Back on Garp's side…
After explaining the situation to Sengoku, he climbed out of the sinkhole with Marco and started back toward the mountaintop.
Aramaki, meanwhile, was being dragged behind him by one leg.
The man could no longer even groan.
He had taken dozens of punches from Garp, after all.
No matter how impressive his regenerative abilities were, with Seastone cuffs suppressing his powers, he would probably remain unconscious for several days at the very least.
Garp had not given him any medical treatment either.
That part was intentional.
Judging by the way Aramaki had behaved earlier, he hardly carried himself like a proper Marine.
More importantly, he really had attacked Tama and the others and nearly destroyed the entire mountain.
Letting him walk away completely unharmed would have been far too generous.
Dragging him along the ground was already merciful.
He was an Admiral candidate, after all. His body possessed Admiral-class toughness, so something like this was not going to kill him.
If anything, Garp was helping strengthen his physique.
Personal training from the Hero of the Marines, completely free of charge!
Some people would never receive such a priceless opportunity no matter how much they begged.
By the time Garp and Marco returned, Tama and the others had already begun packing.
The bandit camp was practically in ruins, but everyone was moving with surprising efficiency.
Ashura Doji had also considered the possibility that the Beasts Pirates might attack, so his men were preparing to leave.
Hitetsu and Shinobu had already gone down the mountain to collect Tama's belongings.
Ashura Doji was carrying the last bundle out of the wreckage when he came face-to-face with Garp's group.
His gaze immediately locked onto Marco.
Back when Oden left Wano, Ashura Doji had remained in Kuri and never met the people aboard Whitebeard's ship. As far as he was concerned, Marco was a complete stranger.
His guard immediately rose.
Marco, however, had already learned Ashura Doji's identity from Garp.
One of Kozuki Oden's retainers.
He immediately raised both hands, palms outward.
"Relax. I'm not here to fight."
"Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
He pointed toward the tattoo on his chest.
"I used to sail on the same ship as Kozuki Oden."
Ashura Doji paused and narrowed his eyes at the blond man.
There was still scrutiny in his gaze, but most of the hostility disappeared.
He knew Oden had once sailed aboard Whitebeard's ship.
And the name Oden still carried enormous weight in this land.
That alone made Marco's story believable.
Marco took advantage of the opening and briefly explained that he had only come to find Garp, so there was no reason for them to fight.
Before long, the two were talking surprisingly well.
Hearing Marco's account of Garp also strengthened Ashura Doji's trust in the Marines a little further.
Meanwhile, Tama had already spotted Garp.
"Grandpa Garp!"
She hugged her bundle to her chest and ran toward him.
After circling him twice, she immediately bombarded him with questions.
"Grandpa Garp, are you hurt? That move just now was amazing! How did you do it? Did you catch the enemy?"
Then she noticed the leg being dragged behind him.
Her gaze followed it downward until she found a battered, unconscious green-haired man.
"Oh."
Tama nodded in understanding.
"You caught him."
"Tama, Grandpa's perfectly fine. But…"
Garp crouched and gently covered her eyes with one enormous hand.
There were some things children simply did not need to see.
Still, he had not forgotten the important matter.
His expression quickly turned serious.
"We need to leave this place as soon as possible."
"The Beasts Pirates will probably arrive before long."
Tama nodded from inside his embrace.
Garp drew a deep breath and remained silent for two seconds before finally asking,
"So, Tama… are you willing to come with me and join the Marines?"
Tama immediately wriggled free.
Her eyes shone even brighter than before.
"Yes!"
"That move Grandpa Garp used just now was incredible!"
She clenched her tiny fists.
"Tama wants to become as strong as Grandpa too!"
Then she began counting on her fingers.
"Big Sis Shinobu said she'll teach Tama ninjutsu, so now Tama has a chance to become a real kunoichi!"
"And if Tama goes with Grandpa Garp, I can meet Ace too!"
"Oh! And that move you just used—"
Tama looked straight up at Garp with enormous, sparkling eyes.
"Tama wants to go!"
"I want to go with Grandpa and become a Marine!"
Garp froze.
His lips began trembling.
His eyes turned red.
Then—
"T-T-T-Tama… WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
The Hero of the Marines crouched in the middle of the ruins and began crying like a three-hundred-pound child.
Tears and snot covered his face.
He completely ignored the strange looks Marco and Ashura Doji were giving him and simply continued sobbing.
Tama was such a thoughtful child!
Not only had she agreed to become a Marine, she had even asked whether this old man was hurt!
Had any of those rotten brats in his family ever cared this much about him?
Dragon spent all his time running around starting revolutions.
Luffy only cared about meat and pirates.
And Ace was even worse.
As for Cain?
If Cain ever heard about this, he would undoubtedly say:
'Of course I care about the old man. I just don't say it out loud. If I actually walked up and asked whether Grandpa was hurt, he'd punch me in the head and yell something like, "Are you questioning my fists, or are you questioning how tough this old man is? Looks like your special training needs to be doubled!"'
"WAAAAAH! THIS OLD MAN IS SO TOUCHED!"
Garp grabbed Tama beneath the arms and lifted her high into the air, then spun around in a huge circle.
Tama became dizzy almost immediately.
After three full rotations, Garp abruptly stopped.
He had remembered something.
"Wait here."
He carefully put Tama down, then charged toward the ruins of Ashura Doji's house and dove headfirst into the rubble.
Wooden boards, shattered roof tiles, and scraps of cloth went flying everywhere.
Ashura Doji's eyelid twitched as he watched.
"Found it!"
Garp emerged from the wreckage with two pieces of straw tangled in his hair and something held proudly in both hands.
It was a hat woven from bamboo.
Its shape was rather strange.
It was difficult to tell whether it was supposed to be a kasa or a helmet.
But looking more carefully, one could recognize the general shape of a Marine cap, with a rounded crown and a flat brim.
Several crooked letters had been carved across the front:
M-A-R-I-N-E
The letters were all different sizes, and the final "E" had somehow been carved backward.
But it definitely said MARINE.
This had been Garp's personal improvisation while Tama taught him how to weave straw hats.
She had patiently shown him how to make several perfectly normal kasa, but Garp had always felt they were missing something.
So one night, he sat alone on the roof beneath the moonlight and spent half the night experimenting until he created this thing.
It was ugly.
Very ugly!
But the sentiment behind it was sincere.
"Tama."
Garp solemnly placed the bamboo hat on her little head.
The brim was too large and immediately slipped down over her eyebrows, forcing Tama to grab it with both hands.
Garp crouched until they were eye level.
"Once you put on this hat, you're officially a Marine."
Tama froze.
Light gradually filled her large eyes.
Remembering everything Garp had taught her over the past several days, she straightened her tiny body as much as possible.
Then she raised her right hand to her forehead.
The salute was far from perfect, but she performed it with all her strength.
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
Garp smiled.
His rough hand came down and ruffled her hair, knocking the bamboo Marine cap slightly crooked.
"Just call me Grandpa Garp."
He stood and looked proudly at the little girl wearing that crooked bamboo hat.
His heart was practically bursting with happiness.
He had wanted to give someone a hat like this for a long time.
After all, back then…
That red-haired bastard had placed his straw hat on Garp's grandson.
Now Garp had placed his own bamboo Marine cap upon a new generation of Marines.
Come to think of it, this sort of inheritance was rather nice.
And more importantly…
That red-haired bastard had not only lent Luffy Roger's straw hat.
He had also sacrificed an arm.
Now look at Garp.
The hat was woven using techniques Tama herself had taught him.
Every part of it came from her own craftsmanship.
Tama had voluntarily chosen to become a Marine and leave with him.
As for the price Garp had paid…
He thought carefully.
If Aramaki had not suddenly attacked, forcing Garp to step in and unleash that earth-shaking punch, Tama probably would not have agreed quite so quickly.
So technically, the price was…
Garp turned and looked toward Aramaki, who remained unconscious on the ground.
All right.
They had sacrificed one fellow Marine.
But that was fine.
Garp broke into a cheerful grin.
He pulled out a rope, tied it around Aramaki's neck, and fastened the other end around his own ankle.
Then he lifted Tama onto his shoulders.
Tama held onto her bamboo Marine cap with both hands and happily swung her legs.
"Let's go!"
Garp strode energetically down the mountain.
"Back to the Marines!"
Marco and Ashura Doji exchanged a look.
One sighed.
The other shook his head.
Then both shouldered their luggage and followed.
The setting sun stretched their shadows far across the ground.
Tama rode on Garp's shoulders while the crooked bamboo Marine cap swayed gently in the breeze, the unevenly woven letters MARINE glowing gold beneath the sunlight.
And behind them…
Aramaki was dragged along by the rope around his neck, bouncing with every step Garp took.
He had only just been dragged from the bottom of the mountain to the summit.
Now he was being dragged all the way back down again.
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