~
Two months later...
Shaya finally prepared to take Stussy to sea.
Ahem.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Garp! There's something I need you to do!"
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the current Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone Kong, sat behind his desk with his arms crossed...
Standing before Kong was the notoriously troublesome Monkey D. Garp, an over-fifty "brat" who was still as energetic as ever.
Even with Kong's experience and patience, his expression carried a hint of pleading when he saw Garp. After all, that old bastard was famous for never following orders.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Did the Marines find that old bastard Roger's whereabouts?"
"I'll go arrest him right now."
The overgrown "brat" named Garp looked rather unconcerned by Kong's order. He picked his nose as he casually looked at the Fleet Admiral before quietly asking.
"It's not about Roger..."
Kong looked helpless at that.
"Then is it Whitebeard? Or Golden Lion?"
"Golden Lion hasn't been heard from in a long time since losing to Roger..."
"As for Whitebeard, isn't Sengoku keeping an eye on him? There shouldn't be any need for me to act, right? Or does that old bastard Sengoku have something else to do now?"
As Garp questioned Kong, he rolled the large wad of boogers he had dug out of his nose into a ball and flicked it onto the floor of the Fleet Admiral's private office under Kong's disgusted gaze.
"It's not a pirate issue."
"A big shot from above has arrived and needs you to escort him!"
After carefully choosing his words, Kong spoke seriously to Garp.
"Heh, a big shot who needs me to escort him?"
At that, Garp's eyes immediately filled with disdain.
"It's a Celestial Dragon, isn't it?"
Garp bluntly asked Kong.
"Garp, they personally named you this time and asked for you, the Hero of the Marines, to escort them! Garp, don't make this difficult for me..."
Kong spoke sternly to Garp.
"Besides, there's something else..." Before Garp could say more, Kong continued, "Garp, you've been sitting at Vice Admiral for far too long. Their meaning is that it's time for you to move up! Have you considered the promotion?"
"Although we have Sengoku and Zephyr as Marine Admirals, you know Zephyr's situation, don't you? So right now, Sengoku is the only Admiral the Marines can deploy. Their view is that one Marine Admiral cannot guarantee the Celestial Dragons' safety, so they need you, the Hero of the Marines, to be promoted immediately..."
Kong explained the Marines' current difficulties and circumstances to Garp.
Kong truly hoped Garp could help ease some of his burden. No one understood the Marines' current predicament better than him, their Fleet Admiral...
"Hahahaha, forget about the promotion."
"I, Garp, am unworthy of the position. I don't deserve to be a Marine Admiral..."
"As for escorting Celestial Dragons? Sorry, I'm not a Marine Admiral. I'm just an ordinary Vice Admiral without that kind of strength. Let the other Vice Admirals take care of it!"
"After all, the Marines are so vast. They won't be lacking one Vice Admiral like me, right?!"
"Aren't there plenty of people in the Marines who want to curry favor with the Celestial Dragons? Give this rare opportunity to them. I'm not going..."
After hearing Kong's words, Garp immediately burst into laughter and turned to leave the office. What had happened at God Valley thirteen years ago had made Garp regret it for half his life. To him, the title Hero of the Marines sounded unbearably harsh. If possible, he never wanted to have anything to do with Celestial Dragons again for the rest of his life.
"Garp, come back!"
"Get back here..."
Kong watched Garp leave of his own accord, his brow tightly furrowed as he roared angrily.
"Hahahaha..."
Facing Kong's roar, Garp merely laughed loudly and strode away.
"Vice Admiral Garp refused promotion again!"
"I heard Fleet Admiral Kong kept roaring in his office because of it!"
"Hahaha, that's so cool! I want to be someone like that too..."
"Kuzan, just having that thought is already insubordination! You're as insubordinate as Garp! As soldiers, obeying orders and following commands is our duty..."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Sakazuki? Vice Admiral Garp is the Hero of the Marines! What could possibly be wrong with learning from a hero's way of doing things?!"
"Sigh, Sakazuki, Kuzan, are you two arguing again? What a pain."
After Garp embarrassed Fleet Admiral Kong in front of everyone, Marine Headquarters at Marineford once again descended into chaos. Many Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals happily launched into heated discussions over Garp's refusal to accept a promotion yet again.
Mary Geoise.
"Saint Shaya, we are truly very sorry..."
"Vice Admiral Garp has other important matters to attend to, so he is temporarily unable to undertake the task of escorting you on this journey..."
"However, please rest assured. The Marines will immediately arrange another suitable candidate for you. We absolutely will not delay your itinerary in the slightest..."
A Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral sat properly and upright before Shaya, his head lowered with an expression of sincerity and fear.
This Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral was a liaison specifically appointed by Fleet Admiral Kong to communicate with the Celestial Dragons! In other words, a designated Celestial Dragon punching bag...
Although this Vice Admiral's Rokushiki and Haki were not particularly well-trained, his ability to bow, kneel, and smooth things over was truly unmatched in the Marines.
"No. He'll come."
Shaya looked calm in response to the Vice Admiral's words.
"Go inform Vice Admiral Garp..."
"Tell him the World Government has found Roger's location."
Shaya looked at the Vice Admiral and spoke without changing his expression.
"What? Roger? Pirate King Roger?"
"The World Government found the Pirate King Roger, who had successfully circumnavigated the world and reached Laugh Tale several months ago, in such a short time?"
The Vice Admiral's expression immediately changed in shock.
"Is there a problem?"
Shaya looked at him and asked.
"No! N-no problem at all..." The Vice Admiral repeatedly shook his head and assured Shaya, "I will faithfully report Saint Shaya's words to Vice Admiral Garp. I believe Vice Admiral Garp will make the correct choice, one that satisfies both the World Government and Saint Shaya."
It had to be said that this Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral's way with words was flawless.
That fearful and reverent demeanor of his truly suited the Celestial Dragons' tastes.
Shaya could only say that Kong knew how to use people.
"Leave."
After saying that, Shaya gave the Vice Admiral no chance to speak further and turned to leave the meeting room.
"Young Master Shaya, when did our World Government learn Roger's location?!"
When Shaya stepped out of the meeting room, Stussy, Shaya's personal maid, immediately moved close and softly asked.
"Just now. We just learned it..."
"Stussy, you should understand. I'm a Celestial Dragon, a great descendant of the Figarland family, a descendant of the world's creators, an incarnation of God!"
"In this world, there's nothing I want to know that I don't know! As a descendant of God, being omniscient and omnipotent is perfectly normal, right?!"
Shaya answered without changing his expression.
"Fine. This naturally evil Celestial Dragon brat was lying again."
A look of sudden realization flashed through Stussy's eyes.
Naturally, Stussy did not believe Shaya truly knew Roger's whereabouts.
After all, even CP0 did not know much about Roger's location.
Therefore, Stussy concluded that this child Shaya was making things up again...
At the same time, Stussy felt a little sympathy. It seemed she could only invite the next victim Shaya would fool with his nonsense to appear.
"Huh? The World Government actually found Roger's whereabouts?"
Elsewhere, when Shaya's words reached Garp's ears, he rarely frowned. Garp felt Roger should not have been so easy to find.
However, Garp could not determine whether the intelligence was true or false. After all, the World Government's power was hidden far too deeply.
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