Garp, the Old Rascal

As Shazo flew, his body was enveloped in a layer of air, which created brilliant Ki aura upon friction with the air, making him look like a shooting star.

The Ki aura created by friction with the air indicate that Shazo's control over air is still flawed, but also that his flight speed has reached an extremely high level.

So he quickly caught up with his warship.

On the long, narrow warships of the East Blue Special Mobile Fleet, the lookouts spotted Shazo early on.

He shouted excitedly, "The Commodore General is back!"

Hearing the lookout's cheers, all the naval officers and men rushed to the deck, excitedly forming neat rows to welcome their commander's return.

They all stared longingly at the sky, their eyes fixed on the bright shooting star, muttering words they didn't even understand.

"Your Commodore can really fly!"

"Incredible! He's exactly like Admiral Kizaru from Headquarters. Has the Commodore reached the same level of power as the Admiral?"

"Hmph, what's a mere admiral? Your Excellency, a Commodore Admiral, has even fought against Vice Admiral Garp."

"Vice Admiral Garp? The naval the Superstar, Vice Admiral Garp?"

"Yes, it's the naval Garp the Hero."

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"

"When we patrolled to Foosha Village last time, the Commodore General and Vice Admiral Garp had a duel on the high seas, and they fought to a draw."

"My God, why didn't you guys tell me about something this important before?"

"Uh, Faye has issued a gag order—"

"Huh? But you just said—ah!"

"Oh no, I'm going to be put in solitary confinement!"

"Solitary confinement, locking me in a dark room—I'd rather fight pirates to the death!"

Fear or worry, when Shazo flew over the warship and landed on the deck like Superhero, all the naval officers and soldiers felt only excitement, admiration and pride.

Our Commodore General can fly!

No one cared that Shazo's officer's uniform was damaged; they believed that the Commodore general would not fail, and that his enemies would surely suffer an even more miserable defeat, slinking away in disgrace.

Amidst the cheers of his subordinates, Shazo, who had landed on the deck, heard their thoughts.

This time, he wasn't going to hide it anymore.

The battles against Red-Haired Shanks and Dracule Mihawk solidified Shazo's belief that his strength was undoubtedly superior to that of the Emperor-Admiral.

Although he wasn't able to completely defeat Hawkeye and Red-Haired Shanks ' combined attack today, he still has a lot of room for improvement, unlike Red-Haired Shanks who are already close to the limits of the world, with room for further improvement only in terms of technique and combat philosophy.

He looked at his carefully trained subordinates and ordered, "Set sail and go home."

The naval warships increased their speed dramatically and sped towards the 77th Branch.

Shazo returned to his room, where the Marine Corps commander, his former adjutant Major Borg, had already prepared a new general's uniform for him.

While helping Shazo change his torn clothes, Borg asked, "Commodore, who else has slipped back from the Grand Line?"

Shazo replied, "It's Red-Haired Shanks. I didn't expect that after Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral Kizaru defeated him two years ago, this guy has never given up, going back and forth between Foosha Village and the Grand Line."

"What's infuriating is that we didn't notice it before."

Borg was startled by what he heard.

He wasn't worried about not knowing the Red Hair Pirates were in the East Blue, but rather he was terrified by Shazo's encounter with Red-Haired Shanks.

The East Blue Sea is extremely vast. As long as the ship is large enough, the navigator is skilled enough, and has a detailed understanding of the East Blue, it is possible to avoid the major islands and shipping lanes.

In the vast East China East Blue, searching for a fleet that never docks is no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

As long as Red-Haired Shanks doesn't cause trouble and strictly follows the direct route from one point to another, the entire Navy will be unaware that he's in the East Blue.

However, this is also a rather grueling way of sailing. Ships may not see land for a long time, endure the lack of navigational markers for extended periods, and eventually find themselves constantly wondering if they have strayed off course.

Compared to the Grand Line, which is fraught with terrifying weather dangers but has clearly defined defensive lines, this is a danger that no individual can withstand.

But Red-Haired Shanks actually persisted for two years.

Furthermore, this is combined with the Devil Fruit he brought specifically, which is called the Gum-Gum Fruit but is actually the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika Fruit.

Shazo concluded that Red-Haired Shanks must know something; he must know crucial information about Luffy, which is why he went to such lengths to establish contact with Luffy and guide him into the ranks of pirates.

Two years ago, Shazo would have definitely tried his best to find out the secret behind this, so as not to be unwittingly tricked and killed.

But now he doesn't care at all.

The Saiyan Shazo's explosive power made Shazo completely certain that he would one day crush Imu and take control of the planet.

When Saint Seiya Shazo masters the Seventh Sense, or Naruto Shazo completes the Kekkei Mōra, he will gain unparalleled violence.

By then, the secrets Red-Haired Shanks possessed might still have value, but they would be meaningless.

Because in front of Shazo, even dragons must coil up and tigers must lie down.

The Shazo warship was fast, but it was still just a ship, and sailing in the vast East Blue always took a long time.

Moreover, they are a special mobile fleet; when they encounter pirates, they must turn around and chase them away from the main shipping lanes.

Shazo had long since stopped caring about such routine tasks and left them all to Lieutenant Faye, who would handle them perfectly.

Faye excelled at precisely controlling the intensity of the pursuit of the pirates, and he never disappointed Shazo.

So after returning to the warship, Shazo stayed in his room, focusing on digesting his combat power and resolving the various imbalances caused by his rapid power growth.

Until a colossal presence appeared within his [Mantra] that could not be ignored, an aura even stronger than Red-Haired Shanks', giving one a sense of weight and solidity like a massive island.

This was a scent that Shazo was very familiar with; it belonged to the naval Garp the Hero.

"That old man has gone home to visit relatives again."

Shazo got up from his bed, not even taking his coat, but wearing his comfortable marine uniform, and went to the bow of the warship, gazing in the direction where the Dog-Head Warship was about to appear.

Shazo suddenly realized that the range of his [Mantra], enhanced by his Observation Haki, had expanded, Red-Haired Shanks he had unintentionally trapped seemed to have left from the East Blue, preparing to cross the Calm Belt and return to "Pirate Paradise."

The timing of Operation Red-Haired Shanks was impeccable, perfectly aligning with Vice Admiral Garp's actions.

Shazo Zuo whispered, "Red-Haired Shanks, that Emperor of the Sea, isn't simple. He was able to operate in the East Blue for two years without being discovered by me or bumped into by Vice Admiral Garp, which means he has detailed intelligence about the Navy."

"Among the high-ranking officials of the Navy, the World Government, and the Celestial Dragons, there are definitely intelligence sources for Red-Haired Shanks, and possibly more than one."

"It's not impossible for it to be in all three places—"

Shazo raised his head, looking at the dog's head that was already faintly appearing in front of him. He smiled and said, "I don't need to concern myself with this kind of thing. It's best to tell this old brute in front of me and let him take this opportunity to cause a ruckus."

"Huh? This old killer, is he always this hot-tempered when we first meet?"

A huge cannonball was launched from the Dog-Head Warship's hull, carried by the blurry figure, and flew towards Shazo with a sharp whooshing sound.

Shazo Zuo laughed and raised his hand to unleash a Flying Slash, rushing towards the huge cannonball and effortlessly splitting it in two.

But that shell was too big and too heavy; even after being split in two, it still possessed terrifying destructive power.

Shazo had no choice but to follow up with another Flying Slash, and this time the Sword Qi was completely under his control. The moment it touched the two halves of the cannonball, it condensed into a ball and enveloped the cannonball.

In an instant, the enormous cannonball was shredded by the sphere of Sword Qi surrounding it, turning it into approximately 4 million cubes, Cosmic Cube 1 millimeter in diameter.

Such a small Tekkai cannot fly far in the air. After only traveling a dozen meters, the iron particle fell into the sea like sand.

The Flying Slash that had cleaved the cannonball was easily shattered by Garp's Iron Fist, causing no damage whatsoever.

"Hahaha, Shazo Zuo, your greeting gift is really something else!"

Vice Admiral Garp's loud laughter was like a demonic sound, causing Shazo to frown involuntarily.

He immediately retorted, "Vice Admiral Garp, wasn't it you who threw the giant cannonball first?"

"I was merely acting in self-defense when faced with your provocation, Vice Admiral, and that's when I made a mistake and caused this accident."

Even if your dog-headed warship is cleaved in two, don't blame me.

Garp was speechless, unable to think of any reason to defend himself, so he skillfully played dumb. "Ah, did I provoke you first?"

How come I didn't know?

"Who can prove that what you're saying is true? Do you have any evidence?"

Shazo has been meeting with Garp every quarter for the past two years and has long been used to his shameless behavior.

Therefore, he wasn't angry, and instead chuckled and teased, "You old rascal, you're being shameless again."

"I have some news for you. I saw Red-Haired Shanks three days ago."

Garp, unaware of the gravity of the situation, rubbed his hands together and asked, "Oh, this kid dares to come to the East Blue?"

"Good heavens! How dare he disregard this old man? Where is he? Is he following you?"

"This time, I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't forget, and show him who really calls the shots in the East Blue!"

"Come on, who calls the shots in the East Blue?" Shazo Teuchi Garp's cursing, pointing to himself and saying, "Of course I do!"

"Besides, I've already driven Red-Haired Shanks away. He should be sailing in the Calm Belt by now, so you won't have a chance to beat him up this time."

Garp clicked his tongue. "Fine, he got there fast."

Shazo glanced at the old man and said, "Old man Garp, don't be so happy, things aren't that simple."

"When I met with Red-Haired Shanks. The Barnacle attached to its hull were a species unique to the East Blue, the kind that is extremely intolerant of cold."

"So I tricked Shanks, and that's how I found out that he's been infiltrating the East Blue for the past two years, secretly staying in Foosha Village for a period of time each time."

Garp had already sat on the side of the ship, loudly directing the marines of the 77th Branch to prepare tea and Donuts for him.

Upon hearing Shazo's words, the old man's smile and shouts froze. He slowly stood up, exuding a powerful aura, transforming from a robust old rascal into a naval the Superstar who had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses Blood Sea.

Decades of bloodshed and violence, millions of naval officers and soldiers, and the blood and tears of countless pirates were needed to forge such a naval the Superstar.

Vice Admiral Garp can choose not to be promoted if he doesn't want to, and he can verbally abuse the Celestial Dragons, leaving Celestial Dragons with no choice but to swallow their insults. This is definitely not a result that can be achieved through mere recklessness.

Vice Admiral Garp's generosity, genuine nature, and unpretentiousness are definitely his true nature, but they are also a smokescreen he uses to conceal his intelligence.

If he were truly brainless, he would have caused a huge mess long ago and died in some insignificant mission.

Do you really think the World Government and the Celestial Dragons are incompetent cowards?

If that were the case, the navy would have turned the tables long ago and become its own master within 800 years.

The most obvious and recent example is Zephyr.

Once known as "Black Arm," a Haki master, Shazo once aspired to become the Instructor-in-Chief Zephyr.

Just a few months ago, Zephyr led a group of elite naval cadets on Training Ship when they were attacked by a mysterious pirate in waters not far from the Marine Headquarters.

This mysterious pirate is unknown, but his strength is extraordinary. He not only destroyed the escorting warships, but also defeated the former Admiral Zephyr and broke his right arm. However, it is unknown why he did not kill Zephyr.

But this pirate killed all of Zephyr's students, with only Ain and Binz escaping death by sheer Luck.

To accomplish all of this single-handedly, this pirate undoubtedly possesses strength at the Emperor-Admiral level). How could a pirate with such power be a mere nobody?

As the old saying goes, "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts."

While studying isn't cheap, practicing martial arts requires substantial resources.

Meat, medicine, and training grounds are the most basic elements. To grow into Emperor-Admiral level at the pinnacle of the world, one needs a master teacher and to undergo true life-or-death trials.

A great teacher produces great students, so the students of a great teacher naturally possess a good reputation.

The life-or-death test is even more extraordinary; a powerful opponent is likely to have a well-known reputation, and defeating him is tantamount to becoming famous by stepping on him.

How could there be a nameless, unknown, Emperor-Admiral level?

Furthermore, what kind of pirate, after defeating a former Marine Admiral, would not only refrain from boasting of their strength and raising a new crew, but instead simply disappear into the sea?

Therefore, there are no nameless, faceless Emperor-Admiral level pirates; there are only nameless, faceless Emperor-Admiral-level Agent within the World Government's system.