For a moment, the atmosphere in the Conference Room turned ice-cold.
"Garp." After rebuking him, Sengoku gave him a meaningful look.
"Hmph!" Garp snorted and sat back down, not particularly bothered.
He had always handled Dragon's affairs himself anyway. Kong was probably just making his stance clear...
Watching Garp's expression, Kong frowned slightly. He tapped his knuckles twice on the table, then suddenly turned his gaze toward a corner at the far end.
There, Gern was leisurely tearing up the meeting minutes and rolling them into paper balls. Under Sengoku's murderous glare, he flicked one with a whoosh at Borsalino, who was dozing across from him.
The paper ball traced a perfect arc and slipped precisely into Kizaru's twitching nostril.
"Achoo!" As Kizaru rubbed his nose and looked up, Kong's voice boomed like muffled thunder. "Gern!"
"Present!" Gern answered instinctively.
"I'm assigning this matter to you."
Gern still had a second paper ball between his fingers. At those words, he turned his wrist, and the evidence slipped soundlessly into his sleeve.
Then he blinked and pointed at himself, feigning confusion. "Me?"
"That's right," Kong said gravely. "We must curb the Revolutionary Army's activities, but an outright war would only make the situation more chaotic.
"Investigate Dragon's movements. If necessary... you may use force. If you can bring him back under arrest, all the better."
"Fleet Admiral Kong! What do you mean by that?" Garp shot to his feet again. "You're sending Gern after Dragon?!
"He's my son! Haven't I always been the one handling this?!"
Kong said coldly, "Garp, it's precisely because he's your son that I won't send you! You'll protect him!"
Garp's clenched fists cracked, but in the end, he dropped heavily back into his chair and gritted out, "Do whatever you want!"
*(As if Gern wasn't my