"Something about those two just now felt familiar… Who were they? New recruits? No, Hina doesn't understand."
Hina paced slowly down the corridor of the warship and happened to run into Smoker, who had just returned with her.
Earlier, the two of them had worked together to seize the rain ship Crocodile had been using to control the weather, bringing life-saving rain to Alabasta.
Now that they had returned to the ship, they were here to take over the follow-up investigation into one of the Seven Warlords secretly plotting against a World Government allied nation.
The moment she saw Smoker, a flash of realization struck Hina's mind and she instantly understood why those two had seemed familiar.
Weren't those two Cain, the member of the Straw Hat crew whom Smoker had been keeping such a close eye on, and Fire Fist Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates?
Thinking of this, she immediately reported it to Smoker.
When Smoker heard Hina's words, his heart sank.
His steps abruptly quickened as he rushed straight toward the cabin where the Seastone was stored.
He pushed open the door and, sure enough, saw the two lying on the floor.
Except now, they were sleeping soundly.
And this seemed to be some special trait of the Monkey family.
Even without any blood relation, it was a trait one could easily pick up: falling asleep anytime, anywhere.
"DAMN IT! BARGING IN HERE WITHOUT A CARE WASN'T ENOUGH, AND NOW THEY'RE SLEEPING PEACEFULLY?!"
Smoker glared at the two completely defenseless sleeping faces, then mercilessly slapped Seastone chains onto Cain as well.
His gaze swept over the two photos scattered on the floor, and his anger burned even hotter.
He immediately ordered the photos and all related information to be sent back to Marine Headquarters for their superiors to decide what to do.
Meanwhile, Cain and Ace, both blowing snot bubbles in their sleep, remained completely unaware inside their dreams.
…
"GARP! STOP SLEEPING!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku gripped the photos and report that had just been printed from the fax machine, then slammed them down onto his desk.
His voice was full of barely suppressed fury.
"Huh? I fell asleep?"
Garp jolted awake, rubbed his eyes, and turned toward Sengoku, whose face was filled with rage.
"Isn't this all because of that grandson of yours, Cain?! He openly infiltrated a Marine warship, only to sleep inside it afterward! I don't even know what to do now! Should I treat him as a pirate, or should I let him go?"
"Bwahahaha! As expected of my grandson! Even after becoming a pirate, he still couldn't help coming to a Marine warship. Looks like he still can't forget the Marines!"
Garp scratched the back of his head, laughing with a face full of completely natural pride.
"Heh. This time, during the Alabasta incident, Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords, plotted to seize a kingdom. And somehow, your other grandson—Monkey D. Luffy—got involved too."
As Sengoku spoke, he pulled out Luffy's wanted poster and slapped it hard onto the desk.
Then he threw the two faxed photos toward Garp.
In the photos, Cain and Ace were both wearing Marine uniforms.
"Every single one of them knows how to cause trouble! And if I remember correctly, the Fire Fist Ace who was together with Cain in that cabin is also your grandson, isn't he?"
"Mm, that's right."
Garp nodded.
He looked down at the photo of the two boys wearing Marine uniforms, and the tip of his nose suddenly stung.
His eyes reddened uncontrollably!
He raised a hand and wiped away the snot that had started running without him noticing.
His voice carried an unconcealable choking sound.
"How many years has it been… How many years… Grandpa finally got to see you two wearing these clothes… What a shame. We're still missing Luffy."
He carefully held the photos, then picked up Luffy's wanted poster and placed all three side by side on the desk.
His gaze was so gentle it seemed ready to melt, filled with affection and wistfulness!
"Garp?!" Sengoku was both furious and helpless.
He could not stop himself from raising his voice and roar, "JUST HOW MANY PIRATE GRANDSONS DO YOU HAVE?!"
"STOP STARING LIKE AN IDIOT! NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LOOK, THEY'RE ALL PIRATES! THEY CAN'T BECOME MARINES ANYMORE, GARP!"
Even with Sengoku angrily trying to stop him, Garp still hugged the photos tightly to his chest and stubbornly demanded,
"Sengoku, change Ace and Cain's wanted poster photos to these."
"YOU WANT MARINE UNIFORMS APPEARING ON MARINE WANTED POSTERS?! GIVE UP ON THAT IDEA, GARP!"
Sengoku rejected him outright.
"Sengoku, I've never asked you for anything in my life. Just this once plase,"
Garp set aside his usual roughness and looked at Sengoku while pleading pitifully.
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, Vice Admiral Tsuru pushed the door open and entered.
Her gaze swept over the scene inside the room, and she spoke directly.
"Doflamingo's recent movements are very abnormal. My investigation suggests he may be colluding with Kaido, but for now, I haven't found concrete evidence."
"Oh? I have important news on my end too."
Sengoku restrained his anger and said in a deep voice,
"Whitebeard and Shanks have met. There's also movement on Big Mom's side."
"All Four Emperors are moving at the same time… The sea is probably going to surge again."
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly.
"What exactly is going on? Sengoku, explain clearly."
Garp also gathered himself.
Since this concerned the sea and the Four Emperors, his expression became serious as he asked properly.
"Kaido's side is too mysterious. There are some things even the World Government won't allow me to investigate too deeply. But I have reason to suspect that the Seastone used by the Marines…"
Sengoku paused just as the words reached his mouth, then changed direction.
"As for the others—it's still because of your grandsons, Garp."
He sighed.
"Although I don't agree with Sakazuki's methods, I did manage to learn one thing. On Whitebeard's side, it seems to involve Fire Fist Ace and Blackbeard."
"What about Big Mom's side?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.
"As for her…"
Sengoku looked at Garp, his tone complicated.
"It's about Cain. Recently, a rumor has been spreading that Cain is her child…"
"HAH?!"
Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru cried out at the same time, their faces full of disbelief.
"In any case, whether this rumor is true or false....."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed the desk again, shaking it so hard that documents slid toward the edge.
His eyes were wide with anger as he glared at Garp, and his roar was filled with almost hysterical helplessness.
"THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF THE WONDERFUL GRANDSONS YOU RAISED, GARP! THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY'S DRAGON, WHITEBEARD, AND NOW BIG MOM—WHY DOES EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDSONS?! DAMN IT!"
"HUH? HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW ANY OF THIS?!"
Garp shook his head violently, his tone full of innocence and confusion.
"I was just trying to raise them into proper Marines!"
"AND WHAT WAS THE RESULT?! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM BECAME A PIRATE!"
Sengoku's fury did not fade at all, his roar shaking the room as if even the ceiling were trembling.
"Sure, Cain had no choice about it, but among all the people you raised, which one of them became a proper Marine?! And what about that disciple of yours?! Is he going to run off and become a pirate sooner or later too, damn it?!"
"Ah, you mean Koby? He's fine."
Garp waved a hand carelessly, his tone completely certain.
"That kid's dream is to become a Marine admiral."
The moment his words fell, a captain suddenly stumbled into the room.
His Marine cap was tilted to one side, and his face was stained with soot.
He snapped a salute toward Sengoku and Garp, his voice filled with uncontrollable panic and trembling.
"R-Report, Fleet Admiral! Vice Admiral! Our ship was attacked! A violent explosion suddenly broke out in the cabin, and many of our men were seriously wounded! It's just… Vice Admiral Garp's disciple, Koby, he… he was unfortunately killed!"
"We still haven't been able to find his body at the explosion site. We believe he may have been thrown into the sea by the blast. Our men searched the water for a long time, but they couldn't find any trace of him at all… As of now, his fate is unknown!"
"WHERE IS THE ENEMY?! WHO WAS THE ENEMY?!"
Sengoku shot to his feet, both hands pressed against the desk, his eyes sharp as blades.
"W-We don't know!"
The captain's face was deathly pale, and even his voice was shaking.
"The attack suddenly came from the sky. Everything happened too fast and too sudden! we had no time to react at all. We didn't even see the enemy's shadow!"