A Chance Encounter with Garp

At present, the entire Royal Treasury held less than two hundred million Beli at most. For Nova, that amount could barely cover the people's food needs.

So even if he could not increase his strength, Nova would not entertain any thoughts of taking what was in the treasury.

After studying the Treasure Map for quite some time, Nova was surprised. The place names marked on it were clearly within his own country. Yet the key issue was that from the day he was born until now, he had never even left the kingdom's capital, much less learned about matters beyond it.

After thinking in that small room for a long time, Nova finally stood up, picked up the Demon Blade, and walked out.

"Have Junhe come see me. Tell him I need to speak with him."

Nova gave the order to the maid standing guard outside the room.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Now that things were beginning to take shape, he naturally needed to follow the Treasure Map. There was no need to hold back, since it would be useless otherwise.

About half an hour after returning to the palace hall, Junhe hurried over.

The moment he saw Nova, Junhe respectfully called out, "Your Majesty, I heard you were looking for me?"

"Yes. Do you know of a place called Shiwu Mountain within our country?" Nova asked directly.

"Your Majesty, I truly have not heard of that place. Why are you suddenly asking about it?" Junhe asked.

Nova did not hide anything. He directly took out the Treasure Map left to him by the former king and handed it over.

Junhe looked at it, then seemed puzzled as he said to Nova, "Your Majesty, this should be Battlila. It is the area of our country closest to the Roa Kingdom."

"Is it far from here?" Nova asked.

"Not particularly far. Our country is only so large, after all. But it would still take at least a day to get there."

Junhe answered directly. Nova also felt inexplicably familiar with the name, but even after thinking for a long time, he still could not remember where it was.

"Come tomorrow morning. We will go there together," Nova ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Even with those arrangements made, Nova still had to continue his daily training.

The running, push-ups, and frog jumps that had accompanied him for so many years could now be completed in less than half an hour.

It was only ten kilometers. If he used his abilities, he could probably finish it in two minutes.

But he would not cut corners and rush through it. Training like this still had to be taken seriously.

The next day, almost as soon as dawn broke, they were already sailing at sea. This was Nova's first time leaving the area where the palace was located.

His expression looked calm, but his heart had long since begun to stir restlessly.

After all, in the world of the Pirate King, most people longed for freedom. But could such freedom truly exist?

They traveled almost entirely along the coastline, observing the conditions in which people lived in various places. At least everywhere he looked, the people were living in misery.

That was precisely why Nova was determined to change the current state of this country.

The ship they were riding was the one those pirates had once used. It was quite large and could easily hold three to five hundred people. More importantly, after changing the ship's flag, it looked far more imposing and dignified.

As for the former owners of the ship, nearly all of them were now doing basic construction work within the royal city's territory.

"The feeling of being out on the sea is wonderful. Once things here have settled down, I want to travel around and see the world properly too," Nova murmured as he stood at the bow.

"Your Majesty will definitely achieve that. At the very least, we all believe in you. The future of the country rests in your hands!"

After Nova spoke, a maid behind him smiled and said those words.

Nova enjoyed that feeling. He turned to look at the maid, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "The future of the country rests in all of our hands. If it depended on me alone, I might not be able to accomplish anything in the end."

"Your Majesty is right, but Reina is still honored to be able to serve at Your Majesty's side," the young maid said.

"I hope everything turns out as we imagine. Then, at least in many matters, we will not have to worry about the future anymore," Nova said softly.

Around fifty people had come along this time, each with their own duties. Nova did not want to make this journey too conspicuous. Moving forward quietly like this was good enough.

However, things were not as simple as he had imagined. Even in the calm and peaceful South Blue, unexpected accidents could still occur.

Before they had even traveled halfway to their destination, a Marine warship appeared directly ahead. The seagull flag fluttered from its mast, visible clearly even from far away.

What truly surprised Nova was not the mast, but the design of the Marine warship itself.

"Your Majesty, a Marine warship has been spotted ahead. What should we do?" Junhe hurried over and asked.

"Do nothing. Remember, no matter what happens later, do not reveal any of your abilities," Nova said sternly.

Junhe had always wanted to ask why, but even after several years of training, Nova had never explained it to any of them.

Nova stared at the Marine warship about a kilometer away. The dog-head design made it obvious at a glance who was aboard.

"Steer clear of the Marine warship at full speed. Try not to have any contact with the people aboard it," Nova ordered again.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

"So it really is Garp? What a surprise. To encounter the Iron Fist Vice Admiral of the Marines here in the South Blue..." Nova muttered quietly as he continued looking ahead from the bow.

He did not want any conflict with the other side right now. He did not even want to meet them. He had no idea what might happen, and he still did not know why they had come to the South Blue.

The Marine warship and their own ship were nearly heading straight toward one another. But under Nova's orders, the massive vessel slowly turned aside.

When the two ships drew near, they narrowly avoided each other.

But how could things end so easily? Just as everyone was preparing to let out a breath of relief, a middle-aged man in a suit appeared aboard Nova's ship—more precisely, on its deck.

A Justice Coat was draped over his shoulders, making him especially conspicuous. With his powerful muscles and square face, Nova immediately confirmed his identity. This was undoubtedly the Marines' Iron Fist Garp.

"Wahahaha... So this wasn't a pirate ship. I nearly smashed it to pieces with one punch just now. Good thing I didn't!"

Garp stood on the deck, completely unconcerned with everyone else's stares as he burst into laughter.

Nova was speechless, but he still stepped forward and respectfully said, "Iron Fist Vice Admiral Garp, I never expected to encounter you in the South Blue. It is truly an honor."

"You little fellow know me?" Garp asked curiously, though there was no hostility in his eyes.

"Of course I know you. You may not know me, though. I am Nova, King of Tru. Ever since I was young, I often heard my father mention you. I never thought I would meet you today," Nova said with a smile.

When Garp first appeared, Junhe and the others had all been on guard. But after hearing their conversation, they gradually lowered their vigilance.

Garp became even more curious. Looking at Nova, he asked, "I didn't expect someone as young as you to already be the king of a country. Looks like you carry quite a burden. Your country isn't doing so well right now, is it?"

"Thank you for your concern, Vice Admiral Garp. I believe the Tru Kingdom will improve in the days ahead."

"Haha, you little fellow are quite interesting. How about joining the Marines and working under me?"

Garp looked directly at Nova as he asked.

Nova rolled his eyes. Garp was openly trying to poach him. It was truly rather absurd.

"Vice Admiral Garp, if I were not the King of Tru, I would certainly be happy—rather, willing—to follow you. But as you can see, there are many citizens behind me who are waiting for me to lead them toward a better life. I am afraid I cannot accept your offer this time," Nova said with a smile.

"Mm... You have a point, little fellow. Your country truly isn't doing very well. It is far too poor. If being king ever stops being fun, come find me in the Marines. I will definitely save a good position for you," Garp said with a laugh.

"Thank you for your concern, Vice Admiral. If I have the chance in the future, I will certainly consider it."

"Where are you headed? Let's see if we are going the same way. I can protect you for part of the journey."

As soon as Nova finished speaking, Garp asked directly.

"Thank you for your concern, Vice Admiral, but His Majesty is simply inspecting the current state of the country so that he can determine how to respond and resolve matters moving forward," Junhe said before Nova could answer.

Garp's eyes turned sharp for an instant as he stared directly at Junhe, but it lasted only a moment.

Then his expression returned to normal. He still wore a smile, with a Dog-head Hat atop his head.

After observing everyone aboard the ship for quite some time, Garp smiled at Nova and said, "In that case, I will be leaving first. I believe we will meet again someday."

No one else understood what the old man meant. Had he boarded their ship just to say a few words?

But then something happened that shocked Junhe. Garp stepped on the air with Geppo and instantly shot into the sky, racing through the air toward his Marine warship.

Only then did Junhe begin to understand why Nova had forbidden them from displaying their abilities from the beginning.

If his guess was correct, those training methods and abilities must be deeply connected to the Marines.

After returning to the warship, Garp had just sat down when an impatient voice sounded behind him. "Garp, if you want to leave for something, can you tell us in advance?"

"Tsuru, there is no need to be so nervous. I only went over to take a look," Garp said with a serious expression.

"Did you discover something?" Tsuru asked directly.

She could tell from Garp's expression that the people on that ship might not be as simple as they appeared, so she put on a serious face as well.

"The people aboard that ship are not simple. I never expected such combat power to emerge from a tiny country like the Tru Kingdom," Garp said.

"What do you mean by that? Are they Devil Fruit users?" Tsuru asked worriedly.

"No. I simply noticed that their physical training is incredibly solid. They can even compare with the outstanding members of our Marines," Garp said directly.

"So that is what you meant! People in many places can achieve that as long as they train hard enough. What is so surprising about it?" Tsuru said indifferently.

"You would not understand even if I explained it. There is no need to discuss this further with you. Perhaps I really will meet that little fellow again in the future. He is quite an interesting person."

Garp smiled faintly and did not dwell on the matter further.

After all, Tsuru was right in many ways. If others trained properly, they could also reach the level of those Marines.

He was not yet certain whether what he had seen was correct or mistaken, which was why he had gone aboard their ship to test them. But the result seemed almost exactly as he had expected.

Still, Garp did not pay too much attention to it. As long as they were not pirates, possessing such strength was perfectly normal for a country.

After all, he understood very well that if a country did not have several powerful people, then when facing pirates, it would be in an almost completely one-sided and dangerous situation.