Who Says He Wouldn't Save His Own Kid?

Inside the cell.

Buggy, Alvida, Bartholomew, and the others had been casually thrown onto the floor. Directly across from them were the Straw Hat Pirates, while Arlong was held in the cell beside them.

Luffy had regained consciousness by then. His vitality truly was astounding.

It fit the traits of a Mythical Zoan.

When Wilton had learned that the Gomu Gomu no Mi had turned out to be the Mythical Zoan: Nika Nika no Mi, his brain had practically shriveled up.

If that was how things worked...

Then if he left behind endless legends, ate some random Paramecia Devil Fruit, and someone in the future ate his Devil Fruit, wouldn't it become a Zoan: Mythical Zoan: Wilton-Wilton Fruit?

It was fucking absurd.

Bang—

They crashed hard onto the ground, landing face-first. By sheer coincidence, the impact woke Buggy and the others as well. The two sides stared wide-eyed at each other, then immediately began arguing.

Buggy and Alvida believed all of this was Luffy's fault.

If they had not come looking for revenge against Luffy, they would not have run into the Marines and been captured.

The shouting match went on for two or three hours.

Most of the yelling came from Buggy, though, because Luffy gradually became sleepy in the middle of arguing. During that time, more and more criminals were thrown into the cells—some pirates, some underworld thugs.

There were even mountain bandits.

After asking around, they discovered that every one of them had been caught by that muscular Marine brute. The Marines at the base outside had been run ragged. One punk had merely flirted with an old lady and, by unfortunate coincidence, had been caught in the act.

Not only had he received a brutal beating, he had also been locked up here.

They said he would be sentenced to three years.

At the time, he had been completely dumbfounded.

Three years?

It was practically tyranny. He had protested and begged for mercy, but all he got in return was a savage beating bathed in the radiance of justice.

Overnight.

Because of Wilton, the cells throughout Loguetown were packed to capacity. Smoker stood outside the cells with Tashigi, listening to the clamor within as he fell into deep thought.

This major general's sense of justice seemed even stronger than they had imagined.

Early the next morning.

After Tashigi woke up and washed up, she prepared to begin her daily duties. Passing by the training ground, she found Wilton exercising. Ten one-ton barbells had been stacked together, and he was balanced upside down on one finger, moving up and down as he trained.

It made for quite a sight.

Sweat poured freely from his perfectly sculpted body. Every movement seemed carefully designed, and Wilton maintained the same rhythm throughout.

"Major General Wilton."

"Good morning."

Tashigi stepped forward to greet him.

After seeing his outrageous training in the reception room last time, she was only mildly shocked by this method now. At least she no longer found it as unbelievable as before.

"Good morning, Chief Petty Officer Tashigi."

Wilton switched to another finger and continued.

"Major General Wilton, did you not rest last night?"

Tashigi remembered that Wilton had returned very late last night, yet he was already up training so early. He really was diligent. No wonder he had become a major general at such a young age.

She truly was not working hard enough.

"Yes."

"I refuse to believe that skipping sleep for a night or two will make me drop dead."

"Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, please inform Colonel Smoker. In one hour, I will escort the prisoners to Impel Down. The next time we meet may be on the Grand Line or in the New World."

He only had a few sets left, which would take around thirty minutes. Then he would spend ten minutes soaking in a bath and twenty minutes eating breakfast. In one hour, he could set off for Impel Down.

"Understood."

Tashigi snapped out of it and nodded. Her face was full of admiration and respect. Major General Wilton was not only dedicated to his duties, but trained so hard as well. From yesterday morning until night, he had captured countless criminals.

That sense of responsibility deeply inspired her.

If there were more people like Major General Wilton in the world, perhaps the seas would not be so chaotic, and the world would become more peaceful.

"Oh, right. Please prepare breakfast for fifty people. Also, I would like to take a bath."

"I'll prepare it right away."

Tashigi was not frightened by the request for fifty portions of breakfast. Sometimes, after training, she could eat five people's worth of food herself.

One hour later.

At the harbor.

Arlong, Buggy, Alvida, Bartholomew, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp all wore handcuffs as a group of Marines escorted them onto a warship.

Nami and Usopp wailed miserably.

They had been caught before even leaving the East Blue. Now they would have to suffer endless imprisonment. From now on, their freedom, treasure, and dreams were all gone.

The thought filled them with bitterness and despair.

As they looked out at the vast, magnificent sea, the others also wore dejected expressions. Even Luffy hung his head. Only Arlong continued to sneer, while Buggy cursed nonstop.

"Shahahah!"

"I heard Impel Down is the World's Greatest Prison. Once you enter, you can never escape. It's more terrifying than death. Are you ready?"

Arlong stood there with handcuffs on both hands, his face full of arrogance and smug delight. He looked at Luffy, Nami, and the others with undisguised schadenfreude. He had thought he would never see these people again.

He had not expected the surprise to come so soon.

After only a few days, they had met again, and they were even being escorted to Impel Down together.

If he alone had been sent there, his spirits certainly would not have been this high. But right now, all he wanted to say was that it felt so damn good.

In some ways, the Straw Hat Pirates could be considered his burial companions.

Pah—

They deserved it.

This was what they got for meddling in other people's business.

"Hey, hey, hey! You Marine named Wilton, are you really not going to consider letting me go? If you release me, you can get a treasure map. A treasure map!"

Buggy attempted to bribe his way out.

Naturally, he had heard of the World's Greatest Prison. Since its founding, only Golden Lion, Captain Roger's rival, had ever escaped. Even then, he had paid the price of both legs.

Buggy did not possess Golden Lion's strength. If he went in there, he could forget about ever coming back out to search for treasure.

"A treasure map?"

Nami, who had been wearing a despairing expression, widened her eyes. Her face was filled with excitement and agitation, but when she lowered her head and saw the handcuffs on her wrists, she wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.

Wilton was speaking with Smoker. Without even turning his head, he waved a hand, signaling his subordinates to hurry up and take these people aboard. His Observation Haki had already spread out to its maximum range.

What was going on?

Dragon still had not appeared. Was he really not going to save his own kid?

Wilton knew that sending Luffy to Impel Down was unrealistic. As long as Dragon was in Loguetown, it would be impossible to succeed.

Still, he held on to a tiny shred of hope.

What if his presence as a little butterfly had changed the plot?

Anyway, if Dragon dared not to appear, Wilton dared to send Luffy in.

"Major General Wilton, have a safe journey."

Once their conversation ended.

Tashigi and the Marines behind her all gave a military salute, their expressions solemn. They had only spent one day together, but the overcrowded cells full of criminals at the base already proved everything.

Moreover, Major General Wilton was always brimming with energy. That positive, enthusiastic attitude easily influenced the emotions of those around him.

It was incredibly uplifting.

"Wihahaha."

"Of course."

"Smoker, Tashigi, the East Blue is too small. I hope to see you in the Grand Line or the New World someday, because those places need justice even more."

Wilton gripped dumbbells in both hands and continuously trained his biceps. He believed Smoker and Tashigi were both quite good.

He also needed some voices of support within the Marines.