Should I Bear the Banner of Justice? Garp, Stop Joking!...

Episode 7: Sorry about that. Mu Chen looked at the last few senbei in his hand and smiled faintly. With a crunch, he put a piece into his mouth.

Mu Chen wore a completely guiltless expression, paying no heed to Garp's shouts.

Since he couldn't beat Garp, he would eat his senbei.

Just thinking about it made Mu Chen feel a little pleased.

Mu Chen had barely taken a bite of the senbei when the cargo hold's door was smashed to pieces by a fist.

Mu Chen saw a huge figure standing in the doorway, his face full of fury.

"Mu Chen, give me back my senbei!"

Seeing Garp's angry expression, Mu Chen was not afraid in the slightest.

"Garp, you'd better not get angry. There are only two pieces left—be careful, or I'll eat them all!"

"Ahhh! Don't, don't, don't!"

Garp instantly became docile and snatched the only two remaining senbei from Mu Chen's hand.

Mu Chen suddenly felt that teasing this old man seemed pretty fun, though Garp was not an old man yet.

"We'll reach the Gates of Justice at Enies Lobby in a little over ten minutes. Aren't you going to take a look?"

"Mm-hmm." Garp spoke while eating the senbei in his hand.

When Mu Chen heard about the Gates of Justice, he really wanted to see them. He had only seen them in anime before and heard how magnificent they were. Now, he truly wanted to witness what these so-called Gates of Justice looked like.

Then Mu Chen and Garp arrived before the Gates of Justice.

Mu Chen looked up and saw an enormous gate rising into the clouds from the sea. The word "Justice" was written in the middle, while countless gun emplacements lined both sides.

Garp took out a military Den Den Mushi from his coat and ordered, "This is Garp. Open the gates!"

"It's Vice Admiral Garp, the Hero of the Marines! Understood, we'll open them immediately. Please wait a moment."

The voice on the other end spoke excitedly. Then, the massive Gates of Justice slowly opened.

"The Gates of Justice?"

"Cool, right?"

Mu Chen saw Garp secretly taking pride in the Marines' stuff again. He could not understand what there was to praise about the Gates of Justice. They were big—indeed, very big—but he was even more curious about how such a thing had been built in the sea.

"It's all right," Mu Chen said casually, still pondering how the thing had been constructed.

Before Mu Chen could think much further, Garp's Dog-Head Battleship entered the Spiral Current. The Spiral Current was exceptionally dangerous; its powerful suction and rotation made the entire warship tremble.

"Hahaha, thrilling! Every time I pass through this Spiral Current, it feels like riding a roller coaster! Hahaha!"

All the Marines grabbed onto anything fixed in place, terrified of being flung from the warship. Yet Garp acted as though nothing was happening and laughed loudly.

Mu Chen gripped the railing beside him and looked speechlessly at the laughing Garp. He really had no sense of danger at all. Like grandfather, like grandson!

Before long, the Dog-Head Battleship finally entered Marine Headquarters. As the warship slowly approached Marineford, Mu Chen saw the ever-growing Marine Headquarters. As far as the eye could see were white buildings marked with seagulls. The largest building bore a blue seagull and two large characters above it.

As the Marine warship slowly headed toward the harbor, Mu Chen saw even more enormous gun emplacements than at the Gates of Justice. He could not help sighing at Marineford's defenses. This place was truly impressive.

"Mu Chen, you have to understand that this isn't just Marine Headquarters. It's also the residential area for hundreds of thousands of Marine family members. Without some defenses, how could we guarantee their safety?"

Garp spoke seriously. When he mentioned family members, he was especially solemn. There were also hundreds of thousands of pirate family members, something Mu Chen genuinely had not known. Ever since he started watching One Piece, he had never paid attention to such things; all his attention had been on the main cast as they solved one problem after another.

"Mu Chen, you need to know that one-third of Marine soldiers were rescued from the hands of various pirates, along with civilians from different countries." At that point, Mu Chen understood. To be honest, the Marines really were an organization that saved civilians; they had merely always been seen as the Celestial Dragons' vicious dogs. "We became Marines to carry out the justice we believe in. Save whoever can be saved. But often... forget it, I won't talk about that. Mu Chen, I think highly of you. I hope you won't disappoint me. Carry the banner of justice, and make that old man Sengoku jump in surprise! Hahaha!"

Garp said this.

Earlier, Mu Chen had seen the helplessness on Garp's face, but his mood changed in an instant, and he immediately burst into laughter.

Mu Chen completely understood what Garp had been thinking just now, but he chose not to expose it. He did not want to think about those scum either. Still, Garp really thought that highly of him? Mu Chen only wanted to slack off. Did Garp have to give him such a grand goal? Carry the banner of justice? What a joke. I just want to take it easy!

Just then, every gun emplacement turned toward Garp's warship. Mu Chen was dumbfounded. What was going on?

The pitch-black cannon barrels were aimed at them, making even Mu Chen's scalp tingle. He had never seen such a formation in the East Blue. They had returned as allies, yet the weapons were pointed at them. "Warship ahead, state your designation."

Before they even entered the harbor, the Den Den Mushi rang. "This is Garp!" "So it's Vice Admiral Garp. Welcome back!"

The next second, the gun emplacements at the Marineford base returned to normal.

Mu Chen was still somewhat confused.

"Garp, what's going on?"

"Mu Chen, I told you just now—there are hundreds of thousands of civilians here. Every vessel, even Marine warships, must have its identity verified to prevent pirates from taking advantage of an opening. That's the rule. Even a minor disturbance could get many civilians killed."

Hearing that, Mu Chen roughly understood.

Meanwhile, in the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters.