Rejecting the Marines' Offer

Garen surrendered without hesitation.

The friendly spar between Garp and Garen finally came to a satisfactory conclusion, with the navy ship repair crew being the biggest losers.

Climbing out of the rubble, Garen retreated swiftly to a safe distance, keeping away from Garp, whose iron fist was still clenched.

"That's interesting."

Garp carefully observed Garen's body:

Apart from being covered in dust and wood chips, there wasn't a single injury, and those two punches clearly hadn't affected his bodily functions.

Garp immediately held an even higher opinion of Garen's so-called "Knight Fruit."

"Shave!"

Garp's figure suddenly flashed.

Garen only felt a burly figure suddenly appear before him, and the gust of wind caused by the high-speed movement followed closely, brushing against Garen's face.

Garen's body tensed instinctively, ready to activate a skill to save his life.

He had been traumatized by those two loving iron fists.

"Knight kid!"

Garp, who appeared in front of Garen, smiled kindly: "What do you think of this move?"

"Shave?"

Garen was slightly stunned and subconsciously spoke the name of this powerful physical technique.

"Oh? So you know Rokushiki!"

Garp's hearty laughter carried a hint of "patient guidance":

"So, do you want to learn it?"

"Of course!"

Garen nodded hastily.

This was probably the plot where a reclusive old master grandpa gives away a peerless secret manual.

"Join the Marines!"

Garp stated his underlying condition without hesitation:

"This is a physical technique that the Marines don't pass on to outsiders. If you join the Marines, I can teach you!"

Getting in with a big shot in the military to become an officer was undoubtedly a very tempting condition.

Garen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, Garen seriously declined:

"Sorry, I don't want to join the Marines."

"Why?"

Garp, who was rejected, wasn't angry, but continued to persuade patiently:

"Isn't your 'Knight Fruit' some kind of 'power of justice'?"

"Then why not join the Marines?"

"."

Garen pondered for a moment, then spoke his true thoughts to the Marine hero in front of him:

"The Marines' justice probably isn't suitable for me."

Garen certainly knew what kind of organization the Marines in this world were.

Wearing the cloak of justice, yet bound by heavy shackles, they were ultimately just guns in the hands of a small group of people.

In a situation where bizarre ruling classes like the Celestial Dragons existed, the Marines, the strongest violent organization in the world, were probably the same as the Beiyang Fleet, the strongest navy in the Far East back in the day.

No matter how hard the few capable and ambitious people within tried, they couldn't save this rotten body from the root, and the broken ship was bound to sink.

"Why do you say that?"

Garp's expression quietly turned serious, but his tone was still very calm.

As a Marine hero who even his opponents admired, Garp was never the kind of stubborn person. He would only listen carefully to the different thoughts of different people.

"Vice Admiral Garp..."

Garen thought for a moment and said:

"If I joined the Marines, reaching your level would be considered the pinnacle, right?"

"Pretty much."

Garp nodded very frankly.

"Your hometown, the Goa Kingdom."

Garen paused, and finally said in a deep voice:

"That hasn't changed one bit because of your status as a Marine hero."

Garp remained silent.

Of course Garp knew what kind of place the Goa Kingdom was.

But the Goa Kingdom was a member nation of the World Government, a model East Blue kingdom favored by the Celestial Dragons, while Garp was a Marine General under the World Government.

Garp was powerless to change his hometown, even though he stood at the pinnacle of the Marines.

In this light, the Marines' justice seemed somewhat powerless...

"You..."

Garp's gaze towards Garen suddenly sharpened.

Garen's words carried a hint of danger, reminding Garp of his son who had become a revolutionary.

But Garp's expression eventually softened:

"If that's the case, then what is your justice?"

"This..."

Garen hesitated.

He really hadn't thought about it carefully.

Garen's starting point as a self-proclaimed Knight of Justice was very simple—

He wasn't an antisocial personality; if he didn't earn experience points from bad guys, would he go and become a murderous demon slaughtering civilians?

Besides...

Wearing a gorgeous and dazzling suit of armor, holding aloft a golden greatsword, and shouting the word 'Justice' while slaying demons...

It was just too damn cool.

But Garp's questioning made Garen finally start to think about the question of 'What is Justice'.

And the mindset of a modern person allowed Garen to quickly come up with an answer:

"Freedom, equality, fairness, the rule of law..."

"Huh?"

Garp was so stunned by this series of refined terms that he couldn't speak.

"That's the kind of justice that should exist in a peaceful and prosperous world."

Garen changed the subject:

"In a place where those words are almost non-existent..."

"Justice is probably the sword in my hand."

To help when you see injustice, to fight for those who cannot fight.

Where the rule of law cannot reach, there needs to be a Knight of Justice; in the culture inherited from Garen's previous life, this was called "chivalry."

This was obviously not a culture favored by officials, especially by the World Government, which was rotten to the core.

But Garp didn't develop any aversion to Garen because of this; after all, his son was ten thousand times more restless than Garen.

"Alright..."

Garp agreed with Garen's statement and didn't press the issue:

"If you don't want to be a Marine, then so be it."

"But..."

Garp's voice suddenly took on a bit of overwhelming authority:

"I hope you can use your power for good and not betray your justice."

Garp didn't say another word, but Garen could hear the deterrence and hope in his words.

"I will!"

Garen nodded seriously; he was very confident in this.

In order to gain experience points and make himself stronger, Garen would go around cutting people down;

And a normal person's sense of good and evil restrained Garen from only cutting down bad people.

So, whether the starting point was mostly for self-interest or mostly for the benefit of others, Garen was already a Knight of Justice.

After the two had a conversation, they didn't chat much more.

Garp, who was naturally free-spirited, didn't feel disappointed that he hadn't recruited Garen, but he secretly remembered the young man's name.

Garen, on the other hand, carried his greatsword and returned to Nami and Wallace's side.

"You didn't become a Marine?"

As soon as Garen approached, Nami said to Garen with some concern, "That was an invitation from the Marine hero Garp!"

"My 'justice' is in my heart, no need to write it on my clothes."

Garen answered with feigned nonchalance, unknowingly resorting to his art of deception once more.

"Heh…"

Nami, however, unhesitatingly shot Garen a disdainful glare.

A moment later, Nami suddenly said with a somewhat dejected expression:

"If only you became a Marine officer, then…"

Nami didn't finish her sentence, but Garen understood her thoughts:

If he accepted Garp's invitation and became a direct disciple of the Marine hero, then it would be easy to use the Marines' power to eliminate Arlong and save Cocoyasi Village.

"I understand, it's about Cocoyasi Village and the Arlong Pirates, right?"

Garen took the initiative to bring up Nami's worries: "Leave it to me!"

Nami was slightly stunned, and the expression on her face suddenly became very interesting: "How… how did you know?"

"I'll explain it to you later."

After speaking, Garen turned around and walked straight towards Garp, ignoring Nami's puzzled gaze.

"What is it?"

Seeing Garen walking back, Garp was slightly puzzled: "Did you change your mind?"

"No."

Garen went straight to the point: "I have a request."

"In Cocoyasi Village in East Blue, there is a group of pirates wreaking havoc; I would like to ask you to help suppress them."

Seeking help from a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral to wipe out a small pirate gang in the weakest sea, East Blue, was as absurd as requesting a nuclear strike to take down a pillbox.

However, Garp patiently listened to Garen's words and then asked seriously:

"Pirates in East Blue? Tell me about the situation…"

Garen could hear Garp's insistence on the word "justice" in his voice, but he could also read a bit of carelessness in the casual smile on Garp's face.

There was no way around it…

Garp was a top-tier combatant in the Marines, so he naturally wouldn't take the small pirates of East Blue to heart; this was determined by the natural difference in strength.

He would never actively look for trouble with those small fries; occasionally running into them and sending a few "Fist Bone Meteors" was already doing his duty.

Moreover, these small fry who were "wreaking havoc in some village"...

To put it nicely, they were pirates; to put it bluntly, they were local bullies holed up in the countryside of East Blue.

As soon as Garen said this, the Marine Headquarters soldiers present showed expressions of disdain and contempt.

This atmosphere had a more or less negative impact on Garen's actions of "pleading for the people."

He had to make them take it seriously, and it would be best if he could trick Garp into taking action himself, so that Arlong, who only knew how to bully ordinary people, would know what it was like for a max-level boss to angrily clear a newbie village.

Garen thought to himself.

So his expression suddenly became very serious, and his voice took on a heavy tone:

"Vice Admiral Garp, this group of pirates is not simple!"

"The members of the Arlong Pirates are all Fish-men who sneaked into East Blue from the Grand Line."

"Fish-men?"

Garp was slightly surprised; the existence of Fish-men in East Blue was indeed a rare occurrence.

But that was all it was…

Fish-men were common on the Grand Line; even the ordinary soldiers of Marine Headquarters were not intimidated by this title.

Garen once again brewed up the mood for telling a ghost story and said in a deep voice:

"Don't underestimate them!"

"The captain of the Arlong Pirates, Arlong…"

Garen paused deliberately, and then suddenly raised his voice like a storyteller:

"He was once the right-hand man of the Fish-man hero Fisher Tiger, and he is also on friendly terms with the Shichibukai Jinbe!"

"He even faced Marine Admiral Kizaru head-on and managed to save his life from Kizaru!"

It sounded a bit magical, but this was really the resume of Arlong, the village tyrant of Cocoyasi Village…

The faces of the Marine soldiers were already dull, and even Smoker, who was leisurely smoking a cigar, couldn't help but look serious.

Garen then concluded in a serious tone:

"In my opinion, this Arlong has at least the strength of a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral!"