"You… you're not going to say anything?" The Fleet Admiral stared straight at Garp.
"Huh?"
Garp looked confused. "What else am I supposed to say?"
"No."
The Fleet Admiral immediately shook his head, then smiled.
"No need. Garp, I wish you a smooth voyage."
Garp waved casually, then turned and left, tossing a line over his shoulder as he walked.
"I'm off! Wouldn't be good to keep people waiting too long."
"Bang!"
As the door shut, the Fleet Admiral stood there, pondering Garp's last words.
"…What is this? Is that really the Garp I know?"
"You could tell me he's a fake and I'd believe it!"
…
Before long, Is and his group were ready as well.
This time, only Is, Tatsumaki, Uchiha Madara, Acnologia, and Roz·Meini were going. The rest of the maids stayed behind at the castle.
Not because Is forbade them—but because they didn't want the hassle of travel.
"Garp?"
As soon as Is arrived at the port, he spotted Garp sitting beside the World Government ship, as if he had been waiting for quite some time.
"We meet again, Saint Aurelius D. Virel Is!"
"You're… here?"
"Oh, I'll be escorting you on this trip. Ensuring your safety. Though… I feel like I'm unnecessary, because the three people around you all give off the aura of wild beasts. Hahaha!"
Garp burst into laughter.
Naturally, he was referring to Uchiha Madara, Acnologia, and Tatsumaki.
Even if he felt his presence might not be needed, duty was duty—escort was still escort.
Is smiled faintly.
He understood Garp's personality well enough—carefree and straightforward.
But what truly surprised him was that Garp had been assigned this escort mission.
After all, this was the man in the Marines who hated dealing with Celestial Dragons the most.
Which meant there was only one explanation—
he had been forced into it.
"This time, you can take it easy. No need to take responsibility," Is said, shifting the topic.
The meaning was clear—Garp didn't need to follow them, and even if something happened, he wouldn't be held accountable.
Garp paused for a moment, then grinned.
"Orders are orders. As a Marine officer, breaking them would be a serious crime."
His tone sounded serious—but for some reason, Is felt like Garp was secretly enjoying this.
"…Am I imagining things?"
Is muttered to himself inwardly.
Since Garp didn't mind, Is didn't push further.
"Set sail."
For convenience, Is had drawn out an approximate set of coordinates. Using a Log Pose, the navigator confirmed the direction.
This time, the destination pointed toward a World Government allied nation.
The Marines quickly contacted the kingdom's ruler and instructed them to prepare for arrival.
The journey would take about three hours.
…
Two hours later, in the New World—on a certain island.
A pirate hurried from the port toward the shoreline.
There, a medium-sized ship was anchored.
At the front of the ship sat a towering man on the railing—holding a naginata in one hand and a sake gourd in the other, occasionally taking a drink.
He was none other than one of the Rocks Pirates' executives—
Edward Newgate, the man who would one day be known as Whitebeard.
His objective was clear—under Rocks' orders, he was here to attack a World Government allied nation.
However, upon noticing unusual activity at the port, Whitebeard had sent someone to investigate.
"Captain Edward! Captain Edward!!"
The pirate who had gone to scout leapt onto the ship and rushed over, panting heavily.
Whitebeard glanced at him from the corner of his eye, took another sip of sake, and spoke calmly.
"What is it?"
"I… it's…"
Seeing him stammer, Whitebeard said flatly, "Catch your breath first. Then speak."
A moment later, the pirate quickly reported:
"Captain Edward, I found out what you asked—there's a big commotion at the port because a Celestial Dragon is coming to visit!"
…
"A Celestial Dragon? Which Marine is escorting them?" Whitebeard asked.
"I knew you'd ask. The civilians didn't know, so I captured someone important from the country and got the information out of him. The escort this time is a Marine Vice Admiral named Monkey D. Garp."
"…That's not good."
Whitebeard's expression darkened slightly.
Garp's presence meant they had no chance of attacking this country.
Otherwise, it would lead to another difficult battle—and he had no desire to cause unnecessary casualties.
After all, ever since the battle at Marine Headquarters, the Rocks Pirates still hadn't fully recovered.
Of course, there was another option—
wait here until Garp left.
But that would waste too much time.
Who knew when the Celestial Dragon would leave?
"Captain Edward, should we look for an opportunity? The Celestial Dragon this time is Aurelius D. Virel Is—the one from the newspaper, the one who chased Shiki and Charlotte Linlin."
"If we kill him here, Captain Rocks would definitely be pleased," the pirate suggested in a low voice.
"Aurelius D. Virel Is…?"
At those words, Whitebeard's eyes gleamed with interest.
He was indeed curious to see this so-called anomaly among the Celestial Dragons.
"As for that 'chase'… didn't Shiki and the others already say it was just World Government propaganda?" Whitebeard reminded him, warning him not to speak carelessly.
"Yes, yes!"
"You all stay here. I'll go take a look myself."
With that, Whitebeard leapt off the ship.
Now, he intended to find an opportunity—
and uncover the answer he was looking for.
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