Meeting Vice Admiral Garp

By the time they had more or less finished talking, the fleet had drawn alongside them. Strangely, though, Vice Admiral Garp was no longer in the sky.

Vidal and Issho assumed he had come down. After all, no one could fly up there forever, and Geppo was actually quite exhausting.

They still wondered why he had not rushed over to pursue Byrnndi World, though. World was a notorious pirate with a bounty of over two hundred million, after all.

Surely it was not that Garp thought World was beneath his notice?

As for the distance, tsk, what was less than a nautical mile to someone like him?

"Come on, let's go meet this Marine hero." Ignoring the look of refusal on Bullet's face, Vidal stepped onto the small boat and spoke to Issho.

"Yes, I've been looking forward to it!"

The boat flew up again and headed toward the warship of its own accord. Bullet, meanwhile, was very curious. What Marine hero?

What kind of person could make these two men willingly humble themselves?

Soon, with the fleet deliberately allowing them through, the small boat drew alongside the warship at its center. Vidal and the other two leaped lightly onto the deck.

A group of people were already waiting for them there, including a familiar face: Colonel Benson, whose leg was wrapped in bandages.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" Benson hurried forward and clasped Vidal's hands, his heart full of relief.

"If Vice Admiral Garp had arrived any later, we might not have been." Vidal smiled gently as he searched the crowd.

Huh? What's going on? Where is he?

Where did my newbie receptionist go?

"Hahahaha!"

But as soon as he said that, every Marine present burst out laughing, leaving Issho and the other two bewildered.

"Ahem. Vidal, this is Vice Admiral Amyz, commander of the G-2 Branch!" Colonel Benson stepped aside to make the introduction.

Though Vidal was utterly confused, he still walked over and greeted him. "Hello, Vice Admiral Amyz. I'm Vidal."

This time, he did not go out of his way to say whose son he was. Presumably, Colonel Benson had already told him.

Vice Admiral Amyz was probably on the short side for this world, looking to be less than 180 centimeters tall.

His silver hair was neatly combed, and he wore a pair of cool-looking black sunglasses. An aloof air surrounded him.

"I've heard of you. Cornell's son, and a trainee in next year's special training camp." Vice Admiral Amyz looked up at the tall young man before him.

"First of all, I want to commend you for stepping in to save your comrades."

"You knew the enemy was stronger than you, yet you still dared to stand up to him. Others might consider it foolish, but I personally admire what you did."

"Thank you." Vidal did not make a show of modesty. This world did not place much emphasis on that.

"And these two are?" Vice Admiral Amyz nodded and turned his gaze to Issho and Bullet behind him.

"This is Issho, my close friend. We only managed to hold Byrnndi World off thanks to his help. He's a swordmaster." Vidal pulled Issho over with a smile.

Although his friend did not want to draw too much attention to himself, the Vice Admiral had asked him personally, so he could hardly be blamed for introducing him.

Besides, he also wanted to give Issho the label of "friend of the Marines," in case Issho ever got into trouble in the future.

Perhaps headquarters would give the matter more consideration because of it, and not be so quick to issue a bounty on him or something.

Vidal knew the chances were slim, of course, and there would be no problems according to the original timeline. Still, it was better to be prepared for every eventuality.

"Oh! Such a young swordmaster?" Vice Admiral Amyz was interested. Issho looked to be about the same age as Vidal.

"Are you also a trainee in the special training camp?"

"My apologies, but I am not a Marine. I am merely an ordinary civilian," Issho replied evenly.

Vidal immediately smiled and said, "He wants to travel around the whole sea first. I'll get him to join the Marines later!"

He had never hidden that intention, so he felt no qualms about saying it. Issho had no particular reaction either.

"I see. Then you'd better hurry. A strong young man like Issho would be in demand anywhere!" Vice Admiral Amyz understood somewhat.

He thought it was a pity. He would have to find time to report this and tell headquarters to be careful not to inadvertently drive Issho away.

That was exactly what Vidal wanted.

"As for this kid, his name is Bullet. I just adopted him. When I go to the special training camp next year, I'll bring him along and send him to school in Marineford."

Vidal clapped a hand onto the boy's hair with lightning speed and rubbed it vigorously. Bullet's face darkened once again, but he neither resisted nor talked back.

That made Vidal's opinion of him rise considerably. This kid's not bad. He knows how to read the room!

After all, he was a child with more than a decade of battlefield experience, with maturity and good sense far beyond others his age.

But this introduction left Amyz and the other Marines dumbfounded. How old was this kid, and he already had a son?

"Ahem, well, um..." Vice Admiral Amyz coughed awkwardly twice. Fortunately, his sunglasses hid the look in his eyes just now.

Just as he was about to say something, Vidal could no longer hold back and asked again, "Um, Vice Admiral Amyz, where is Vice Admiral Garp?"

He had also voiced the question Issho wanted to ask. This time, the Marines did not burst out laughing, but there was still amusement in their eyes.

"Kid, are you looking for me?"

A deep male voice suddenly sounded behind Vidal, Issho, and Bullet. It was familiar to the first of them, but unfamiliar to the other two.

"When did he get there?" Their expressions changed, and they quickly turned around.

Standing there was a burly, black-haired man in a black suit, with a Justice Coat draped over his shoulders and black leather shoes on his feet. He was a little shorter than Vidal, but still nearly three meters tall!

That was right. This was the Marine hero in his prime, Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp!

"No, he's not real!"

Issho suddenly spoke. He could not sense the slightest presence from this Garp, including the presence unique to a living person.

"He's not real?" Vidal and Bullet instinctively turned to look at Issho.

At that moment, Vice Admiral Amyz spoke from behind them. "That's right. He's not real. He's just an illusion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Issho and the other two saw Vice Admiral Garp scatter on the wind.

"I'm the user of the Paramecia-type Phantom-Phantom Fruit. I can manifest images of things from pictures, complete with all kinds of sound and special effects."

"So that's it," Vidal murmured. He remembered that this Fruit's ability had indeed appeared in the movie Stampede.

Come to think of it, the movie's final boss was right beside him and had even become his son. He glanced at Bullet.

Issho was very disappointed, but he said nothing more. He simply shook his head and fell silent.

"Vidal, would you like to come to the G-2 Branch and rest for a few days? You can also meet the other two special training camp trainees while you're there."

The corners of Vice Admiral Amyz's mouth rose as he smiled. "Just like you, they have talents far beyond those of ordinary people, as well as strength surpassing most colonel-ranked officers and even some commodores."

This book is already fourteenth in the light novel category on the new-book rankings for public authors!!! You're amazing, everyone. Thank you once again for your support and recommendations! I hope you'll all comment enthusiastically too. I refresh the interaction management page countless times every day, sigh.