Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Sengoku gripped the Den Den Mushi's receiver tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand. The Den Den Mushi, imitating his expression, was almost deformed from his grip.
"Bastard... Garp, that bastard..."
He gritted his teeth and growled, his chest heaving violently, clearly incensed.
A mysterious being who could freely travel between worlds and sell "time fragments."
An unheard-of powerhouse who could beat a monster like Garp until he was covered in blood.
The impact of this information was greater than if the Five Elders had told him the World Government was disbanding!
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
Sengoku took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the raging storm in his heart and resuming his composure as Fleet Admiral.
The door opened.
A tall man with curly black hair, wearing a green eye mask, and looking sleepy, walked in lazily.
Marine Headquarters' highest power.
Admiral, Aokiji (Kuzan).
"Ara ra... Sengoku-san, calling me over so urgently. Did some troublesome Great Pirate appear?"
Kuzan yawned, looking lazy enough to fall asleep at any second.
"Ten thousand times more troublesome than a Great Pirate."
Sengoku's words made Kuzan's yawn stop halfway. He slowly lifted his eyelids, looking at Sengoku.
Sengoku didn't waste words. He directly tossed a newly compiled, top-secret file over.
"See for yourself."
"This document's secrecy level is above all S-ranks. After you read it, you must take it to your grave."
Kuzan lazily caught the file, leaned back on the sofa, and began to flip through it slowly.
In the office, only the faint rustling of paper could be heard.
At first, Kuzan's expression was his usual, unchanging laziness.
"East Blue... Foosha Village? Did Garp-san go back to visit family again?"
But as he read on, his brow furrowed slightly.
"Dungeon Shop? An entrance fee of one hundred million?"
His gaze began to change.
"Strongest Spear... Third Raikage? Another world?"
When he read the description of Garp returning, covered in blood but laughing wildly as he learned to "walk on water."
Kuzan's lazy posture completely vanished.
He sat up straight. His eyes, which were always half-closed, opened completely for the first time, revealing an unprecedented gravity and shock.
"Sengoku-san..."
He looked up at the man behind the desk.
"What's written here..."
"Every single word is true."
Sengoku's words were decisive and firm.
Kuzan's Adam's apple bobbed.
He knew Garp's strength better than anyone. To be able to push that man to such a state, and even allow him to obtain a new power. The weight of this file was heavy enough to crush the world's order.
"So..."
Kuzan closed the file, his entire aura becoming sharp.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to personally make a trip to the East Blue."
Sengoku's fingers steepled on his desk, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
"Go and meet this young man named Blake."
"Do not go as a Marine Admiral. Do not alert anyone."
"I need you to find out who he is, what he wants, and what his purpose is."
"He... is he friend or foe."
Sengoku stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking all of Marineford.
"Kuzan, you must understand."
"The importance of this matter has already surpassed pirates, surpassed the Revolutionary Army, and even surpassed the World Government itself."
"What he controls is enough to change everything in this world."
Kuzan stood up, placing the file on the desk.
"I understand."
His signature laziness returned to his face, but a deep gravity that couldn't be erased lingered in his eyes.
"East Blue... what a surprising place."
"Just perfect. I can ride my bicycle there for a vacation."
The clamor of the port gradually faded.
The villagers who had been watching the spectacle also dispersed in twos and threes.
Blake lay back down on his rocking chair, feeling the salty East Blue sea breeze, and swayed leisurely.
Comfortable.
This kind of life, waiting for death, really suits me.
However, he hadn't even been relaxing for a few minutes when two small shadows fell over his face.
Blake impatiently opened one eye.
Ace and Luffy.
The two brats were standing ramrod straight in front of him, one on the left and one on the right, blocking him completely.
They weren't fighting, nor were they speaking.
They were just staring at him with an unprecedented, scorchingly intense gaze.
It was the look of two small wolves, starved for three days, who had just seen the fattest piece of meat in the world.
"What?"
Blake spoke lazily, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
"Can't you see I'm busy with photosynthesis? Kids, go play in the mud."
Luffy's one-track mind clearly couldn't comprehend "photosynthesis." But he understood the last half.
Not only did he not leave, but he also took a step forward, his rubber head getting even closer.
"Hey! White-hair!"
Luffy's voice wasn't loud, but it held an unquestionable determination.
"Teach us!"
Beside him, Ace's freckled face held the same extremely stubborn expression.
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms.
"Teach us to get strong!"
The two brats said, in unison.
Their stubbornness made the air grow heavy.
Blake finally deigned to open his other eye.
He sat up, looking amusedly at the two little beans in front of him, who weren't even as tall as his leg.
"Teach you?"
He dug a finger in his ear.
"Am I close with you two?"
"Nope!"
Luffy's reply was full of righteous conviction.
"But you're strong!"
He stuck his finger out, gesturing wildly in the air.
"You waved your hand, and Grandpa disappeared! Then when Grandpa came back, he was bleeding a lot! But he was still laughing!"
Luffy's train of thought was bizarre, but his conclusion was exceptionally precise.
He pointed at Blake's nose and announced loudly.
"So! You're the one who beat Grandpa up like that!"
"You're even stronger than Grandpa!"
Ace's eyes were also full of agreement.
The grandpa who, in his heart, was as invincible as a mountain.
He had actually been sent to a place to "warm up" by this lazy guy in front of them, and came back covered in wounds!
This fact was a devastating blow to their young worldviews.
But after the devastation came a wildly growing desire!
"Teach us!"
Ace bit his lip, repeating.
"As long as we can get strong! We'll do anything!"
"We want to go out to sea too! We want to be pirates too!"
Luffy waved his small fist, his face full of yearning for the future.
"I'm gonna find One Piece and become the King of the Pirates!"
Blake looked at them.
He looked at those two pairs of clear eyes, burning with ambition.
He pouted, lay back down, and pillowed his hands behind his head.
"No."
He refused flatly.
"Being a teacher is too much trouble. I don't have the time for that."
"Please!"
Luffy immediately lunged forward, hugged Blake's thigh, and started acting shamelessly.
"Teach us! We can eat a lot! Ah no, we can fight a lot!"
"Get off."
Blake shook his leg with a look of disgust, only to find this kid was like a piece of sticky candy he couldn't shake off.
Ace didn't pester him like Luffy.
He just stood there, using those deep eyes, inherited from the Pirate King, that didn't belong to a boy his age, to stare at Blake.
"We don't want to wait ten years."
Ace's voice was hoarse, but it landed with a thud.
"We want to go out to sea now!"
"We want to get our freedom now!"
Blake's leg-shaking stopped.
He looked down, at the little straw-hat brat hugging his thigh, snot and tears everywhere, still yelling about being the "King of the Pirates."
Then he looked at the black-haired brat, his face full of stubbornness, his eyes filled with unwillingness and defiance.
One was the future Fifth Emperor.
The other was Whitebeard's Second Division Commander.
These two influential figures were currently surrounding him like two little puppies, wagging their tails, begging for a bone of strength.
This scene...
It was actually pretty f*cking interesting.
A playful arc slowly formed on Blake's lips.
He extended a finger, pointing at Ace and Luffy.
"You want me to teach you. It's not impossible."
The two brats' eyes lit up instantly!
"But..."
Blake slowly sat up, and right in front of them, he rubbed his fingers together in a money-grubbing gesture.
"My lessons... are very expensive, you know."