Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The enormous fortress at the center of the world stood silently, the giant word "Justice" glowing so sacredly in the sunlight.
The marines aboard the Dog Head cheered. They were finally home!
"Justice, huh? Then... why would you, who represent justice, become the World Government's lackey?!" A mocking look flickered across Luo Sa's face. "You're sick. You need treatment!"
"What's wrong, Luo Sa?" Garp's voice suddenly rang out, startling him.
He turned around and saw Garp looking at him in confusion.
"Hmph. It's not like I've never seen Marine Headquarters in the newspapers. And whenever I do, I often picture some guy holding a rice cracker!"
"Uh..."
Garp gave an awkward smile. It was obvious he'd realized Luo Sa meant him.
"Whatever. It's all in the past. This place will be my home from now on!"
Without sparing the embarrassed Garp another glance, Luo Sa headed toward Marine Headquarters.
In the Fleet Admiral's Office, Sengoku reviewed documents while listening to Garp report on the mission.
Garp reported, "We successfully brought a shipload of rice crackers from Gourmet Island to Marine Headquarters. They're being put into storage now. You can go count them yourself."
Sengoku's face lit up. He immediately called over a marine, whispered something in his ear, and sent him off.
"Hahaha! If I go a day without rice crackers, my mouth feels like it has no taste! It's about time you came through for once!" Sengoku said, walking over and clapping Garp on the shoulder.
"A whole ship... full of rice crackers?"
A bead of cold sweat appeared on Luo Sa's forehead. In his previous life, he'd always wondered how Sengoku never ran out of rice crackers. Now he finally knew why!
That was an entire shipload of rice crackers!
"Hey, who's this little kid?"
Only then did Sengoku notice Luo Sa behind Garp. He looked puzzled.
"Sengoku, I need a favor. I don't know if you'll agree." Garp's expression turned unusually serious.
Seeing him like that, Sengoku grew serious too. He returned to his desk and nodded at Garp.
He knew Garp. If he wore that expression, then it had to be something important.
"This kid is my grandson. I want him to join the Marines!"
Sengoku's eyes narrowed slightly. Someone wanted to join the Marines—and he was the grandson of the Marine Hero Garp. That was certainly great news!
But...
Sengoku looked at Luo Sa. Judging by his height, he was about five feet tall, but his face... was far too young!
He was just a child!
"Garp, I thought your grandson was Luffy. When did you get another one?" Sengoku asked with a smile, not answering outright.
"Oh, this kid may not be my biological grandson, but he's as good as one. And are you going to agree or not?" Garp pressed him relentlessly.
"Then... can you tell me a little about your grandson?"
Garp nodded. "His name is Luo Sa, Portgas D. Luo Sa. He's a Zoan Type Devil Fruit user—the Bird-Bird Fruit: Seagull Form. He's... he's... ten years old!"
"Ten? Ten years old! Garp, you want me to take a ten-year-old child into the Marines?!" Sengoku roared, spraying spit everywhere.
"Hmph! So what if he's ten? He's my grandson, Garp's grandson! Even at ten, he could sweep through the entire New Recruit Camp!"
Seeing that Sengoku clearly wasn't going to agree, Garp's temper flared. He roared right back, undaunted!
They argued until both were panting, but neither managed to convince the other.
"Hmph! I'll make this clear. If you don't agree, I'll take Luo Sa and cause a ruckus in the New Recruit Camp. I'll have him beat all those green recruits flat, and then we'll see how you like that!" Garp clenched his fists and issued his threat.
"Well... what if he first joined the Marines' school and studied there for a while?" Sengoku said after a moment's silence, watching Garp.
A vein popped up on Garp's forehead. Clearly, Sengoku still wouldn't let Luo Sa into the New Recruit Camp!
"Sengoku, I remember Zephyr wasn't fourteen when he joined the New Recruit Camp. It was Marshal Kong's idea to change his age. So why not change Luo Sa's age to fourteen too?"
Garp was as unreasonable as ever, treating the idea as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Zephyr was an exception. He challenged the Elite Camp as soon as he joined the New Recruit Camp, and he wasn't far off fourteen. That's why Marshal Kong made an exception for him!" Sengoku suppressed his anger and patiently explained.
"Oh? So that's how it was. Then this is easy! I'll take Luo Sa to challenge the New Recruit Camp. If he can sweep through it, you can change his age afterward!" Garp exclaimed, pounding his right fist into his left palm as if he'd just had a brilliant realization.
Sengoku: "MMP, don't make me lose my temper."
"Phew!" Sengoku took a deep breath, then rolled his eyes and said, "There's no need to make things so complicated. Just take Luo Sa for a test. If he meets the Elite Camp standards, I'll let him join the Marines. Remember, the Elite Camp standards!"
Hearing this, Garp thought Sengoku had given in. Overjoyed, he grabbed Luo Sa and hurried off to have his physical stats tested, completely ignoring Sengoku's dark expression.
"Phew, at least I've gotten rid of that troublesome fellow. But..."
"I said the Elite Camp standards. You know that even passing the Elite Camp Assessment only gets you into the Elite Camp as a trainee. That doesn't make you a real Elite Camp member!" Sengoku said smugly. He silently praised his own intelligence. No wonder he was known as the Wise General!
Not long afterward, the door to Marshal Sengoku's office was kicked open. Garp stood there, waving a score sheet triumphantly.
Seeing Garp's smug expression, Sengoku suddenly had a bad feeling.
He shot across the room and snatched the score sheet from Garp's hand.
Several large words immediately caught his eye: "Meets Elite Camp Standards."
"Tell me, Garp! Did you cheat? Did you use your fists to force the examiner to change the score?"
Sengoku shouted at Garp, trying to conceal his shock.
That was a child who was only ten years old!
"Uh... I was the examiner this time."
At that moment, a purple-haired figure entered the office, with Luo Sa following behind him.
"Z-Zephyr!"
Sengoku felt as if he'd taken a heavy punch. He was too stunned to speak.
"He really met the standards?"
Sengoku still wasn't sure.
Zephyr nodded. Looking at Luo Sa behind him with approval, he smiled and said to Sengoku, "Let this kid enter my Elite Camp directly. I'll train him myself!"
Sengoku was stunned. He slowly walked over to his desk and sat down.
"You two aren't teaming up to trick me, are you?"
Sengoku still didn't believe it. Garp was getting ready to hit someone!
"Then... one final test. Let him take part in this Elite Camp Assessment, and if he makes it into the Elite Camp through his own strength, I'll make an exception for him."
"I think a ten-year-old Elite Camp member will certainly shut those people up!"
Sengoku spoke gravely. Making an exception for Luo Sa would clearly put him under a lot of pressure!
"No problem! Luo Sa is my grandson, and it's just the Elite Camp. It's nothing!" Garp said confidently.
He and Luo Sa had spent half a month aboard the Dog Head. During that time, Garp had gotten a clear idea of Luo Sa's strength.
Besides, the Elite Camp Assessment was still half a month away. He could put Luo Sa through intensive training, and then his place in the Elite Camp would be all but guaranteed!
"Garp, don't get too cocky. There may not be many outstanding recruits this time, but a few monsters came out of the previous classes!" Zephyr warned his old friend.
"And to enter the Elite Camp, you have to place in the top three in the final ranking battle. Otherwise, you'll only count as a trainee!"
Garp said nothing. He took Luo Sa by the hand and headed outside. He had to start training Luo Sa right away. Truth be told, he was a little nervous too!
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