Marineford

"Report! Vice Admiral Garp! We'll soon arrive at the Red Line Elevator. Please give your orders!"

"Hmm. Contact the soldiers at the elevator. I need to return to Marine Headquarters and report as soon as possible. Tell those merchant ships to wait their turn!"

"Yes, sir!"

Garp turned his head and saw Salted Fish Youth reclining in a smaller beach chair beside his own personal one on deck, dressed in a floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops. His brow twitched as he sighed.

"Listen here, brat. You'd better rein in that lazy attitude a little once we get to Headquarters. Anyone who knows you knows you're a captain. Anyone who doesn't might think you're a Marine Admiral!"

It couldn't be helped. The brat's talent was simply too frightening. He had learned Geppo in one morning, mastered Kami-e and used it in actual combat after just one day, and after beginning to grasp Seimei Kikan on the third day, he had copied Garp by moving a beach chair beside his and shamelessly slacking off.

What annoyed Garp was that he truly had nothing left to teach him! As for the deeper applications of Armament Haki, the brat's strength was still growing. Teaching him too much would only leave him unable to digest it all. Building a stronger foundation was better.

What infuriated him most was that most of the soldiers below treated him like an idol! They answered his every request and waited on him like he was some lord!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah~ Got it, Uncle Garp~ I understand! Keep a low profile, right? After all, I haven't accomplished anything yet!"

Mo Xingchen slowly opened his eyes from the beach chair, waved a hand, and answered Garp perfunctorily. Looking at the Red Line so close before him, he rose, walked to Garp's side, stretched lazily, and asked,

"So this is the Red Line? Can we see the Celestial Dragons once we go up?"

His tone made it sound as though the Celestial Dragons were some strange new animals he wanted to see for novelty's sake.

"What are you thinking? This is an elevator, used by merchant ships and warships traveling between the Grand Line and the Four Seas. We can't exactly risk our lives charging up Reverse Mountain every time we make a trip! Those Celestial Dragon trash are on the other side."

As Garp explained, he suddenly noticed that the surrounding soldiers' eyes were nearly falling out of their heads and their mouths hung wide open. Only then did he realize.

"Yohohohoho! Can't say that, can I? Then I take it back!"

He picked his nose and casually tried to patch things up.

Mo Xingchen thought that made sense. Wano Country was still a Closed Country at this point, and Oden might still be dancing for Kaido. Seastone was extremely scarce, so the Marines probably had not yet developed warships capable of sailing through the Calm Belt.

Even when Kaido later traded with the World Government, Seastone was probably still scarce. Wano Country's annual output had to be distributed across the entire world, then divided among the World Government, and finally only a tiny amount would reach the Marines.

After accumulating it for a few years, it would probably only be enough to outfit the important senior Marine officers with replacement warships. Heh, I wonder if I can get one through Uncle Garp's connections when the time comes.

Thanks to the intimidation of Garp's Dog-head Warship, they traveled without obstruction. None of those ridiculous incidents where some blind fool tried to show off and got slapped down happened.

What a joke. With the prestige of having just captured the Pirate King, plus being the Marine Hero who even dared to beat up Celestial Dragons, did the CP Organization really dare come looking for trouble? They must not have known why flowers were so red.

Still, Mo Xingchen had actually been looking forward to seeing something like that happen. Unfortunately, nothing happened at all.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford

On the lookout tower, the signalman waved flags. Under his guidance, the warship slowly sailed into the inner harbor and lowered the gangplank. Garp took the lead in disembarking and headed toward the headquarters building. Along the way, soldiers stood in solemn salute, paying tribute to the hero in their hearts. The soldiers assigned to Garp's warship shared in his glory, following their commander forward with their heads held high. Garp tilted his head toward Mo Xingchen.

"I'm going to the Marshal's Office first. Familiarize yourself with the place. Once I'm done, I'll send someone to notify you."

"Got it. You handle your business. I'll wander around nearby."

With that, Mo Xingchen stopped walking, left the group, and began looking around Marine Headquarters. He soon discovered that Marineford was not nearly as small as it appeared in the anime.

Beyond the harbor was a plaza, followed by an office building. Behind it was a vast Training Ground, further divided into several smaller fields, with a large soldiers' dormitory area right beside it. In another direction stood villa districts of various sizes. They were likely private residences for officers above the rank of Field Officer. Beyond those villas, at the end of a broad, straight avenue, the outline of a large town could vaguely be seen.

Mo Xingchen watched warships entering and leaving the harbor while soldiers carried supplies across the plaza, bustling with activity. There was nothing particularly interesting to see, so after asking a soldier for directions to the Training Ground, he headed that way.

Meanwhile, in the Marshal's Office, several big shots had gathered. Fleet Admiral Kong sat in the main seat. Vice Admiral Tsuru, who also served as Chief of Staff, sat elegantly on the sofa sipping hot tea. Marine Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, who had clearly already handed over the execution order, were fighting over rice crackers like two children. Kong's eyelids twitched at the sight, and he roared,

"Enough! You two brats! One of you is already a Marine Admiral, and the other is the Marine Hero. What will the younger ones think if you keep fooling around like this?!"

The two old children instantly sat up straight. Even her teacup could not hide the smile curling on Vice Admiral Tsuru's lips.

"Sengoku, I'm old. I'm already over seventy this year, and in another two years I'll be eighty. So I'm preparing to step down. I intend to recommend you to the Gorosei as the next Fleet Admiral."

Upon hearing that, Sengoku immediately stood, ready to say something. Kong smiled and pressed a hand downward, signaling for him to sit, then continued,

"Now that Rocks is dead, the remnants of his pirate crew in the New World have scattered and broken apart. While those scum of the sea fight one another for territory, Roger has been executed and Golden Lion captured. Only Whitebeard remains.

"And on our side, we have you, Garp, Little Tsuru, and Zephyr. The younger generation has three little Monsters as well. I believe the future will certainly belong to the Marines! I can finally retire with my work done. From now on, the documents will be sent to your office.

"What we need to pay attention to now is the turmoil across the Four Seas caused by the One Piece Roger mentioned before his execution. We need to put an end to this trend!"

Sengoku rose and saluted. "Yes, Fleet Admiral!" Kong smiled and waved a hand, then looked at Garp.

"Oh, right, Garp. You said the new recruit you brought back from East Blue has a lot of potential?"

"Yohohohoho! He's another little Monster! He's got the strength of a Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters despite being so young, and he possesses Two-Color Haki. On the way back to Headquarters, he even learned the Marine Six Styles. But the brat's lazy by nature, a bit like Borsalino. I'm planning to keep him by my side and train him properly for a few years. He's absolutely Admiral material!"

"Hehe, he does sound like a promising seedling. Then we'll look forward to it."