-scale confrontations involving these masters simultaneously, if the Four Emperors didn't personally participate in frontline combat, the pirate forces would likely suffer one-sided crushing defeat despite numerical superiority. Red-Haired Shanks possessed definitive authority discussing this topic—his own pirate group's complete annihilation remained burned into memory with perfect clarity. The nightmares still visited occasionally, replaying that helpless slaughter when Admirals descended upon his crew like natural disasters given human form.
Dragon's thoughts traveled different paths, focusing on personal connections rather than strategic abstractions. "Is Sabo managing adequately now?" The Revolutionary Army's imprisoned founder asked quietly, genuine concern threading through his carefully controlled voice. "I worry about that boy constantly, despite our ideological differences."
Monkey D. Dragon cared tremendously about his revolutionary spark—the second-generation leader carrying forward the movement's mission after Dragon's capture. Although he maintained profound disagreements with Sabo regarding strategic methodology, and their respective factions had grown so hostile that reconciliation seemed impossible, Dragon desperately wanted ensuring Sabo's survival and success.
Dragon had watched Sabo grow from traumatized child into revolutionary commander, understanding the young man's temperament with almost paternal insight. But certain aspects of Sabo's radical transformation confounded even Dragon's analytical understanding. Why would someone born into aristocratic privilege betray his own class so completely—executing a 180-degree ideological reversal that resulted in mercilessly killing nobles without hesitation or remorse?
The paradox tormented Dragon throughout his imprisonment. He'd spent years in this cell contemplating that question during endless hours when consciousness permitted complex thought. How could aristocratic upbringing produce such passionate class traitor? What experiences burned away Sabo's natal loyalties so thoroughly that revolutionary violence against his former peers generated zero psychological resistance?
Dragon possessed theories but no definitive answers—and that uncertainty ate at him like slow poison.
"Alas, another Luffy's brother represents a troublesome variable," Garp interjected with weary resignation, his scarred face displaying complicated mixture of pride and exasperation. "The Revolutionary Army under Sabo's leadership attacks noble targets everywhere, making existence extraordinarily difficult for member kingdoms' aristocratic classes. The violence has escalated beyond anything you implemented during your tenure, Dragon."
The old man's memory drifted backward to when Sabo existed as innocent child rather than revolutionary commander. He'd endured Garp's Iron Fist of Love alongside Luffy and Ace, three boys suffering together under the old Marine's brutal training regimen. Those distant days might represent the period Garp cherished most deeply—when his grandsons still possessed potential for redemption, before ideology and dreams shattered them across opposing factions.
Unfortunately, regarding education and child-rearing, Garp had comprehensively failed every measure. His methods produced the exact opposite results from intended outcomes.
The former Marine Hero's gaze shifted toward Red-Haired Shanks with barely suppressed malice, his expression conveying accusation more effectively than words. This man sitting before me led my grandchildren astray, Garp's thoughts screamed silently. If Shanks hadn't appeared in Windmill Village, those three boys might have eventually become model Marine soldiers under my guidance!
The delusion represented pure fantasy, naturally—Ace carried Roger's bloodline and rebellious spirit, Sabo possessed trauma that predisposed him toward revolutionary ideology, and Luffy embodied freedom itself. No amount of training could have transformed them into obedient soldiers. But grief required blame targets, and Shanks conveniently occupied the role of corrupting influence in Garp's emotional narrative.
"You stare at me with such accusatory intensity, but many years have passed since those events," Shanks responded with philosophical calm, refusing to accept sole responsibility for outcomes shaped by countless variables. "I merely represented a guide who happened to pass through at a particular moment. Even if Red-Haired Shanks had never existed, yellow-haired or green-haired pirates would have eventually visited Windmill Village, becoming guides for those brothers. Their destinations were predetermined by their natures, not my influence."
The former Yonko wanted Garp examining the situation dialectically rather than emotionally. Kidnapping the old man's three grandsons bore zero connection to Shanks' brief presence—the responsibility lay with Garp's fundamentally unreliable iron fist education methodology. Success through violence and brutality remained exceptional cases, statistical outliers rather than reproducible outcomes. Garp's approach aroused children's rebellious psychology through the training process itself, making them instinctively reject anything resembling his values. Don't assume children will naturally want becoming Marines when their grandfather beats lessons into them with legendary fists.
Garp's hands clenched into trembling fists, murderous intent flashing across his scarred face. He desperately wanted punching this smug pirate directly in his philosophical mouth—but Shanks' empty sleeves suppressed the old man's resentment before it could manifest as violence. Even stripped of his Marine identity and authority, Garp still maintained personal ethics. He refused arguing with disabled people, much less striking them out of frustration.
Damn my principles, Garp thought bitterly. This bastard knows I won't hit him, so he says whatever he wants without consequences.
The conversation's focus inevitably drifted back toward Luffy—the one descendant of their collective bloodlines still sailing free, still pursuing impossible dreams without chains binding his spirit.
The Straw Hat Pirates now carried a unique designation that fundamentally altered how the New Marine engaged with them. They'd been officially marked as an "Adventure Group" rather than conventional pirate crew—a classification that meant the Marine wouldn't actively pursue or attack them without specific provocation. Both sides existed in a strangely friendly peace phase where Luffy's bounty represented mere numbers on paper, never to be collected or enforced through institutional violence.
"Why would Artoria grant such unprecedented clemency to any pirate crew?" Dragon wondered aloud, his revolutionary instincts detecting political calculation beneath apparent mercy. "The Fleet Admiral doesn't make arbitrary decisions. There must be strategic reasoning behind preserving the Straw Hat Pirates specifically."
"Perhaps she sees potential alignment," Shanks suggested thoughtfully. "Luffy fights for freedom rather than conquest, opposes tyranny rather than seeking power. His crew liberates islands from oppressive rulers consistently—they're practically conducting revolutionary work without the formal ideology. Artoria might view them as useful chaos agents who destabilize her enemies without requiring Marine resources."
Garp said nothing, but his expression conveyed grudging acknowledgment. His grandson had never fit conventional pirate molds—Luffy fought villains who needed defeating, freed slaves who needed liberating, and generally caused chaos that benefited ordinary people more than harming them. Perhaps the New Marine recognized that distinction and adapted their enforcement accordingly.
According to Kuzan's latest intelligence briefing, the Straw Hat Pirates hadn't followed their expected trajectory. They should have traveled to Cake Island fulfilling some agreement with Kozuki Momonosuke—details of which remained unclear even to Garp's sources. Instead, the crew had delayed their journey due to complications involving their pet Chopper, though the specific nature of that delay eluded external observers.
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