Mission!

Chapter 45: 045. Mission!

"West Blue?"

Mercer asked doubtfully, "Why are we going there? Are you still in charge of that area?"

Garp's eyes flickered. He felt this was a good opportunity to take Mercer out and broaden his horizons.

It would prevent him from staying on Drum Island all the time. He could use this chance to teach him a good lesson, so he wouldn't be learning bad things all day and constantly giving him "passive-aggressive remarks."

Of course, whether he had other intentions was something only he knew.

"Ahem, it's just a temporary mission, and it happens to be on the way, so I thought I'd take you to other seas to have some fun."

Mercer didn't know what Garp was up to, but after thinking about it, he didn't refuse. "If you take me, will it cause you trouble?"

Seeing that Mercer didn't refuse, Garp smiled. "I'm in charge of this warship. If I say yes, then it's yes."

Mercer nodded and looked at Karasu, who was resting on the desk beside him. "I want to go play. Can we go back a bit later? Is that acceptable?"

Karasu blinked and reluctantly nodded, "Caw~"

Seeing it nod, Mercer breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he had promised to take it back to see its wife and children a few days ago, and now he was changing his mind last minute. He felt a bit bad.

Since Karasu chose to follow him, he would treat it and Bear Cub equally.

It possessed intelligence comparable to humans, so it couldn't be treated like an ordinary bird. Mercer also believed that only by interacting with sincerity could one receive sincerity in return.

Garp witnessed this scene, and his eyes showed approval. Of course, Garp knew that Mercer treated this crow like family, which was why he was acting this way.

"Haha, alright, it's settled then. I'm going to eat first."

Garp strode out of the room. Mercer walked over to Karasu and began stroking its feathers.

Karasu squinted comfortably, enjoying the leisure time.

Two days later, Reverse Mountain.

Mercer watched the warship sail towards the immense waterway where the seawater flowed upstream not far away, accompanied by a terrifying rumbling sound.

A powerful upward current appeared before his eyes, seemingly reaching straight into the sky.

As they approached, an unparalleled magnificent beauty filled his vision.

RUMBLE!

The warship perfectly plunged into the rushing waterway, and a terrifying sea current tugged at the entire vessel.

On the deck, without anyone shouting, the Marine soldiers skillfully lowered the sails and secured themselves on the ship.

The helmsman held the rudder firmly, controlling the warship's direction.

Driven by the ultra-fast current, the warship rushed towards the mountaintop at breakneck speed.

Reverse Mountain was said to be ten thousand meters high, piercing the clouds. However, under the influence of the current, it took less than ten minutes for the warship to soar straight up and reach the summit.

CRASH! The warship heavily impacted the converging sea surface at the four seas' intersection on the mountaintop. The next moment, Mercer heard organized shouts from the ship's cabin.

"One, two~ One, two~ One, two~"

The warship didn't change direction and sailed straight ahead.

Reverse Mountain was a relatively safe route to the Grand Line from the four outer seas (East, West, South, North), aside from the Calm Belt. Each of the four outer seas had an upward current waterway leading directly to the summit of Reverse Mountain.

From the mountaintop, the waterways from the East Blue and West Blue were precisely on the same straight line.

Flowing downwards.

Inside the cabin, the Marine soldiers vigorously pushed and pulled at the propulsion devices. Rows of large oars extended from both sides of the warship's hull, exerting force and moving along the waterway, descending against the current and entering the waters of West Blue.

Compared to the ten minutes it took to ascend, descending took nearly an hour and a half.

This was not only due to fighting against the natural current but also because the Reverse Mountain waterway in West Blue was slightly longer than the one in East Blue.

It naturally required more effort.

Along the way, they did not encounter any sailing ships entering the Grand Line from West Blue.

With the efforts of the Marine soldiers, the warship exited the upward current waterway of Reverse Mountain and officially entered West Blue.

Half a day later, on the deck, Mercer looked at the sea surface not far away. A huge ice floe appeared there, and he looked somewhat puzzled. However, the warship sailed directly towards it.

As they got closer.

A tall, scruffy man stood up from the ice surface, then carried a bicycle and strode through the air towards the warship.

By estimation, the man was nearly three meters tall. A few seconds later, he landed on the warship's deck and placed the bicycle steadily in a corner of the ship.

Mercer could see that the Marine soldiers on the warship, especially the older ones, greeted the newcomer enthusiastically, clearly recognizing him.

Bogard walked forward, smiling as he patted the man's shoulder. "Kuzan, is that you?"

The man, Kuzan, who looked to be around thirty years old, yawned, his face full of languor. He rubbed the corner of his eye, removing some sleep crust.

"Yeah, it's me. Where's old man Garp?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then yawned again. "You're busy, I'll go find him."

"Huh?" Kuzan suddenly noticed a kid curiously watching him from the railing and pointed.

"Who's this little guy? I don't remember Old Man Garp's ship having anyone this small."

Bogard chuckled. "Vice Admiral Garp's grandson. He's just bringing him along for some experience."

Kuzan's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. "That guy, who hates trouble, is actually bringing a kid? He told me to get lost when I asked him to take me as a disciple before."

At that moment, Garp's head poked out of a second-floor cabin window, a look of disdain on his face.

"Kuzan, you little brat, have you no shame?

Are you acting like I never took you in?

What?

You became a Vice Admiral and went off on your own, your wings have grown strong, and now you don't recognize me?"

Kuzan's expression was helpless. "Ahaha~ I was just curious. Besides, it was my charm and perseverance that finally moved you back then.

I'm not wrong, am I? When I came to ask you to take me as a disciple, didn't you just say: 'Shut up, get lost, don't steal my freedom, go find another instructor' or something like that?"

As he said this, Kuzan looked at Garp with a mournful expression. Garp blinked and chuckled heartily.

"Did I say that? I don't remember."

The Marine soldiers nearby watched the "backbone" Kuzan, now renowned within the Marines, and his superior's "love-hate relationship," and couldn't help but show knowing smiles.

They loved these juicy "gossip" about their superiors.

"Ahaha, you truly have a bad memory, sir. By the way, why did you take on such a thankless task this time?"

"Didn't you always disagree with this system?"

"Come on up," Garp waved his hand, smiling. "It's been a while since I've seen you, come up and hang out."

Kuzan smiled and said to Bogard, "The old man has spoken. I'll head up first. I'll chat with you later."

Bogard waved his hand and smiled. "You go ahead. I've got nothing going on. We'll chat when we're free."

Kuzan had stayed on Garp's ship for a considerable time back then, and his relationship with Bogard was quite good. They hadn't had a chance to catch up in a long time, so this was a good opportunity.

Mercer watched the scene with some curiosity. Seeing Kuzan enter the cabin, he followed along.

Walking behind Kuzan, he could feel waves of coldness. Soon, the two entered Garp's room one after the other.

As soon as they entered, Mercer took the teapot and poured three cups of tea for them before quietly sitting on the sofa, holding his cup, and silently watching the two.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was somewhat delicate.

Kuzan looked at Garp, then at Mercer, his expression becoming somewhat peculiar. He then turned to Mercer and said, "Ahaha, little brother, we need to discuss important matters. Why don't you go play outside for a bit?"

Mercer ignored him and looked at Garp. "Grandpa, are you about to discuss secrets that I shouldn't hear?"

Garp blinked, then shook his head. "It's not a big deal, just some troublesome business about recruiting pirates. If you want to listen, then listen."

Upon hearing this, Mercer smiled and looked at Kuzan. "You can start. I'll just listen and won't say anything."

As he spoke, he pinched his right index finger and thumb together at the corner of his left mouth and pulled them to the right, indicating he would keep quiet.

Seeing this, Kuzan laughed. "Old man, your grandson is quite interesting. He's just like you, quite bold and not shy at all."

Garp said proudly with a laugh:

"Ahaha, well, who do you think Mercer is the grandson of?"

I wasn't praising you.

Why are you so smug?

Pouting, Kuzan sighed. "You haven't changed at all. You're still as carefree as ever."

Hearing this, Garp smiled dismissively, but his eyes looked at Kuzan, and he sighed.

"As for you, you... sigh."

He wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so he just sighed.

"Let's not talk about that. Kuzan, let's talk about this mission. What do you think of that guy? Is he capable?"

"King of Lizards Hanafuzha, he retreated from the New World not long ago for unknown reasons and recently reappeared in the West Blue.

Interestingly, that Gecko Moria is also in the West Blue, and even more interestingly, they both have some connection to that Beasts Kaido."

Kuzan narrowed his eyes and said.

"Gecko Moria, one of the Shichibukai? He used to be a formidable guy, but after being defeated by Kaido a few years ago, he's been dormant for quite some time.

I don't know what he's been up to these past few years, but wherever he appears, there are always strange ghost legends. Graves in famous battlefields have been dug up, and bodies have been reanimated and gone missing. But considering his Devil Fruit ability, it's likely he's responsible for these incidents.

As for that guy Hanafuzha, he's quite mysterious. He went to Wano Country, and for some reason, he suddenly withdrew from the New World with injuries and has now returned to his hometown in the West Blue.

This time, the target is him. The government is specially recruiting him as a Shichibukai."

Kuzan nodded in agreement with Garp's analysis. "I didn't expect you to know so much. That's right, it's him.

I'm a bit confused, this mission was originally assigned to me, but why did you suddenly come over?"

Kuzan found this strange as well. He had just arrived in West Blue when Fleet Admiral Sengoku notified him to wait for Vice Admiral Garp so they could undertake this mission together.

Was King of Lizards Hanafuzha that powerful? That it required both of them? Kuzan was very puzzled.

Wasn't this giving him too much face? With the strength of Garp and himself, they could go and deal with those famous monsters occupying the New World.

Hearing this, Garp chuckled, "I'm just bored. It's all trivial matters back at headquarters anyway. Might as well come out for a stroll. Doing a mission will shut them up. Since you're here, I thought we could hang out together."

Kuzan looked at Garp's subtle expression. He only believed about thirty percent of what Garp was saying now. He, who hated trouble the most, was actually taking the initiative to pick up a mission?

"I think you just want to come out and play, don't you? Going on a mission with you? It's likely I'll end up doing the mission while you just play."

Garp's expression stiffened, then he scratched his head and laughed it off, "What nonsense are you talking? Let's not talk about that. Tell me, in which sea area is that Hanafuzha now?"

"Kingdom of Troia," Kuzan replied. "It's the kingdom next to the Land of Flowers. A World Government member nation that's been in a state of war for a long time. It's very chaotic, with all sorts of people mixed in.

I heard that several large gangs from West Blue are involved in the recent war. People's minds are practically dog-brained there."

"Oh, right. I also heard that Gecko Moria arrived there half a month ago. Recently, many towns there have started spreading ghost stories about zombies appearing at night and killing people."

"That's all the recent intel I have."

"Hmm! Alright, that's enough. We'll be going there in a few days anyway. We'll figure out what to do when the time comes. I'm exhausted these past few days. I'm going to sleep for a bit."

With that, Kuzan leaned back, resting his head against the sofa's backrest, his legs stretched out and dangling on the floor. Wearing his small sunglasses, he was snoring within seconds.

Mercer looked at him speechlessly, then asked Garp, "Master, is he your disciple?

Why does he look so listless and unkempt?"

Garp's mouth twitched. He glanced at Kuzan, his face contorted, and said grumpily, "Who knows? He wasn't like this when he was young. Back then, he was a pure, passionate, energetic young man."

"Who would have thought that a few years ago, he took on some weird mission in West Blue, and when he returned, he became this way."

"Heartbreak?" Mercer pondered, then asked with curiosity, "Or did someone important to him die?"

Garp glanced at Mercer and immediately laughed in anger, "Kuzan isn't the type to cry about things. He's my proudest, top disciple."

"Top disciple?" Mercer asked. "Does that mean there are junior disciples too? Who are they? Can you tell me?"

Garp rolled his eyes, looking like he didn't want to say more. "No, I've only taken this one so far. Taking this one is already enough trouble for me. If I took any more, I'd be worked to death."

"I think you're just lazy."

"Hiss!" Garp's eyes widened, and he let out a sharp intake of breath. "If you keep talking nonsense, believe it or not, I'll beat you up?"

Mercer made a zipping motion with his right hand over his mouth, signaling that he wouldn't say any more.

Garp chuckled, shaking his head, then leaned back himself, squinting his eyes, also preparing to catch some sleep.

Seeing the two sleeping gods.

Mercer also felt a bit sleepy and curled up on the sofa.

A moment later, faint snores began to rise and fall.

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