Just as Kyoshiro was leading his men toward the Moby Dick, the weather changed without warning.
Violent winds whipped the waves against the coastal rocks. Black clouds swallowed the entire sky in an instant, while purple lightning rumbled overhead.
Everyone's heart sank.
They all knew what this meant.
Kaido of the Beasts was coming.
Yasopp stared up at the churning storm clouds, wondering how Garp intended to handle the situation.
Then he turned around and saw the old man setting up a parasol and dragging a lounge chair onto the deck.
Garp reclined comfortably with a box of donuts in his hands and casually remarked,
"That brat Kaido covered up the sun the moment he arrived. Oh well. I can use this umbrella to keep the rain off instead."
"Hey, hey! Why are you lying down and enjoying yourself? Are you seriously not going to do anything?!"
Yasopp raised his rifle and shouted at the leisurely Garp.
"Fine, don't interfere in the fighting, but we still need to get the grain safely ashore! Why are you already taking a break?"
"Then I'll leave protecting the ship and its cargo to you!"
Garp stretched lazily and waved him off.
"Besides, what would you know? Even if I've stepped away from the front lines, I'm still a Marine. I can't simply start fighting one of the Four Emperors whenever I feel like it."
Yasopp laughed in disbelief.
"So you can't casually fight Kaido, but when you attacked us a while ago, you didn't hesitate for a second!"
"Why didn't that rule matter then?"
"Th-that was different!"
Garp scratched the back of his head before adding,
"Besides, I slipped away in secret this time. Sengoku will yell at me again if he finds out…"
"So getting yelled at was your real concern all along?!"
Yasopp finally lost patience and shouted at him.
"Wait a minute!"
Garp suddenly slapped his thigh, his eyes lighting up.
"He isn't Fleet Admiral anymore! Even if he yells at me, he can't tell me what to do!"
"Perfect. I'll give him a call and have a chat."
He casually pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Hello? Moshi moshi? Sengoku, you there?"
"Huh? You're on vacation? What a coincidence! I'm taking it easy too, so it's practically the same thing!"
"Causing trouble? No, no! I haven't started fighting anyone!"
"Huh? Where am I?"
"Hmm… Wano."
"What? Kaido? Oh, he's directly above me right now!"
Under Yasopp's utterly lifeless stare, Garp held up the Den Den Mushi and received a relentless torrent of abuse from Sengoku, without a single insult repeated twice.
Strangely enough, hearing Sengoku's familiar yelling again did not irritate Garp.
If anything, he seemed to enjoy it.
Yamato saw nothing wrong with his decision.
Her connection with Garp existed only through Ace.
Their positions were not merely those of a friend's grandfather and Wano's acting Shogun.
They were also a Marine and a pirate, naturally standing on opposing sides.
Garp had already knocked King out of the sky and traveled all this way to escort the food shipment.
Yamato sincerely appreciated everything he had done and expected nothing more from him.
She suddenly stopped, turned toward the samurai behind her, and raised her kanabo high.
"My name is Yamato! I am the son of Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, and the acting Shogun of Wano!"
"As acting Shogun, I order every samurai here to face Kaido with me!"
"Protect the grain aboard that ship at all costs and deliver it safely to the Flower Capital!"
Once they reached the capital, Kaido would not follow them any farther.
The Flower Capital was the one place he had promised not to enter, an agreement he had made so he could witness Yamato's growth.
"OOOOOOH!"
Led by Kyoshiro, the samurai raised their weapons and roared.
They had witnessed Yamato's courage and willingness to shoulder responsibility with their own eyes. Their blood surged, and morale rose to its peak.
Yasopp stepped forward and asked,
"Yamato, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. You came all this way and helped transport this grain. I'm already more grateful than I can say."
Yamato smiled and nodded before adding frankly,
"Of course, if I truly can't beat them, I'll still need you to help."
She understood perfectly well that the food aboard the ship was tied to the survival of Wano's people.
If it was destroyed because she had overestimated herself, she would never forgive herself.
She would carry as much of the burden as she could on her own. If she truly reached her limit, she would ask for help.
Yamato respected Garp's choice, but she would never become so stubborn that she refused to adapt like Oden had.
At that moment, wild laughter erupted from the black clouds, shaking the sea below.
"WORORORORO! Yamato, are these the reinforcements you brought?"
"You're clearly smarter than Oden ever was!"
Everyone looked up.
Deep within the clouds, Kaido's enormous blue dragon body coiled through the darkness, appearing and disappearing among the storm.
A moment later, his massive head tore through the clouds.
His cold gaze swept across the coast as his booming voice thundered over them.
"One old Marine and some insignificant lackey from Red Hair's crew—is that all you've got?"
"You came aboard Newgate's ship. Are you planning to stay here forever just like he did, Garp?!"
Garp ignored him completely.
He was still busy talking to Sengoku.
Kaido was left hanging in awkward silence before turning toward the coast.
"King! You still alive?"
"Yes, Kaido-san! The injury is nothing serious!"
A calm voice answered from below.
Everyone looked over and saw King already transformed into his pteranodon form, hovering beneath the clouds.
Although Kaido had not heard every detail clearly, he had caught Garp saying that he would not interfere.
So he gave the order without hesitation.
"Attack!"
…
Neither side wasted another word.
The battle erupted instantly.
The samurai and the Beasts Pirates' foot soldiers clashed across the ice Yamato had created.
Although the difference in numbers was enormous, Kyoshiro's masterful swordsmanship allowed him to suppress a large portion of the enemy forces.
Yamato, however, was pinned down by King, who used his advantage in the air to keep her from moving freely.
The situation immediately turned against them.
Bullets and cannon fire rained toward the Moby Dick.
Yamato gritted her teeth.
She had indeed overestimated what they could handle alone.
She immediately called for Yasopp's help.
He raised his rifle and shot every incoming bullet and cannonball out of the air before looking toward Kaido circling overhead.
No one was fighting Kaido.
The dragon was heading straight for the Moby Dick.
Yasopp's expression hardened.
"This might be my first time facing someone at your level, but I fought a man who uses the same kind of power not long ago!"
Just before he pulled the trigger, Garp patted him on the shoulder, tossed the still-buzzing Den Den Mushi into his hands, and loosened his collar.
Yasopp stared at him in confusion.
"Didn't you just say you absolutely wouldn't interfere? What changed your mind?"
"That's true. At the end of the day, this is an internal conflict between Wano and the Beasts Pirates. It wouldn't be proper for a Marine like me to interfere."
Garp looked down at the samurai risking their lives to protect the grain and slowly clenched his fist.
Then he grinned.
"But don't forget—my grandson is a member of this pirate crew."
"As his grandfather, I need to inspect the benefits and working conditions of the crew he's joined, don't I?"
"Oh, and that fight with the Red Hair Pirates counted as an inspection too."
"You barely passed."
Yasopp covered his face.
"Fine. When it comes to inventing excuses, no one beats you."
"But weren't you afraid Sengoku would yell at you? Why don't you care anymore?"
"I've already heard enough from Sengoku."
"I have no interest in listening to that brat Sakazuki lecture me afterward."
Garp tightened his fist as the pressure around him suddenly rose.
"Besides, I can't exactly let Kaido do whatever he wants."