Meanwhile.
Led by a dark-faced Moke, Garp and the other two carefully looked around Cocoyasi Village.
Their expressions shifted from initial disdain to calmness, then to a faint hint of shock.
Before their eyes...
Vast stretches of stone-paved roads lay clean and neatly arranged!
Buildings stood all around them. The houses looked tidy, uniform, and remarkably fresh, clearly having been built not long ago.
Perhaps this place could not compare to the famous Sabaody Archipelago of the Grand Line, but they all knew how special Sabaody was. Yet seeing such clean, orderly, spacious streets in a small town in the East Blue—how could they not be shocked?
Especially the crowds passing through the streets: their clean clothes, the genuine smiles on their faces, and their expectant eyes for the future... Those were things that could not be seen even on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Cocoyasi Village was merely an ordinary, unremarkable village on the Conomi Islands in the East Blue. Its only special feature was that it fell under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 16.
Garp frowned, his hand, which had been stuffing snacks into his mouth by the fistful, pausing slightly.
For some reason, Foosha Village suddenly came to mind—the village on the island of the Goa Kingdom that stood apart from the kingdom, was under his protection, and was also his hometown.
Yet even with his protection, Foosha Village could never have developed like this.
Then he returned to his usual carefree manner, continuing to shovel snacks into his mouth as he laughed loudly. "What an interesting fellow! Hahaha!"
As his words fell.
Unlike Garp, who ate so crudely, Marine Sergeant Tashigi nibbled at her food in small bites. Her little face carried a serious expression as well. "It looks like we misunderstood Colonel Xia Che. Colonel Xia Che is a good person!"
He had driven away the Fish-Men and Colonel Mouse. After becoming the base commander, he had not only protected the village, but led the impoverished village in its development.
He had even been willing to shelter refugees from other islands and give them new lives.
Thinking of that, Tashigi could not help but sigh inwardly in admiration and respect. "He truly is worthy of respect!"
However.
In response to his subordinate, Smoker removed the cigar from his mouth and flicked away the ash before saying coldly, "Foolish. You should know that all of this was funded with money swindled from Marine Headquarters! And besides..."
His gaze swept over the energetic civilians around them. His eyes flickered slightly before he turned and stared coldly at Moke.
"That man, a Marine Colonel, colluding with pirates is an established fact. It is a crime that cannot be erased!"
"Hey, hey, hey! You bastard!!! The boss isn't a bad person!" Hearing Smoker insult his boss, Moke, who had already been blaming himself for bringing the Marines here because of his mistake, became even angrier. "I will never allow you to insult the boss! Even if we're pirates, we haven't done anything bad. The boss has always kept us in line!"
"Any pirate is the greatest evil!"
"Damn it! You bastard Marine..."
However.
Before the furious Moke could roll up his sleeves and teach Colonel Smoker a lesson.
"Colonel Smoker must be joking. Whether we are evil or not, don't we know that ourselves?"
A helpless voice suddenly came from behind them.
The three turned around with Moke and saw a Marine soldier from Marine Branch 16 who had appeared behind them at some point—Udo.
"There are more than twenty villages like this on the Conomi Islands. Cocoyasi Village may be developing well now, but in the beginning, it was just a very ordinary village. Because it was close to Arlong Park, it was even worse off than the other villages back then." Udo walked over with a helpless expression. Looking at the three inspectors before him, he shook his head and said, "I came from another village on the Conomi Islands. I watched with my own eyes as the Conomi Islands went from a poor place where people struggled even to eat to what it is today."
"Back then, under the rule of Colonel Mouse and the Fish-Men, everyone on the Conomi Islands struggled just to survive. Every month, adults had to pay one hundred thousand Beli, while even newborn children had to pay fifty thousand Beli. How could people in such tiny villages possibly earn that much money in a single month? I still remember how desperate it was. Only after the colonel arrived did everyone's lives begin to improve."
His gaze fell on Colonel Smoker, his tone filled with emotion.
"Also, I have always been responsible for requesting military funds from Marine Headquarters. Perhaps the colonel did use military funds to help us at first, but that was only so we could have enough to eat. After that, I can guarantee that every single Beli of funding issued by Marine Headquarters was used for Marine construction. As for the Conomi Islands' current development... an East Blue Navy branch could never obtain that much funding."
As his words fell.
This time...
Smoker fell silent as well. As a Marine Colonel who had also been assigned to the East Blue, he knew that what Udo said was true.
Marine Headquarters had always focused its strategic deployments on the Grand Line and the New World. The weakest sea could indeed never receive much military funding, but...
Smoker still stared at him coldly. "That is not a reason for you to collude with pirates to swindle military funds. I can refrain from arresting your colonel for now, but you must give me an explanation."
However.
"Huh? We haven't colluded with any pirates!" Faced with Smoker's questioning, Udo immediately looked away, his gaze drifting as he said, "Our Branch 16 doesn't know any Moke Pirates at all."
"?!"
At that moment, the stunned Moke seemed to become a little smarter. Understanding Udo's meaning, he also looked away and whistled toward the sky. "That's right. I don't know any boss either! I'm the captain of the Moke Pirates. How could I know any Marines?"
As his words fell.
"..." ×4
The four of them stared at Moke with dark expressions.
Did this guy even know what he was saying?
Smoker especially raised a thick eyebrow, glaring at Udo and Moke with a dark face as though he had been insulted. "Are you treating me like an idiot?"
The evidence was already conclusive, yet they still dared to argue in front of him?
His right hand, clad in a leather glove, immediately gripped his weapon—the specially made Jitte. Just as he was about to show them whether he was really an idiot.
Suddenly.
"Calm down, Smoker boy." Garp stopped him. Then Garp patted his hands, which were a little dirty from eating snacks. He did not seem angry at their attempt to fool them just now, and instead looked cheerfully at Udo. "We've seen everything we came to see. I have to say, it truly was beyond my expectations. Next... it's time to have a proper talk with that colonel of yours."
His eyes carried a meaningful look.
"I'd like to see exactly how that brat plans to convince me."
As his words fell.
"..."
Seeing that meaningful gaze, Udo sighed helplessly inwardly.
He understood that what came next was no longer something he could handle. He could only step aside and gesture for them to proceed.
"This way, please. The colonel is already waiting for everyone."
Then, led by Udo, the three of them, along with the still-fuming Moke, headed forward.
Before long.
They arrived before a solemn, imposing white building.
Before Udo could enter to announce their arrival.
"Hahaha, Xia Che, this old man is here!" Garp strode past him carelessly, leading Smoker and Tashigi inside. As he walked, he bellowed in his loud voice, "Have you figured out how you're going to argue your way out of this?"
As his voice fell, the three had already entered and saw Xia Che seated behind the central desk. He wore a white Marine uniform and a black fur coat, his hands clasped beneath his chin.
Beside him stood an orange-haired girl wearing a white shirt and a black skirt.
Before Garp, who was picking his nose with a carefree expression, could say anything else.
Xia Che sighed, looked at him, and then said in a serious tone, "Vice Admiral Garp, we received word that one of your grandsons has gone to sea and become a pirate."
As his words fell.
Udo, Moke:!!!
Smoker, Tashigi:?!
Garp, who was picking his nose:...
The smile on his face froze.
Feeling the strange gazes around him, Garp immediately glared darkly at Xia Che.
This brat... wasn't playing by the rules at all!
Before you continue