Marineford, Marineford.
Fleet Admiral's office.
Sengoku clutched the den den mushi's receiver tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, the den den mushi, mimicking his expression, was almost deformed from his grip.
"Bastard… Garp, that bastard…"
He growled through gritted teeth, his chest heaving violently, clearly seething with anger.
A mysterious entity that can freely traverse different worlds and sell "Time Fragments."
A never-before-seen powerhouse who could beat a monster like Garp until he was covered in blood.
The impact of this information was even greater than if the Gorosei had told him the World Government was disbanding!
Thump. Thump.
A knock sounded on the office door.
"Come in."
Sengoku took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tumultuous waves in his heart, and regained his Fleet Admiral's dignity.
The door was pushed open.
A tall man with curly black hair, wearing a green eye mask, and looking sleepy, lazily walked in.
The Marineford's highest combat power.
Admiral, Aokiji, Kuzan.
"Oh my… Mr. Sengoku, calling me in such a hurry, has some troublesome great pirate appeared?"
Kuzan yawned, looking so lazy he seemed ready to lie down and fall asleep at any moment.
"A million times more troublesome than a great pirate."
Sengoku's words made Kuzan stop his yawn halfway.
He slowly raised his eyelids and looked at Sengoku.
Sengoku didn't waste words; he directly threw a newly compiled top-secret document over.
"See for yourself."
"The secrecy level of this document is above all S-ranks. After you read it, you must keep it to yourself."
Kuzan lazily caught the document, leaned back on the sofa, and slowly began to flip through it.
In the office, only the faint rustle of turning pages remained.
At first.
Kuzan's expression was still that unchanging laziness.
"East Blue… Foosha Village? Is Mr. Garp going back to visit relatives again?"
But as he read more and more.
His brows furrowed slightly.
"Dungeon Shop? One hundred million for a ticket?"
His eyes began to change.
"strongest spear… Third Raikage? Another world?"
When he read the description of Garp, covered in blood, yet laughing wildly as he learned "Water Walking."
Kuzan's lazy posture completely vanished.
He sat up straight, his eyes, which were always half-open, fully opened for the first time, filled with unprecedented solemnity and shock.
"Mr. Sengoku…"
He looked up at the man behind the desk.
"What's written on this…"
"Every single word is true."
Sengoku's words were resolute.
Kuzan's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
He knew Garp's strength better than anyone.
To push that man to such an extent, and even make him gain new power.
The weight of this document was enough to crush the order of this world.
"So…"
Kuzan closed the document, and the aura emanating from him became sharp.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to personally go to the East Blue."
Sengoku interlaced his fingers on the table, his eyes sharp as knives.
"Go meet this young man named White Night."
"Do not go as an Admiral, do not alarm anyone."
"I want you to figure out who he really is, what he wants, and what his goal is."
"Is he… friend or foe?"
Sengoku stood up and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the entire Marineford.
"Kuzan, you must understand."
"The importance of this matter has surpassed pirates, surpassed the Revolutionary Army, and even surpassed the World Government itself."
"What he possesses is enough to change everything in this world."
Kuzan stood up and placed the document on the table.
"I understand."
His characteristic laziness returned to his face, but in the depths of his eyes, there was an unshakeable solemnity.
"East Blue, huh… It truly is a surprising place."
"Perfect, I can ride my bicycle and take a vacation."
...The clamor of the port gradually faded away.
The villagers who had been watching the excitement also dispersed in twos and threes.
White Night lay back in his rocking chair, enjoying the salty sea breeze of the East Blue, swaying leisurely.
Comfortable.
This kind of carefree life was more suitable for him.
However.
He hadn't enjoyed it for more than a few minutes when two small dark shadows fell over his face.
White Night impatiently opened one eye.
Ace and Luffy.
The two brats stood straight in front of him, one on each side, completely blocking him.
They weren't bickering, nor were they speaking.
They just stared at him with an unprecedented, terrifyingly intense gaze.
Their eyes were like two wolf cubs, hungry for three days, who had spotted the fattest piece of meat in the world.
"What do you want?"
White Night spoke lazily, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
"Can't you see I'm busy photosynthesizing? Kids, go play in the mud."
Luffy's simple mind clearly couldn't comprehend what photosynthesis meant.
But he understood the latter half of the sentence.
Instead of leaving, he took a step forward, his rubber head getting closer.
"Hey! White-haired guy!"
Luffy's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable firmness.
"Teach us!"
Beside him, Ace, whose freckled face also held an extremely stubborn expression.
He clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails almost digging into his flesh.
"Teach us to become stronger!"
The two brats said in unison.
Their stubbornness made the air grow heavy.
White Night finally deigned to open his other eye.
He sat up, looking amusedly at the two little runts, who weren't even as tall as his legs, in front of him.
"Teach you?"
He picked his ear.
"Are we close?"
"No!"
Luffy answered self-righteously.
"But you're strong!"
He extended his finger, gesticulating 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 thought process was bizarre, but his conclusion was remarkably accurate.
He pointed at White Night's nose and loudly declared.
"So! You're the one who beat Grandpa up like that!"
"You're even more amazing than Grandpa!"
Ace's eyes were also filled with agreement.
The Grandpa who, in his heart, was as unconquerable as a mountain.
Was actually sent by this lazy guy in front of him to a place to "warm up," and came back covered in wounds!
This fact had a devastating impact on their young worldview!
But after the destruction, there was a crazily growing desire!
"Teach us!"
Ace gritted his teeth and repeated.
"As long as we can get stronger! We'll do anything!"
"We also want to set sail! We also want to be pirates!"
Luffy waved his small fists, his face full of longing for the future.
"I want to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King!"
White Night looked at them.
Looking at those two clear eyes burning with ambition.
He pouted, lay back down, and put his hands behind his head.
"No."
He refused simply and directly.
"Being a teacher is too much trouble; I don't have the time for that."
"Please!"
Luffy directly pounced, grabbing White Night's leg, and started to act spoiled.
"Please teach us! We eat a lot! Ah no, we can fight a lot!"
"Get off."
White Night shook his leg with a disgusted look, but found that this kid was like a piece of sticky candy, impossible to shake off.
Ace didn't cling like Luffy.
He just stood there, staring intently at White Night with those deep eyes, inherited from the Pirate King, that didn't belong to his age.
"We don't want to wait ten more years."
Ace's voice was hoarse, yet firm and resounding.
"We want to set sail now!"
"We want to gain freedom now!"
White Night's leg-shaking stopped.
He looked down at the straw-hatted brat clinging to his leg, snotty and teary-eyed, still shouting "Pirate King."
Then he glanced at the black-haired brat with a stubborn face, his eyes filled with unwillingness and defiance.
One, the future Fifth Emperor.
One, Whitebeard's Second Division Commander.
These two influential figures, who would dominate the seas, were now like two little puppies, circling him, wagging their tails, begging for a bone of strength.
This scene… it was truly quite interesting.
The corner of White Night's mouth slowly curved into a playful smile.
He extended a finger and pointed at Ace and Luffy.
"It's not impossible for me to teach you."
The two brats' eyes instantly lit up!
"But…"
White Night slowly sat up, and in front of them, he shrewdly rubbed his fingers together.
"My lessons are very expensive, you know."
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