Marineford Calendar 1497?

Chief Officer Tsuru was more inclined to believe this was the prank of some bored fool.

In Garp's view, a legendary Pirate Ship—Oro Jackson—meticulously maintained and even gleaming as if brand-new, was cleaving through the Waves at astonishing speed, heading straight for the bow of Dog Head!

Its distinctive goat figurehead sparkled beneath the sunlight, painfully familiar.

Inside the cabin of the Oro Jackson.

Gaban, his face twenty years younger, bearded yet brimming with vigor, lowered his telescope and clutched his stomach. His shoulders shook violently, and his face turned red from holding back laughter.

"Pfft... Hahaha... I can't take it! That old Sengoku practically shot his glasses off! Garp's jaw is about to drop into the sea! Chief Officer Tsuru is still pretending to stay calm! This is too good!"

As he spoke, he hammered the wooden barrel beside him.

The equally youthful Rayleigh leaned against the cabin wall and rubbed his temples helplessly. "Gaban, Allen told us to 'invite' them back, not scare them into having heart attacks."

Gaban finally managed to stop laughing. Wiping away his tears, his eyes gleamed mischievously. "Rayleigh, you just don't get it! What fun is it to grab them outright? Giving them a 'surprise' is much more entertaining! Come on, listen up!"

He lowered his voice and gathered all the crew members in the cabin, including several young officers struggling not to laugh.

"Put on an act later! Remember! We're the Roger Pirates from twenty years ago, Marineford Calendar 1497! We 'traveled through time' to get here! None of us knows why Garp, Sengoku, and the others have gotten so old! Got it?"

The crew exchanged looks, then burst into suppressed snickers and excited whispers.

"Got it, Boss Gaban!"

"Don't worry, we're experts at playing dumb!"

"Captain Roger... uh, he's in the bathroom, right?"

Another round of muffled laughter followed.

Rayleigh looked at the enthusiastic crew, then imagined the expressions of his old friends aboard Dog Head. In the end, he sighed, though an almost imperceptible curve touched his lips. "...Do as you please. Just don't take it too far." He tacitly approved Gaban's "time-travel script."

The two ships drew closer. Oro Jackson nimbly adjusted its course, running parallel to Dog Head at a distance of roughly twenty meters.

Gaban darted to the most conspicuous spot at the bow, planted both hands on his hips, and put every ounce of his strength into looking utterly shocked and confused.

Pointing at the three people aboard Dog Head, he boomed in an exaggerated tone, "Good heavens!!! Garp! Sengoku! Lady Tsuru! Is that really you?! Oh, Sea God! How did you get so old?! Your wrinkles could crush Sea Kings to death!"

Gaban deliberately traced exaggerated wrinkles across his own face with his hand.

Rayleigh stepped beside Gaban at just the right moment. Frowning, he studied Dog Head with a grave expression, especially its Marine insignia and soldiers.

Lowering his voice, he "solemnly" said to Gaban at a volume just loud enough for the other side to hear, "Gaban, calm down! This is too suspicious! Oro Jackson only left Water Pioneer Star Island not long ago. How could Garp, Sengoku, and the others have aged so quickly? Careful! This is very likely the Marines' newest invention—the Bionic Aging Capture Device! A trap designed specifically to confuse us and lower our guard!"

Gaban immediately looked enlightened. Fear flashed across his face as he yanked out the twin axes strapped to his back and assumed a fighting stance. He anxiously roared toward the cabin, "Minions! Hurry! Go tell the captain in the bathroom! Something terrible has happened! The Marines sent a bunch of Bionic monsters wearing old-age makeup to capture us! Prepare for battle!"

After that entire performance, the deck of Dog Head fell into Deathly Silence.

Garp's telescope hit the deck with a clatter.

Sengoku's freshly cleaned glasses slipped down again. He froze in place with one hand still raised to catch them.

Chief Officer Tsuru's hand, holding her teacup, stopped in midair, the tea trembling slightly.

Though Fujitora could not see, his powerful Observation Haki clearly "felt" the instantaneously frozen heartbeats and breaths of those around him, as well as the tightly suppressed yet volcano-like emotional surges of "joy" aboard Oro Jackson.

The calmness on his face turned into profound confusion.

Every Marine Soldier stood with their jaws collectively hanging open.

Roger... was in the bathroom? They had to notify him that the Marines had arrived? The amount of information was too absurd, too overwhelming. Their CPUs had collectively burned out!

Amid the Deathly Silence, Chief Officer Tsuru slowly set down her teacup. Her voice remained steady, though it carried a hint of barely detectable sharpness. "Gaban, you just said... 'Marineford Calendar 1497'? You left Water Pioneer Star Island?"

Gaban wore an "innocent" expression. "That's right! 1497! What's wrong? Lady Tsuru, has your dementia set in early? Can't even remember the year anymore?"

The words "dementia" made the soldiers aboard Dog Head suck in cold breaths.

Tsuru took a deep breath, swept her gaze over Garp and Sengoku, who were still in a crashed state, and spoke in a clear, certain voice. "It seems there is only one explanation. It was not them who traveled through time. It was us... Dog Head somehow sailed into a time vortex during our voyage and returned to Marineford Calendar 1497, more than twenty years ago!"

"What?!!"

Garp's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he grabbed his hair. "Little Tsuru! You're saying we... we failed to become young again, and traveled through time instead?! That's even more absurd than Vice Admiral Garp punching Marineford into the sea!"

Sengoku stood there with his mouth open, making hoarse sounds in his throat. It felt as though his brain's CPU had completely overloaded and started smoking, shattering his entire worldview.

Time travel? This had gone beyond the limits of both his knowledge and imagination!

Just as the Marines, especially Garp and Sengoku, were left reeling by Tsuru's "time-travel theory," an even bolder, more vigorous laugh—seemingly carrying the scent of sea breeze and sunlight—rang out from the waters to their flank. "Gurararara!!! Garp! Sengoku! Chief Officer Tsuru! The world is truly full of unexpected reunions!"

"After decades apart, I actually ran into you old geezers again in the New World?"

A massive Pirate Ship, like a white whale—Moby Dick—rode the wind and Waves toward them.

At its bow stood an extraordinarily tall and burly man with knotted muscles, a dazzling mane of long golden curls, and Murakumogiri, one of the Supreme Grade Swords, in his hand!

It was Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, in his prime—young beyond belief!

Standing beside him was the First Division Captain, Phoenix Marco.

Behind them stood the weapon-bearing Division Captains.

Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar cascade of golden curls and that body brimming with explosive power, Garp instinctively retorted, "Newgate? You... didn't you fight this old man near the G-1 Branch just a few days ago?!"

Whitebeard's hearty smile stiffened for a moment. Then he looked at Garp as though he were an idiot.