While the Marine soldiers were heatedly discussing Garen's strength, a clerk hurried over to Garp with a stack of bounty posters, then stood at attention and gave him a crisp salute:
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"After comparing the bounty notices, we have confirmed that the knight is not a pirate on record!"
"The only wanted pirate present is Buggy the Clown, with a bounty of 15 million Beli!"
"Exactly!"
Garen looked innocently at Garp and said:
"I told you, I catch pirates."
"That red-nosed guy over there is the pirate you should be dealing with!"
"That's right!"
Nami, having recovered from the shock of being personally captured by the Hero of the Marines, also cooperated by delivering an award-worthy performance. Before the gathered Marines, she played the part of a delicate, pitiful young lady:
"We're victims who were attacked by pirates."
"How can the Marines arrest people indiscriminately?"
As she spoke, Nami's pale orange eyes, brilliant as crystal, vividly welled with glistening tears that inspired pity, making many weak-willed Marine soldiers unable to suppress their sympathy and guilt.
But Garp did not fall for Nami's act at all. He simply scrutinized Buggy the Clown before him even more intently.
Garp stared at Buggy for a long, long time before finally speaking:
"Buggy the Clown?"
"I thought you looked familiar from the start. That conspicuous red nose..."
"Hahaha..."
Buggy the Clown waved his hands in a fluster and forced out a stiff laugh as he explained, "This kind of nose is actually very common. Very common..."
"So it really is you?"
Garp abruptly rose from his lounge chair, like a sharply angular iron tower had suddenly risen from the ground:
"That red-nosed brat who used to stand beside Roger?"
"Ah?"
"Who's Roger?"
Buggy continued playing dumb, though cold sweat streamed down his forehead like a waterfall.
But the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Other than Garen, who had known all along, the Marine soldiers, headquarters officers, reporter Wallace, and Cat Burglar Nami all fixed their eyes on Buggy.
Even Cabaji and Mohji, who had followed Buggy across the East Blue for years, were now looking at their captain as though he were an alien.
Under normal circumstances, the name Roger referred to only one person.
Especially when that name came from Marine hero Garp.
"Gol D. Roger."
Garp finally spoke the name clearly, then looked at Buggy and said:
"I remember correctly. You were the apprentice crewman who followed Roger alongside Shanks!"
Buggy fell silent.
Those words immediately caused a huge uproar.
"That red-nosed guy was a Pirate King crewman?"
The Marine soldiers were so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.
"Our captain was a Pirate King crewman?!!"
Cabaji and Mohji were so horrified their eyes nearly popped out.
"Shanks?"
Having caught an earth-shattering scoop, Wallace immediately began analyzing the explosive news:
"Red Hair Shanks, one of the Four Emperors?"
Wallace's gaze at Buggy instantly turned blazing hot:
"Buggy the Clown was a Pirate King crewman and the close friend of Red Hair, one of the Four Emperors?"
"Why was he hiding under an alias in the East Blue? What terrifying, dark scheme was he plotting?"
"Wait."
Wallace suddenly discovered another newsworthy point:
"Sir Garen..."
"He easily subdued Buggy the Clown earlier!"
"What?"
The Marine soldiers beside Wallace, who had just been pontificating about the situation, also grew excited:
"That man easily defeated the close friend of one of the Four Emperors?"
"It seems my earlier judgment was wrong!"
The analyst who had previously judged Garen to be at the level of a Marine rear admiral immediately said gravely:
"To defeat a Pirate King crewman and the close friend of Red Hair, one of the Four Emperors, that knight may possess the strength of a New World Emperor!"
"Nonsense!"
Another analysis expert fiercely retorted:
"If he had the strength of a Four Emperor, why would he surrender without resistance before Vice Admiral Garp?"
"I'd say he's at most on the level of a Four Emperor's right-hand man."
"No..."
A gleam of wisdom flashed through Analyst Number Three's eyes:
"That man isn't a pirate. He probably only refrained from attacking Vice Admiral Garp because he did not want to stir up further conflict."
"You mean..."
The Marine soldiers involved in the discussion all sucked in sharp breaths. "He can actually rival Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Vice Admiral Garp stands on equal footing with Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
One analysis expert arrived at a shocking conclusion:
"In that case..."
"That nameless knight must possess the strength of a Marine Headquarters admiral!"
"Uh..."
Wallace's pen, which had been eagerly recording material for his report, abruptly stopped.
Even someone as determined as him to chase sensational stories felt that conclusion was complete nonsense.
Meanwhile, Buggy, the other subject of the news, finally reacted:
"That's right."
Buggy the Clown forced himself to put on a resolute expression, though his legs trembled slightly on their own:
"I really was a Pirate King crewman."
Though it should have been an imposing statement, it sounded extremely weak coming from Buggy.
"Hahaha!"
Garp laughed smugly. "I knew it was you!"
As he laughed, the look in Garp's eyes as he watched Buggy grew increasingly strange.
"What do you want?"
Buggy asked with some fear:
"Even with that background, my bounty is only 15 million Beli!"
"Are you going to kill me?"
As he spoke, Buggy's body began trembling even more violently.
He had originally planned to spend a couple of years in prison before finding a chance to escape, but then his old acquaintance Garp exposed his important identity as a Pirate King crewman...
In an instant, Buggy went from being an insignificant small fry of the East Blue to a remnant of the most evil man's crew whom every Marine had to take seriously.
"Well..."
Garp fell silent and pondered for a moment before suddenly breaking into a hearty smile:
"Buggy! Come join the Marines!"
"No, don't kill me!"
Buggy cried out in alarm.
"Huh?"
Buggy suddenly came to his senses. "What did you say?"
Everyone else present was stunned by Garp's shocking proposal.
Even Garen, who had always assumed he knew the plot and had remained calm, was left completely dumbfounded by this bizarre turn.
"Come join the Marines!"
"Stay by my side!"
Garp slowly walked up to Buggy, then used his height advantage to look down at the terrified and bewildered man:
"That bastard Red Hair encouraged my grandson to become a pirate."
"I'll have his old friend become a Marine instead. Isn't that interesting?"
"H-How can that work?"
For no apparent reason, Buggy found a surge of courage and refused without hesitation:
"I'm Captain Roger's crewman. How could I possibly betray him and join the Marines?!"
He had been a Pirate King crewman, after all. If he switched sides and became the lackey of his old enemy Garp, how could he face Captain Roger's spirit in heaven?
But Buggy did not know that...
Captain Roger's biological son was already acting as Garp's grandson...
"Is that so?"
Garp stroked his grizzled beard, looking troubled as he said:
"Then there's really nothing I can do..."
"A Pirate King crewman must definitely be executed once captured!"
"Ah?"
The resolve on Buggy the Clown's face quietly faded.
Garp casually glanced at Cabaji and Mohji beside him:
"And..."
"Your two subordinates probably won't escape either..."
Cabaji and Mohji exchanged a difficult glance, both wearing extremely ugly expressions.
"Almost forgot."
Garp added, "That lion counts too."
"Roar?!"
Richie the lion shivered beneath Garp's gaze.
A moment later...
Cabaji's expression sharpened, and he immediately dropped to his knees:
"Lord Garp!"
"Actually, I... I have always yearned for justice. I merely took the wrong path in my reckless youth!"
"Every day I spent aboard that pirate ship, I suffered torment in my conscience. It was unbearable!"
"That's right!"
Mohji said with tears in his eyes:
"Back then, I had no way to serve my country, so I somehow ended up on the pirate's path of no return!"
Imitating Cabaji, Mohji dropped to his knees and wept:
"Vice Admiral Garp, I want to join the Marines!"
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Richie the lion also did his best to look righteous and dignified.
Garp nodded in satisfaction, then turned his scrutinizing gaze toward the true protagonist, Buggy the Clown.
"You..."
Buggy's expression shifted unpredictably.
His entire body shook violently, as though he were incomparably furious over the betrayal of his two subordinates.
That terrifying emotion, deep as an abyss and vast as the sea, brewed and fermented within Buggy before finally erupting after a brief silence:
"Bastards!"
Buggy glared furiously at his two subordinates and roared in outrage:
"You both felt that way?!!"
Cabaji and Mohji both trembled in fright, then buried their heads even lower in unspoken agreement.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Buggy's face filled with intense regret as he cried out in anguish:
"I only kept refusing to abandon evil and turn toward justice because I couldn't bear to leave you old subordinates behind!"
Before you continue