Garp's Fleet Arrives!

Two hours after the battle ended, Garp's fleet finally arrived at the ruined G-3 Branch.

By this time, the weather had cleared up, and the bright sunshine made the sea surface gentle and sunny.

However, the large amount of blood and various signs of damage on the ground were difficult to clean up in a short time.

As soon as Garp's warship entered the port, he saw dozens of square wooden cages neatly arranged in the square, each containing a pirate with a dejected and desperate expression.

"Wow, you caught so many! That 'Golden Lion' guy's really angry now!"

"Ha ha!"

On the deck, Garp looked at the rather impressive group of wooden cells and teased Rear Admiral Bogard behind him. After saying that, he burst into laughter, amused by his own words.

"According to Vice Admiral Kuro's report, Vidal also killed the 'Old Man of Time' Zangjing." Rear Admiral Bogard stroked his sword hilt and said in a deep voice, "The Flying Pirates are definitely going to make a big move."

Actually, there's no need to analyze this kind of thing too closely. No matter which major power suffered such a huge loss, they wouldn't let things pass so easily.

"Snort!"

Garp scoffed dismissively.

"It would be even better if he dared to come. Roger already got a beating from me, if he Shiki to come, I'll give him a punch!"

His battle with Roger gave him a more accurate assessment of himself at that moment; one-on-one, he could suppress any top-tier expert in the world.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

Meanwhile, among the officers and soldiers who had been waiting at the port, Vice Admiral Kuro was the first to step forward.

At this point, status should be determined by rank and position, rather than by whoever is the strongest.

Vidal, who was at the bottom of the hierarchy, had no objection to this rule. Since he had decided to climb up the ranks within this system, he had to respect it first and foremost.

Of course, Garp, a 'naval hero' publicly recognized by the World Government and the Marine Headquarters...

', can slightly transcend these rules.

Just like when he sat down in the Admiral's seat during the future Paramount War, and no one offered any opinions.

Vidal felt he was still quite far from reaching that level.

Lieutenant Vice Admiral Kuro, as the adjutant to the commander of the G-3 Branch, gave Garp a detailed report on the battle.

The information given through the Den Den Mushi was just a very general and brief report; this is the formal report.

This was important business, and whether it was Vidal, Sakazuki, Lieutenant Vice Admiral Light, and others behind Vice Admiral Kuro, or Rear Admiral Bogard and many officers behind Vice Admiral Garp, they all listened patiently to the former's report.

About twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Vice Admiral Kuro finished his report, and Garp, now serious, learned the details of the G-3 Branch's casualties, damage, process, and results.

Overall, the naval casualties were quite severe. Nearly half of the 5,000 troops left behind were killed in action, and the remaining half were all wounded, some seriously and some seriously. Three warships were also destroyed!

The seven ships of pirates brought by the Zangjing were all wiped out along with him. Two-thirds of the more than 3,000 men died, and the remaining more than 1,000 were imprisoned in wooden dungeons and would be sent to Impel Down in a few days.

The wooden prison was requested by Vice Admiral Kuro. Not to mention that most of the prisons in the fortress were damaged, even if they were all intact, they couldn't fit more than a thousand people in them!

"Yes, I understand. You've worked hard."

After hearing the report, Garp did not blame Kuro for letting Helandou go. Instead, he patted Hollanda on the shoulder twice to comfort him, and then turned his gaze to Vidal.

"You did a great job. If you weren't already the base commander of Sabaody, I would have liked to transfer you to my side."

Garp's feelings towards Vidal weren't particularly complicated; his main concern was his admiration for him and his interest in his status as a disciple of Sengoku.

The part that left the deepest impression on me was when Vidal defeated Dragon one-on-one at the Zephyr Training Camp.

When the result came out, he was indeed somewhat shocked.

After all, he was the one who raised Dragon from the bottom!

As for Vidal's world-renowned achievements, Garp wasn't particularly interested.

"Thank you for your kind words Vice Admiral Garp." Vidal smiled politely. "Do you remember Bullet?"

"Oh, your adopted son, I remember him." Garp nodded, casually adding, "I'll take him with me when he comes out of the Special Training Camp."

As for Bullet himself, Garp didn't really have any particular thoughts, since he hadn't even met the man yet. However, he was serious about taking him on as an apprentice.

This was mainly because it was the last request that Dragon made to him before he left.

"Thank you so much!"

Vidal felt a sense of relief. He was worried that Garp would impulsively reject Bullet, but now it was all right. From now on, Bullet would be under the control of this big shot.

He still remembered the promise he made with Bullet.

If Bullet defeats his master Garp within two years of graduating, he can stop being an adopted son and become the younger brother!

Conversely, if he fails within two years, he should settle down and obediently become the eldest son of the Forest family!

Next, the officers present followed Garp into the fortress, and then, following Vice Admiral Kuro's instructions, returned to their respective rooms to rest.

This is the privilege of officers; no matter how complicated the fortress is, it has nothing to do with them. They can leave it to the marines below.

Of course, these marines were not the wounded soldiers of G-3 who had just experienced a major battle, but marines who came with the fleet, even though they had also fought a fierce battle with Roger Pirates a few hours earlier.

At that time, it was mainly the officers and soldiers who did the work, while the lower-ranking marines spent most of their time on the warships watching over things. In addition, they had a few hours of rest before arriving, so it was reasonable for them to help with the miscellaneous tasks of the fortress.

"Sakazuki, I have a feeling you might be staying this time."

After the officers dispersed, Vidal pulled Sakazuki aside and whispered something to him. The latter was taken aback, but immediately understood what Vidal meant.

"Indeed, the Flying Pirates will definitely not give up easily; there will certainly be several more major battles to come!"

Vidal nodded. "Vice Admiral Garp is strong, but he's only one person. In a battle of kings against kings, generals against generals, G3's mid-level combat strength is still insufficient."

"Vice Admiral Edwin is the commander of G-1 Branch, Vice Admiral Humphrey is his adjutant, and so am I. We'll definitely be back by tomorrow at the latest."

"Then you have a high probability of staying behind as a representative of the G-1 Branch, leading a group of officers and troops directly under G-1."

"So you need to be mentally prepared; in a few days you'll likely be facing those Black Arrows again, and a perfectly healthy Helandou!"

Sakazuki nodded repeatedly, his expression turning serious. "I'll be careful!"

"Now I'll tell you about the characteristics and speculations surrounding those black arrows. Your current Armament Haki will have a hard time withstanding them head-on, so..."

Vidal gradually revealed what he knew. He knew that Sakazuki was probably alright, but telling him would definitely improve their relationship.

However, he still needs to discuss these things with Garp and the others later. As for why he had to tell Sakazuki separately beforehand, that's a matter of opinion.

Sometimes, achieving the same result can yield different outcomes depending on the method and order in which the steps are taken.

Thank you so much, King! 1500 coins!