Garp spared only a brief glance for the unconscious Ashura Doji before losing interest.
This was hardly the first time he had knocked the man out.
He turned toward Tama instead, his tone immediately becoming much friendlier.
"Tama, what brings you here so early today? Did you miss your grandpa?"
"I brought her here."
Tenguyama Hitetsu emerged from the bushes nearby and got straight to the point.
"I've seen everything you've done for Kuri these past few days. Even so, you must leave."
"The people of Wano cannot be dragged into further turmoil because of your presence."
He pulled two notices from his robes, both drawn with traditional ink brushes.
One was a wanted notice issued by the Shogun's administration.
The other was a search order distributed by the Beasts Pirates.
"The time for the final battle has not yet come. We cannot allow you to disrupt the proph—"
Before Hitetsu could finish, Garp's iron fist came crashing down.
Thoom!
The blow drove Hitetsu's tall geta deep into the ground, instantly making him several feet shorter.
Garp had naturally controlled his strength and did not knock the man unconscious.
He snorted, took the two notices from Hitetsu's hands, and glared down at him.
"So this all comes back to that damned prophecy again!"
"You really think a disorganized mob of wandering samurai and bandits can defeat Kaido?"
Hitetsu's vision swam from the blow.
He gently touched the lump rising on top of his head, but instead of growing angry, he slowly lowered himself.
When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and almost pleading.
"That is precisely what I came to discuss."
"With a new Shogun in power, the situation has become more tense than ever. You and I both understand that this peace is temporary. War could erupt at any moment."
He removed his footwear and knelt fully upon the ground, bowing until the long nose of his mask pressed firmly into the dirt.
"I have often come here in secret these past few days to listen to you speak about justice. I have also watched everything you've done."
"I understand now that you are a good man."
"That is why I ask you—before you leave, please take Tama out of this country."
"Master!"
Tama hurried to Hitetsu's side, her eyes filling with tears.
Hitetsu did not rise.
He remained bowed as he continued,
"Tama, I know how you feel, but you must leave. This country could fall into danger at any time."
"Garp is Ace's grandfather, and you made a promise with Ace. If you leave with him, you'll live a better life than you do here."
"You may even see Ace again and fulfill the promise you never completed."
"Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
Tama's voice trembled.
"But Master, Grandpa Garp…"
"It's all right. I'm sure he'll agree."
"Besides, he even knows how many freckles Ace has. Only you would normally spend your free time counting something like that, but it's perfectly reasonable for his grandfather to know."
"And they both have that habit of suddenly falling asleep. If that doesn't prove their relationship, what does?"
"But Master…"
"Don't worry, Tama…"
Hitetsu continued soothing her while waiting for Garp's answer.
Yet no response came.
After waiting for some time, Hitetsu assumed the long nose of his mask was preventing him from bowing deeply enough, and that Garp was refusing to acknowledge such a half-hearted gesture.
He was preparing to force his head even lower and drive the nose into the earth when Tama hurriedly spoke up.
"Grandpa Garp fell asleep again."
"What?!"
Hitetsu raised his head.
Garp was standing before them with the two wanted notices still in his hands, fast asleep on his feet.
…
The two notices had naturally been issued by Yamato and Kaido.
Yamato wanted to locate Garp, while Kaido wanted confirmation that the old Marine was still hiding somewhere in Wano. Both sides had therefore ordered the notices distributed throughout the country.
One of them had also found its way into Aramaki's hands.
By now, Aramaki possessed the strength of a Marine Admiral.
But deep down, he remained the same man who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
He was wary of Kaido and did not dare cause too much trouble.
At the same time, Garp was a legendary veteran whose remaining strength in old age was unknown. Aramaki did not dare seize him by force without first understanding the situation.
All he could do was search in secret.
Unfortunately, his search had now brought him to the ruins of Oden Castle.
There was almost nothing left among the wreckage, and the area did not look remotely inhabited.
After searching for so long, Aramaki could not even find a lowly peasant to interrogate.
His frustration boiled over, and he began destroying everything around him.
Vines lashed across the ruins, accidentally tearing away a concealed section.
Behind it, a strange masked figure was digging frantically behind the graves of the Kozuki family.
There was no one else around, making the man a perfect target for interrogation.
Wano was not affiliated with the World Government, so Aramaki cared nothing for the lives of its people.
He casually extended a branch, wrapped it around the masked Kurozumi Orochi, and hoisted him into the air.
"Hey, you masked insect. Have you seen this man?"
Aramaki held Garp's portrait in front of Orochi.
The moment Orochi heard the word insect, however, his temper exploded.
Kaido had used that exact insult when killing him and had taken three of his lives in the process!
"Don't call me an insect! I am the Shogun of Wano—I am Wano's…"
Orochi struggled violently but forced himself to swallow the word Shogun before it escaped.
He drew the sword hidden inside his robes and slashed wildly.
His feeble resistance could not harm Aramaki in the slightest.
Already losing patience, Aramaki drove branches into Orochi's body and began draining away his life force.
"Wait! Wait—!"
Orochi immediately begged for mercy.
He had only so many lives remaining and could not afford to waste another one.
Unfortunately, he genuinely did not recognize the man in the picture, so all he could do was shake his head frantically.
"I don't know! I've never seen him! I swear!"
"Useless."
Aramaki completely drained his nutrients and tossed him aside.
"Where the hell is that old man Garp hiding?"
Reduced to little more than skin and bone, Orochi struck the ground hard enough for his mask to fall away, making him nearly unrecognizable.
But when he heard Garp's name, he suddenly remembered something.
The little girl who brought him food every day had once mentioned someone called Grandpa Garp.
Grasping at his final hope, Orochi shouted,
"I haven't seen him… but I know where he is! Save me…"
Aramaki immediately brightened.
He returned Orochi's stolen nutrients, then coldly ordered,
"Talk."
Orochi hurriedly pointed toward Atamayama in the distance.
"He's there. I haven't seen him myself, but I heard he's staying on that mountain."
"Oh, is that so?"
Aramaki looked toward the distant peak, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
"I have to admire your nerve. Even after I drained you into a corpse, you still dared to bargain with me."
He glanced at the strange fruits growing from his body, each one containing the viruses he had absorbed from Koby.
Aramaki casually plucked one and shoved it into Orochi's mouth.
The instant the fruit entered, Orochi sensed something was wrong.
He desperately avoided biting through it, struggled free enough to raise his sword, and sliced off his own head in one clean stroke.
"My, what a strange man."
Aramaki picked up the fallen blade and flicked away the blood.
"This sword isn't bad, though. It took his head off remarkably cleanly."
"I'll keep it."
He tucked the sword into his belt, then looked at the remaining poison fruits growing from his body.
With a casual gesture, he planted them beside the gravestones at the ruins of Oden Castle.
"Consider these poison fruits my gift to Wano."
With that, Aramaki launched himself toward Atamayama.
A new head had already grown from Orochi's neck.
He watched Aramaki disappear into the distance and clenched both fists.
"Damn him! Thank goodness I reacted quickly, or I might have lost far more than one life!"
He would have revenge.
Every humiliation he had suffered would be repaid, one by one.
But when he turned toward the poison fruits that had nearly killed him, he found that they had already taken root among the gravestones of Kozuki Momonosuke and the others.
Orochi instinctively backed away.
He had no intention of ever touching those things again.