Your Grandson is a Pirate

On the other side.

Under the lead of a grim-faced Moke, Garp and the other two seriously took a look around Cocoyasi Town. Their gazes shifted from initial disdain to calm, then to a faint trace of shock.

Before them...

Stretch after stretch of stone-paved roads, clean and tidy, neatly arranged!

Buildings stood all around, the houses looking neat, uniform, and very fresh, clearly built not long ago.

Perhaps this place couldn't compare to the famous Sabaody Archipelago in the Grand Line, but they all knew Sabaody's uniqueness. To see such clean, orderly, and spacious streets in a small East Blue town like this—how could it not be startling?

Especially the crowds moving along the streets, the clean clothes on everyone, the genuine smiles on their faces, and the hope for the future in their eyes... This wasn't something you'd see in Sabaody Archipelago.

After all, Cocoyasi Village was just an ordinary, unremarkable little village in the East Blue's Konomi Islands. Its only distinction was being under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 16.

Garp furrowed his brow, his hand stuffing snacks into his mouth pausing slightly.

At that moment, for some reason, his mind involuntarily drifted to the island of the Goa Kingdom, to that village standing apart from the kingdom, under his protection—his hometown, Foosha Village.

But even with his protection, Foosha Village could never have developed like this.

Then, he reverted to his usual carefree demeanor, stuffing his face with snacks again while laughing loudly, "What an interesting guy, hahaha~"

As he spoke.

Unlike Garp's rough manners, Marine Sergeant Tashigi, who was eating daintily, wore a serious expression on her small face. "It seems we misjudged Colonel Xia Che. Colonel Xia Che is a good man!"

He drove away the Fish-Men and Colonel Mouse, and as base commander, he not only protected the village but also led the impoverished village toward development.

He even sheltered refugees from other islands, giving them a new life.

Thinking this, Tashigi couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration and respect. "Truly admirable!"

However.

In response to his subordinate's words, Colonel Smoker took the cigar from his mouth, flicked off the ash, and said coldly, "Foolish. Don't forget, all this was funded by money scammed from Marine Headquarters! And..."

He swept his gaze over the lively civilians around him, his eyes flickering briefly, then turned his head to glare coldly at Moke beside him.

"That man, as a Marine Colonel, colluding with pirates—the evidence is solid. That's an unforgivable crime!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you bastard!!! The boss isn't some bad guy!" Hearing Smoker insult his boss, Moke, already guilt-ridden for bringing the Marines here through his own mistake, grew even angrier. "I won't let you insult the boss! Even if we're pirates, we've never done anything wrong! The boss has always kept us in line!"

"Any pirate is the greatest evil!"

"Damn it! You bastard Marine..."

But.

Just as an enraged Moke was about to roll up his sleeves and teach Colonel Smoker a lesson—

"Colonel Smoker jokes too much. Don't we know whether he's evil or not?"

A voice tinged with helplessness suddenly came from behind.

The three turned around, along with Moke, to look behind them, and saw Marine Branch 16's seaman—Udo—who had appeared behind them without them noticing.

"There are about twenty or so villages like this in the Konomi Islands. Maybe Cocoyasi Town has developed well, but at first, it was just a very ordinary village. In fact, because it was close to Arlong Park, it was worse off than the others." Udo walked over with a helpless expression, shaking his head at the three inspectors before him. "I came from one of those other villages in the Konomi Islands. I saw with my own eyes how this poor island, where even eating was a struggle, slowly developed into what it is now."

"Back then, under Colonel Mouse and the Fish-Men's rule, everyone struggled just to survive. Adults had to pay 100,000 Beri every month, and even newborn babies cost 50,000 Beri. In a small village like that... how could anyone come up with that much money in just one month? I still remember how hopeless it was back then. It wasn't until the Colonel arrived that things started to get better for everyone."

His gaze fell on Colonel Smoker, his tone tinged with emotion.

"And as for requesting funds from Marine Headquarters, that's always been my job. Maybe at first, the Colonel did use some of the funds to help us, but that was just so we could have enough to eat. After that, I can guarantee that every single Beri allocated by Marine Headquarters was used for the Marines' construction. As for the Konomi Islands' current development... an East Blue Marine branch couldn't possibly get that much funding."

After he finished.

This time...

Even Smoker fell silent. As a fellow East Blue Marine Colonel who had been reassigned, he knew Udo was telling the truth.

Marine Headquarters' strategic focus had always been on the Grand Line and the New World. A mere weakest sea couldn't possibly receive much funding, but...

Smoker still stared coldly at him. "That doesn't excuse you colluding with pirates to scam funds. I can hold off on arresting your Colonel for now, but you need to give me an explanation."

However.

"Huh? We haven't colluded with any pirates!" Faced with Smoker's interrogation, Udo averted his eyes, his gaze shifty. "Branch 16 doesn't know any Moke Pirates at all."

"?!"

The stunned Moke suddenly seemed to catch on, understanding Udo's intent. He too looked away and whistled at the sky. "That's right! I don't know any boss either! I'm the captain of the Moke Pirates—why would I know any Marines?"

After he spoke.

"..." X4

The four of them stared at Moke with dark expressions.

Did this guy even know what he was saying?

Especially Smoker... His thick brows twitched as he glared darkly at Udo and Moke, as if he'd been insulted. "Are you treating me like a fool?"

The evidence was already solid, and they still dared to lie to his face?

His right hand, clad in a leather glove, gripped his weapon—his custom Jitte—as he prepared to show them whether he was a fool or not.

But suddenly—

"Calm down, Smoker boy." Garp stopped him, then patted his hands clean of snack crumbs, seeming unbothered by his earlier bluff. He grinned at Udo before him. "This old man and the others have seen what we needed to see. I have to say, it was more surprising than I expected. Now then... it's time to have a proper talk with that colonel of yours."

His gaze carried a meaningful edge.

"This old man wants to see just how that brat plans to convince me."

With that—

"..."

Udo sighed inwardly at that meaningful look.

He understood that what came next was beyond his ability to handle. He could only step aside and make a gesture of invitation.

"This way, please. The colonel is already waiting for everyone."

Under Udo's lead, the three of them, along with the fuming Moke, headed forward.

Before long—

They arrived before a solemn, imposing white building.

Before Udo could step inside to announce them—

"Hahaha, Xia Che brat, this old man's here!" Garp barged right past him, leading Smoker and Tashigi inside, bellowing as he went, "Have you figured out how you're going to talk your way out of this?"

As his voice faded, the three stepped inside and saw Xia Che seated behind a central desk, wearing a white Marine uniform and a black fur coat draped over his shoulders, hands crossed beneath his chin.

Beside him stood a young woman in a white shirt and black skirt, with short orange hair.

Before Garp, who was picking his nose with a carefree air, could say anything more—

Xia Che sighed, looked at him, and spoke in a grave tone. "Vice Admiral Garp, we've received word that your grandson has gone to sea as a pirate."

At that—

Udo, Moke: !!!

Smoker, Tashigi: ?!

Garp, mid-nose-pick: ...

His smile froze.

Feeling the strange stares around him, Garp darkened his face and glared at Xia Che.

This brat... really doesn't play by the rules!