Actually, I Was Only Angry at Myself

Mo Xingchen stood on the shore, watching the merchant ship disappear beyond the horizon before slowly turning around.

At that moment, he fully understood how Garp had felt when Dragon left. He wanted his family to achieve their dreams, yet he was also worried about their safety.

Sigh... how melancholy.

By the time Mo Xingchen returned to the Marshal's Office, only the three old men remained. He flopped straight onto the sofa and stared at the ceiling like a fish that had washed ashore and been left baking in the sun. A visibly gloomy cloud hung over his head, and his face was written all over with dejection.

Sengoku asked curiously:

"You were fine a moment ago. What's wrong with you, brat?"

Mo Xingchen stared at the ceiling, with only his mouth moving.

"Robin went to sea."

Vice Admiral Tsuru was stunned. Her voice carried a trace of anger as she said:

"How old is she? How could you let her go to sea alone?"

"She wanted to chase her dreams. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Sigh..."

The three old men sighed in unison. They had all raised children before, so they understood that feeling all too well. Garp went without saying. Sengoku had wanted Rosinante to follow the proper Marine path, but Rosinante had feared his Celestial Dragon status would affect Sengoku's promotion and had insisted on becoming an undercover agent instead. Tsuru had wanted to raise Gion into an elegant young lady, yet Gion had insisted on becoming a Great Swordsman and loved hanging around the pleasure district.

"Uncle Sengoku, I want to take leave and return to the East Blue."

"Oh, right! Sengoku, I want to take leave and return to the East Blue too."

Sengoku looked at the old bastard and young bastard before him, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Get out, get out! One day, you two are going to piss me to death!"

On Garp's Dog-head Warship, the two lay in beach chairs while Mo Xingchen kept staring at the man standing beside them with impeccable posture, dressed like a mafia boss.

"Vice Admiral Mo, greetings! My name is Bogard. I am a colonel and currently Vice Admiral Garp's adjutant. Please take care of me!"

Seeing Mo Xingchen staring at him, Bogard saluted and introduced himself.

"Yo ho ho ho ho! When I was the commander of the G-3 branch base, Old Man Kong said I didn't have a reliable adjutant and that he was worried. So he assigned Bogard to me."

Mo Xingchen laughed awkwardly.

"I was off chasing Golden Lion back then. Ahem... Bogard, I see you use a sword too. What level are you at now?"

"Reporting to Vice Admiral Mo, I am at the level of a swordsman."

Mo Xingchen waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Don't be so serious. I prefer things casual. Show me your swordsmanship. Vice Admiral Garp follows a different path and can't guide you in this area, so I'll give you some pointers in his place."

Bogard then displayed his swordsmanship on the deck. After watching, Mo Xingchen found that, as expected, Bogard followed the standard swordsmanship path used throughout this world. So he explained to Bogard the same swordsmanship principles he had once told Koshiro. After hearing them, Bogard gave Mo Xingchen a deep bow.

Mo Xingchen patted Bogard on the shoulder and encouraged him with the solemn air of an elder:

"Vice Admiral Garp's adjutant before last was Kuzan, and the last one was me. You'd better work hard. Don't bring shame upon our line!"

"Yes!"

"Yo ho ho ho ho! So all my adjutants are this impressive?"

On the way to Windmill Village, Mo Xingchen sparred with Bogard just as he had once sparred with Koshiro, correcting Bogard's sword habits. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Windmill Village.

Mo Xingchen and Garp came to Makino's tavern. The moment he entered, Mo Xingchen froze when he saw a graceful young girl standing behind the bar.

"Brother Mo, Mr. Garp!"

Makino happily greeted the two when she saw them enter.

"Where's your grandfather?"

"Grandfather fell seriously ill the year before last and passed away."

Mo Xingchen rubbed the girl's head and comforted her softly:

"It's all right. You still have me, your big brother."

"Mhm."

Makino suddenly threw herself into Mo Xingchen's arms, seeming to want to release all the grievance and sorrow she had endured in the two years since her grandfather's death. Mo Xingchen felt the clothes over his chest gradually becoming wet. He said nothing, only gently patted Makino's back.

Only after Makino gradually regained control of her emotions did she raise her head and say to Garp:

"Mr. Garp, little Luffy is asleep in the room. I'll go bring him out."

"Wait! Why is Luffy here?"

Mo Xingchen was utterly surprised.

"Dragon entrusted him to me. He said Luffy was your little brother too, and that he had important things to do and couldn't take care of little Luffy, so... And Mr. Garp comes to visit Luffy every few months."

After hearing this, Mo Xingchen flew into a rage. He grabbed Garp by the collar and roared:

"What is wrong with you Monkey family people?! Makino is still just a child herself! How could you bear to put a little girl through this? How is she supposed to date in the future? Bring Luffy along when she goes looking for a boyfriend? Huh?!"

Garp awkwardly wiped the spittle from his face and forced a smile.

"Sorry, sorry. I forgot."

Makino was delighted to see Mo Xingchen getting angry on her behalf. It had been so long since anyone had cared about her. It felt wonderful!

Smiling, she ran into the inner room and carried out the still-sleeping Luffy.

Watching Garp take Luffy with a doting look and begin playing with him, Mo Xingchen darkened his face and shouted:

"Bogard!"

After Bogard hurried in, Mo Xingchen pointed at the little girl standing there with a silly smile.

"My little sister. Have all the soldiers on the warship come over and help prepare a feast for the entire village."

"Yes!"

Mo Xingchen picked up Luffy and handed him to Makino, then asked Garp:

"Where's Ace?"

"In Mt. Colubo."

"Then lead the way."

"Right, right."

The two walked silently through the mountains. Seeing that Mo Xingchen remained expressionless, Garp cautiously said:

"Um... Little Mo, don't be angry anymore. Next time I see that brat Dragon, I'll beat him up good for you."

Mo Xingchen sighed and slowly said:

"Actually, I'm angry at myself. When I first ran into trouble, it was Makino's grandfather who took me in. Only then did I meet you in Loguetown, Uncle. But I was too busy enjoying myself and never knew how a little girl like Makino managed to hold on through these past years."

Clearly, Garp was not someone good at comforting others, so he began telling Mo Xingchen about the things that had happened to him on this mountain. Garp spoke of his childhood. Though they were only trivial little stories, they did manage to distract Mo Xingchen and keep him from dwelling on his own failure.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

As Mo Xingchen quietly listened to Garp's stories, he heard the wind. It was the heavy, dangerous sound made by a massive object moving at high speed, and its target was him.

The next second, a long axe came flying toward him. Mo Xingchen casually caught it, gripping the handle with perfect precision. Honestly, an attack like this was beneath the notice of both Mo Xingchen and Garp.