After answering the Den Den Mushi, Garp delivered two heavy punches, sending Ace and Luffy rolling across the ground. Only then did he look at the Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral Garp, he's back!"
The Den Den Mushi's mouth opened and closed as Bogard's voice came through.
"Ahahahaha! That kid's back at Base 16? Keep him there. I'm on my way back!"
After saying that, Garp stood up and looked at the two boys rolling on the ground, their heads covered in bumps.
"If I ever hear you two talking about going out to sea to become pirates again, you'll get another Fist of Love from me."
Garp shook his fist and glared at Ace and Luffy.
The two little brats, clutching their heads, instinctively got up and backed away when they heard that.
After saying his piece, Garp turned and left.
"Old man, I'm definitely going to become the Pirate King!"
Watching Garp's back, Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs. Ace promptly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Garp heard him, but didn't turn around.
After all, he had things to take care of.
Smack!
Luffy took a slap to the back of the head. The burly female bandit Dadan glared viciously at him, a cigarette hanging from her lips.
The two turned around, saw Dadan, cried out in alarm, and ran.
"You two little brats, get back here!"
Dadan hadn't expected the two brats to run the moment they saw her. She grabbed a club and chased after them.
"One old bastard and two little brats!"
The town at Base 16.
The pirates had already been escorted away.
Clearly, the people here still hadn't come down from their excitement.
Good grief, they'd never seen anything like it. Had every pirate in the East Blue been captured?
After all that excitement, nobody was in the mood to get back to their own business. Everyone gathered together to talk about what had happened that day.
The tavern quickly filled up, too.
Old Komodo kept swallowing nervously and glancing at the two large bags beside Dunn.
"Having too much money is a pain, isn't it?"
Dunn finished his juice and set down the cup, looking troubled as he eyed the two bags of Beli.
Old Komodo couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Couldn't he have that kind of problem?
"How about you hold on to it for me?"
Dunn picked up the bag beside him and tossed it to Old Komodo.
"When I'm ready to leave, I'll come back for it."
Old Komodo was still trying to process what had happened, the heavy bag in his arms, when Dunn got up and left.
"Old man, what did that young fellow give you?"
What had happened at the counter naturally caught people's attention, and someone asked.
"N-Nothing!"
Old Komodo swallowed and hurriedly put the bag under the counter.
But his heart was pounding.
He'd never seen so much money in his life. If he packed it up and left, he could live like a rich man anywhere he wanted for the rest of his life.
But remembering how Dunn had captured so many pirates all by himself in such a short time, Old Komodo put those thoughts out of his mind.
The docks.
When Dunn returned, the Marines were cleaning up the pirate ship he'd brought back.
"Looks like they didn't count the ship as part of the bounty!"
Dunn narrowed his eyes at the vessel, which counted as a large pirate ship by pirate standards.
It should be worth a few million Beli, too, right?
"This is your ship!"
Bogard had spotted Dunn as soon as he arrived. He walked over, heard Dunn's remark, and spoke up.
"Vice Admiral Garp is on his way back from Foosha Village."
After saying that, Bogard watched Dunn's expression.
Dunn's expression didn't change.
"Give it up. You can't force me to join the Marines, can you?"
Dunn smiled at Bogard over his shoulder.
"I don't know about that. Vice Admiral Garp is the one who makes that decision. But being a Marine comes with plenty of benefits you don't see at first glance. If you want to hunt pirates, the Marines have far more information and intelligence."
Bogard had no doubt about Dunn's abilities.
Dunn looked quite sturdy, but he had a youthful face.
Seeing someone so capable at his age reminded Bogard of another person who had once followed Garp.
Another monster in the Marines.
The current Marine Admiral, Aokiji.
Even Aokiji had still been in the training camp at Dunn's age.
[Top Swordsman]
Blue text hovered above Bogard's head. Dunn glanced at it a few times, then looked away.
"I hunt pirates for the money, not because it's a hobby."
Dunn waved a hand, then walked over to a Marine cleaning the pirate ship and spoke to him quietly.
Watching Dunn's back, Bogard knew he was probably about to set sail.
But Vice Admiral Garp was on his way back.
And wasn't the man tired?
Wouldn't he rest for a few days?
He could at least wait for Vice Admiral Garp to return.
Bogard hesitated, wondering how he could keep Dunn there.
But he probably didn't have a ship now.
There was no way one man could handle a pirate ship that large.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he noticed the delighted looks on the faces of the Marines talking with Dunn.
Bogard's heart sank. He had a bad feeling about this.
Then he saw the Marines leave. A short while later, they came back steering a small boat.
Dunn turned and waved to him. Then he climbed aboard alone and sailed away.
On the calm sea,
Dunn sat at the stern of the small boat, his arm transformed into flame. A long plume of fire shot out, propelling the boat as if it had an engine.
This had been one of Dunn's ideas for a while.
He'd gotten the inspiration from Monkey D. Luffy's way of flying when he fought Doflamingo in Gear Fourth.
Luffy propelled himself with bursts of air, while Dunn used rocket-like jets of flame.
The only problem was that this method consumed a lot of stamina.
Of course, with his current stamina, he could handle that little bit of exertion.
He could treat it as training his Flame-Flame Fruit ability.
He was also getting used to moving this way so that he could use it to achieve high-speed movement later.
Clearly, this was faster than rowing with an oar or paddling with his long saber.
He set out in the afternoon and reached Cocoyasi Village before the sun had even set.
Before long, Bell-mère was staring blankly at Dunn standing in front of her.
"Packed to go?"
Dunn nodded.
"Same as before?"
Dunn nodded again.
"Sure!"
This time Bell-mère didn't refuse. She took the Beli Dunn gave her, then went to call Genzo to help carry the oranges.
After that, Dunn planned to stay active in the nearby waters.
That was the whole reason he'd come. Now that he'd heard about Arlong, it probably wouldn't be long before the man showed up.
Meanwhile, at Reverse Mountain,
a huge pirate ship flying the Sun Pirates' flag crossed Reverse Mountain and plunged down the reverse-flowing waterway, crashing onto the surface of the East Blue.
The Marines on watch nearby immediately spotted the pirate ship and surrounded it. But when they saw the pirate flag, their expressions changed dramatically.
That flag?
The officer in command of the warship blanched as he recognized it.
One of the Shichibukai, who had been granted the legal right to plunder—the Knight of the Sea, Jinbe.
Why had someone like him come to the East Blue?
Before you continue