The banquet dragged deep into the night before it finally began to wind down. Everyone was stuffed and happily drunk.
Garp was about to take the sleeping Ace and Luffy back when White Ghost called out to him.
"What is it, brat?" Garp asked, face flushed, words slurring.
White Ghost nodded toward Arthur. "Old man, take him back with you. He's learned enough about my ship already. That should be more than enough to report."
Garp followed his gaze. "Who the hell is that?"
Arthur's heart jolted, but his face didn't change. The others also looked at their captain, confused.
White Ghost's voice was flat. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku wasn't at ease. He planted him on my ship—so he could keep an eye on me and gather intel."
"What?!"
The instant White Ghost finished, A-Da and A-Er sobered up like cold water had been dumped on them.
They might be simple, but they weren't stupid.
"You're a spy?!" A-Er's eyes went red. He instantly started transforming, teeth bared, about to bite Arthur's head off.
A-Da also tensed, ready to transform—
"Enough," White Ghost barked.
The two froze mid-motion.
"Boss, he's a traitor!" A-Da stared at White Ghost, voice rough. "After everything you've done for him… this ungrateful bastard doesn't deserve to stay alive."
At those words, Bai Hezi's eyes dimmed. She lowered her head, small hands clenched tight.
"No need." White Ghost shook his head. "If we kill him, Sengoku will turn on us completely. That'll be a pain for our next stretch of travel."
"But—" The two wanted to argue, but one look at White Ghost's expression made them swallow it. They only shot Arthur a vicious glare and stalked off to the side.
A-Er sat down hard, eyes still locked on Arthur. "From today on, don't ever let me run into you on the sea.
"If I do… you're dead."
Garp had been about to stop him, but then he thought better of it. Since White Ghost had already laid everything out, it was clear he wasn't going to move against Arthur.
Arthur's body, wound tight as a bowstring, finally loosened a little.
He looked at White Ghost. "You knew?"
"Don't treat everyone like an idiot." White Ghost's tone was indifferent. "Let's part on good terms. I don't want to get put on the Navy's wanted list right now."
Kuro came over carrying a bundle and tossed it toward Arthur. "Packed your stuff. Take it and go with Vice Admiral Garp."
Arthur said nothing. He caught it and walked to Garp's side. Since he'd been exposed, there was no way he could stay.
As they reached the stairs, White Ghost called after them, "And tell Sengoku—if he pulls this kind of thing again, I don't mind dropping by Marineford and firing off a couple Bolo Breaths for fun."
Garp's face darkened. He didn't say anything. This was on the Navy's side. White Ghost not killing Arthur outright was already showing them plenty of respect.
Garp left.
He settled Ace and Luffy at Makino's bar, then brought Arthur back to his warship.
Out on the deck, with the sea stretching endlessly and black, Garp looked ahead and spoke without turning. "Talk. What happened?"
Arthur snapped a salute. "Reporting, Vice Admiral Garp. Marine Headquarters—Arthur."
As he spoke, Arthur pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Bererere bererere—"
It rang for a while. Sengoku was probably asleep.
"Kacha."
"Moshi moshi. This is Big Rice Cracker."
Garp's eyelid twitched. Yep… that was Sengoku, all right.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Arthur said quickly, "I've been exposed."
"Nani?!" Sengoku's voice instantly woke up, sharp as a knife. "What's your situation? Are you safe? They're near Garp, right? Go to Garp—now!"
Garp didn't bother responding. Something goes wrong and you come running to me. If that brat wanted to move, could I even stop him? Do you even know what kind of monsters are on that ship?
"Fleet Admiral, I'm safe," Arthur answered immediately. "I'm with Vice Admiral Garp right now."
On the other end, Sengoku finally exhaled. "Put Garp on."
"No need, Sengoku." Garp shook his head, eyes still on the sea. "White Ghost saw through it. Maybe he knew from the start. Since he ran into me this time, he just tossed the problem over to me."
There was a long silence.
Then Sengoku spoke again, voice low. "Arthur. Report. What's the situation on his ship?"
Arthur chose his words carefully. "It's mostly the same as what I reported before. Those Mythical Zoans and the rest…
"Except for the extended-lifespan tonic they recently developed."
"Details," Sengoku said immediately, voice tightening.
"That," Garp cut in, taking the Den Den Mushi, "I'll explain.
"I drank that tonic. It's packed with dense life energy. It really does extend your life. But there's a limit—your body can only take so much. At most, it adds about fifteen years before you reach the ceiling."
Sengoku's breathing turned heavy. That was absurd.
Garp continued, "And it's not just lifespan. It heals, too. Sengoku, you know what that means. It treats old, hidden injuries."
"What?!" Sengoku barked. "Garp—are you sure?"
"Yeah." Garp's tone was firm. "I'm sure. Some of the hidden injuries I've carried from past fights have already eased—part of them are outright healed.
"You should understand what that means."
Sengoku did understand.
It meant hope—for everyone who'd been hurt and could never fully recover.
With that tonic, they wouldn't be dragged down by their own bodies anymore. They could fight at full strength.
Especially Whitebeard.
That man had been fighting and bleeding since he was young. How many old wounds did he have? Even with treatment, some injuries weren't something you could just "fix."
If Whitebeard got his hands on that tonic…
Sengoku's body shuddered. He'd seen what a full-power Whitebeard looked like.
"Arthur," Sengoku asked, unwilling to give up, "did you get the formula?"
Arthur gave a bitter smile. "I'm sorry, Fleet Admiral. That formula—only the two ship doctors and White Ghost know it. No one else is allowed to even ask."
Sengoku's own smile turned bitter. Of course it was guarded that tightly. He'd gotten greedy.
Then Sengoku's tone shifted. "Garp, tell me about today. Didn't you two fight? Give me the details."
"White Ghost is only lacking time," Garp said slowly. "Once those two Mythical Zoans finish growing, I don't even need to spell it out—on top of that, they're both swordsmen.
"Ain is one step away from being a Great Swordsman. I can feel it—she'll break through soon."
"Ain…" Sengoku sounded like he was thinking of something.
Garp went on. "As for the rest—there's a Paramecia kid, two Ancient Zoans, plus Kuro, Jango…
"I looked around the ship too. None of them are weak."
His gaze stayed on the dark sea, voice heavy.
"Sengoku, think about it. If that lineup finishes growing… how far behind are they from those three monsters in the New World?"
Silence.
Then Garp spoke again, more quietly. "I don't know what White Ghost really wants. But I do know this—his final destination is the New World."
"New World…" Sengoku murmured.
He hung up.
Sengoku leaned back in his chair, rubbing his brow.
Was the Navy about to gain another enemy?
With the overall strength on White Ghost's ship… Sengoku's headache worsened. The New World was chaotic enough as it was.
The Red-Haired Pirates were already damn troublemakers, grabbing territory everywhere.
If White Ghost joined the mix too…
The New World would explode.
Should he even let him in?
Sengoku had always favored a simple strategy: drive the pirates of Paradise into the New World and let them kill each other, slowly grinding down the three major pirate crews.
But now, he wasn't sure.
White Ghost wasn't some small fry. The moment he entered, he would definitely flip the New World upside down.
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