Farewell

"I'm Marine Vice Admiral Garp."

Rubick stared in shock, unable to stop himself from blurting out, "Holy shit."

Card said with interest, "Looks like you know me."

Rubick tried hard to calm himself down, silently thanking his lucky stars that the man before him was Garp. "You're the hero of the Marines. Who hasn't heard of you..."

Rubick stared speechlessly at Garp, who had fallen asleep right in front of him. His sleeping posture was absurd, too: his head tipped so far back that his neck was nearly bent at ninety degrees.

Rubick looked at Bogard, who could only offer a stiff introduction. "I'm Bogard, Vice Admiral Garp's aide."

Pop!

The snot bubble on Garp's nose burst, and he woke up at once, completely unaware that he had just fallen asleep. He went straight to the point. "I hear you have the Smoke-Smoke Fruit too?"

"Well... the thing is..."

Rubick was still trying to figure out how to explain when the grim-faced Bogard, without waiting to hear him out, thrust his long sword straight through Rubick's body.

Bogard was so fast that Rubick had no time to react. The instant his brain registered danger, his body automatically assumed Elemental Form and turned into smoke. Luckily, Bogard had thrust with the sheath still on. Luckier still, he hadn't used Haki.

Garp chuckled. "Rubick, was it? I'd like to hear your explanation. This is the first time I've heard of two people having the same Devil Fruit power."

Rubick had no choice. When someone else held all the cards, he had to play along. "I ate the Copy-Copy Fruit. I can copy other people's Devil Fruit powers."

"That's really possible?"

Garp immediately said, "Come aboard my Warship. I'll need to observe you for a while. Once I'm sure you're not a bad guy, I'll let you go."

"Can I refuse?"

Neither Garp nor Bogard answered, but Bogard's sheath was already coated in Haki.

Rubick said awkwardly, "Then I need to let my friend know, or she'll worry about me."

"I'll go with you," Bogard said. "Make it quick. We set sail in half an hour."

Rubick returned to the hotel and opened the door, looking utterly dejected. Nami smiled and greeted him when she saw him return, but her expression immediately darkened when she spotted Bogard behind him and the Marine Cape on his back.

"Old man, what's the meaning of this?"

Sure, I've stolen plenty of money, but did you really need to bring a Vice Admiral to arrest me? What did I do to deserve that?

"Well, uh, I'm going to spend some time training with the Marines," Rubick said. "I won't be able to work as a bounty hunter for a while."

As he spoke, Rubick took out all the money Nami had given him yesterday and set it on the coffee table. "Take good care of yourself while you're on your own."

"Old man!"

Nami didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In all her years roaming the East Blue, she had never met anyone like Rubick. He was already twenty-eight, yet still as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.

Of course, if Nami had known what was going on inside Rubick's head, she wouldn't have thought that.

Rubick stepped outside, then turned back to say goodbye. "Nami, I'll come find you someday."

After closing the door, Rubick was moved by his own performance. "Ah, farewells are always sad," he murmured to himself. "That went pretty well."

Bogard said bluntly, "I think she's very happy right now."

Rubick took several deep breaths to compose himself. "I don't believe it. That was such an emotional moment. There's no way she wouldn't shed a single tear for me."

Bogard checked with his Observation Haki, then decided against crushing the man's spirits. He might as well let him wallow in his own sentimentality.

Inside the room, Nami stood dazed for a moment before happily bouncing on the sofa. Who wouldn't be delighted to get a million Beli for free?

"Looks like I need to find my next partner."

Nami counted the money, showing not the slightest trace of sadness.

With a little time still left, Rubick used his spending money to get a haircut and a new set of clothes. By the time he boarded Garp's Warship, he looked like a new man.

Rubick wasn't handsome to begin with, though his features were fairly regular. Anyone who had seen that composite image of the average Southerner's face would have a pretty good idea of what Rubick looked like.

His forehead wasn't particularly full, and his hairline sat four finger-widths back. A middle part was out of the question, so he settled for the classic "short sides, textured top."

His clothes were simple, too: a gray T-shirt, black cargo pants, brown combat boots, and a brown hooded trench coat over it all.

What was this look? The classic Devil May Cry Demon Hunter look. Unfortunately, Rubick didn't have a flashy two-handed sword.

Garp was still standing at the very front of the Deck. When he saw Rubick come aboard, he roared with laughter. "Well? Did you cry your eyes out when you broke up with your little girlfriend?"

Bogard said with a perfectly straight face, "The girl was absolutely delighted. Some fellow who got carried away with his own sentimentality gave her a million Beli before he left."

Rubick desperately wanted to punch Bogard twice, but he clearly couldn't beat him in a fight. He could only shoot him two fierce glares.

Bogard lowered the brim of his hat, hiding the smile he could no longer hold back.

Garp had already reported Rubick's Copy-Copy Fruit to Sengoku. All he needed to do now was keep Rubick close and wait for orders from above. He waved a hand. "Men, set sail! Next stop, Foosha Village!"

The warship left Hammer Town. Standing on the balcony, Nami watched it sail farther and farther away and couldn't help sighing.

She covered her left shoulder, gripping it hard with all five fingers, and murmured, "An innocent guy like you is better off with the Marines. The sea really isn't for you."

The Warship's propulsion system was in a class of its own. They reached Foosha Village in just two days.

Garp gave all the Marines shore leave. Most of the men aboard his ship were East Blue locals, too. Whenever he came home to visit his grandson, he ought to give his men a few perks as well.

Of course, whenever that happened, Bogard was the one who stayed aboard to guard the ship.

Bogard rapped irritably on the wooden door with his sword sheath, and Rubick dragged himself out of bed, bleary-eyed.

"What is it? Time to eat?"

Remembering Rubick's horrifying table manners, Bogard immediately had a vein bulge on his forehead.

"We're at Foosha Village. Get off the ship."

"Coming, coming."

Rubick was still quite afraid of Bogard. Garp's status kept him from doing much to Rubick, but Bogard really did hit him—with Haki, no less.

"Finally off the ship. Two days of rocking nearly scrambled my brains."

Garp called, "Rubick, come with me. I'll take you to meet someone."

Rubick asked excitedly, "Who? Your grandson?"

The old man mentioned Luffy plenty of times every day, and Rubick himself had long been looking forward to meeting him.

"That's right. I've got a job for you when we get there. Beat the hell out of him!"

Garp grinned wickedly. "Let's see if he still dares to become a Pirate after that!"