Marineford, Navy Headquarters

T Bone asked, "Are you really helping me by doing this?"

Leiyin nodded firmly.

T Bone said, "All right. Do a hundred good deeds a day—I agree."

After a series of incidents during the voyage, the warship finally reached its ultimate destination—Marineford, Navy Headquarters.

The moment they arrived at the port, they felt a majestic, overwhelming presence bearing down on them. Before their eyes stood a massive fortress—the frontal fortress that would be destroyed in the Summit War many years later in the original story. The two enormous characters "Navy" were emblazoned upon it, written by Sengoku the Buddha, the Fleet Admiral of the Navy Headquarters.

Marineford had a massive military fortress, a large town where the families of military personnel lived, countless heavy cannons, and numerous Navy warships. Above the fortress were offices and conference rooms for the Fleet Admiral, admirals, and vice admirals, along with trees, flowers, plants, and lawns.

The fortress was also surrounded by four enormous elevated watchtowers. Four seagull flags fluttered atop them, symbolizing the Navy.

At last, after setting foot on Marineford, T Bone immediately took Leiyin to find Vice Admiral Garp.

When they found Garp, he was wearing a dog-head mask and basking in the sun in the courtyard of his residence. Tea and snacks had been set beside him, and he looked utterly relaxed and at ease.

Upon seeing Garp, T Bone respectfully gave a Navy salute. "Captain T Bone has brought Private Third Class Leiyin to report to you, Vice Admiral!"

Garp removed his dog-head mask and smiled at them. "Oh, you finally made it. You really kept this old man waiting anxiously."

Leiyin was speechless. Anxiously? I didn't notice that at all...

T Bone nudged Leiyin with his hand. "Hey, this is Vice Admiral Garp. Show some respect when you speak..."

"It's fine." Before T Bone could finish, Garp interrupted him. "That boy's always been like this. I got used to it back in Shelz Town."

Garp really was an easygoing man.

Afterward, T Bone truthfully told Garp that Leiyin had captured Diamante alive.

Garp shot up from his chair. "Where's Diamante now?"

T Bone replied, "He's shackled with Seastone and still being held aboard the warship, awaiting your decision. Leiyin's intention was to give this achievement... to me, but I felt it wasn't quite appropriate, so I came to ask for your guidance..."

"Then do that!" Garp agreed immediately, to T Bone's surprise. "Just say that you captured Diamante alive."

Hearing Garp say that, T Bone no longer tried to refuse.

T Bone continued, "Then how should we deal with him now?"

Garp said, "Go on down and hand him directly over to Fleet Admiral Sengoku."

"Yes, sir!" T Bone saluted and went straight off.

After T Bone left, Garp came over and patted Leiyin on the shoulder. "I didn't expect the two of us to reach the same conclusion. And I never would've guessed you were such a low-key person. Hahaha..."

Leiyin spread his hands. "I just want to quietly cultivate for a while. I don't want to be troubled by too many outside factors."

Garp said, "That's right. Capturing someone from the Donquixote Family—and a top executive, at that—will definitely cause a small stir throughout the world. If people find out that a sixteen-year-old Private Third Class did it, the world will certainly take notice. When that happens, you may not have a peaceful day left."

"By the way, where are you planning to assign me? Am I supposed to charge into battle alongside ordinary soldiers? Or will you directly make me an officer and have me command troops?" Leiyin asked.

Garp smiled. "Neither."

Hmm?

"With your current age and strength, you aren't suited for the formal Navy yet. You also said you wanted to cultivate yourself a little longer, so after thinking it over, I've decided to assign you to the Training Camp."

"The Training Camp?!"

Garp then gave him a sly smile. "That's right. Once you get there, you'd better work hard. If you perform well, how about I introduce Hina, the Training Camp's campus beauty, as your girlfriend?"

Huh?!

Leiyin was thoroughly exasperated. "Old man, setting aside the fact that you're a Navy vice admiral, you're already so old—can't you be a little more serious?!"

"Ahahaha..."

Speaking of Hina, though, the name sounded strangely familiar. Leiyin thought to himself. That's right, I remember now. She's a Paramecia-type user of the Cage-Cage Fruit, known as Black Cage Hina. Many years later, she'll become a Navy Headquarters captain, and later a Headquarters rear admiral. She's a genuine beauty. He had never expected Hina to be in the Training Camp already.

Suddenly, Leiyin thought of something else and asked Garp, "Old man, am I still entering the Training Camp as a Private Third Class?"

Garp raised one finger. "With strength like yours, of course I'm not going to let you enter the cradle of future Navy officers with such a low rank."

"Really?" Leiyin asked.

"Yes. I'm planning to raise your rank."

"What?" Leiyin looked at Garp with a hint of anticipation.

Garp solemnly declared, "I hereby announce that Private Third Class Leiyin will join the Training Camp as a Private Second Class cadet."

Leiyin was exasperated. "Huh? After all that, I'm just a Private Second Class? Old man, are you messing with me?"

"I'm not joking. Military orders are absolute. You are to report to the Training Camp tomorrow without fail."

"Al... all right..." Leiyin said, a mass of black lines practically covering his forehead.

Sigh. Garp really is the same childish, ridiculous old man as ever.

In truth, Leiyin didn't care about his rank. What use would it be to be made a Navy Admiral right now? Without the strength to back it up, even becoming Fleet Admiral would only mean being controlled by others. It would be utterly useless.

Just before Leiyin asked Garp, he had already had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the old man still loved doing things recklessly and had given him an absurdly low rank.

In reality, Garp had gone to such lengths for Leiyin's sake. He understood that Leiyin was immensely powerful and might already have surpassed even the strength of a Headquarters captain—or perhaps even a commodore. By doing this, he first wanted Leiyin to avoid attracting too much attention, keep a low profile, quietly strengthen himself, and then suddenly rise to the Navy's upper ranks when the time came. Second, he didn't want Leiyin to become too arrogant. Leiyin was only sixteen, young and hot-blooded. If Garp suddenly made him a field officer or even a captain, then letting him smoothly become a vice admiral or admiral later without experiencing any hardship would not necessarily be a good thing.

Though Garp usually seemed careless and utterly like a single-celled organism, he was actually very clever. Otherwise, he would never have held the high position of Navy vice admiral for so many years.

"By the way, brat, all the Training Camp cadets have their own private dormitories. Yours is only a little over a kilometer from my residence. I specifically saved it for you, so you can live there from now on."

Perhaps in Garp's heart, he had already come to regard Leiyin as his own grandson...