"Hey—what shameful things are you two doing in here for so long?" Daphne poked her head into the lab, grinning.
"The very shameful kind," Karl deadpanned, looping an arm around each of them so he could hug left and right at once.
Down on the coast, servants were hauling crates of ingredients for that night's party. Most of them were women who'd lost homes to pirates; the men could find odd jobs around the island, but it had been harder for them—so Daphne brought the women into the villa quarter as house staff.
Just then Karl felt a surge of force at the harbor—an aura too familiar to ignore.
"Someone's here," he murmured, disentangling himself (with difficulty) from two flushed, weak-kneed beauties. "I'll go see."
"Mhm… go," Ellie's cheeks were scarlet, Daphne's too. Both tugged their blouses straight, hearts still racing.
"Ellie," Daphne whispered, mortified, "you can't spoil him like that or he'll pounce anytime."
Ellie giggled. "You're redder than me~ Once you two actually do it, you'll get it. Want me to sleep alone tonight and you share with hubby? Heehee—"
"Don't talk nonsense! We have a banquet to run," Daphne hissed, face burning.
They weren't worried about whoever arrived—on Jaya, under Karl, nobody kicked up trouble and lived.
Karl strode out to the harbor just as a dog-headed warship cut into the crescent bay.
"Vice Admiral Garp, what brings you to Jaya?" Karl called.
"Wahahaha! I'm here to arrest you, Karl!" Garp laughed—and sprang. Haki-coated fist crashed down.
Karl met him midair, knuckles colliding. Haki thunder warped the air; Enel and Banson were on the scene in a blink.
After a flurry, both men pulled back at once.
"Wahahaha! Looks like I won't be bagging you today," Garp said cheerfully. That "arrest" had been a feeler.
"You'd need more than that," Karl smirked. "So—out with it. You didn't 'just happen to pass by.'"
"Official business." Garp's grin thinned. "Sengoku wants to know why you're occupying Jaya. This is still the first half of the Grand Line."
"To start a company and make money," Karl said. "Try feeding a whole family on adventure alone."
"You—business?" Garp barked a laugh. "Pffff—wahahaha! Since when do you have a head for trade?"
Karl's eye twitched. Old man…
"I've got someone who does," he shot back, turning on his heel. "We're throwing a banquet. I'm busy."
"Oi! I came all this way and you're not feeding me?" Garp waved at the warship. "Bogard! Dock up. We're eating here!"
"Y-Yes, Vice Admiral!" Bogard leapt to it. On deck, sailors traded pale looks.
"Uh, Commander Bogard… are we really going ashore?"
"We follow orders," he said. Then he jogged after Garp.
Karl glanced over his shoulder at the hundred-plus mouths trooping behind the hero of the Marines. "You expect me to feed all of that? You think I'm made of money?"
"That's not my problem," Garp said solemnly. "We're starving."
"…Fine. Bring your ship's cooks to help. I don't have enough hands."
"Bogard! Send the galley crew to the beach!"
"Yes, sir!"
When Daphne saw Karl leading a small army of Marines onto the sand, her eyes widened—especially at the man in the dog mask's shadow.
"Karl, what is this?"
"Nothing. Vice Admiral Garp's rations got slashed, so he's freeloading dinner." Karl shrugged. "Tell the kitchens to stretch the menu."
"…That does sound like something he'd do." Daphne sighed, then turned brisk. "Banson—go net a Sea King. Our pantry won't cover this many."
"On it!"
Night fell to lanterns and laughter. Cups clinked. To a passerby it looked like a single crew—uniforms mixed with pirates' leathers around bonfires.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Garp leaned back, studying the half-built fortress-bay. "So, Karl, what kind of 'business' turns Jaya into a floating stronghold?"
"A logistics hub." Karl pointed with his cup. "Any merchant can dock here. Trade on-site, store goods, route shipments… turn Jaya into a trade nexus—"
He paused. Garp was snoring.
A flock of metaphorical crows flapped across Karl's mind.
"Thunderstorm inbound!" Karl bellowed in his ear.
"Rain? Rain?!" Garp jolted, then saw Karl's face and grinned sheepishly. "Heh. As long as you're not building a military fortress, it's fine! Wahahaha!"
Shameless geezer…
"Uncle, that's Vice Admiral Garp?" Anne eyed the old man dubiously. He didn't look reliable—and she knew her big brother lived in Windmill Village.
"Yeah. That's him," Karl said.
Garp squinted at Anne. "This one's Anne, isn't she?"
"She is. She's with me now."
"Wahahaha! Anne, join the Marines! I'll make you a colonel in three years!"
"Hey, old man, have some shame. Poaching my people?" Karl snapped.
"No thanks, Vice Admiral," Anne said politely. "I'm happy with my uncle."
"What a pity!"
The party ran until midnight. Garp didn't stay—he boarded the warship and pushed off, muttering as he went about "Sengoku and Tsuru's schemes going bust…"
Back home, Daphne watched Karl step from the bath, toweling his hair. "So what was Garp here for? Don't tell me it was just for free food."
"He came to make sure we weren't building a fortress for war." Karl shrugged. "I said 'commerce,' he dropped it."
"I see…" Daphne's thoughts whirred.
Karl's towel hit the chair. Daphne's silk nightdress caught the lamplight.
"Enough thinking," he murmured, crossing the room. "Time to handle… proper business."
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