"Grandpa!"
Almost at the same moment that roar, enough to scare a coward out of his wits, sounded, the previously defiant Luffy immediately opened his mouth wide in terror and yelled.
His shout also drew the attention of the other guests.
Especially those from the Ninja World.
That Luffy kid really couldn't sit still. After being pulled away from the 'adults' table', he immediately started bothering others.
When the Ninja World representatives happened to mention 'Ninjutsu' during their conversation, it instantly caught Luffy's attention.
Luffy was powerless to resist anything that appealed to a grade school boy's imagination: Ninja, giant robots, transformations, superheroes, etc.
So, his eyes sparkling, he squeezed into the group of unfamiliar Ninja.
In that short time, Luffy had already gotten friendly with the more enthusiastic ones, even making plans to go out to sea together someday.
That is, B and Fuu.
These two lacked the inherent caution typical of other Ninja, being so outgoing they seemed like they were from a different world.
Because of that, B and the others found it hard to imagine what kind of grandfather could make the fearless Luffy panic so much.
Just moments before, during their brief interaction, the somewhat reckless Fuu had even tried to let Luffy experience Chomei's intimidating pressure.
Even though Chomei was among the weakest of the Tailed Beasts, it was still a Tailed Beast.
Its pressure, while perhaps not as terrifying as Kurama's, was still not something an average person could withstand.
Yet this Straw Hat kid, upon encountering Chomei, not only showed no fear but eagerly pulled out a bug-catching net, shouting excitedly about capturing Chomei, this 'super-rare giant beetle', on the spot.
It took the Jinchuriki some explaining to dissuade Luffy from that idea.
Their confusion didn't last long… almost as soon as Luffy started screaming in terror and scrambling away on all fours, a figure as strong as a bear, dressed in white, rushed to his side at incredible speed.
Then came the [Fist of Love], so familiar to the men of the Monkey Family.
Bang!
Garp's fist raised a bump the size of a cooking pot on his beloved grandson's head, causing Luffy to roll around on the ground in agony.
"It's Luffy's grandfather… that Vice Admiral Garp!"
Chopper also belatedly screamed in terror.
He hadn't forgotten how Garp's thrown cannonballs nearly sank them, ship and all, back at Water 7.
But Garp wasn't done.
Like a tiger, he turned his head towards the crowd, instantly spotting the figure of another troublesome kid in his memory.
"Ace!!"
Ace, who had been tiptoeing, planning to sneak away while his little brother got pummeled, was frozen on the spot by the shout.
"—What kind of big brother are you!"
The whistling wind of a fist and his grandfather's scolding came at him simultaneously. In the nick of time, Ace could only instinctively open his mouth.
"Fire…"
"No use!"
Bang!
He didn't have time to fully elementalize. Garp's fist slammed into Ace's head, giving him a bump matching Luffy's.
The captain of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division, son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, the powerful [Fire Fist] Ace, was now rolling on the ground clutching his head, just like his brother Luffy.
A grandpa beating his grandsons didn't care about the occasion.
"Hmph!"
Grabbing one useless grandson in each hand, Garp snorted, a column of white vapor shooting from his nostrils. He then glared sideways at Big Mom and Kaido.
"What? You still have a problem? Charlotte Linlin, Kaido."
The message was clear: I can hit my own grandsons, but you're not to bully them.
If Big Mom dared utter any threatening words, this old geezer wouldn't mind throwing down with her.
Of course, scaring off two Emperors just by showing up was obviously impossible.
But the relationship Garp's actions exposed was the real reason Big Mom backed down.
"So this brat is your grandson, Garp."
Big Mom finally remembered where she'd seen Luffy before.
During the Marineford War, she and Kaido had been too far from Marine Headquarters to get a clear impression of the briefly glimpsed Straw Hat Pirates.
She recognized him now.
As for threatening family members, Big Mom couldn't continue with that line.
From what she knew, besides this grandson, the only thing this old geezer Garp had was a son, who was now the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Leaving aside whether she could win, whether her people could even find Dragon was questionable.
"Ha, a grandfather in the Marine, a grandson as a pirate. You really know how to raise kids, don't you, Garp, you old coot?"
She wouldn't fight anymore, but she wouldn't let up verbally either.
"Can't compare to how you raise kids, having so many gives you experience."
Despite his usual bumbling, simple appearance, Garp could be sharp-tongued when it mattered.
As for Kaido… he had even less standing to comment on this topic. Just look at Yamato next to him, trying to arm-wrestle Toneri.
Fortunately, with Naruto present, the situation didn't escalate, turning Amazon Lily into a second Marineford battlefield.
This was probably the source of Naruto's confidence in sending invitations to both sides of the law simultaneously.
—Whether this confidence would hold after several formidable women arrived at the scene later remained a question.
…
Unlike the boisterous guests at the main venue, Brook was currently wandering aimlessly around the island.
"Ah… I'm lost…"
Scratching his skull, Brook looked around in dismay.
When he'd first disembarked, he'd been with Franky and Robin.
But then Robin seemed drawn to something, disappearing before they could react.
Franky and Brook had decided to go find her.
The result, however, was that after searching separately for a while, they not only failed to find Robin but ended up getting lost themselves.
Now Brook just wanted to find someone to ask for directions.
But the path Brook had taken somehow managed to bypass Amazon Lily's main city entirely, cut straight through the dense jungle, and led him to the sparsely visited southern part of the island.
"Where on earth is this…"
As Brook muttered to himself, a distant, low call suddenly reached his ears… if he still had ears.
He turned his head almost instinctively.
And there he saw it: a gigantic figure leaping from the depths of the sea.
'A blue whale… no, with this size, it's an island whale.'
'Just like Laboon.'
The moment this thought occurred, Brook froze on the spot.
Then, a surge of emotion spread through him uncontrollably. Even the non-existent heart in his empty chest cavity seemed to start pounding.
"No… it's probably just a coincidence…"
Even as he said it, Brook's pace quickened, from a fast walk to a sprint.
The massive figure seemed to have only surfaced to breathe, unaware that someone on the island was watching.
Brook ran faster and faster, soon reaching the beach. But the giant island whale was still far from shore.
Seeing the whale about to dive again, Brook ignored everything else, his bony legs moving so fast they became blurs.
Because he was just a skeleton, his body was extremely light. Combined with his incredible speed, he could actually run on the water's surface.
But there was a price.
As a Devil Fruit user, Brook couldn't stop for a moment. If he started sinking, he'd lose the ability to save himself immediately.
Especially now, separated from his crewmates, if he silently drowned in the sea, he might never see them again.
But… even so, he had to go.
The giant island whale was now mostly submerged again, and the waves stirred up by its movements made Brook's forward progress even more difficult.
"Hey!! Laboon!! Is that you?!"
Brook pushed himself to the limit, crossing the rough waves to reach the area where the whale had appeared.
But now, the giant whale had vanished, leaving only ripples spreading across the water's surface.
"Laboon…"
Brook murmured, feeling a sense of loss.
Maybe… it was just a coincidence?
"Mooo—"
But in the next instant, the melodious cry sounded again!