"Grandpa?!"
Seeing the old man standing inside the house, Ace was completely stunned.
He never expected his grandfather to appear here. Could he have come specifically to see him?
"You brat, surprised to see me?" Garp laughed while scolding.
Ace immediately understood Garp's meaning - the other had most likely come to East Blue intentionally to see him.
Thinking this, he smiled and said: "Not exactly... just a bit surprised, that's all."
It was indeed somewhat surprising, after all he hadn't seen his grandfather for two years.
Meanwhile, Sabo watched Garp nervously. As the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, he was considered an extremely dangerous element by the World Government, so it was entirely possible for Garp to attack him directly!
With this thought, he placed his hand on the steel pipe behind his back.
"Marine Hero Gar-"
"Thump!"
Before Sabo could finish speaking, he felt an intense pain erupt on his head, so severe that tears welled up in his eyes.
"That hurts!!!"
"You brat, you should call me Grandpa," Garp said with feigned annoyance.
Sabo: ???
Wait... was this right?
When had he ever agreed to become the other's grandson?
"What, you disagree?" Garp flexed his fist, large as a sandbag.
This troublesome kid was the sworn brother of Ace and Luffy, and they had lived together for some time back then, so having him call him Grandpa wasn't excessive at all.
Sabo: ...
Glancing at Garp's fist, Sabo was instantly silenced.
Then, he turned his head away, refusing to look at Garp.
Hmph, he wouldn't stoop to this old man's level.
But it was precisely this action from Garp that made Sabo understand the other wouldn't arrest him because of his identity.
This warmed Sabo's heart.
'Hmph, this old man is still the same as ever.'
As if remembering something, the corners of Sabo's mouth began to lift slightly, but when he recalled how the other had punched a large bump on his head, he forcibly pressed his lips back down.
Ace watched this scene with a chuckle, nostalgia gradually appearing in his eyes.
Back in the day, the three brothers had been beaten up by their grandfather together like this... How time had flown.
Then, Ace said with some concern: "Grandpa, is it really okay for you to appear in East Blue to meet me like this?"
His presence in East Blue definitely couldn't escape the Marines' notice, so could this cause trouble for his grandfather?
With this thought, worry surfaced in Ace's eyes.
"Ahahahaha, I'm just an ordinary retired old man now, nobody pays me any mind," Garp laughed heartily. "Besides, no one will know what I did here anyway."
Everyone present here was trustworthy, so Garp wasn't worried at all about information being leaked.
As for Marine Headquarters...
With Tsuru around, did he really need to worry about such matters?
Absolutely not!
Besides... what could the World Government even do about it?
Was there any problem with him visiting his hometown folks in East Blue?
"Just an ordinary old man..."
Sabo's mouth twitched. Since when could an ordinary old man knock out the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army with one punch?
Ace chuckled and said, "As long as you're fine."
The important thing was that it wouldn't affect Grandpa.
"Alright, you two brats, let's have a good drink with Grandpa today," Garp said.
Having finally gotten this opportunity, he naturally wanted to properly share a drink with these two rascals.
After all... who knew when they'd meet again after today.
Understanding Garp's meaning, Sabo and Ace agreed without hesitation.
Just then, Dadan walked out of the kitchen with a cigarette in her mouth and announced, "Food's ready!"
Seeing this familiar scene, both Sabo and Ace broke into smiles before nodding vigorously:
"Alright!"
Seeing the boys' expressions, a maternal warmth appeared on Dadan's face.
This feeling was truly wonderful...
Then she shot a somewhat disgusted look at Garp.
This troublemaker was the only one ruining the mood.
But for the sake of the two boys, she'd let him stay for the meal.
With that thought, Dadan turned and headed toward the dining area.
Seeing this, Garp secretly sighed in relief before laughing heartily: "Hahahaha, today I'm going to drink all of you under the table!"
"Bring it on, Grandpa!"
"Alright!"
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
In the highest center of power, the Five Elders were currently discussing matters concerning the Straw Hat Pirates.
"I never expected the Straw Hat Pirates would reunite after two years," Saint Nusjuro said with a furrowed brow while examining the intelligence report just delivered. "It seems that newspaper published by the Blood-Eyed Ninja two years ago was meant to convey information to the Straw Hat Crew."
Now he understood why the Blood-Eyed Ninja had caused such chaos in the Holy Land two years ago - most likely to use that newspaper to transmit information to the Straw Hat Crew.
Recalling the letters written on the Blood-Eyed Ninja's arm, Saint Nusjuro nodded with certainty.
Back then, they didn't understand the Straw Hat Crew well enough to decipher the meaning of those letters.
But now he had figured it out.
The meaning of "3D(X)2Y" was: the three-day gathering is canceled, changed to two years later!
One had to admit, the Blood-Eyed Ninja's method of conveying information was quite clever.
"That should be the case," Saint Shepherd nodded. "Otherwise, there's no explanation for why he would publish that newspaper. Judging by the timing of the newspaper's release, that incident was premeditated, so he believed Saint Nusjuro's judgment wasn't wrong."
The others nodded upon hearing this, accepting the two elders' explanation.
Then Saint Saturn said, "According to the information provided by Sentomaru, the Straw Hat Crew's strength has increased significantly."
Sentomaru had brought four Pacifistas this time, yet the powerful members of the Straw Hat Pirates had each taken down one by themselves!
This represented a tremendous change in their combat capability!
"Grown stronger?" Saint Mars said indifferently, "They're still nothing special."
While the Pacifistas were extremely convenient for dealing with pirates with bounties below one hundred million, they became rather inadequate when facing pirates with bounties over one hundred million who possessed considerable strength.
"Even so, it remains a problem," Saint Saturn remarked.
After all... Straw Hat Boy had eaten that Devil Fruit!
"Leave it to Smoker to handle," Saint Mars said. "Didn't he request to pursue the Straw Hat Pirates in the New World?"
"Given his strength, capturing the Straw Hat Pirates shouldn't be a problem."
As a newly promoted candidate for Admiral, Smoker's capabilities were guaranteed.
So capturing the Straw Hat Pirates without the Blood-Eyed Ninja would pose no issue at all.
"That does make sense."
The others nodded, agreeing with Saint Mars' assessment.
At that moment, Saint Warcury snorted and said, "Hmph, if not for that fellow Kuma, the Straw Hat Pirates would have been dealt with two years ago."
"What's the point of saying such things now?" Saint Shepherd said helplessly.
After all, they couldn't change what had happened two years ago.
Not only could they not change it, they couldn't even determine Kuma's motivation for his actions.
Thinking of this, Saint Shepherd sighed quietly to himself.
Then he turned to Saint Saturn and said, "I recall there's a self-destruct device on Kuma, right?"
"Yes, I've already activated it," Saint Saturn nodded.
After confirming that Kuma couldn't be recovered, he hadn't hesitated to press Kuma's self-destruct switch.
What they couldn't have, their enemies shouldn't get either!
"That's good," Saint Shepherd nodded.
Although he didn't particularly care about Kuma's fate, since the other was World Government property, it was better to destroy him.
Then Saint Shepherd picked up the intelligence report about the Straw Hat Pirates on the table and asked, "What do you think... who is this Moku Moku Fruit user?"
"You're worried he might be the Blood-Eyed Ninja, aren't you?" Saint Saturn said slowly. "But your concern is unnecessary. The Blood-Eyed Ninja is already dead."
"But we never recovered his body."
Hearing his old colleague's words, Saint Saturn's expression darkened slightly.
He wasn't angry at the other, but rather felt it was a great loss that they hadn't obtained the Blood-Eyed Ninja's body.
"Don't worry, Sakazuki immediately sent people to investigate," Saint Nusjuro said. "This person comes from the West Blue, started becoming active on the seas six months ago, and only recently joined the Straw Hat Pirates."
"So it can't be that person."
Not only did the information not quite match up, but more importantly... their appearances were completely different!
At the very least, he didn't remember the Blood-Eyed Ninja being that tall.
"Is that so."
Saint Shepherd thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's good."
"However... to avoid unexpected situations, I think it would be better to eliminate all of them."
After all... only the dead can truly remain quiet!
"Then it depends on whether Smoker can intercept the Straw Hat Crew," Saint Saturn said.
If Smoker could intercept the Straw Hat Crew, they could eliminate them!
As for whether Smoker could accomplish this?
"Don't joke around! A Marine powerful enough to defeat the legendary pirate World Destroyer Vald head-on definitely has the strength to wipe out our entire crew!"
"If necessary, we can dispatch an Admiral," Saint Nusjuro stated.
After all, the Straw Hat Crew were the ones who killed a Celestial Dragon two years ago, so... sending an Admiral to deal with them isn't excessive at all.
This time, no one objected; instead, they nodded in agreement.
Regardless of what the Straw Hat Pirates have done, the Straw Hat Boy's Devil Fruit ability alone makes him deserving of death.
Although the Nika Fruit has never awakened before, to prevent any unnecessary incidents... the Straw Hat Boy must die!
At this thought, a fierce glint appeared in the eyes of the five old men.
We must never allow the Nika Fruit to awaken again!
"By the way, what's the deal with that woman named Perona?" Saint Warcury asked. "Wasn't she Moria's subordinate? Why did she join the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"Perhaps Moria conveyed some message to her before his death," Saint Saturn speculated. "Something like telling her to join the Straw Hat Pirates."
Given that Moria had a good relationship with the Straw Hat Pirates two years ago, it's possible he made such a choice.
"Is that so..."
Saint Shepherd pondered for a moment before saying, "Then let Smoker capture her alive."
"Do you think Moria taught her those things?"
"We can't rule out that possibility."
The others fell silent upon hearing this, then nodded and said:
"Seconded."
"The light is almost gone."
Nami, looking up at the heights, remarked, "I feel as if we've completely left the human world behind."
This feeling gave her a sense of unease, as if she could die at any moment.
Hearing Nami's words, Usopp swallowed hard and asked, "Will we really be able to return safely to the surface?"
Before setting off, he was filled with excitement, but after sailing underwater for a while, his heart became filled with worry.
"What, scared?" Meiser asked with a chuckle, looking at Usopp.
"Bastard, I'm not scared at all!" Usopp immediately straightened up and declared, "I'm a brave warrior of the sea!"
Meiser:
Then why are you sweating so much?
"Don't worry, Usopp," Nico Robin said calmly.
"Oh?!"
Usopp's eyes lit up at Robin's words.
Then he asked, "Are you going to say we'll definitely make it back to the sea?"
"No, I was going to say... even if we perish in the ocean, it won't be too painful." Nico Robin smiled. "Because we Devil Fruit users will be killed instantly by the water pressure the moment we enter the deep sea."
Usopp:
Can you not say such terrifying things with a smile, you bastard!!
Chopper also looked at Nico Robin in horror. Was this really the right time to say something like that?
He was so scared!!!
Meiser, taking in their reactions, smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Even if the coating were to break, he was confident he could protect his comrades in the deep sea.
"Meiser, we're counting on you!" The two of them clung to Meiser's legs as they spoke.
As Devil Fruit Ability Users, they had no ability to resist in the ocean and could only rely on this legendary ninja.
Watching the two clinging to Meiser's legs, Nami shook her head helplessly before turning her gaze to the scenery ahead.
"I never expected these roots to extend so deep..." she said. "We must have descended several thousand meters by now, yet these roots are still here? That's incredible."
"Well, Sabaody Archipelago is composed of giant mangroves after all," Meiser explained.
With mangroves that enormous, it was entirely possible for their roots to extend thousands of meters deep.
"What an astonishing natural spectacle," Brook remarked. "I'm so shocked my eyeballs would pop out! Ah... though I don't have eyeballs to pop out, yohohohoho!"
"I've seen this once before," Zoro commented.
Sanji: ???
"Don't say things like that when you're the one who got on the wrong ship!" Sanji retorted with a shark-like grimace. "I was just getting emotional here!"
Zoro fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then calmly glanced at Sanji and said, "How dare a mere number seven lecture number one."
Sanji: ...
"Bastard, why would you say something like that?!"
Zoro didn't respond with words, merely curling the corner of his mouth while looking at Sanji.
That expression seemed to say: With your ranking, I'll hold this over you forever.
Understanding Zoro's expression perfectly, Sanji immediately fell silent.
Then he roared angrily, "I'll fight you to the death!"
With a furious expression, Sanji decisively charged at Zoro.
And so, the two began fighting noisily on the deck once again.
Watching this scene, Perona's eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
Shouldn't everyone be quietly enjoying the underwater scenery at a time like this? After all, opportunities for deep-sea adventures like this were rare.
"Hey, there seems to be something behind the trees," Usopp said, approaching the edge of the coating.
"Yes, it's a huge fish!" Chopper exclaimed.
A fish with scales larger than the Thousand Sunny... This was absolutely terrifying!
"It's quite impressive indeed," Merry flew over to join them, carefully examining the distant giant fish. "But it's nowhere near as impressive as the Sea Kings Meiser captured."
"Meiser captured Sea Kings?"
Usopp froze for a moment before staring at Merry in shock. "What do you mean Meiser captured Sea Kings?"
Could Meiser actually capture Sea Kings?
"Just what it sounds like," Merry explained. "Meiser used his ability to control several Sea Kings."
"My favorite is that Erha."
Little Merry's face broke into a smile as she recalled that silly creature sticking its tongue out at her.
There was no denying that fellow was quite amusing.
"Meiser has that kind of ability too?" Perona looked at Meiser in astonishment.
That would make his naval combat capabilities rather terrifying.
"He does," Merry nodded in confirmation.
"When we went to Impel Down before, we used Sea Kings to get there," Luffy chimed in.
Recalling those memories brought a smile to Luffy's face.
That had been such an exciting adventure.
"Impel Down..."
Franky asked curiously, "So you mean before going to Marine Headquarters, you two first went to that pirate hell that's supposedly never been breached in eight hundred years?"
"Yes."
Meiser nodded and said, "Back then, to rescue Ace, we first went to Impel Down before heading to Marine Headquarters."
Hearing Meiser's casual description, the others fell into stunned silence.
Though it was just a simple statement, they could well imagine the terrifying dangers involved.
However, instead of feeling fear, they actually felt a sense of envy toward Meiser.
After all... this guy got to accompany Luffy to such a place!
"I wonder how Ace is doing now," Luffy said with some emotion.
"We'll find out when we reach the New World," Meiser replied.
If they really wanted to see Ace then, they could always contact him directly.
This time, Luffy didn't say anything more but simply nodded in acceptance of Meiser's words.
Then, Luffy walked over to the Coating, drooling as he watched the schools of fish outside. "So many fish! They all look delicious."
As he spoke, Luffy suddenly leaped onto the Coating, looking as if he was about to burst through to the outside, leaving Chopper utterly dumbfounded.
"I see quite a few edible-looking ones over here too," Zoro said, drawing his sword again. "Watch me cut them down!"
Thud!
Thud!
Two dull thuds sounded as Luffy and Zoro were promptly knocked to the ground.
"You idiots, what are you trying to do?!" Usopp yelled with a shark-like grimace. "Are you trying to break the Coating?!"
"Yeah!" Chopper similarly roared with a shark mouth. "What if the bubble pops?!"
"Don't you dare do that again!"
Even though Meiser had said he could ensure they wouldn't die in the ocean, if the bubble burst, their Pirate Ship might get destroyed!
They absolutely couldn't allow that to happen!
"Nami, before these idiots do something stupid, why don't you go over the precautions?" Sanji suggested. "Otherwise, it'll be too late once they actually cause trouble."
"Good point."
Nami nodded, pulling out some materials Rayleigh had prepared for her in advance. "Actually, Uncle Rayleigh gave me an instruction manual, so I'll..."
"Ahhh!!!"
"A genuine beauty!"
Seeing Nami's smiling face, Sanji's nose immediately gushed blood.
Then, like a cannonball, the man shot upward and slammed into the Coating above, leaving the crew completely stunned.
"Hey!"
"Sanji!"
Why does this guy's nosebleed make him fly like that, you idiot!
"It's breaking! The bubble's going to break!"
Pop
Just as Chopper finished speaking, Sanji burst through the bubble and flew out into the deep sea thousands of meters above.
Meiser:
This guy is seriously unbelievable.
"This bubble is truly incredible," Nico Robin marveled. "On one hand, it possesses the durability to withstand the immense pressure of the deep sea, yet on the other, it can be broken through by physical objects..."
"Quite astonishing."
Franky:—
Is this really the time to be marveling about such things?
"Hey, someone save Sanji!" Merry cried out urgently. "Otherwise, he'll be crushed by the deep sea pressure!"
A depth of several thousand meters is simply not something the human body can withstand.
"Does this guy look like he's about to die to you?" Meiser remarked sarcastically.
Even after falling into the deep sea, this guy's eyes remained heart-shaped.
However, Meiser didn't actually leave this idiot completely unattended. After saying this, he rushed out of the bubble and swiftly arrived by Sanji's side, grabbing him and returning to the Thousand Sunny.
After casually checking Sanji's condition, Meiser twitched his mouth and said, "This idiot seems to have lost too much blood..."
Nami:
Was it her fault?
"It's fine, I still have reserves of Sanji's blood type here," Chopper said.
As he spoke, he quickly ran to his room, brought out all the medical equipment, and immediately began transfusing blood for Sanji.
After completing this task, Chopper wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "He'll be fine once we replenish his blood."
"So... what exactly happened to Sanji?!" Usopp exclaimed frantically.
Why did he start bleeding so profusely just from seeing Nami?
"How pitiful..."
Looking at the unconscious Sanji, Brook said, "Who knows what Sanji went through these past two years that made him like this..."
If this continues... wouldn't he bleed to death just from seeing the merfolk he adores?
I'm truly worried about his future.
"Sanji, this guy..."
Looking at the unconscious Sanji, Meiser said with a complicated expression, "He spent these past two years with okamas..."
Everyone:
Hearing Meiser's words, those who didn't know fell into silence.
Then, they looked at Sanji with a trace of pity in their eyes.
"What a pitiful guy."
Zoro: —
Come to think of it... have I been too harsh on Sanji?
For a moment, Zoro even began to doubt himself.
"No... don't mention that, you bastard!" Sanji shivered awake, shouting frantically, "I don't want to recall that nightmare!!!"
That was simply an indescribable hell, you bastard!
Seeing Sanji's reaction, everyone's expressions grew even more complicated.
Poor kid.
"To prevent this guy from actually bleeding to death..." Meiser thought for a moment while stroking his chin, then looked at Perona and said, "Perona, use your Negative Spirit next time to keep him under control."
"Alright."
Perona didn't refuse but nodded in agreement with Meiser's suggestion.
"Miss Perona's..."
As if remembering something, Sanji's eyes turned into hearts again, and his expression grew increasingly excited.
"Now!" Meiser shouted.
"Negative Spirit!"
Perona yelled, releasing a Negative Spirit that struck Sanji.
The next moment...
"I... I'm simply scum..." Sanji said with a pale, lifeless expression.
"It works!"
Chopper widened his eyes and said, "Can this method actually cure Sanji?!"
If that's the case, then let's ask Perona to give Sanji a full Treatment Package.
At least with Perona around, this guy won't die from excessive blood loss.
Usopp:
"Are you guys demons?"
At least respect the patient's wishes, you bastards!
"Although the method is somewhat..."
Meiser cleared his throat, then said righteously, "But at least it can keep him alive and well, isn't that right?"
Usopp fell silent for a moment, thinking... that actually made sense.
But this meant Sanji was in for a tough time.
Glancing at the still-depressed Sanji, Usopp's eyes showed a hint of pity. Poor guy.
"Alright, let's continue explaining the coating situation," Nico Robin said.
"Huh?!"
Usopp stared at Nico Robin in surprise. Was this really the time to be discussing such things so seriously? There was still someone lying on the ground!
"She's right," Nami said. "To prevent these two idiots from doing something reckless, we should explain it now."
As she spoke, Nami took out the instructions Rayleigh had given her and carefully read through them again.
Then she explained: "Simply put, this coating is similar to the bubbles of Sabaody Archipelago - special bubbles that can stretch to a certain degree."
"To give an extreme example, even if you use guns or cannons to attack Sea Beasts assaulting the pirate ship, the bubble won't break."
After saying this, a look of admiration appeared on Nami's face. No wonder this special bubble could allow humans to reach depths of 10,000 meters underwater - it was truly remarkable.
"It's that amazing?!" Merry widened her eyes. "Does that mean this bubble basically can't be broken?"
If that were true, they wouldn't need to worry about safety issues.
"Not exactly."
"So what would make it break?" Usopp asked curiously.
He needed to understand what could cause the bubble to rupture so he could effectively stop those two troublemakers.
Thinking this, Usopp glanced at Luffy and Zoro, who were muttering something to each other, and nodded to himself. Yes, those were the two idiots he meant!
"If multiple holes are punctured at once, it probably can't hold up," Nami said after thinking for a moment. "For example... if a Sea King bites it, the bubble basically can't be saved."
Hearing Nami's words, Usopp and Chopper's faces turned pale. Wouldn't that mean they'd be buried at sea?!
But before they could say anything, Nami continued: "Not only that, if the pirate ship itself crashes into rocks or undersea trenches and gets damaged, cracks in the masts or hull would also cause the bubble to rupture. That would be equally hopeless."
"Basically, we need to be careful of marine life and structures underwater, and don't do anything unnecessary inside the bubble. If we follow these guidelines, we should be fine."
After speaking, Nami put away the instructions and looked at the others. "Understood now?"
"Understood," Usopp nodded, then laughed heartily. "So the bubble is even more durable than I imagined!"
"Right, right!" Chopper exchanged a look with Usopp, and they both laughed together. As long as they could confirm it was safe, everything was fine!
"Don't celebrate too early," Nami cautioned. "You should know that 70% of ships heading to Fish-Man Island end up at the bottom of the sea, so we still need to be very careful."
Usopp: "..."
Chopper: "..."
Hearing Nami's words, their expressions changed again.
"What exactly happens down there..." Chopper said fearfully.
"Why have so many ships been lost at sea?!"
"Why?!"
"They probably encountered Sea Kings in the deep sea," Meiser said, stroking his chin. "After all, it's quite normal to come across Sea Kings over a kilometer long in the deep sea."
If luck wasn't on your side, it was even possible to encounter Sea Kings several kilometers long.
Recalling the giant creatures he had encountered two years ago, Meiser nodded with certainty.
"That's even more terrifying..."
Sea Kings over a kilometer long... could definitely swallow their Thousand Sunny in one bite!!
As if they had both thought of the same thing, their expressions immediately changed.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Meiser chuckled. "I'm here, aren't I?"
Even if they encountered such a giant creature, there was no need to fear—it would just mean extra provisions.
Usopp and Chopper fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then clung to Meiser's legs and pleaded, "Meiser, we're counting on you!"
"Please make sure to take down the Sea Kings!"
Seeing their expressions, Meiser smiled helplessly.
"Leave it to me."
"By the way, isn't our progress a bit too slow?" Perona remarked.
She had initially thought that once they entered the sea, they would quickly descend to a depth of ten thousand meters.
But their speed was as slow as a turtle's...
"After all, this is the deep sea," Nami explained. "So it's normal for our descent to be slow."
The conditions underwater were far more complex than on the open sea, so taking it slow was actually better.
At the very least... this way, they wouldn't recklessly end up lost at sea!
This time, Perona didn't say anything more and simply nodded, accepting Nami's reasoning.
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