Chapter 156 Garp Recognizes His Relatives, Empress Sengoku is FuriousFrom his adoption of Ace to his subsequent actions during Ace's execution, it's clear that beneath Garp's seemingly eccentric exterior lies an extremely meticulous mind.
Otherwise, he couldn't have kept Ace hidden for so many years without being discovered.
His constant pressure on Luffy and Ace to join the Marines was actually a way to provide a protective shield for these two children with "sinful blood" flowing through their veins.
After all, once they become Marine heroes, even if their true identities are exposed, public opinion can be controlled.
A reformed son of the Pirate King is far more valuable to the government than a dead criminal.
But Garp's lewd expression right now is just too infuriating; Luffy really wants to punch him in the face.
"Get lost! Can't you see we're busy? Why aren't you in the front keeping watch? What are you doing here, old man?"
Luffy waved impatiently and led Hancock and the others towards the lounge.
The execution was still a while away; according to the plot, Whitebeard would wait until the last few hours before launching his surprise attack under the cover of morning mist.
Hancock's face was flushed red; her mind was filled with the words, "This is Luffy's grandfather."
She was so nervous she fumbled for words, blurting out, "Grandpa, hello!"
Garp, hearing this, became even more excited, his face beaming. "Good, good, good! I accept this granddaughter-in-law!"
Luffy rolled his eyes. "Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, you should be worried about whether Whitebeard will suddenly appear and kidnap these civilians as hostages."
Garp laughed heartily. "What's there to worry about? He's Whitebeard. If he used such underhanded methods, Ace wouldn't have followed him so devotedly."
Luffy looked speechlessly at the overconfident Garp, and couldn't help but retort, "What's so great about this?"
"Excuse me."
Luffy pushed open the conference room door, swaggered in, crossed his legs, and sprawled on the sofa.
"Yo, long time no see, Hawkeye."
"Hehehehe! I never expected Vice Admiral Luffy to personally invite us, what an honor!"
Moria's previously ferocious face instantly plastered with a fawning smile, a smile more like a grimace.
"Fufufufu... you don't look too good."
Doflamingo pushed up his sunglasses, looking at the thin Luffy, and mocked him sarcastically.
"Huh?" Luffy glanced at him sideways, "What? Do you want to experience what 'fatherly love as solid as a mountain' means?"
"Darling, you don't need to lift a finger! Let me turn this rude guy into stone!"
Hancock instantly stepped in front of Luffy, glaring fiercely at Doflamingo.
"Empress?!" Doflamingo froze, lowering his clenched fingers.
He had originally intended to test Luffy while he was weak, but he hadn't expected Hancock to be so protective of him. Did this woman really consider him a member of the Marine family?
At this moment, Hawkeye's gaze was fixed intently on Luffy, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.
"I came here to find you."
Luffy looked at this martial arts fanatic speechlessly. He must have been out of his mind to try and show off in front of him back then.
"It's no use. Give up. I won't draw my sword again." Luffy sighed, feigning profoundness.
"Don't worry, I won't attack you until I've mastered the ultimate level of your sword technique."
Hawkeye said earnestly.
Luffy thought to himself: By the time you've mastered it, it'll be too late.
He looked around and, sure enough, didn't see Blackbeard. That guy must have used his Shichibukai status to sneak into Impel Down and cause trouble.
"Let's go. This is the largest war in eight hundred years."
Luffy stood up, exuding an aura of unwavering determination.
"Congratulations, you will have the privilege of witnessing the birth of a new era."
Everyone quickly stood up and followed. Doflamingo let out a strange laugh: "Looks like Rayleigh's appearance has scared the Marines quite a bit. The execution isn't until eight hours away, and they're making us prepare for war so early."
Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's office.
Aokiji was fast asleep in a corner, wearing an eye mask, drool dripping from his mouth.
Sengoku's forehead veins throbbed, his roar rattling the glass.
"Kuzan! Wake up! Can't you be a little more serious?!"
Aokiji groggily rolled over, removing his eyepatch with a blank expression.
"Huh? Is it already lunchtime?"
Sengoku nearly fainted from anger: "Eat, eat, eat! All you do is eat! This is execution preparation! You bastard Garp, look at the soldiers you've brought, not a single one of them is normal!"
"Huh? Is that so? Wahahahaha!"
Garp ate senbei beside him, laughing nonchalantly.
"Well, okay, okay, don't be so grumpy." Aokiji lazily stood up and walked out.
Kizaru, holding a teacup, slowly blew on it. "Terrible. Waking people up at dawn to work overtime. These young people are so hard to please these days."
"Shut up, Borsalino!" Sengoku turned his anger towards Kizaru. "Rayleigh's appearance means the Roger Pirates might be involved! Do you know what that means?"
"Hahaha, don't worry, my grandson said the Roger Pirates won't come, so I believe him," Garp assured him confidently.
"Hmph, they let Rayleigh get away!"
A deep, disgusted voice suddenly rang out.
Akainu sat in the shadows, his hat pulled low, a cigar dangling from his lips, smoke billowing.
He had initially admired Luffy's ruthless pursuit of pirates, thinking the kid had potential.
But ever since Luffy let pirates go on Sabaody Archipelago for personal reasons, and even openly assaulted a Celestial Dragon, he had developed a strong dissatisfaction with this unruly rookie.
In his eyes, such tolerance of evil was a blasphemy against justice.
Upon learning that Luffy, that bastard, had secretly released the vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, the very source of all evil, an uncontrollable disgust surged in Akainu's eyes.
Truly worthy of being a bloodline of evil, protecting him now?
Akainu's lips curled into a cold, extremely contemptuous smile, his tone sarcastic.
The already tense atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office instantly became even more oppressive, as the other four pairs of eyes fixed on Akainu.
Sengoku's brows furrowed, a clear displeasure flashing in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses, clearly disgusted by such remarks targeting bloodlines.
Aokiji made no attempt to hide the disgust in his eyes, turning his head away and completely ignoring this extreme madman.
In his view, Akainu's extreme personality was a disaster for the Navy. Ever since the bombardment of civilian refugee ships at Ohara, Aokiji's so-called justice had crumbled.
It was precisely because he saw through this so-called absolute justice that Aokiji chose a lazy and carefree path.
Even with his brown sunglasses, Kizaru could still feel the look in his eyes when he looked at Akainu—like he was looking at an idiot. One couldn't help but think that this guy's emotional intelligence was shockingly low; how did he even become an admiral?