Late at night, Isuka had already left ahead of them to handle the follow-up matters under Sengoku's orders.
Cain and Uta began arranging a place for Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku to rest.
"Too little. Can't you add a bit more?"
Cain asked the broker in front of him with a serious expression.
"They're just two lousy old men, and you still want them in a luxury cell? After deducting the price for tonight, they're worth 1,000 Beli at most! Take it or leave it."
The man waved a hand, tossed Cain a money pouch, and then shut the iron door beside him.
Click!
Rattle!
With the sound of the lock snapping shut and the iron door sliding into place, Sengoku and Garp, both wearing handcuffs, stared in disbelief at the people conducting the transaction outside the cell.
They clearly had not yet recovered from the fact that they had just been "sold."
"HEY! CAIN! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU WERE TAKING US SOMEWHERE TO SLEEP? I WAS WONDERING WHY YOU MADE US SMEAR ALL THAT MESSY STUFF ON OUR FACES. SO IT WAS TO SELL US OFF?! WE'RE YOUR ELDERS!"
The two sat on the soft sofa inside the cell, their faces covered in oil paint, staring blankly toward the door.
It was precisely that heavy oil paint that hid their true appearances.
The buyer had no idea that the people in front of him were the Fleet Admiral of the Marines and the Hero of the Marines, and somehow, he had accepted these two "lousy old men" without question.
"Hey, what are you thinking?"
After the man who paid him walked away, Cain tossed the money pouch in his hand and glanced at the room's furnishings.
"This is one of the finest luxury cells in the entire Sabaody Archipelago. It's way more comfortable than those black-hearted inns, and we even get paid for it! I've never stayed somewhere this nice myself."
Inside the room were fresh fruits, all kinds of snacks, a super-soft mattress with silk sheets, an enormous plush sofa, and dozens of bottles of fragrant wine placed in the corner.
No matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble a place meant to imprison slaves.
"The Celestial Dragon incident caused a huge uproar before, and now Doflamingo is being investigated by you people, so a lot of the black-market businesses have shut down. At the moment, this is pretty much the only one still operating."
Cain earnestly tried to persuade them.
"Just endure it for one night. With your strength, you can break out first thing tomorrow morning. Besides, this is a black-market human trafficking den. As Marines, destroying it is your duty, right?"
Cain sighed inwardly.
He had gone through a lot of trouble to find a place this hidden and comfortable.
Garp and Sengoku really ought to appreciate how difficult this had been!
With that thought, Cain turned and left with Uta.
The moment Cain left, Garp reached out, grabbed a piece of fruit, and took a bite.
Then he spoke with his mouth full.
"My grandson's right. Why think so much? Come on, Sengoku, try this fruit. It's delicious and juicy."
"How are you already enjoying this, you bastard?"
Sengoku growled in a low voice, his face shifting between green and pale.
"If outsiders find out about this, how are the two of us supposed to keep working in the Marines?"
"Hey, Sengoku, that's not right. This old man has always worked properly! There's no such thing as 'keep working' for me."
"And haven't you been shouting about retiring for the past few days? Why do you still care about things like that? Enjoying the moment is what matters. Worst case, tomorrow morning, I'll tear this place down and be done with it."
As Garp spoke, fruit juice dripped down the corner of his mouth, and he did not care about his image at all.
"What's with that completely natural attitude? Are you here to eat for free?"
The more Sengoku spoke, the angrier he became.
"Wait, no, I remember now. Kaido does the same thing! Every time he gets hungry, he falls out of the sky into a Marine base, eats and drinks for free, then breaks free and runs off after he's full."
"What Cain arranged for us now is basically the exact same routine, isn't it? Damn it! He didn't learn any of the good things and picked up a whole pile of bad habits instead! Is this still the obedient child we remember? Who the hell taught him this? If I find out, I'm going to beat that bastard to death!"
Just then, a lazy yet familiar voice drifted in from outside the door, carrying a faint smile.
"My, my. I never expected to run into acquaintances here."
There he was.
The "culprit" who taught Cain to do this kind of thing had arrived.
The two followed the voice and looked over, only to see Rayleigh standing leisurely at the door, wearing the same kind of handcuffs on both wrists.
In a certain sense, he could be considered a repeat offender here.
This time, he had also come with oil paint covering his face, intending to "sell himself."
Seeing Sengoku and Garp sitting on the sofa, he waved at the broker.
"No need to arrange a separate room, young man. I'll take this one."
The broker froze, then rubbed his hands together.
"Ah, that'll deduct quite a bit more money, you know."
"Doesn't matter."
Rayleigh waved casually.
"Money isn't a problem."
Seeing this, the man opened the cell door and let Rayleigh in.
The moment Rayleigh entered, he naturally squeezed himself between Sengoku and Garp and sat down.
He casually picked up a fruit from the table, wiped it, and brought it to his mouth.
His movements were so natural that it seemed as if this room had always included a seat for him.
Looking at the matching oil paint on Rayleigh's face, then at how familiar he was with everything here, treating the place almost like home, and then remembering what Garp had said after the war—that Rayleigh had taught Cain for a period of time—
Sengoku instantly understood where Cain's bad habits had come from.
Rayleigh casually picked up a bottle of wine, twisted off the cap, and drank straight from it with a sigh.
"How nostalgic. I didn't expect to run into—gahurgh!"
Before he could finish, Sengoku had already looped the shackles on his hands hard around Rayleigh's neck.
His eyes were red as he roared, "YOU BASTARD! GIVE US BACK OUR WELL-BEHAVED CAIN!"
Garp sat beside them, watching the scene unfold while slapping his thigh and laughing loudly, nearly spraying the fruit out of his mouth.
…
Meanwhile, Cain and Uta, who had returned to the bar, were flipping through the newspapers in their hands, along with the public information the Marines had released.
These were materials Sengoku had handed to Cain.
Since the information had already been made public, there was naturally nothing confidential about it, so Cain was free to read through it.
This time, Morgans had truly stirred up a massive storm.
First was the introduction to the Rocks Pirates.
Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Big Mom—each of them had once been a member of Rocks' crew.
Even Kaido of the Beasts, now known as the world's strongest creature, had merely been an apprentice on that ship.
The publication of this information completely shocked the world.
Although no one knew how the Rocks Pirates had been disbanded, it made people truly understand the terror hidden behind the name "Rocks."
After that came the description of the war itself, as well as the individuals who had stood out during it.
Morgans described them with the title Rocks Pirates of the New Era, greatly raising the perceived level of threat they posed.
Aside from that, the newspaper also contained all kinds of outrageous rumors about Marine Hero Garp.
That was not even mentioning his unclear connections with the Four Emperors.
The matter of Luffy and his three brothers alone had been exaggerated wildly by Morgans.
The reason was simple: Cain had previously kidnapped Morgans and forced him to eat quite a bit of roasted bird meat.
The old bastard had thoroughly decided to hold a grudge against Cain!
Printed boldly across the newspaper was a sensational headline—
When the Marine Hero Faces His Own Grandsons, Is It Righteous Judgment or Weak Indecision? Where Should the Marines Go From Here?
That headline had given Sengoku a headache for quite a while.
Fortunately, the materials Isuka provided had listed detailed methods for dealing with this kind of public opinion crisis.
First, as long as Ace successfully became one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the rumors and slander in Morgans' articles would naturally collapse on their own.
After all, even if Ace was a pirate, he would be a legal pirate affiliated with the World Government.
The criticism aimed at Marine Hero Garp because of Luffy and the others would then have no solid ground to stand on.
Second, the Marines planned to redefine the term "pirate," though that proposal was still in preparation.
The Marines were steadily advancing both plans.
The only variable was Ace.
Although the person they were inviting to become a Warlord was Ace himself, the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates behind him were also a considerable force.
The two were closely connected.
Because the matter was so serious and important, and because getting the other side to agree would be extremely difficult, Sengoku and Garp had to personally come over and search for Ace in a manner almost resembling a vacation.
This represented the Marines' respect and sincerity toward Ace, showing that they would not use their status as Marines to arrest him or his people in any way.
It had to be said that the materials Isuka compiled really had proven useful.
After finishing the documents in his hands, Cain sighed helplessly, silently worrying about the days ahead for Ace.
…
At that very moment, however, Ace was staring at his current appearance, clutching Marco's hair tightly as he shouted.
"TIME IS ALMOST UP! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GO SEE CAIN AND THE OTHERS LOOKING LIKE THIS?! MARCO, USE THAT INVINCIBLE SUPER-BRAIN OF YOURS AND THINK OF SOMETHING!"
"HEY, HEY, YOU TWO ARE SERIOUSLY ENOUGH!"
Marco grimaced in pain as his hair was yanked, while his other arm was being bitten hard by Yamato.
He shouted helplessly, "YAMATO, LET GO ALREADY! YOU TWO CAUSED THIS MESS YOURSELVES! IF YOU WANT THAT WOMAN TO FIX IT, THEN YOU SHOULD GO FIND HER YOURSELVES!"