Marine Headquarters fortress, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Several senior Marines were already there, waiting for someone to arrive.
If this had only been about Drake, Loa could have reported directly to Sengoku. There would have been no need to gather everyone here.
But!
Loa had run into Dragon on his way back! That called for a much closer look.
At the head of the desk, Sengoku carefully reviewed Loa's report as he asked Garp beside him, "Dragon's always been cautious. Why would he summon so many senior officers at once? What do you think he's planning?"
The fact that Dragon was Garp's son had long been under a gag order. Few people in the World Government knew, let alone ordinary Marines. But the people in this room were exceptions, so Sengoku went straight to Garp.
A father knew his son best. Even if the two disagreed on everything, Garp ought to have some idea.
Except...
Crunch!
Garp munched on a Senbei without looking up. "How should I know what he's planning? We haven't seen each other in years. Who knows what he's like now!"
Well, he had a point.
But Garp's careless attitude made Sengoku's temper flare. He slammed his hand on the desk. "Garp! Take this seriously! Right now—"
Vice Admiral Tsuru knew where this was going the moment Sengoku moved. She cut him off. "Enough, Sengoku! That's ancient history. What good does arguing about it do now? We need to work out how to respond to the [Censored] Army."
Since it was Tsuru speaking, Sengoku muttered a few complaints and sat back down. Just then, a light knock came at the office door, followed by Loa's voice.
"Reporting in!"
"Come in."
The moment Loa entered, the sight of several top brass arrayed before him like a tribunal gave him