"Wow, what a feast! Aunt Bell-mère, is today some kind of holiday?"
Nojiko's eyes widened, sparkling with excitement.
They only got to eat such a lavish meal on holidays.
But the weather had been too good lately, and the orange harvest was bountiful. The fruit was hard to sell and didn't keep well, so they'd made very little money.
"Yes. We made some money today. A gentleman bought a lot of oranges."
Bell-mère turned around from her work, her face full of smiles.
"Really?"
Nami walked over to Bell-mère in surprise and watched her fry two fish.
"Go on, take it to the table. We have a guest at home."
Bell-mère said with a smile.
Not long afterward, Genzo came over, carrying some everyday gifts and food, of course.
All four of them enjoyed the meal.
The best part, of course, was after dinner, when Bell-mère took the initiative and invited Genzo to stay the night. Genzo's fleeing figure had them in stitches.
Bell-mère and the two girls stood in a row, hands on their hips, laughing heartily.
In the nearby waters, Dunn lay on his small boat with the sail lowered. His Observation Haki covered all of Cocoyasi Village, and he "saw" everything happening at Nami's home.
"Redemption?"
Dunn murmured softly, then closed his eyes and let the boat drift with the waves.
The massive Dog-Head Warship was docked at the pier of the 16th Branch Base.
Base commander Colonel Mouse and all the Marines were already waiting there.
When they saw Garp climb down from the ship while picking his nose, everyone snapped to attention.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
The assembled Marines shouted in unison.
"Ahahaha! Sorry to trouble you. I have a little business to take care of this time."
Garp laughed heartily.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp. This way, please!"
Colonel Mouse said deferentially. Since he hadn't yet started lining his pockets, perhaps he could still say he had a clear conscience.
"Bogard!"
Garp turned and called out.
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Bogard snapped to attention on the warship.
Garp nodded, then headed toward the branch base.
Mouse was curious about why Bogard and the Marines aboard the warship weren't coming ashore, but he didn't dare ask. He could only follow obediently behind Garp.
Before long, Garp was sitting on a sofa in the base's reception room, looking at Mouse, who stood a short distance away.
Under Garp's scrutiny, Mouse looked nervous.
"He isn't here?"
"That's right, Vice Admiral Garp. But he hasn't been gone long, and he took a small boat. He shouldn't have gone far. He may be back soon."
Mouse knew Garp was asking about Dunn.
He had already sent people to investigate thoroughly, and answered at once.
"Then do you know where he went or what he's doing?"
Garp asked again.
"Well, Vice Admiral Garp..." Colonel Mouse sounded uncertain. "He always calls himself a pirate hunter, and he came here after capturing two pirates. Perhaps he went out looking for more pirates to capture and claim the bounties.
"I invited him before, but he... he said—!"
Mouse trailed off, afraid to continue.
"It had something to do with the Celestial Dragons?"
Garp's expression remained unchanged. He had already guessed what Mouse was afraid to say.
"Y-yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Mouse nodded, surprised that Garp had figured it out.
Just as I thought.
Garp sighed, looking somewhat helpless.
He wasn't optimistic that he could achieve his goal this time. Besides, an invitation like this could easily feel like coercion and make Dunn dislike the Marines even more.
In fact, it might even backfire.
"Vice Admiral Garp, should I send people out to look for him?"
Watching Garp's expression, Colonel Mouse hesitated before asking.
"No. The sea is so vast—how would we find him? And even if we did, we couldn't make him come back. If he's a pirate hunter, he'll surely want to claim the bounty after catching pirates."
Garp rose to his feet.
"I'll stay in the East Blue for a while. The warship will remain here. I have other things to do, so I'll be going. If he comes back to claim a bounty, let me know."
With that, Garp left, leaving Colonel Mouse looking bewildered.
Vice Admiral Garp didn't seem to be taking this matter as seriously as Mouse had expected.
And it seemed the vice admiral didn't care about the Celestial Dragons, either.
Of course, Colonel Mouse didn't dare dwell on it.
After all, Garp was a Headquarters Vice Admiral and a Hero of the Marines—the man who had personally captured the Pirate King.
Perhaps a man like him had his reasons for acting this way.
There was no deeper meaning to it. After returning to the warship, Garp simply lowered a small boat into the water and left with the Marine who would steer it.
As for where he was going?
Back to Foosha Village, naturally, to visit his well-behaved grandson.
Though perhaps he wasn't quite so well-behaved.
Dunn knew nothing about this. Of course, he could guess that news of what he'd done might be reported up the chain.
But he didn't pay it much mind and carried on with what he was doing.
He glanced over a wanted poster, then looked up at the pirate ship charging toward him.
The twisted pirate flag flying above it was identical to the one on the wanted poster in his hand.
"Thorpe the Vicious Dog. Bounty: 2.2 million."
With a sigh, Dunn raised his sword and slashed. The blow cut across the sea and struck the approaching pirate ship.
Crack!
The flying slash cleaved through half the ship. Water poured in, throwing it off balance, and then it broke apart.
The pirates aboard plunged into the water, flailing desperately.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Another dozen or so slashes followed, cutting the pirate ship to pieces.
"As expected, I'm still nowhere near Hawkeye."
Dunn sheathed his sword and sighed.
Of course, he had only just become a swordsman. He'd managed those slashes through his powerful physique and the boost from his Haki. He still couldn't match Hawkeye's ability to split the sea with a casual stroke.
But a few more slashes were enough to overwhelm even a small wooden ship.
Some of the pirates in the water were struggling to stay afloat, some were clinging to pieces of the ship, and others were swimming toward him.
Their captain, Thorpe the Vicious Dog, was among them.
The pirate was known for biting people and slaughtering his victims.
Watching the pirates swimming toward him, Dunn's mind wandered.
It seemed the weaker the pirate, the more vicious he was.
The stronger ones might not care, but they wouldn't stoop to such a low thing.
"You bastard!"
Thorpe the Vicious Dog was indeed the strongest of the pirates. He was the first to reach Dunn's boat, hauled himself aboard with one hand, then yanked the Great Saw from his back and glared furiously at Dunn.
Didn't this guy see that I was the one who sliced his ship apart?
Dunn looked at his furious expression, puzzled.
Wasn't this pirate afraid of dying?
Before you continue