There was a long silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi. Vice Admiral Tsuru didn't urge him to speak.
After a few minutes, Fleet Admiral Kong finally spoke, somewhat helplessly, "According to Saint Saturn's wishes, we're to treat him like an ordinary pirate. The only thing we must ensure is that his life isn't harmed. Aside from that, anything goes… But even so, can we really act like that?"
Tsuru also replied with a helpless tone, "Of course not. Leaving everything else aside, if we actually capture him, how are we supposed to handle it? We'd definitely have to send him back to Mary Geoise. By then, he might not come down to the lower world to play pirate again, but with his status, if he has nothing better to do, he'll just make trouble for our Marines for fun. We won't be able to endure that."
That was the biggest concern.
As long as Valthior still held the identity of a Celestial Dragon, the Marines were stuck in an impossible position.
In the original timeline, the Marines went after Doflamingo without restraint—hammering him again and again. Vice Admiral Tsuru used to hunt him down whenever she felt like it, and he only got a reprieve once he became a Warlord of the Sea.
Why? Because Doflamingo had been stripped of his divine status. Mary Geoise no longer recognized him as a Celestial Dragon.
Naturally, there were no more scruples.
But Saint Valthior was different. If you captured him today, you couldn't just throw him into Impel Down like Doflamingo. You'd have to send him back to Mary Geoise—and do so respectfully.
And once he was sent back, what would happen? Without a doubt, he'd revert to his original Celestial Dragon demeanor. Then, with his status as the heir of one of the Five Elders' families, if he got bored and started making things difficult for the Marines, who could tolerate that?
"So at this stage, there's nothing we can do about him. And if he truly intends to shelter the Roger Pirates, we likewise have no good way to handle it. For now… all we can do is wait," Fleet Admiral Kong said softly.
If it had been Garp hearing this, he might have asked—wait for what?
But Tsuru was clearly a smart woman. After a brief silence, she said, "Wait until he causes a major incident… and then see how Mary Geoise deals with him?"
"Exactly," Kong replied. "You said he and the Roger Pirates are likely pursuing something big. Then let them do it. We can't stop them anyway. When that 'big matter' truly angers the World Government, the situation may change. If Saint Saturn strips him of his Celestial Dragon status, then our Marines will finally be able to act."
Even as he said this, Kong felt uncertain.
Though he hadn't interacted with him much, every time he recalled the way Saint Saturn and Saint Valthior had behaved toward each other, he couldn't help but wonder—would that man really strip Valthior of his Celestial Dragon status?
There are many things in this world that have no solution. All you can do is wait, hoping that the future brings change.
That was the case now.
Though Tsuru felt this approach was far too passive, what else could they do?
After a moment, she hung up the call with a trace of melancholy, leaning against the city wall, lost in thought.
...
On the other side, Valthior was chatting casually with Garp.
"Why are you always chasing after the Roger Pirates?" Valthior lit a cigar and handed one to Garp.
Garp normally didn't smoke, but considering Valthior's identity, he accepted it and clenched it between his teeth.
"You're pirates, I'm a Marine. Isn't that only natural?" Garp replied. "You, on the other hand—a Celestial Dragon—what are you doing hanging around with pirates? If you're looking for excitement, I could recommend joining the Marines. Come sail the seas with me and hunt pirates. Isn't that more interesting?"
Valthior took a slow drag, exhaling smoke as he said with a faint sigh, "There's no future in being a Marine. The Marines can't solve—"
"Solve what? Don't stop halfway when you're talking!" Garp said, clearly dissatisfied.
"Hahaha, it's nothing. Don't worry about the details." Valthior waved it off, then changed the subject. "By the way, I saw in the newspaper a few days ago that your son started some kind of 'Freedom Fighters' in the South Blue. Interesting. Wasn't he in the Marines before?"
After the God Valley Incident, Dragon had chosen to leave the Marines. It hadn't caused much of a stir—after all, he was still a nobody at the time.
The only thing noteworthy about him was that he was Garp's son.
After leaving the Marines, Dragon wandered aimlessly through a two-year period of confusion. Then, not long ago, he suddenly established an organization in the South Blue called the "Freedom Fighters."
At present, however, it wasn't yet the Revolutionary Army that would later seek to overthrow the world. It was simply a legal civilian militia.
Organizations like that weren't exactly rare on the seas—there were plenty of them. The World Government paid them no mind.
It wasn't until the Ohara Incident later on, when Dragon once again saw the brutality of the World Government, that he made up his mind to change everything—transforming the Freedom Fighters into the Revolutionary Army and beginning his rebellion.
"And whose fault is that? You Celestial Dragons! If not for the atrocities you committed at God Valley, how would Dragon have—" Garp's temper flared the moment the topic came up.
"Stop dragging us down, Garp."
Before he could finish, Valthior suddenly cut him off, his expression turning serious.
Garp froze for a moment. Before he could respond, Valthior exhaled a stream of smoke and said, "After what happened at God Valley, you must have plenty of doubts in your heart, right? We're investigating the truth behind it. You need to understand what matters more. Even if you can't help, at the very least, don't come and drag us down."
This time, Garp truly fell silent.
He stood there, memories of God Valley flooding his mind, his expression darkening.
After a long while, he finally pulled himself out of those thoughts and looked at Valthior with a complicated gaze. "You're a Celestial Dragon, yet you want to—"
"That's exactly because I'm a Celestial Dragon," Valthior interrupted with a smile. "Everything in this world feels within easy reach… which is why I want to do something a little less boring, Garp."
"Then why are you telling me all this?" Garp asked.
"Because Roger said he trusts you," Valthior replied with a grin. "Even though you stand on opposing sides, he says you've long since become friends who could entrust your lives to each other. And as someone who personally experienced God Valley, I saw everything you did. You really are different from the other Marines, Garp. Maybe in the future, we won't necessarily have to stand on opposite sides. So today, I'll plant a seed in advance."
If Nika truly was the key, then it was time to start laying down some threads.
That was what Valthior was thinking.
Hearing that Roger regarded him as a friend worth entrusting his life to, Garp recalled their time at God Valley—fighting side by side against a common enemy. His emotions grew complicated.
"Alright, that's enough talk. If I don't leave now, my companions might start worrying about me. Until next time, Vice Admiral Garp." Valthior waved with a smile, then swung himself onto his camel and slowly rode off.
As the ice wall gradually dissipated, Garp's gaze remained complicated, his thoughts unreadable.
Only when Valthior's figure was about to vanish from sight did Garp murmur softly:
"Friends, huh? Damn you, Roger…"
...
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