Lay It on Thick / The Deadliest

A red square-patterned tattoo marked the left side of his face.

Ahem. On closer inspection...

It really did look a little like the sole of those sandals Garp always wore.

His face looked rather fierce overall, mainly because the man had no eyebrows.

So even when he smiled, there was something sinister about him.

It was hard to believe this guy was a Revolutionary.

Yet just a few exchanges were enough to show how sharp he was.

Rather than answer Atlas's pointed provocation, he tried to use Garp to bring them closer.

"Heh..."

Atlas gave a cold laugh and offered no answer.

"And thank you for looking after Luffy. Given my father's way of raising children, I was honestly a little worried about how Luffy would turn out."

Dragon seemed to recall something unpleasant, and his expression turned strange.

He had trained under Garp since childhood. Naturally, he knew Garp's "if it won't kill you, push until it nearly does" approach all too well.

"No problem. I'm fond of little Luffy too. He's got promise as a Marine. Maybe one day he'll finish the path you left unfinished—and become the next Marine Admiral."

Atlas spoke evenly.

As far as she knew, Dragon had served in the Marines for a time.

He had joined in the same era as Akainu and the others, having grown up under Garp's heavy-handed tutelage.

But unlike Luffy, he had never been guided by Red-Haired. So, just as Garp had hoped, he became a Marine.

Perhaps he had seen too much of the World Government's darkness during his service, and lacked Garp's ability to shrug it all off.

In the end, he left the Marines.

That was right: he left. He had not defected!

After vanishing from sight for a while, he had finally resurfaced not