Don't Keep Holding Us Back, Garp

The Den Den Mushi remained silent for a long while, and Vice Admiral Tsuru did not urge him to speak.

After a few minutes, Admiral Kong spoke with some helplessness. "According to Saint Saturn, we should treat him as an ordinary pirate. The only thing we must be careful about is not taking his life. Other than that, there are no restrictions. But even so, can we really act that way?"

Tsuru replied just as helplessly, "Of course not. Setting everything else aside, if we really capture him, how are we supposed to handle him? We would definitely have to send him back to Mary Geoise. Maybe he would stop coming down to the lower world to play pirate then, but with his status, if he had nothing better to do than make trouble for the Marines, we wouldn't be able to stand it either."

That was their greatest concern!

As long as Vikengam retained his status as a Celestial Dragon, the Marines would be left in an impossible position.

In the original story, the Marines had beaten Donquixote Doflamingo to their hearts' content. Vice Admiral Tsuru would go clean him up whenever she had nothing else to do, and it was only after he became one of the Shichibukai that things finally settled down somewhat.

Why?

Because Donquixote Doflamingo had been stripped of his divine status. Mary Geoise no longer recognized him as a Celestial Dragon.

Naturally, they no longer had any scruples.

But Saint Vikengam was different. If they captured him today, they could not lock him up in Impel Down like Donquixote Doflamingo. They could only send him to Mary Geoise—and do so with utmost respect.

But what would happen once they sent him back to Mary Geoise? Without question, he would resume the bearing of a Celestial Dragon. Then, with his status as the young master of a Five Elders family, if he had nothing better to do, he could trip up the Marines and cause them trouble. Who could put up with that?

"So, at this stage, there is indeed nothing we can do about him. And if he truly intends to shelter the Roger Pirates, we likewise have no good way of dealing with it. For now, all we can do is wait," Admiral Kong said softly.

If Garp had heard that, he might have asked what they were waiting for.

But Tsuru was clearly a smart woman. After a moment of silence, she said, "Wait until he truly causes some major trouble, then see how Mary Geoise deals with him?"

"That's right." Admiral Kong said, "You said he and the Roger Pirates are likely plotting something major, so let them do it. We cannot stop them now anyway. Once this major undertaking truly angers the World Government, perhaps the situation will change. If Saint Saturn strips him of his Celestial Dragon status, then the Marines will be able to act."

Still, as he said this, Admiral Kong felt somewhat uneasy.

Though he had not interacted with them much, whenever Steel Bone recalled the exchanges between Saint Saturn and Saint Vikengam, he could not help wondering whether that lord would truly ever strip Saint Vikengam of his Celestial Dragon status.

Many things in this world had no solution. One could only wait for changes that might come in the future.

That was the case now.

Though Tsuru felt this approach was extremely passive, what else could they do?

A short while later, she ended her call with Admiral Kong in melancholy. Leaning against the city wall, she did not know what she was thinking about.

Meanwhile, Vikengam was chatting idly with Garp.

"Why do you keep chasing after our Roger Pirates?" Vikengam lit a cigar and offered it to Garp.

Garp did not normally smoke such things, but considering Vikengam's status, he accepted it and clenched it between his teeth.

"You're pirates, and I'm a Marine. Isn't that only natural? But you, a Celestial Dragon—what are you doing hanging around pirates when you have nothing to do? If you're looking for excitement, I can recommend that you join the Marines. Catching pirates on the seas with me—isn't that more interesting than this?" Garp found Vikengam unlike ordinary Celestial Dragons, so he spoke far more casually.

"There's no future in being a Marine. The Marines can't unravel..." Vikengam slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke, his tone somewhat wistful.

"Can't unravel what? Could you stop talking in half-sentences?" Garp said with great dissatisfaction.

"Hahahaha, it's nothing. Don't mind the details. Come to think of it, I saw in the newspaper a few days ago that your son set up some Self-Defense Army in the South Blue. That's pretty interesting. Didn't he used to be a Marine?" Vikengam changed the subject.

After the battle at God Valley, Dragon chose to leave the Marines. This did not cause much of a stir, since he had merely been a nobody at the time.

The only thing that made people take note of him was his background as Garp's son.

After leaving the Marines, Dragon did not know what he wanted to do. He drifted through two years of confusion, then not long ago suddenly established an organization called the "Self-Defense Army" in the South Blue.

However, the Self-Defense Army was not yet the Revolutionary Army that would later specialize in rebellion. It was a legal civilian armed organization.

Organizations like that were everywhere across the seas. The World Government did not care about them at all.

It was only after the Ohara Incident erupted, allowing Dragon to once again see the World Government's brutality clearly, that he resolved to change everything. He renamed the Self-Defense Army the Revolutionary Army and began his rebellion.

"Isn't it all because of you Celestial Dragons? If you hadn't committed such atrocities at God Valley, how would Dragon have..." Garp grew furious as soon as this was brought up.

"Don't come bothering us anymore, Garp." Before he could finish, Vikengam's expression suddenly turned serious.

Garp froze. Before he could speak, Vikengam lightly exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "After what happened at God Valley, you must have many doubts in your heart, right? We are searching for the truth behind it all. You need to understand what matters more. So even if you cannot help us, at least don't hold us back."

This time, Garp truly fell silent. He stood where he was, recalling everything that had happened at God Valley, and his gaze darkened considerably.

Only after a long while did Garp pull himself free from those memories. He looked at Vikengam with an extremely complicated expression. "As a Celestial Dragon, you actually want to..."

"Precisely because I am a Celestial Dragon, and it seems as though everything in this world is within easy reach, I want even more to do something that isn't so boring, Garp." Vikengam interrupted him with a smile.

"Then why are you telling me this?" Garp asked as he looked at Vikengam.

"Because Roger said he trusted you deeply. Though you stand on opposing sides, he said the two of you had long since become friends worthy of entrusting your lives to. And as someone who experienced God Valley firsthand, I witnessed your conduct from beginning to end. You truly are completely different from the other Marines, Garp. Perhaps in the future, we will not necessarily have to stand against one another. So today, I'll plant a seed in advance." Vikengam smiled.

If Nika truly was the key, then it was time to lay down some threads.

That was what Vikengam thought.

When Garp heard Vikengam say that Roger regarded him as a friend worthy of entrusting his life to, he recalled how they had fought side by side against their enemies at God Valley. His feelings grew immensely complicated.

"All right, that's enough. If I don't leave soon, my companions may start worrying about me. Until we meet again, Vice Admiral Garp." Vikengam waved at Garp with a smile, then swung himself onto the camel and slowly departed.

As he watched the ice wall gradually vanish, Garp's expression remained equally complicated. No one knew what he was thinking.

Only when Vikengam's figure was about to fade from his sight did Garp murmur softly, "Friends, huh? Damn you, Roger..."