Garp, hammer in one hand and nails in the other, was busily tapping away, repairing the wall he had damaged.
Orochimaru, holding merry, helped by handing him tools, while merry also picked up a small hammer and gently tapped the wall.
A group of Marine Soldiers looked at the adorable merry before them, their faces flushed as they swayed.
"Kawaii~"
Then, their gaze shifted to Orochimaru, who was holding merry, and their eyes became even more captivated.
"Ah~ So beautiful~"
Upon hearing these sounds, the veins on Garp's forehead bulged, and he glared fiercely at the Marine Soldiers under his command.
"All of you, get to work!!!"
However, those defiant Marine Soldiers turned their heads, puffed up their cheeks, and protested to Garp.
"You were the one who broke it! If you're going to fix it, why did you break it in the first place?!"
Garp nonchalantly picked his nose and replied matter-of-factly, "Because it was cool."
A group of Marine Soldiers sighed helplessly; they truly had no way to deal with their capricious superior and could only join Garp in repairing the wall.
Garp turned to look at Luffy while still hammering the wall.
"By the way, Luffy, you must have seen your Old Man, right?"
Luffy tilted his head, looking bewildered, "Huh?? Old Man?? What Old Man? Do I have such a thing?"
"What do you mean..." Garp picked his nose. "Didn't he reveal his identity to you? He said he was going to see you off in Loguetown."
"Huh???" Luffy was still confused.
Orochimaru, holding merry, suddenly realized... Ah... He forgot to tell Luffy about this.
A group of people blinked their eyes; Nami and the others were very curious if Luffy's Old Man had also been in that town at the time.
"Huh? What kind of person is my Old Man?" Luffy still blinked, looking at Garp, who was repairing the wall.
"What the... Didn't Orochimaru tell you either... They should be very familiar with each other, and isn't Sabo with your Old Man?" Garp frowned speechlessly at his foolish Grandson.
"Your Old Man is Monkey D. Dragon, he's with the Revolutionary Army."
"Dragon???" Luffy repeated, his tone filled with doubt.
The surrounding Marine Soldiers heard this, their pupils dilated, and their breathing became hurried, followed by a chaotic scramble.
Luffy turned to look at his astonished Crewmates, his face blank.
"Why are you all so surprised?"
Sanji roared, "Idiot!! Don't you know who Dragon is?!"
"Your Old Man is a truly remarkable man!" Nami quickly added.
"Huh??" Luffy, still confused, looked at the group of people striking poses in fear, then turned to Orochimaru... This insidious snake! He didn't tell me again!
"Orochimaru!!!"
Orochimaru clicked his tongue, muttering, he had merely forgotten. "Ah... Dragon, he did go to Loguetown, but he didn't see Luffy... I asked him for a small favor, which delayed him a bit..."
(≖ _ ≖) The group suddenly became expressionless... Hey, hey... That's Luffy's father, right... No, he's also Orochimaru's father, but is it really okay for you to do this... And how many things have you kept from Luffy... Although he's an idiot and wouldn't understand if you told him... But you should at least say something.
"Soga, I see... Then there's nothing to be done." Luffy dropped his hands in sudden realization, then, with a shark-like face, roared at Orochimaru.
"That's a lie!!! How do you know so much?! And who exactly is my father?!"
Orochimaru tried hard not to show a disgusted expression.
"Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Leader means boss, and Revolutionary Army is a name.
You know there are Marines and pirates in the world, but there aren't only these two forces; there's also a third, which is the Revolutionary Army.
They neither agree with the pirates' plunder nor with the World Government's rule. They believe that the people are everything, so they liberate kingdoms worldwide, letting the people be in charge.
Many countries have been plunged into war because of his ideology, so the World Government has labeled them as heinous criminals. Sabo is the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, and Chief of Staff means someone who gives advice."
"Soga!" Luffy suddenly understood. "Then my Old Man is a good person! But Orochimaru, you don't have to explain it in such detail, I'm not an idiot."
Upon hearing the words "good person," the group of people all showed speechless expressions. They stared at Luffy in disbelief, as if questioning his intelligence. Orochimaru had broken down the explanation so thoroughly, how did he manage to summarize it as "good person"?
Garp also reacted and couldn't help but scratch his head, turning to look at the others somewhat awkwardly.
"Ah... This matter... It's probably still not good to say it out loud... Hahahaha."
Garp suddenly let out a hearty laugh, but there was a hint of discomfort in his laughter. After the laughter, he was silent for a moment, then spoke again:
"Then... Just pretend I didn't say anything just now."
Everyone present instantly turned to stone, their minds filled with question marks. Eh??????? They widened their eyes, unable to believe what they had just heard. Is it really that casual...? As expected of Luffy's Grandfather.
Garp continued repairing the wall while chatting with everyone for a while, then prepared to leave.
In the courtyard, Garp stood with his hands on his hips.
"Because you are my Grandson, I will not capture you on this island. I will explain it this way to the military! So you can stay here with peace of mind.
After all, I only came to see you, and it's enough to see that you are all well."
Garp held merry with some reluctance, then temporarily handed merry to Robin, who was standing nearby.
"Orochimaru, come with me for a moment. We need to discuss merry's issue. Didn't you have something to tell me, Luffy??"
Garp looked at the sneaky Luffy, afraid that Luffy would cause trouble, and his mouth twitched slightly. He directly grabbed the person.
"You come too, aren't you the Captain?"
The Straw Hat Pirates blinked their eyes, a little puzzled. Was there something about merry that they shouldn't hear, and why discuss merry's matters without merry present?
Orochimaru and Garp went into a private room. Orochimaru handed Garp a Chakra extraction manual and instructions for various Ninjutsu.
"Grandfather, there were too many Marines just now, so it was inconvenient to explain. merry is a clone and has some of my cells integrated, so she can also use my Ninjutsu. I'll trouble you to look after her afterward, but it's best not to let the Marine acquire this book, as this is a completely new energy."
Garp also understood the importance of this matter... And he knew about this ability; as far as he knew, only Orochimaru could use it, and now there was merry. If the World Government acquired it, many people would die, right?
Garp solemnly tucked the two books into his embrace.
"By the way, Orochimaru, now that we've finished with official business, let's talk about private matters. Shouldn't you explain those rumors to your Grandfather?" Garp grinned menacingly, cracking his knuckles as he walked towards Orochimaru.
Orochimaru, backed into a corner, was a bit bewildered, looking at the two walls. When did this happen... This Old Man is actually using his brain!!!!
"Wait!!! Grandfather! I'm already grown up! No!"
After a series of slapping sounds, Garp, refreshed, tossed the soulless Orochimaru to Luffy, who was as quiet as a chicken.
Garp laughed heartily and left. It had been ten years, and he finally found a reason to beat this cunning snake. It seemed Orochimaru being a pirate wasn't so bad after all.
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