After a while, in the very center of the Dark Bird Ship's rest area, near the stage where Uta was singing.
After Uta's singing faded away, Gawain waved to the little girl.
"You've worked hard, Uta, singing for a long time."
"No, no, no, it's not hard work at all. The master has given me too much. The fees your subordinates pay me are almost equivalent to what I would pay for twenty concerts!"
Uta wiped the sweat from his brow and answered Gawain with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Gawain beckoned Uta to his side and patted the little girl's head.
"Twenty matches isn't too many, considering you were under a lot of pressure today. How about it, weren't you scared by me and Whitebeard and the others?"
"That's really scary..."
Uta flicked his sleeves and rolled his eyes.
"I thought it was just a regular performance, but it turned out that the sea and sky seemed to have been turned upside down."
If you ask me to hold a concert again next time, please don't be so scary...
After saying that, Uta lowered her head, pursing her lips, not wanting to speak.
I thought you really liked my songs, but you didn't listen attentively at all. Instead, you were preoccupied with the fight and the matter with those old people!
No wonder he's just like his father; neither of them are good people who care about their families!
Gawain wasn't really able to read minds. Seeing that the little girl wasn't talking, he ruffled her hair.
"It's all my fault for not telling you beforehand, but it's alright now. Just rest on the Dark Bird Ship tonight."
Shirahoshi really likes you. She was just asking you to hang out with her. Why don't you stay with her for the night?
"Hmm~."
Although she was angry, Uta still gave a sweet "Mmm," then snuggled up to Shirahoshi and ran off to play in the forest.
After Uta and Shirahoshi left...
Whitebeard immediately remarked with emotion.
"Look, war is always like this; no matter what its purpose is, war can only bring fear and panic to children!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Whitebeard looked sternly at his sons.
"You too, boys, you must take war very seriously!"
Even in the most playful collisions, try your best not to hurt the children's feelings!
"Hey, I'm eating, Newgate!"
Meanwhile, Garp said to Newgate with dissatisfaction, and as he spoke, he punched Newgate with his right hand, which was gripping a pig's leg.
Newgate twitched his mustache as he looked at the oil stains on his shoulders.
"Garp, wanna fight?!"
"Come on, I couldn't be happier, haha... hiccup?"
Thump!
Rayleigh punched Garp, interrupting Garp's laughter.
But seeing Rayleigh's gloomy face, Garp felt a little embarrassed to retort.
Left with no other choice, Garp opened his mouth wide and, like Rubber Man, stuffed the entire pig leg into his mouth in one gulp!
Watching Garp chewing furiously, Gawain's face was filled with an expression of having seen something new. Beside him, Gion smiled with pursed lips.
"My lord, this is the ability to Seimei Kikan. Garp is the best in the world when it comes to the skill of Seimei Kikan!"
If Garp wanted to, he could instantly grow to the height of Whitebeard, but he prefers to fight in his current form."
"My lord, hehe, Momousagi, you've changed!"
Hearing Gion's words, Garp shook his head dismissively.
He then looked at Gawain and pursed his lips.
"Although this guy has a very polite face, I don't even need to look to know what kind of beast lives inside him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Garp disdainfully crushed the bone in his mouth.
As soon as Garp finished speaking, Lucci stood up abruptly. He was about to say something, but Gawain gently pressed down on the air, ordering him to sit back down.
Looking at Garp, Gawain nodded with interest.
"As expected of the Garp the Hero, a senior who even cursed the Five Elders, haha!"
"How's it going, Mr. Garp? How's my chef?"
"It's far inferior, at least far inferior to the Baratie I usually eat at!"
The chefs here are certainly skilled enough.
But, haha, the things they make have no emotion!
As he spoke, Garp opened his mouth wide once again and threw the huge cherry pie into it.
Not far away, seeing Garp's actions, Teach pursed his lips excitedly.
As expected of the legendary Garp, he actually shares the same hobby as me!
But then, before Teach could even grab another piece of cherry pie, Garp suddenly choked.
With difficulty, Garp roared in disbelief as he tried to clear his throat.
"What is this rubbish? It's disgusting! How can there be such a nasty thing to eat!"
Ah, if I hadn't wanted to avoid wasting food, I would have almost thrown up!
What is this? Huh?
While complaining, Garp picked up another cherry pie and examined it closely.
After looking at it, Garp slammed the cherry pie down in front of Gawain.
"Can anyone actually like eating this kind of thing? The taste... I'd eat shit even if you said I did..."
Thump!!!
With a powerful punch, Shakky stood behind Garp, her fist raised.
"Monkey D. Garp, don't be so arrogant!"
Captain Gawain might be willing to give you face, but I won't!
Who do you think you are? Did you eat the Face-Face Fruit)?
"You don't like cherry pie? We girls love it, Garp!!!"
"Why?!!"
Garp was taken aback. He quickly looked around and, Gion enough, everyone, including Hancock, was staring intently at Garp.
Gion even had a cherry pie forked in her hand!
Seeing this, Garp helplessly tilted his head back. Throughout his life, he had been particularly adept at dealing with all kinds of enemies.
But when it comes to women...
Garp has never even beaten Charlotte Linlin!
Women are the most troublesome thing ever!
For a moment, Garp sighed and moved slightly closer to Whitebeard, since Shakky was sitting next to Rayleigh, and Rayleigh was on Garp's other side.
Across from him, Gawain burst into laughter at Garp's embarrassing state.
Laughing, Gawain raised his glass.
"A toast to cherry pie!"
"Gurarara, toast to cherry pie! Garp, when do you have time to come to the New World and fight me? If you can't beat me, then after we've fought, I'll treat you to cherry pie!"
Whitebeard laughed and teased, and after he teased him, Rayleigh also laughed excitedly.
"Haha, well said, Newgate, and Captain Gawain too! I really want to eat this cherry pie right now!"
Let's change the dishes, how about replacing them all with cherry pie?!
After saying that, Rayleigh decisively scooped up all the cherry pies nearby and, under Teach's reluctant gaze, piled them all in front of Garp.
Seeing Rayleigh's behavior, Garp sighed helplessly.
"Old man, you've gone too far!"
"Heh, is it really not too much for you, Garp, to mock my captain on my ship?!"
As he spoke, Rayleigh drew his greatsword with a clang and held it directly to Garp's neck.
Logically, at a point like this, Aokiji and Kizaru should have said something, but...
They really didn't want to talk about it, because this kind of thing had happened countless times among the three old men!
Just now it was because of cherry pie, last time it was because of Uta's two-colored hair, the time before that it was because of Franky's ship repair speed, and the time before that it was because of Shirahoshi's tail.
These three old guys finally let loose today, completely disregarding etiquette and rules.
The crowd exchanged glances, then looked at Gawain.
Gawain slowly raised his glass.
"Drink, drink..."
Several more hours passed, and it became completely dark.
On the side of the Dark Bird Ship, Gawain sat on the sofa, gazing thoughtfully at the calm sea ahead.
Under the moonlight, the Moby Dick was undergoing intensive repairs, and the Whitebeard Pirates certainly had no shortage of shipwrights.
And Whitebeard...
He and Caprelli were still at a banquet not far away, drinking excitedly without stopping.
The elderly men all knew that after today, they would never have another day like this.
Life is often beyond our control.
So Gawain let the three of them drink to their hearts' content.
And the others.
A few sofas were scattered around the side of the ship. Aokiji and Kizaru occupied one, Ichiro occupied another, Gion and Hancock sat on either side of Gawain, and Kuma lay on the sofa behind Gawain.
Jinbe was swimming in the sea ahead, chatting with his fellow Whitebeard Pirates member Namur.
Lucci and Kalifa stood silently at a distance, neither too close nor too far, ready to respond to Gawain Ship at any moment.
As for the Whitebeard Pirates, they were excitedly sitting around the three old men with Whitebeard, listening to them reminisce about their past.
They were interested in both Roger's story and Whitebeard's story.
Meanwhile, Gawain...
While admiring the sea under the moonlight, Aokiji pondered and said to Gawain.
"Saint Gawain, are we just going to ignore Whitebeard's side like this?"
"Okay, let's do it that way. If Sengoku has a different opinion, you can mention mine to him."
At this point, Gawain reached out and rubbed his forehead.
"Your navy doesn't need to focus on Whitebeard. His existence is a good thing for you, surely Sengoku knows that?"
"That's true."
Aokiji nodded.
"I tend to agree with your view. Older generation pirates like Whitebeard are completely different from the new generation who are eager to gain fame and fortune."
However, Admiral Sakazuki may have a different opinion from me!
At this point, Aokiji lowered his head, pondering as he continued.
"As per your orders, we need to allow Whitebeard to remain near Sabaody Island for at least three days to repair his ships and repaint them before returning to the New World."
But if Sakazuki finds out about this, he... will probably ask to see you!
"Heh, that's normal. In his eyes, this is a good opportunity to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, right?"
Don't worry, let him come see me.
As I said, I'm protecting Whitebeard on this journey.
"My decision is not something Sakazuki can disagree with."
"How terrifying! No wonder he's Celestial Dragon who can Awakening such a powerful Conqueror's Haki!"
Hearing Gawain's words, Kizaru grinned lewdly.
"But sir, it's almost ten o'clock now, isn't that a bit too late?"
In my opinion, it's not appropriate for us to bother you any longer. Just say the word, and I'll go and take Vice Admiral Garp away immediately!
"Ha ha!"
Gawain was amused by Kizaru. As expected of a master of reverse rolls, on par with the famous "Zuchongzhi, "Kizaru's view on time is truly serious.
While laughing, Gawain waved to Kizaru.
"Let the three of them enjoy themselves. When you get old, when you're as old as they are, you'll also hope that someone will give you such an opportunity."
As for the time, let me check...
Alright, Borsalino, I'd like to invite you to work as a guard on my ship tomorrow or the day after, the reason being to prevent Whitebeard from launching a surprise attack on me, a Celestial Dragon.
As for your stay on my ship these few days, consider it a vacation. Use it to make up for your overtime work tonight, how about it?"
"How terrifying! As expected of Saint Gawain, his opening suggestion is so irresistible!"
Kizaru immediately beamed with joy.
"Then I'll call Fleet Admiral Sengoku Saint Gawain's men to arrange a comfortable bed for me tomorrow!"
Whoosh!
With a crisp sound, Kizaru transformed into a streak of golden light and dashed off to make a phone call somewhere unknown.
Watching Kizaru leave, Aokiji gave a helpless, wry smile. What kind of colleagues did he have?
An ambiguous sense of justice has directly transformed one's attitude towards their career into one's attitude towards the 996 work schedule.
Another Absolute Justice directly transformed the attitude towards civilians into the attitude towards enemies.
But then he thought again, and decided that he might as well just be a leisurely champion of justice...
Let's forget about it then...
The laughter and sounds of drunkenness continued until around 2 a. m.
The three of them, Garp, finally ended their party.
In the darkness, Gawain led everyone to stand on the deck, watching Garp's warship slowly depart.
Throughout the entire night, Garp barely spoke to himself. It was clear that his hatred for the Celestial Dragon was deeply ingrained, and the reason he became a Marine was simply to protect the last remaining justice on this sea.
He has never protected any Celestial Dragon. That guy dares to curse in front of the Five Elders. The Five Elders can tolerate his son forming Revolutionary Army, let alone something as trivial as him swearing a few times.
After Garp and his crew left, Whitebeard also bid farewell to Gawain and Rayleigh, and returned to his Moby Dick, with his sons.
Just as they were about to board the ship, Fish-Man, the captain of the 8th Division, Namur rushed out of the crowd behind Whitebeard.
Meeting the instantly wary gazes of Gawain's men, Namur bowed deeply to Gawain.
"Sorry!"
He said.
"Back on Fish-Man Island, I didn't know anything and narrowly underestimated you!"
Now, I sincerely apologize to you!
Tonight, I had a long talk with Brother Jinbe and learned in detail everything you've done for us Fish-Man!
Gawain, please allow me to offer you my utmost respect and gratitude!
"Haha, get up!"
Gawain gently raised his hand, gesturing for Namur to stand up. After he stood up, Gawain pointed to the distant Sabaody Island.
"Don't think too much, go see your King Neptune. The Fishman Five Islands are likely to run into some trouble in the next few days."
Since you're here, why don't you lend Neptune a hand?
At this point, Gawain casually pointed at Shiryu.
"And Shiryu, I know your hobbies, so if you can't stay idle these few days, come along for a trip to the Fishman Five Islands."
Neptune told me on the phone that the criminals over there were already getting restless.
If you meet someone like that, you can also satisfy your craving!
"Yes, sir! Haha, thank you very much, sir!!!"
Shiryu knelt on one knee and expressed his excitement to Gawain!
At that moment, he was incredibly pleased with his decision!
What does he like?
Slaughter!
But while he was in Impel Down, he was surrounded by either jailers or criminals.
The jailers, of course, couldn't kill them, and the criminals could only be killed secretly, with only a few killed each month!
And now, haha!
Shiryu's eyes lit up with excitement. He chewed on a cigar and looked towards the distant Sabaody Island.
He couldn't wait!
After Gawain finished speaking to Shiryu, he looked around.
Where is Uta?
"My lady!" Kalifa nodded in response, "Miss Uta is playing with Shirahoshi in the lounge I arranged for her; they should be resting together tonight."
"That's fine, let them play. I'll ask Uta about her opinion tomorrow."
We're still short a few singers on board.
And then there was a smile..
Gawain turned to look at Yi Xiao, then waved.
"I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting until now. Come with me."
It's a bit late, I'm sorry for posting this so late today.