Garp struggled to swallow the food in his mouth, then swept his Observation Haki around the area.
After confirming that the people on deck were not eavesdropping, he shouted into the receiver,
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT, SENGOKU!"
"AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AS MARINES, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND BY NOW, RIGHT? PIRATES! YOU CAN'T CATCH THEM ALL!"
The Den Den Mushi's eyelids drooped, mimicking Sengoku's stern expression.
Sengoku's voice came from the shell.
"So what? You plan on becoming their king instead?"
"Sengoku, stop making wild conclusions and let me finish!"
Garp raised a hand and scratched hard at his scalp, sounding deeply helpless.
At this moment, Garp finally understood how difficult communication could be.
He was seriously explaining something, but the other side was not paying attention at all and kept answering randomly.
He realized that this must have been exactly how Sengoku felt whenever he talked to Garp in the past.
Truly, the tides had turned.
"Everything I'm doing is for the Marines!"
Garp emphasized sharply.
"If the Marines only keep attacking the pirates who already exist, then even if we drag the Four Emperors down, the New World will just fall into chaos like it has now. Any peace that appears will be extremely short-lived, and we won't be able to effectively suppress piracy at all!"
"But I have an idea. It can slow down that situation and strengthen the Marines at the same time!"
Although he had not considered the World Government side of things earlier, Garp, who had never been the type to overthink, now quickly came up with a relatively safe plan.
"And to carry out this idea, Cain is the most important piece!"
"After that kid left the Marines, we kept hiding his past as a Marine from the World Government."
"That means Cain's identity is special. He's completely different from those members who joined SWORD."
"Even though SWORD members have already submitted their resignations, they still belong to a secret special unit of the Marines. They are still Marines. The Marines and the World Government may not take responsibility for their actions, but the World Government still knows they exist! It would be absolutely impossible for them to get involved with the One Piece!"
"But Cain is different. His detailed information has always been hidden by us. Even if it's exposed that he's this old man's grandson, others will only see him as a rookie pirate who set out to sea this year, just like Luffy. He can move without being restrained by the World Government and seize the thing called the One Piece."
Garp switched the Den Den Mushi to his other hand, grabbed more food, stuffed it into his mouth, and continued explaining.
"We know very well that Cain's position is on our side. Although he's currently in the pirate camp, at his core, he's a fighting force we prepared to oppose the Four Emperors…"
The Den Den Mushi's antennae twitched a few times.
Before Garp could finish, Sengoku had already begun logically extending the information from the other end.
"I think I roughly understand…"
"Just as you said, pirates can never be completely caught. Even if one Emperor is dealt with, it won't take long for a new pirate to take that position. So…"
"According to your idea, instead of letting Cain keep drifting between Emperor factions, it would be better to have him participate in the struggle for the great treasure as a multi-layered spy."
Using the information Garp had given him, Sengoku continued reasoning and reached a conclusion.
"As long as Cain participates in the fight for the One Piece, even if he nominally becomes the Pirate King, once we reveal his true file as a Marine member at the final stage…"
"Then Cain will not be defined as a pirate, and the actual control of the One Piece will be transferred to the Marines. In that way, the Great Pirate Era will also be brought to an end!"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Sengoku's laughing expression, its eyes curving into arcs.
"Hahaha! Good, good! Garp! That brain of yours, which usually lacks any logical thought whatsoever, has finally produced an effective plan."
"In any case, Cain has already been targeted by the World Government."
Sengoku recalled the two dazed members of God's Knights they had encountered while searching for Ace and continued,
"Rather than finding various excuses later to bring him back into the Marine ranks, it would be better to put him in an even farther position now and make strategic arrangements around the One Piece."
"Let him become the Marines' final hidden hand… Tch. Why didn't I think of this plan myself? Garp, is the New World that good for retirement? Since when did your brain become this sharp?"
"Uh…"
Garp reached up and scratched his scalp again.
His original idea had only been to let Cain get involved and bring the One Piece back to Marine Headquarters, using it to attract more people into the Marines and suppress the explosive growth of pirates.
As for ending the Great Pirate Era and all those complicated strategic layouts, Sengoku had reasoned that out himself.
Garp had never thought that far at all!
But under that awkwardness, he still nodded and accepted it.
"Mm. Yeah, that's basically how it is. Hahaha! Not bad, right? My idea's pretty good!"
Hearing Garp say that, Sengoku also voiced the concern in his heart.
"But Garp, have you thought about this? Even if we now disrupt Cain's original pirate crew affiliation, the faction he belongs to at this moment is still the Straw Hat Pirates."
His tone was full of worry.
"If you want this plan to proceed smoothly, Cain must leave the Straw Hat Pirates and form a new pirate crew of his own! And putting aside whether he would be willing to leave the crew, whether he would even agree to this plan is still a huge problem!"
"That's true. Well, once I see Cain later, I'll just ask him, won't I?"
While talking to Sengoku, Garp finished eating every last bit of food in the refrigerator.
Then his eyes locked onto the storage room beneath the deck, and he headed down.
Sengoku froze when he heard that, then immediately raised his voice.
"WAIT. WHO DID YOU SAY YOU'RE ASKING? CAIN? AREN'T YOU IN THE NEW WORLD? CAIN WENT TO THE NEW WORLD TOO?"
Garp covered the Den Den Mushi to muffle Sengoku's amplified voice, chewing on the prepared dried meat in big bites.
He grabbed some kitchen tools and casually made himself a vegetable salad before answering offhandedly,
"Ah, forgot to tell you. I took a day off earlier and didn't have time to inform you. I'm currently on my way to find Cain…"
There was no way he could tell Sengoku about going to Big Mom's territory together with Red-Hair to interfere in his own grandson's wedding with Red-Hair's daughter.
But the moment Sengoku heard that, he could not sit still at all. He immediately roared in furious interrogation,
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF CLEARLY! WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU RUN OFF TO DO?! I TOLD YOU TO HOLD POSITION IN THE NEW WORLD, SO WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?! TELL ME THE TRUTH! OTHERWISE, I'LL SEND SOMEONE RIGHT NOW TO SEARCH EVERY LAST BIT OF TEA LEAVES AND DOUGHNUTS IN YOUR ROOM!"
"Idiot Sengoku, I'm going to be staying in the New World for the next two years. Do you really think there's still stock left in my room? Search all you want. If you can find even a single hair, I'll take your surname!"
"You bastard!"
…
"Burp!"
After Sengoku pressed him several more times, Garp finally had no choice but to agree to report the whole matter afterward.
Once the furious Sengoku hung up the call from the other end, Garp had also swept the ship's food supplies completely clean.
He glanced at the single carrot left in the sack, casually tossed it into a corner, then swaggered out.