Garp's Arrival, Pirates Who Fear No Death

"Wow, what a feast! Aunt Bell-mère, is today a holiday?"

Nojiko's eyes widened, sparkling with excitement.

A meal this lavish was something they only ever had on holidays.

However, the weather had been too good lately, leading to a bumper crop of fruit. Since fruit was difficult to sell and hard to preserve, they hadn't earned much money.

"Yes, I made some money today. A gentleman bought a lot of oranges."

Bell-mère, busy at the stove, turned around with a face full of smiles.

"Really?"

Nami walked over to Bell-mère, looking surprised as she watched her pan-fry two fish.

"Go on, put these on the table. We have a guest over."

Bell-mère said with a beaming smile.

Not long after, Genzo arrived, carrying, as expected, some common gifts and food.

The four of them enjoyed the meal immensely.

Of course, the highlight was watching Bell-mère offer to let Genzo stay the night after dinner, and seeing him flee in a panic.

Bell-mère and the two girls stood in a row, hands on their hips, laughing heartily.

In the nearby waters, Dunn had lowered his sails and was lying on his small boat, his Observation Haki blanketing the entirety of Cocoyasi Village, "seeing" everything that happened at Nami's house.

"Atonement, is it?"

Dunn whispered softly before closing his eyes, letting his boat drift with the current.

At the 16th Branch base, the massive Dog-Head Warship was docked at the pier.

Colonel Nezumi, the base commander, was already waiting there with all his naval soldiers.

When they saw Garp walk off the ship while picking his nose, everyone snapped to attention.

"Vice Admiral Garp!"

The lined-up soldiers shouted in unison.

"Ahahaha, sorry for the trouble, everyone. I'm here on a bit of business this time."

Garp said with a loud laugh.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp, please, this way!"

Colonel Nezumi said very respectfully. Having not yet begun his rampant extortion, Nezumi perhaps still had a clear conscience at this moment.

"Bogard!"

Garp turned his head and called out.

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"

Bogard stood on the warship and snapped to attention.

Garp nodded and then headed toward the branch base's headquarters.

Although curious as to why Bogard and the rest of the navy remained on the ship, Nezumi didn't dare to ask and could only follow obediently behind Garp.

Before long, in the base's reception room, Garp sat on the sofa, watching Nezumi, who stood not far away.

Nezumi felt nervous under Garp's scrutiny.

"Is he not here?"

"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp. However, he hasn't been gone long. He left on a small boat, so he shouldn't have gone too far; he might return soon."

Nezumi naturally knew that Garp was asking about Dunn.

He had already sent men to investigate thoroughly and provided an immediate answer.

"Then do you know where he went or what he's doing?"

Garp asked again.

"About that, Vice Admiral Garp!" Colonel Nezumi's tone was somewhat uncertain. "He has always called himself a Pirate Hunter. He caught two pirates when he came here, so perhaps he went out to hunt for more pirates to claim their bounties. I had invited him before, but he... he said!!!"

Nezumi trailed off, not daring to continue.

"Does it have to do with the Celestial Dragons?"

Garp's expression remained unchanged; he had already guessed what made Nezumi afraid to speak.

"Ye... yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"

Nezumi nodded, secretly shocked at how Garp knew.

As expected.

Garp sighed, his expression filled with helplessness.

He did not hold much hope for achieving his goal this time; furthermore, such an invitation would inevitably feel like coercion, only making the other party resent the Marines even more.

Or rather, it might even prove counterproductive.

"Vice Admiral Garp, would you like me to send men out to sea to search?"

Colonel Nezumi watched Garp's expression, hesitating for a moment before asking.

"No need. The sea is so vast, how would you even find him? Besides, even if you did, you couldn't force him to return. Since he is a Pirate Hunter, he'll surely come to collect the bounties once he catches some pirates."

Garp stood up after saying this.

"I will remain in the East Blue for a while, and the warship will stay anchored here. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be off. If he returns to claim his bounties, notify me."

Garp left immediately, leaving Colonel Nezumi standing there in a daze.

It seemed Vice Admiral Garp was not as concerned about this matter as he had initially imagined.

Moreover, this Vice Admiral did not seem to care much about the attitude of the Celestial Dragons either.

However, Colonel Nezumi naturally dared not dwell on it too much.

After all, Garp was a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters, a Hero of the Marines, and the man who had personally captured the One Piece.

Perhaps a man like that had his own profound reasons for acting this way.

There were no profound reasons; upon returning, Garp immediately launched a small boat from the warship and departed with the Marine who was to pilot it.

As for where he was going?

Naturally, he was returning to Windmill Village to visit his well-behaved grandson.

Of course, he might not be quite so well-behaved.

Dunn was unaware of all this, though he could certainly imagine that his affairs might still be reported upward.

He did not pay it much mind, however, and continued with his own business.

He glanced over a bounty poster, then looked up at the pirate ship charging toward him.

The twisted pirate flag flying above was identical to the one on the poster in his hand.

"Mad Dog Torf, bounty of 2.2 million berries."

Sighing, Dunn raised his hand and swung his blade, a slash cutting through the sea surface and striking the approaching pirate ship.

Crack.

The flying slash cleaved half of the pirate ship apart; the vessel began to take on water, lost its stability, and subsequently snapped in two.

The pirates on board fell into the water one by one, thrashing about desperately.

Swish, swish.

A dozen more slashes followed, and the pirate ship was sliced into scattered debris.

"As expected, I'm still far behind Hawkeye."

Dunn sighed as he sheathed his sword.

Of course, he had only just become a master swordsman, and these slashes were only possible due to his powerful physique and the augmentation of his Haki; he had not yet reached the level of Hawkeye, who could cleave the sea with a casual swing.

But by unleashing several slashes, even a sturdy wooden ship could not withstand his attacks.

Some of the pirates in the water were struggling, some were clinging to fragments of the ship, and others were swimming toward him.

Among them was their captain, Mad Dog Torf.

A pirate who loved to bite and slaughter.

Watching the pirate swim toward him, Dunn's mind wandered.

It seemed that the weaker the pirates were, the more vicious they became.

Conversely, those with real strength might not care, but they wouldn't stoop to such disgraceful behavior.

"You bastard!"

Mad Dog Torf was indeed the strongest among these pirates; he was the first to swim over, climbing onto Dunn's boat with one hand before unhooking the large saw strapped to his back, glaring viciously at Dunn.

Did this guy not see that I was the one who blew up their ship?

Looking at the man's furious expression, Dunn was puzzled.

This pirate, is he not afraid of death?