Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
As a Marine warship bearing a massive pug figurehead docked at the harbor, Garp jumped anxiously from the deck and rushed into the Marine Headquarters building.
More than ten days ago, he and Sengoku had caused a huge scene on Baterilla Island. In a fit of anger, Garp had run off to the East Blue for a vacation. But after hearing that Sengoku had been injured, he put all his grievances aside, canceled his leave, and returned to Marine Headquarters.
When Garp arrived at the secret medical ward on the fifth floor of the headquarters building, he found many familiar faces waiting outside.
Fleet Admiral Kong, Zephyr, Tsuru, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan.
All of them looked grim.
Seeing this, Garp hurried over and asked, "How is Sengoku?"
"You're here, Garp…"
The one who spoke was Tsuru. She had entered the Marines in the same generation as Sengoku and Garp, and the three of them had supported each other all the way to where they were now. As a woman, she was also the most suitable person to speak at a moment like this.
"Sengoku… physically, there isn't anything too serious. But his mental state isn't good… Maybe you're the only one who can comfort him."
Garp's expression darkened.
"I understand. Leave it to me."
With that, he pushed the door open and walked inside.
Outside the door, everyone exchanged glances. In the end, Kong spoke.
"Suppress this matter for now. Once Sengoku has recovered from his injuries and he and Garp deal with Bullet together, we'll announce the Sky Pirates' new bounty."
"Are we just going to leave the Sky Pirates alone like this?"
Tsuru asked calmly.
Kong sighed.
"They've grown far too quickly, especially their captain, Yemu. Even Sengoku… And with Shiki added to the situation, dealing with them now would require at least two Admirals moving together. On top of that, we have no way to track their movements. It would still be manageable if they stayed in the Grand Line, but the Four Seas are far too vast. Finding them there would be even harder."
"So we're just going to let those vicious criminals run free?"
Sakazuki, who had the fiercest temper among them, roared.
Kong did not answer directly.
"The World Government has already agreed to have CP use all its strength to search for the Sky Pirates' traces. Hopefully, that will be of some use."
After saying that, Kong looked at everyone and spoke in a deep voice.
"The next period may be the most difficult time our Marines have ever faced. Until Sengoku recovers, Zephyr, you will temporarily take charge of all Marine affairs."
"I understand."
After everything was arranged, everyone left.
...
Tap, tap, tap.
Garp's hurried footsteps echoed as he passed through the corridor and entered the medical room where Sengoku was staying.
At a glance, he saw Sengoku sitting beside the white hospital bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages except for his head, his mood visibly low.
Seeing him like this, Garp felt a little pained.
From the time the two of them had joined the Marines as comrades and grown together until now, more than thirty years had passed.
This was the first time Garp had ever seen Sengoku looking this dejected.
It seemed that battle had been far more difficult than he had imagined.
But Garp did not offer any comforting words. Instead, he looked at Sengoku, clutched his stomach, and burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Sengoku, you look exactly like a zombie!"
Sengoku merely lifted his head slightly, glanced at Garp, then lowered it again.
Seeing this, a vein throbbed on Garp's forehead. He walked straight to Sengoku's side, sat down on the hospital bed opposite him, then picked up the gifts everyone had brought from the nearby table and began eating happily.
Crunch, crunch.
Munch, munch.
Slurp, slurp.
In an instant, the entire ward was filled with the rude sounds of Garp eating.
Sengoku endured it at first, but in the end, veins bulged on his forehead and he roared, "You bastard, Garp! What are you doing? Those were gifts from Tsuru!"
Seeing this, Garp finally laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha! Now that's more like you, Sengoku!"
Sengoku froze, then lowered his head again, his expression ugly.
Still, Garp was much more relieved now. He poured the biscuits in his hand into his mouth in one go and spoke while crunching on them.
"I was shocked when I heard you were actually defeated by that brat Yemu. What happened? Did that kid use some scheme like he did in Loguetown? Or did Shiki get involved too?"
In front of his old friend, Sengoku finally spoke seriously.
He shook his head and clenched his fists tightly.
"No… This time, I was completely defeated. That kid's growth is too unbelievable… Even I didn't expect it."
Now Garp was truly shocked.
"Hey… Sengoku, you're not joking, are you?"
Sengoku glared fiercely at his old friend.
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Seeing his old friend's expression become serious as well, Sengoku explained in detail.
"I lost to that kid in a one-on-one fight. We've been deceived all along. What that kid ate wasn't the Logia Mera Mera no Mi, but another Mythical Zoan that we don't know about. And he has obtained the power of Devil Fruit awakening."
At this point, Sengoku held his head with one hand, looking as if he had a headache.
"And on top of that, he has Rocks's power inside him. That powerful Haki was so overwhelming that even my Conqueror's Haki could do nothing against it."
Garp looked stunned. He scratched his head as he remembered something.
"Looks like what I felt back in Loguetown was real after all."
Sengoku froze.
"What? What did you say?"
Only then did Garp realize he had said the wrong thing. He spoke awkwardly.
"When I was watching you fight that kid in Loguetown, I sensed a trace of Rocks in his Haki. I thought it was just my imagination…"
"You bastard, Garp! Why didn't you tell me something like that sooner?"
Sengoku instantly flew into a rage.
Garp hurriedly begged off.
"I wasn't sure either, all right? So… my fault…"
Seeing this, Sengoku could only shake his head helplessly.
"So that kid really is connected to Rocks?"
"I'm not sure. But the World Government has already decided to raise his bounty from 940 million Belly to 2.86 billion Belly."
"That much all at once? That really is exaggerated. Looks like we Marines are going to be busy again."
"No…"
Sengoku shook his head.
"I'm afraid it won't just be the Marines who'll be busy. It will be the entire world."
"!!!"
Garp froze. Then he heard Sengoku speak with a complicated expression as he looked down at his bandaged hands, which still burned with pain.
"After this battle, I can already feel it. When that kid says he wants to change the world and overthrow the World Government, it isn't the ignorant nonsense of some brat. He truly intends to do it. In fact, he has already begun."
"This sea, and even the entire world, is about to face a tremendous upheaval."
"This crisis will surpass everything that came before it."
"Including Rocks."
"Including Roger."
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