The next morning arrived at the break of dawn.
Sunlight spilled across the surface of the shimmering sea, turning the waves into a sheet of gold. A few News Coos landed on the tall mast, tilting their heads curiously to look down at the dog-headed warship below.
"Ugh... my head is killing me..."
"I definitely drank way too much last night. That kid Kane can really hold his liquor..."
A group of Marine soldiers clutched their throbbing heads as they crawled up from the wooden deck. They stumbled around blindly as groans of pain rose from all sides of the ship.
Bang!
The thick oak door of the main cabin suddenly let out a loud screech as the entire door panel flew outward. It smashed into the opposite railing in a wild flurry of broken wood chips.
Garp walked out of the cabin wearing his signature dog-head hat. He appeared full of energy, already holding a fresh bag of senbei crackers in his hand.
"Bwahahahaha! You brats! The sun is already burning your asses! Everyone get up right now and start your training!"
That powerful roar instantly dispelled the lingering sleepiness of the Marine soldiers. Every man sprang to his feet by sheer reflex and quickly scrambled to fall into a neat formation.
Garp strode confidently to the center of the deck. His gaze habitually searched the very front of the crowd. Usually, at this exact time, his stoic and serious son should have been standing right there organizing the ranks for the day.
But today, that specific spot was completely empty.
Garp's chewing paused for a slight second, and his gray eyebrow gave a sudden twitch.
"Bogard!"
"I am here, Vice Admiral."
The adjutant Bogard appeared behind Garp like a silent ghost. He adjusted the brim of his hat, his expression looking uncharacteristically solemn. It was clear he had already performed a search before Garp even stepped outside.
"I have searched every single one of the cabins. There is no sign of Commodore Dragon anywhere."
"Huh?"
Garp stopped chewing his crackers entirely. The mirth and humor in his usually smiling eyes gradually faded away into something much colder.
"Where could that brat have gone? Is he really hiding away and sulking just because I snatched his piece of meat during dinner yesterday?"
Garp picked his nose with a finger. Although his tone still sounded like he was joking, the veterans standing around him could already feel a suffocating, low-pressure atmosphere beginning to weigh down on the deck.
The entire deck fell into a deathly silence. Not a single person dared to speak or even offer a response.
Just then, a dazed and confused mumble came from a dark corner, breaking the heart-pounding silence of the morning.
"Hmm? What is this? It feels so stuffy in here..."
A Boatswain with a prominent scar on his face rolled over and sat up from a pile of heavy ropes. He was clutching a white bundle of cloth tightly in his arms.
He instinctively reached out and shook the bundle open to see what it was.
"This... isn't this Commodore Dragon's coat?" The Boatswain held up the Justice cloak that represented the Commodore's high rank, his hungover brain not yet processing the danger of the situation. "Hehe, Commodore Dragon is actually quite a nice guy, covering me up with his own coat so I wouldn't catch a cold in the night..."
Before the man could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt the surrounding temperature drop to a freezing level.
He looked up stiffly and met Garp's completely emotionless eyes.
The terrifying pressure caused cold sweat to instantly soak through the Boatswain's back. His drunkenness vanished in a heartbeat, replaced entirely by a paralyzing fear.
Garp reached out a calloused, powerful hand and silently took the coat from the man.
On the back of the coat, the word "Justice" remained striking and bold, but the garment no longer held the warmth of its owner.
In the most prominent spot inside the collar lining, a single line of black handwriting had been scrawled. It radiated a sense of finality and resolve:
[Old man, by the time you see this note, I will already be gone. I do not agree with your version of Justice; I am going to find the real answers for myself. Do not come looking for me. —Dragon]
Crack.
The unfinished bag of senbei in Garp's hand was instantly crushed into a fine powder.
Even from a distance, Kane, who had been "shivering" at the very end of the line the whole time, could clearly feel a terrifying aura surging wildly within Garp. It felt like standing next to a volcano that was about to erupt.
In the sky above, the previously clear clouds suddenly began to churn and darken, as if the weather itself was responding to the rage of this top-tier powerhouse.
The wooden planks of the deck emitted slight cracking sounds under the weight of his presence. The surrounding Marine soldiers trembled under the sheer pressure of his Haki. Some of them even fell to their knees as their legs gave way beneath them.
"That damn... brat!"
Garp's voice was low and raspy, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor of emotion. "He actually... he really chose to take this path?"
He knew deep down that Dragon had always been dissatisfied with the ways of the World Government.
But he had never expected Dragon to leave so resolutely and so completely.
The boy had left without even saying a single goodbye to his own father.
"Vice Admiral..." Bogard glanced at the messy writing on the coat, his pupils shrinking in shock. He immediately stepped forward and asked in a low, urgent voice, "The situation is extremely serious. Should we notify Marineford immediately? Should we request an emergency bounty for his capture?"
A Commodore from Marineford and the son of the Great Marine Hero had actually defected!
If this news were to get out, it would be a scandal that would shock the entire world to its core!
"Notify my ass!!!"
Garp suddenly flew into a blind rage, slamming a massive fist into the side of the warship.
Boom!!!
With a deafening roar of destruction, the entire sturdy warship shook violently from side to side.
a large section of the steel-forged railing was instantly reduced to nothing but dust. The terrifying shockwave of the punch, heavily laden with tangible Haki, blasted a vacuum path hundreds of meters long across the surface of the ocean!
Distant waves exploded upward, and several lurking Sea Kings were knocked unconscious. They floated belly-up on the water before they could even let out a single cry of pain.
All of the Marine soldiers were terrified into collapsing by this world-ending display of power. They did not dare to even breathe loudly for fear of drawing his attention.
Garp panted heavily, his eyes completely bloodshot with anger. He stared at the white coat in his hand for a long time before finally letting his arm drop weakly to his side. In that moment, he looked as if he had aged ten years.
"Bogard!"
"I am here!"
"Monkey D. Dragon encountered an extreme and sudden storm while out on a reconnaissance mission. He unfortunately fell overboard! He is currently missing, and his status is unknown!"
Garp turned his back to the crew, not wanting his subordinates to see the expression on his face. "Report exactly this to Marineford! If anyone on this ship dares to gossip or tell a different story, I will personally throw them into the sea to feed the fish!"
This was the final bit of protection a father could provide for his wayward son.
Bogard took a long, deep look at Garp's lonely back. He snapped to attention and gave a crisp salute. His voice was firm and unwavering: "Yes, sir! All hands, hear my command: Commodore Dragon has gone missing in the line of duty. All personnel will now observe a moment of silence!"
All of the Marine soldiers immediately bowed their heads. They were as silent as cicadas hiding in the winter.
Meanwhile, Kane, who stood in the middle of the crowd with his head buried lower than anyone else, heard the wonderful notification sound chime in his mind once again.
[Ding! Host has successfully misled Marine high-ranks and assisted in covering up a major defection!]
[Obtained discipline points: 5,000!]
Kane tried his absolute best to suppress the upward curve of his lips. He had to keep a straight face.
Sorry about that, Vice Admiral Garp.
I know I have caused you to lose a son today.
But rest assured, in the future, I will help you lead your grandson astray as well.
After all, a family really should be kept together.
"Kane!"
Garp suddenly let out a massive roar, giving Kane a violent start.
Was he finally exposed? Did Garp figure it out?
Kane immediately snapped to attention and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Here!"
Garp turned around to face him. Although his eyes were still a bit red from his outburst, he had regained his usual, unreasonable demeanor. He tossed Dragon's discarded coat directly into Kane's waiting arms.
"Dragon is gone, and that means I am short a fighter on my ship!"
Garp grinned at him—a smile that actually looked much worse than crying—but it carried an irresistible and terrifying dominance.
"Since you are the genius who was praised so highly by that old fellow Zephyr, you will take Dragon's place! From today on, you are the new backbone of my ship! You are going to train your life away! As long as the exercise doesn't actually kill you, you will train like your very life depends on it!"
A terrifying, invisible pressure completely enveloped Kane's body.
"If you ever dare to run away, or if you turn out to be too weak, I will chase you to the very ends of the earth just to give you a Fist of Love!"
Looking at Garp's fist, which was literally larger than his own head, Kane swallowed hard.
How was this supposed to be cultivating a "backbone"?
This was clearly just a father who had lost his beloved son and wanted to find a durable punching bag to vent all of his frustration on!
Is this... is this what they call karma?
Holding the coat that still carried the warmth of the Revolutionary Spark, Kane looked at Garp's face. The man's expression practically screamed "you are in for it now." Kane suppressed his tears while giving a standard, stiff military salute.
"Yes, sir! I promise not to run away! I promise to be extremely durable!"
Garp nodded his head with satisfaction. The dark gloom in his heart seemed to dissipate just a tiny bit. He then waved his hand grandly, pointing toward the turbulent and dangerous waters of the New World in the distance.
"Full speed ahead! Our target is the New World!"
"Let's go catch that bastard Roger! Right now... I am really, really pissed off!!!"
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