The First Meeting of Two Monster Vice Admirals

At that moment, Garp's adjutant walked to his side and slowly said, "It's because you're afraid that if you let Dragon go like this, Marshal Kong will be hard to answer to."

"What do you mean, hard to answer to? I'm injured. I can't go head-to-head with that brat. Besides, didn't you hear? Golden Lion Shiki is about to reach Marineford."

"I'm preserving my strength."

Faced with Garp's words, the adjutant knew he could say nothing more. Injured? There was not a single wound on Garp's body. He was plainly lying through his teeth.

But he could not refute him either. He knew Garp was doing it deliberately. After all, Golden Lion was heading for Marineford. That was indeed important.

"Head back to Marine Headquarters. Move out."

Time passed quickly. A day went by, and all the Marines at Marineford had been mobilized. Every cannon at the harbor was being loaded with ammunition, while the civilians in the rear had received the news and stayed hidden inside their homes.

The normally bustling streets were terrifyingly quiet. Only a few Marines passed by on patrol. Mu Chen, Jia Ji, and Smoker had been assigned to the same group and were patrolling the streets together. Jia Ji wore a look of utter terror.

"Hey, Mu Chen, is it true that Golden Lion Shiki is coming to Marineford to avenge Roger?"

"That's Golden Lion Shiki, one of the legendary figures from the same generation as Pirate King Roger. Jia Ji simply could not understand why someone like that would come to Marineford."

"Mu Chen, say something. I really don't get it. Wasn't Golden Lion Shiki Roger's rival?"

"Why would he come to Marineford to avenge Roger?"

Jia Ji, who did not know the full story, was deeply puzzled. He simply could not understand this point.

Mu Chen began to explain calmly. "Before Roger became the Pirate King, Golden Lion and Roger were rivals competing for that title. Golden Lion even wanted to join forces with Roger back then. Roger refused, and that led to the Edd War. Though they were rivals and mortal enemies, Golden Lion also regarded Roger as a dear friend. At their level, it was difficult to find an evenly matched opponent. Even if one of them had to die, he could only die by the other's hand. That was the pride of all powerful men."

"Wasn't there also Whitebeard?"

"I remember Edward Newgate had a good relationship with Roger too, and they were evenly matched, right?"

At that, Jia Ji became even more confused. He knew a little about Whitebeard Newgate, but only vaguely. The three of them should have been the ones competing for the title of Pirate King.

"As for Whitebeard Newgate, he initially wanted to compete with Roger and Golden Lion as well. But in the end, he found his own dream. It wasn't that so-called One Piece, but family. So he withdrew from the competition early on."

"I see. No wonder Whitebeard Newgate has sons all over the world. So he just likes being other people's dad."

Only then did Jia Ji slowly process it. Liking to be someone's father was a hobby too, apparently.

At that, Jia Ji grew even more curious. Those three were all equally famous, and every one of them was terrifyingly strong. If Golden Lion Shiki came, would Whitebeard Newgate not come as well?

Jia Ji was extremely worried. If Whitebeard Newgate came too, would they be able to hold the place?

Seeing Jia Ji like this, Mu Chen found it rather amusing.

Qi Yuan could no longer stand watching. She looked at Mu Chen, then at Jia Ji. The difference was obvious: Mu Chen was calm as still water, not worried in the slightest by any of this.

Meanwhile, before the formidable enemies had even arrived, Jia Ji had already been scared half to death.

Qi Yuan looked at him with disdain and slowly said, "Relax. Whitebeard won't come."

"How do you know Whitebeard won't come?"

"They're pirates. Golden Lion is already coming to attack Marineford. Why wouldn't Whitebeard join in?"

Jia Ji did not believe pirates would pass up such an opportunity to attack Marine Headquarters.

Qi Yuan no longer wanted to speak to Jia Ji.

Explain? She did not want to explain anymore. Jia Ji was an idiot.

Seeing this, Mu Chen smiled. "Don't worry, Jia Ji. Whitebeard is living happily with his sons right now. He values family above all else. Attacking Marine Headquarters is too dangerous, and he would never let his sons take such a risk."

Hearing Mu Chen's explanation, Jia Ji finally understood. "So that's how it is."

In the marshal's office, Kong held a document in his hand, his brow tightly furrowed. "What is wrong with our intelligence department? Why can't they find Golden Lion's whereabouts even now?"

Kong was furious over this. Not knowing Golden Lion's location meant they were constantly in a passive position. Everyone was on high alert, but they could not keep passively defending like this.

Yet they had no idea when Golden Lion would attack.

"Marshal Kong, there's nothing we can do. We simply can't track Golden Lion's whereabouts. He's a Float-Float Fruit user. Our people have no way of finding him."

Sengoku was equally helpless. The Float-Float Fruit was indeed troublesome, and Golden Lion also had his own Flying Fleet. They had no means of dealing with it at all.

"Forget it. This is all we can do for now. We'll see in a couple of days."

Kong waved his hand and dismissed Sengoku.

Over the past few days, Mu Chen had spent much less time slacking off. With Golden Lion coming, he had to patrol the streets every day.

Another day passed. Golden Lion did not appear, but many officers who had been out on missions returned instead.

While Mu Chen, Jia Ji, and Gion were patrolling the streets, they ran into two people. They were both young men, one tall and thin, the other broad and powerfully built.

The tall, thin man wore a yellow-striped suit, while the burly man wore a red-patterned shirt.

Borsalino and Sakazuki. Mu Chen had not expected that, after being here for so long, he would finally meet these two future admiral-class figures.

"Oops, this is that new Marine recruit?"

Mu Chen heard Borsalino's irritatingly smug voice. Before he could react, Borsalino turned into a streak of light and instantly appeared before Mu Chen, blocking his path.