Old Zhao Gets in Garp's Good Graces!

No. 3 Outpost's medical room was underground.

It never saw sunlight all year round.

Qian Ye leaned against a broken wooden bed in the corner.

His ninja uniform had already been cut open.

A masked medical ninja was treating his wounds.

Most of the wounds were superficial scratches from tree branches.

The real problem was the muscle strain in both legs.

He had forcibly used chakra to stimulate his muscles, leaving his legs covered in tiny tears.

Green chakra light glowed from the medical ninja's hands.

The energy of the Mystical Palm Technique covered Qian Ye's calves.

The cool sensation slightly eased the piercing soreness.

"Severe muscle fiber strain."

The medical ninja spoke without looking up.

"You're just a civilian Genin, yet you dared to use chakra like that."

"It's a miracle your legs weren't crippled on the spot."

The medical ninja withdrew his hands and picked up a roll of bandages from the tray beside him.

With swift movements, he wrapped Qian Ye's legs tightly.

There was no unnecessary emotional exchange throughout the process.

On a battlefield like a meat grinder, countless people died every day.

A Genin with nothing more than muscle strain was not worth much of a medical ninja's attention.

Qian Ye grimaced in pain.

Yet he did not make a sound.

He knew this was no time to be delicate.

"All right, go find somewhere to stay in the wounded soldiers' camp outside."

The medical ninja pointed out the door.

"The beds need to be kept for the seriously injured."

Qian Ye nodded and slowly stood up with the support of the wall.

The instant his feet touched the ground, a wave of weakness surged straight to his head.

Gritting his teeth, he limped out of the medical room.

The wounded soldiers' camp outside was really just an enormous tent.

It was packed wall to wall with people.

Some had lost hands or feet, some had been burned beyond recognition, and some had been blinded by poison gas.

Screams and groans rose and fell without end.

Qian Ye found a relatively clean corner and sat down.

He rested his back against a cold wooden pillar.

At last, he let out a long breath.

He had survived.

He had truly survived.

Qian Ye closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into his mind.

The Cross-Border Mutual Aid Group interface was still lit up.

He immediately opened the chat window.

"Old Zhao! That rocket you sent was seriously powerful!"

"I blasted that Sunagakure elite straight into the sky. There wasn't even a complete bone left of him."

"If it hadn't been for your support, you'd really have been burning paper offerings for me this time next year."

The message was sent.

The chat window stayed quiet for around ten seconds.

Qian Ye felt a little uneasy. Could something have happened to Old Zhao too?

Just then, a long string of exclamation marks suddenly popped up on the screen.

It was immediately followed by a voice message from Zhao Hai.

Qian Ye hurriedly tapped it to play.

Zhao Hai's broken-gong voice, brimming with wild excitement, exploded directly in Qian Ye's mind.

"Son! Your old man has made it!"

"This massive fortune has finally fallen into my lap!"

"I'm not at East Blue No. 16 Branch anymore. I'm fucking soaring!"

The sudden roar made Qian Ye's head buzz.

He quickly typed a reply.

"Did you find a Devil Fruit? Or rob the Heavenly Tribute?"

Zhao Hai immediately sent another voice message.

"Something even more exciting! That bastard Captain Nezumi got thrown into Impel Down!"

Qian Ye stared at the virtual screen, his mind buzzing.

Captain Nezumi had gone to Impel Down?

The plot had gone completely off the rails.

He hurriedly sent a voice message to ask for details. "What exactly did you do? Nezumi's a local tyrant. How could you bring him down?"

Zhao Hai's voice quickly came through, filled with the ecstatic relief of someone who had survived a disaster.

"That old bastard wanted me dead!"

"After the Straw Hat Crew beat him into a pig's head and he fled back, he was afraid Headquarters would investigate the Arlong matter."

"He needed a scapegoat to take the blame for colluding with pirates."

"I was a lowly errand Marine with no backing, and I'd argued with him before, so I became the perfect target."

Nezumi's logic was simple and brutal.

Dead men could not talk.

As long as he planted fabricated evidence beneath Zhao Hai's bed, then found some excuse to execute him.

The mess involving Arlong would be buried forever with no proof left behind.

Nezumi had even personally brought forged letters and held a flintlock to Zhao Hai's head, forcing him to sign them.

Qian Ye's scalp went numb as he listened.

The underlying rules of this pirate world were no kinder than those of the ninja world.

"And then? How did you turn it around?" Qian Ye typed impatiently.

"He sent two Marine lackeys to the barracks to arrest me." Zhao Hai's tone became utterly smug.

"They thought I was just a useless errand boy."

"I concentrated chakra in my fists and knocked those two bastards down with two punches!"

Zhao Hai had been driven desperate at the time.

Either way, he was dead, so he might as well take a gamble.

After knocking the Marines unconscious, he immediately used the Transformation Technique from the Three Body Techniques you taught him.

He transformed into Captain Nezumi's sharp-faced adjutant.

Then he swaggered into Nezumi's office.

Nezumi was having his broken ribs treated in the infirmary at the time, so there was no one in the office.

Zhao Hai rummaged through everything and found the black ledger in a hidden compartment of the safe.

It recorded, page after page, the split of spoils between Nezumi and Arlong.

"Once I got the ledger, I didn't dare make a sound at the branch."

"Everyone at No. 16 Branch was Nezumi's man. If I showed it, I'd be dead."

"I rushed straight into the communications room and faxed Nezumi's ledger to Marine Headquarters, page by page!"

Seeing that, Qian Ye could not help slapping his thigh.

This move of pulling the rug out from under them was brilliant.

He had bypassed East Blue's entire web of power and blown the roof off the whole thing.

"Headquarters is so far away. Could they deal with it immediately after receiving the fax?" Qian Ye asked the key question.

Zhao Hai burst out laughing, the sound making Qian Ye's ears ache.

"That's because I'm damn lucky!"

"Vice Admiral Garp, the Hero of the Marines, happened to be patrolling East Blue on his Dog-Head Warship!"

"The old man had originally been passing by on his way back to Foosha Village to see his grandson."

"Headquarters received the fax and directly contacted Garp, who was closest."

"Garp's warship was only half a day's voyage from No. 16 Branch."

Zhao Hai vividly described the scene.

Captain Nezumi had just come out of the infirmary and was about to order a citywide hunt for Zhao Hai.

Then a massive black iron ball came flying from the horizon.

The cannonball Garp threw with his bare hands smashed straight through the branch building's roof.

Vice Admiral Garp stepped out onto the rubble, holding a copy of Headquarters' fax.

Nezumi was so terrified that he wet himself on the spot, without even the strength to run.

Garp shattered every tooth in Nezumi's mouth with a single punch.

Then Garp kicked Nezumi more than ten meters away, smashing down the branch's perimeter wall.

Nezumi was embedded in the bricks and passed out on the spot.

The slap to the face had come fast and hard.

Garp directly locked Nezumi and his lackeys up with Seastone handcuffs.

"That old man is terrifying. His fists are bigger than washbasins," Zhao Hai said with lingering fear.

"Then how did Garp take a liking to you?" Qian Ye hurriedly asked the important question.

"After Garp arrested Nezumi, he casually asked who had sent the fax."

"My Transformation Technique chakra had run out by then, so I changed back."

"That old man's eyes are sharp. He spotted the strange flow of energy inside me at a glance."

Observation Haki!

The term immediately popped into Qian Ye's mind.

A top-tier powerhouse like Garp had to possess monstrous senses.

An energy like chakra, which had never appeared in the pirate world, could not possibly escape his notice.

"Garp insisted on testing my skills," Zhao Hai continued.

"How could I dare fight him? I could only grit my teeth and concentrate chakra in my feet to run."

"But that old man laughed three times, then grabbed me by the back of my collar."

"He said my way of exerting force was interesting and that I was promising."

"Then he bundled me up and tossed me onto the Dog-Head Warship!"

Zhao Hai's voice overflowed with barely concealed ecstasy.

"Son! I'm following Garp back to Marine Headquarters at Marineford now!"

"Garp said he'll train me personally!"

"Once I learn Armament Haki, I'll send you good stuff every day!"

After hearing all that, Qian Ye was so jealous he could practically spit bubbles.

Comparing yourself to others really could make you furious.

Here he was, chased all over by Sunagakure and nearly unable to keep even a whole corpse.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hai had directly latched onto the thickest thigh in the pirate world.

Personally trained by Garp— even Koby and Helmeppo had to stand behind him for that treatment.

Training at Marine Headquarters meant gaining direct access to the World Government's core pool of resources.

The Six Powers, Haki training methods, even Devil Fruits.

Things that had once been impossibly out of reach now all had a chance of being obtained.