After the Marine meeting ended, Wuli wanted to thank Garp.
But Garp merely smiled at him, then left with Sengoku and Tsuru without giving him a chance to speak.
Shu, who rarely spoke, took the unusual step of asking quietly, "Wuli, did you offend Vice Admiral Garp?"
He was far from the only one who thought so. Otherwise, why would Vice Admiral Garp, the Marine Hero, have insisted that Wuli be promoted only to commodore? Garp had said Wuli had failed to appear when the Marines needed him most or join their campaign against Zephyr.
It sounded like Garp had high expectations for Wuli, but everyone knew Wuli had vanished after fighting the Blackbeard Pirates. No one had known where he was or whether he was even alive. Expecting him to show up had been unreasonable.
Helmeppo looked puzzled too. He turned to Koby, who was deep in thought, and asked, "I thought Wuli and Vice Admiral Garp got along pretty well. I never expected Garp to oppose making him a vice admiral. He practically settled the matter himself—even rear admiral was off the table. Wuli only got commodore."
As the Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp's words carried weight with everyone. So although Sakazuki had intended to promote Wuli to rear admiral, once Garp had spoken, that was that.
Koby was baffled as well. Why had Vice Admiral Garp suddenly attended the meeting, then taken such an interest in—and even intervened in—the commendation of a Marine newcomer?
He recalled the conversation between Garp and Wuli that night. He had a feeling things were not as simple as they appeared, but he still could not work out why.
Hina was puzzled too. She had wanted to use this opportunity to recommend Wuli for a direct promotion to vice admiral. With Garp's