After dealing with Don Krieg, Ages rested for a while. Once he had recovered his strength, he flew to a reef not far from Changsiluobai Island.
He then boarded a small boat he had prepared earlier and moored beside the reef, and set off for the other two volcanic islands.
Ages repeated what he had done before, using his Devil Fruit power to trigger the active volcanoes and bury all of the Krieg Pirates' remaining four thousand-odd members on the two islands.
After dealing with the remaining Krieg Pirates, Ages took Don Krieg's head and headed for the island where the Marine recruitment office was located.
Marine 44th Branch, East Blue.
A Marine corporal sat with his legs crossed, reading a report that had been urgently delivered that day. He muttered to himself,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Three active volcanoes erupted one after another. That's rare..."
"Report!" A Marine soldier rushed in and spoke urgently.
"Hm? Didn't I tell you not to be so flustered when you do things? Just look at yourself," the Marine corporal scolded, frowning at the panting soldier.
"Officer Johnny, no... no... yes... th-that..."
Johnny frowned even harder as he looked at the soldier, who was panting like a bull and could barely get his words out.
"Why are you so flustered? Calm yourself down before you speak."
The soldier hurriedly composed himself and said,
"Officer Johnny, Vice Admiral Garp suddenly came to our Marine 44th Branch. He's already at the dock."
Bang!
The Marine corporal slammed his palm on the desk, his face full of surprise.
"What did you say? Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier? Quick, quick, go tell my big brother, Colonel Willis!"
"He's already been informed. Colonel Willis sent me to tell you so you could hurry over and welcome Vice Admiral Garp."
Johnny rapped the soldier on the head and said,
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Damn it, hurry, go, go, go! Let's welcome him!"
With that, Johnny rushed toward the dock in a panic.
The soldier watched Johnny run off, the corner of his mouth twitching. At a loss for words, he said,
"Uh... and he told me not to panic. Officer Johnny, you're panicking like crazy yourself..."
Johnny had only taken a few steps outside when he saw a group of people approaching in the distance.
At their head was a tall, dark-skinned old man with a broad chest, a scar over his left eye, and black hair graying at the temples. He wore a Marine coat of justice and ate rice crackers as he walked.
Without another word, Johnny hurried forward and saluted the old man, his eyes full of admiration.
"Marine Corporal Johnny, reporting to Vice Admiral Garp!"
A Marine colonel beside Garp stepped up to Johnny and reproached him.
"Little brother, why did you take so long? Didn't I send someone to tell you to hurry?"
Johnny looked apologetic and was just about to apologize when Garp waved a hand and said,
"Hahahaha, it's fine, it's fine. There's no need for those formalities, hahaha!"
Johnny gazed excitedly at his idol, Marine Garp the Hero, and said,
"Vice Admiral Garp, how come you're here?"
Marine Colonel Willis watched his younger brother Johnny babble in excitement after meeting the idol he admired. He covered his face with one hand and shook his head, thinking,
Little brother, did you even pay attention to the official notice?
Vice Admiral Garp didn't mind Johnny's excitement in the slightest. He laughed heartily and said,
"Hahaha, I came to see if there are any promising recruits this time. Johnny, lad, are there any promising recruits?"
At the mention of promising recruits, Johnny's face fell, and he sighed.
Garp looked at Johnny in confusion and asked,
"What's wrong? Why the long face all of a sudden?"
Johnny looked pained. Remembering that petite figure, he was just about to explain when Garp interrupted him.
Garp twitched his nose and sniffed, then suddenly frowned.
"Hm? What's going on? Why is there such a strong smell of blood all of a sudden?"
With that, Garp turned to look behind him.
Everyone turned to look where Garp was looking.
A handsome young man was approaching from a distance, a faint smile always lingering at the corner of his mouth. He carried a white cloth bag in his hand.
Garp looked closely at the cloth bag in the young man's hand and saw bright red clumps stuck to the bottom of the otherwise pure white bag. He raised an eyebrow and asked curiously,
"What's in that bag? Why does it smell so strongly of blood?"
While Garp was muttering to himself, the young man walked over.
Johnny, who had been wearing a long face, perked up the moment he recognized the young man and called out happily,
"Ages! You're back!"
Yes, the young man was Ages.
Ages smiled faintly, glanced around at everyone, and teased,
"Uncle, did you have to welcome me so grandly? I'm really flattered."
Johnny came up to Ages, looking happy, and said with a laugh,
"Hehe, we're not here to welcome you. Come on, Ages, let me introduce you. This is Vice Admiral Garp, a hero of the Marines!"
Ages looked at Garp, who stood before him with rice crackers in his hand and a smile on his face. His instincts told him that Garp was definitely a powerful man.
Garp laughed, walked up to Ages, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Ages, lad, what are you holding?"
In response to Garp's question, Ages raised the cloth bag in his hand and smiled freely.
"This thing? Hehe, it's my pass to join the Marines."
"A pass? Could you let me see what's inside?" Garp asked, looking bewildered and curious.
"Hehe, sure. Here you go."
The corners of Ages's mouth rose as he chuckled and handed Garp the bag.
Garp took the bag and looked closely at what was inside. He froze for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha... interesting, interesting."