Chapter 137 Luffy's Secret Plan to Send His Crew to Further EducationFrom letting the Supernovas go, to his complete inaction during the Marineford War, to his complete lack of interest in the Fleet Admiral position, it's clear this man lives life with a clear understanding: he'll go along with whoever's in power, only wanting to clock in and collect his salary peacefully.
However, on matters of principle, such as his mentor Zephyr's mad act of trying to destroy the New World, he shows no mercy.
Currently, in the Marine Headquarters, Garp, as a living legend, enjoys unparalleled power and influence.
In terms of strength, he's at the pinnacle; in terms of connections, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is an old comrade-in-arms, Chief of Staff Tsuru is a close friend, and Admiral Aokiji is his biggest fan.
Ace's identity was actually thoroughly investigated by Sengoku long ago, but Sengoku's solution was to send Ace an invitation to become a Shichibukai—a shrewd move in recruiting him.
As for the fact that Dragon is Garp's son, it's an open secret among the Marine high command, given Garp's loose tongue has mentioned it countless times.
Even so, Garp's position remained rock-solid, relying on his pure sense of justice and his terrifyingly deep-rooted prestige within the Navy.
Before Ace's public execution, Garp angrily questioned Sengoku about why he had revealed his true identity.
This indicates that Garp initially thought it was just a routine execution, only realizing at the last minute that he had been tricked. The cunning Sengoku clearly understood that even without revealing his identity, Whitebeard would have come to his rescue.
Therefore, revealing his true identity was definitely a direct order from the Five Elders and Im.
Those in power desperately wanted to weaken Garp's influence within the Navy. The Navy was now a monolithic "Sengoku-Garp system," outwardly complying with many of the World Government's dirty orders while inwardly defying them.
After all, Sengoku, possessing Conqueror's Haki, wasn't the kind of pushover willing to be a puppet.
Therefore, the Five Elders desperately needed to use Ace's execution as an opportunity to break the monopoly held by Garp's faction within the Navy.
As it turned out, they made the right move. After the Marineford War, Sengoku resigned, Garp stepped down, Aokiji left, and the mad dog Akainu, who believed in "absolute justice," took over.
And the result? Green Bull and Fujitora, recruited through the World Military Draft, completely ignored Akainu. Even Lucci, a CP0 agent, dared to point his finger at Akainu and curse him. The Five Elders even openly humiliated Akainu, saying, "Your face is worthless."
The once mighty Marine Headquarters had been reduced to a mere tool for the World Government, a situation unimaginable before the Marineford War.
Therefore, at this moment, in the eyes of the Five Elders, Garp's threat level was not much lower than that of Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army.
The World Government had to tolerate Garp only because of his immense strength, high prestige, lack of rebellious ambitions, and diligent work ethic in capturing pirates.
Kizaru, a seasoned veteran of the Marines, understood all this better than anyone. This is why, during the Marineford War, he "coincidentally" sent Luffy back to the safe zone.
Having grasped this dynamic, Luffy was confident he could control his uncle.
Luffy calculated that using Garp, a minor figure with little impact on the overall situation, as a favor was the most cost-effective deal.
After all, at this point in time, Luffy didn't even know what Haki was.
Looking across the entire Navy's high command, only that blockhead Sakazuki is so oblivious to these subtleties, always wearing a deadpan expression and utterly inflexible.
If Sengoku hadn't been relentlessly suppressing Garp's anger, the Marineford War would probably have begun before the weeds on Akainu's grave grew to two meters tall, swaying in the wind.
Kizaru, standing to the side, was also a shrewd individual, his mind perfectly clear.
Who is this Straw Hat Luffy now?
He's Garp's darling, the youngest Vice Admiral in the Navy, a strong contender for the future Fleet Admiral position.
Who would be so foolish as to report to the Celestial Dragons that Luffy was having an affair with his own father? Was he tired of the paycheck or tired of living?
That's why Luffy dared to chat so openly with Bartholomew Kuma right in front of Admiral Kizaru.
At this moment, Kuma remained expressionless, not even a flicker of emotion in his eyes behind his sunglasses.
He glanced back at the Pacifista machine controlled by Luffy, then stepped forward without a word.
With a flick of his massive paw, he vanished.
With a soft "pop," the enormous machine disappeared into thin air, as if it had never existed.
Sentomaru, wielding his giant axe, nearly popped his eyes out, about to yell, "!"
Luffy, looking impatient, waved his hand, interrupting his spellcasting animation: "Can't you see that? Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma betrayed us."
He pointed to the empty ground: "He kidnapped the Pacifista, what are you standing there for?"
Sentomaru's blood pressure soared, his face turning red.
Damn it, so you wrote this report for me?!
He turned angrily to Kizaru, hoping the admiral would say something fair.
Then they saw Kizaru slowly pull out the black Den Den Mushi (snail phone for eavesdropping), tilting his head and smirking at his wrist: "Moshi moshi? Is that Fleet Admiral Sengoku? Can you hear me?"
Sentomaru: "..."
At that moment, Sentomaru truly felt the treacherous nature of the workplace.
Following this, Luffy, leading the taciturn Kuma, quickly found Zoro and his crew in the dense forest of another island.
Looking at his former comrades, Luffy's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by an unusually serious expression.
"I think you've all realized it yourselves."
Luffy's gaze swept across each of their faces as he said in a deep voice, "With your current strength, trying to conquer the New World is suicide. So I've decided to send you for further training."
Zoro's grip on his sword hilt tightened, and Sanji's smoking motion froze.
Although their expressions were grim, they had to admit that Luffy was speaking the harsh reality.
Along the way, they'd witnessed countless high-level battles, only able to watch from the sidelines and cheer, unable to intervene at all.
Luffy lowered his voice, his tone carrying a palpable sense of impending doom:
"Besides, this time I beat the Celestial Dragons to a pulp. The World Government has definitely written my name down in their books."
"They're afraid of my identity and won't openly attack me, but they might use underhanded tactics against you. So, you don't have much time left to grow stronger."
"Once that world-shaking 'major event' is over, I'll personally come to pick you up."
Luffy took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming: "That will be the starting point for our conquest of the New World."
After listening, everyone nodded firmly.
Nami's eyes reddened slightly as she stared intently at Luffy: "What about you? Will you be in danger? Will we not see each other for a long time?"