Marineford

"Report! Vice Admiral Garp! We are about to arrive at the Red Line Elevator, please give your orders!"

"Hmm, contact the soldiers at the elevator. I need to report back to Headquarters as soon as possible. Have those merchant ships wait!"

"Yes!"

Garp turned his head and saw a Salted Fish Youth lying on a small beach chair next to his exclusive beach chair on the deck. The youth was wearing a floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops. Garp's eyebrow twitched, and he sighed, saying:

"I say, Stinky Kid, with that lazy demeanor of yours, you need to rein it in a bit when we get to Headquarters. Those who know you are a Captain might think you're a Marine Admiral!"

There was no helping it. This kid's talent was simply too strong. He learned Geppo in one morning, and the next day he mastered Kami-e in just one day, applying it to actual combat. On the third day, after initially grasping Seimei Kikan, he started learning from Garp, moving a beach chair next to him and contentedly slacking off.

What was infuriating was that Garp found he truly had nothing more to teach him! As for the deeper aspects of Armament Haki, this kid's strength was still in its rising phase. Teaching too much would be overwhelming, so building a solid foundation was good.

Even more infuriating was that most of the soldiers below idolized him! They catered to his every whim, serving him like a pampered lord!

"Hmph, hmph, hmph~ Got it, Ojisan~ I understand! One must be low-key, after all, I haven't achieved anything yet!"

Mo Xingchen, lying on the beach chair, slowly opened his eyelids, waved his hand, and perfunctorily replied to Garp. Seeing the Red Line approaching, he got up and went to Garp's side, stretching and asking:

"We're at the Red Line already? Will we see the Celestial Dragons once we get up there?"

His tone made it sound as if the Celestial Dragons were some novel animals he was eager to see.

"What are you thinking? This is the elevator, used by merchant ships and warships to travel between the Grand Line and the Four Seas. We can't possibly have to risk our lives climbing Reverse Mountain every time we travel, can we! Those Celestial Dragon trash are on the other side."

Garp explained. Suddenly, he noticed the surrounding soldiers' eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, their mouths agape. He then realized and said:

"Yohohohoho, I shouldn't have said that, should I? Then I take it back!"

He picked his nose and nonchalantly tried to cover his tracks.

Mo Xingchen thought to himself, that's right. At this point in time, Wano Country was still in a Closed Country state. Oden was probably still dancing for Kaido. Seastone was very rare, and the Marines likely hadn't developed warships capable of sailing the Calm Belt yet.

Even if Kaido traded with the World Government later, Seastone would still be scarce. Wano Country's annual output, divided among the entire world, then divided among the World Government, and finally reaching the Marines, would likely be very little.

Then, after accumulating for a few years, it would probably only be enough to support the replacement of warships for important high-ranking Marine Generals. Heh, he wondered if he could get one through Uncle Garp's connections then.

Thanks to the deterrence of Garp's Dog-head Warship, they had a smooth journey, and no cliché incidents of showing off and getting slapped in the face occurred.

To joke about it, with the prestige of having just arrested the Pirate King and the Marine Hero who dared to beat up Celestial Dragons, would the CP Organization dare to provoke them? They probably wouldn't know why flowers are so red.

Cannot find the book by searching the title, you can try searching for the author, maybe the name has been changed!

However, Mo Xingchen was quite looking forward to such a situation, but unfortunately, nothing happened.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford

On the watchtower, a flagman signaled with flags, and the warship slowly entered the inner harbor under command. The gangway was lowered, and Garp, taking the lead, began to disembark and walked towards the Headquarters building. Along the way, soldiers snapped to attention and saluted their hero. The soldiers belonging to Garp's warship also followed their General with their heads held high, filled with pride, as they marched forward. Garp glanced back at Mo Xingchen.

"I'll go to the Marshal's Office first. You get familiar with the surroundings here. I'll send someone to notify you when I'm done."

"Understood. You be busy. I'll just wander around nearby."

With that, Mo Xingchen stopped and left the group to start observing Marine Headquarters. He then realized that Marineford wasn't as small as depicted in the anime.

The port led to a plaza, then an office building. Behind the office building was a large training ground, further divided into several smaller training fields, adjacent to soldier dormitories. In another direction, there was a villa district of various sizes, presumably the residential area for officers of Colonel rank and above. Looking further past the villa district, the end of a wide, straight avenue hinted at the silhouette of a large town.

Mo Xingchen watched the warships coming and going from the port and the soldiers on the plaza busily transporting supplies. Finding nothing particularly interesting, he asked a soldier for directions to the training ground and headed that way.

At this time, in the Marshal's Office, a group of big shots were gathered. Fleet Admiral Kong sat in the main seat. Vice Admiral and Chief of Staff of Marine Headquarters, Tsuru, sat elegantly on the sofa, sipping hot tea. Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp, who had clearly just finished handing over execution orders, were snatching senbei like two children. Kong's eyebrows twitched, and he roared:

"Enough! You two stinky kids, one is already a Marine Admiral, and the other is a Marine Hero. What will the subordinates below think if you act like this!"

The two old children instantly sat up straight. Even the teacup couldn't hide the upward curve of Vice Admiral Tsuru's lips.

"Sengoku, I'm old. I'm already over 70 this year. In a couple more years, I'll be 80, so I'm planning to retire. I intend to recommend you to the Gorosei as the next Fleet Admiral."

Upon hearing this, Sengoku immediately stood up, about to say something. Kong smiled and gestured for him to sit down, continuing:

"Now, in the New World, since Rocks' death, his pirate crew's remnants have fallen apart. Amidst the struggles of these Scum of the Sea fighting for territory, Roger was executed, and the Golden Lion was captured. Only Whitebeard remains.

And in our Navy, we have you, Garp, Little Tsuru, Zephyr, and in the younger generation, three little monsters. I believe the future will be the era of the Navy! I can consider this a successful retirement. I will send the relevant documents to your office later.

The only thing worth noting now is the One Piece, which Roger mentioned before his execution, and the ensuing shockwaves across the Four Seas. We must put a stop to this trend!"

Sengoku stood up and saluted, "Yes! Fleet Admiral!" Kong waved his hand with a smile, looking at Garp.

"By the way, Garp, you said the new recruit you brought back from the East Blue has great potential?"

"Yohohohoho! He's a little monster too! He has the strength of a Vice Admiral at such a young age, possesses Two-Color Haki, and learned the Marine Six Styles on the way back to Headquarters. However, this kid is lazy, a bit like Borsalino. I plan to keep him by my side and train him for a few years. He's definitely a future Admiral!"

"Heh heh, from what you say, he's a good prospect. Then we shall look forward to it."