"What a smug captain."
Carlmand did not argue with Kazu. After all, the man really was strong, having fought a Marine Admiral like that.
But that did not stop him from finding Kazu irritating. What a show-off.
Damn it, why hadn't he been the one showing off just now!!!
"You're so cool, Captain."
"I want to be as strong as you someday, too!!"
Behrens's thoughts were much simpler. He was just saying what was on his mind.
"Hehehe, all right, all right, we know you're strong."
"You must be starving. I made plenty of food earlier and was just waiting for you to come back. Come on, let's go to the kitchen."
Makino pulled Kazu toward the kitchen. Carlmand's stomach was rumbling too, and he followed them without being asked.
Behrens had already eaten earlier, so he took the initiative to steer the ship. They needed to leave this place first.
Kazu and the others left Loguetown and headed toward the Grand Line.
Aokiji called over the remaining soldiers at the base to give Smoker emergency bandaging, then sent the other fallen soldiers for treatment.
Only then did Aokiji learn from the soldiers that headquarters had already urgently dispatched Vice Admiral Garp to reinforce Loguetown.
But the fighting between Aokiji and Kazu had been so intense that ordinary people could not approach the battlefield at all, leaving them no chance to tell Aokiji.
Never mind them-even Smoker might have been cut down by Kazu if he had approached, and he might have dragged Aokiji into trouble too.
If Aokiji had been seriously wounded while rescuing Smoker, the battle's outcome would have been even more certain.
Aokiji also understood why Kazu had chosen to retreat without warning.
The range of his Observation Haki far exceeded Aokiji's expectations. He had probably detected Vice Admiral Garp ahead of time and chosen to evacuate immediately.
Thud!
Thud!!!
The sounds of something tearing through the air came from the sea, and Aokiji and Smoker looked toward the harbor.
The distinctive Dog-Head Warship gradually came into view. Garp and his men were rapidly approaching Loguetown.
Aokiji had taken three days to arrive by bicycle, but Garp had forced his way here in just half a day.
There was no helping it. Aokiji cycling on his own was already faster than an ordinary warship, and not everyone could use Garp's method of acceleration.
"Bwahahaha!"
"Kuzan, where's that pirate called Kazu!"
Before he even arrived, Garp's booming voice had already carried throughout Loguetown's harbor.
The Dog-Head Warship dropped from the air into the harbor, sending up a perfect-score splash.
Garp leaped high into the air, then landed directly on the harbor without cushioning his fall at all.
Boom!
With a tremendous crash, Garp's feet stamped a huge crater into the ground, sending clouds of dust into the air.
Garp strode out of the dust, his imposing presence at its peak, determined to personally exchange blows with that Kazu.
"Arara."
"You're a step too late, Vice Admiral Garp. That guy already withdrew a little while ago."
Aokiji scratched the back of his head helplessly, making his sheep's-rump-like hair quiver.
None of them had Kazu's monstrous detection range. Even if Vice Admiral Kazu had arrived a little earlier, the result would have been the same.
"What!"
"That guy already ran away!"
"Damn it, I came all this way and didn't even get to see his face."
Garp was filled with regret. Baring his teeth and clenching his fist, he wished he could plant an iron fist on Kazu's head right that instant.
Aokiji then gave Garp a detailed account of Kazu's individual abilities.
His Armament Haki was excellent. Although his Observation Haki was not that precise, its range was frighteningly vast.
He possessed Conqueror's Haki, but had not reached the level of coating.
He possessed the swordsmanship of a great swordsman, and his style was very unusual. Aokiji had never seen it anywhere else.
The biggest headache was still his fruit ability. As a Space-Space Fruit user, his long-distance capabilities were unclear, but over short distances, at least, his mobility surpassed even Borsalino's.
When fighting him, Aokiji was constantly ambushed from behind. His sneaky bastard tactics were impossible to guard against.
After hearing Aokiji's account, Garp fell silent for a moment, a rare occurrence.
His mobility was actually better than Borsalino's. No wonder Aokiji had struggled so much.
On top of that, his offensive methods were also outstanding. The slightest lapse could leave his opponent seriously wounded and lead to defeat.
As far as Aokiji was concerned, he would rather fight someone like Akainu for three hundred rounds than get tangled up with Kazu.
He had to keep his Observation Haki pushed to its limit the entire time, which was utterly exhausting.
"Forget it. Since he's already fled, he presumably understood that he still had no chance of winning against both of us at once."
"He likes using that ability to attack from behind. Against multiple powerful opponents, it'd be hard for him to pull that off easily."
Garp picked his nose, then headed back toward the harbor with his teeth bared.
"I'll leave the report and cleanup to you, Kuzan."
Without giving Aokiji a chance to object, Garp had already breezily returned to his Dog-Head Warship.
In any case, he had come to Loguetown as agreed. His opponent had run away beforehand, so that was not his responsibility.
Nobody's cutting into my vacation. What matters is going home first and stringing up that grandson of mine, Luffy, for a beating.
He actually wants to become a pirate. He's completely out of control. My Fist of Love has been itching for action for ages.
Watching old Garp leave as abruptly as he had arrived, Aokiji and Smoker were both speechless.
"Ararara, Teacher Garp sure runs fast."
"It's like he's terrified someone will make him work."
Post-battle restoration really was a headache, especially the funding. Headquarters was not wealthy either and relied on annual funding from the World Government.
Without Kuzan, a Marine Admiral, stepping in, Smoker could forget about getting all the funding approved in one go.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Seeing that the work in Loguetown was proceeding in an orderly fashion and his friend Smoker's injuries had stabilized, Aokiji felt much more at ease.
"Are you leaving, Kuzan?"
When Smoker saw Kuzan carefully wiping down his bicycle, he knew he was about to leave.
"There's nothing major left here. There are still plenty of missions for me across the Four Blues. Headquarters has already called several times to hurry me along. Even if I wanted to stay here and slack off, they wouldn't let me."
Then Aokiji glanced at where Smoker's left hand had been and said, "Oh, right. I've already applied for a prosthetic for you. Headquarters' research and development department will speed up its production."
Under Smoker's gaze, Aokiji rode his beloved bicycle slowly away from the harbor, which had been changed beyond recognition.
Smoker clenched his right hand with a cigar between his teeth, his gaze drifting toward the distant sea.
"I'm still too weak."
Smoker made up his mind. In the days ahead, he would focus on training his physical combat skills and Haki. Without those abilities, he would spend his whole life catching small-time pirates in the East Blue.
"Her Kazi, I'll arrest you with my own hands."
"Finally here!!"
"Go relax in town. You're all on leave for the month too."
After giving his instructions, Garp left the warship and returned to Foosha Village alone.
"Luffy!!"
"You little bastard, get out here!!"
Garp's booming voice carried across half the village.
Luffy, who was still drinking milk in the tavern, shuddered all over and felt his head suddenly begin to ache.
"Oh no, Grandpa's back!"
Makino had left Foosha Village, and the village chief was looking after the tavern. It no longer sold alcohol; only a few familiar faces occasionally came by to sit for a while.
Luffy came here every day to mooch milk or juice. Hearing Garp's roar, he hurriedly jumped off his stool, planning to hide.
But after circling the room, he could not find a good hiding place.
Bang!!
The tavern door was flung open, and Garp's gaze instantly locked onto the panicking Luffy.
"You little bastard, take my Fist of Love!!!"
Garp sprang in front of Luffy and punched him, sending him straight down onto the floor.
"Damn it!!"
"That hurts."
"I'm made of rubber, so why does it still hurt so much!!"
Seeing Luffy's head stretch out a great distance from his punch before he collapsed to the floor, Garp was so frightened he nearly had a heart attack.
He had thought he had punched Luffy to death.
Only when he heard Luffy yelling again did he relax.
Garp reached out and took Luffy's arm. With a gentle tug, the little arm stretched to two meters long.
"This..."
"Luffy, did you eat some strange fruit?"
Hearing Garp's shocked words, Luffy grew smug instead.
"Hehehe, I ate a Gum-Gum Fruit that Shanks brought a while ago. I'm a Rubber Man now!"
Luffy was still looking pleased with himself, completely failing to notice that Garp's face had already turned black as coal behind him.
"You little bastard, eating a Devil Fruit means you can't swim anymore! You're supposed to become an outstanding Marine!"
"And you even ate a Devil Fruit given to you by a pirate. That's the height of stupidity!"
Garp raised his fist again, and before long, Luffy's head was covered in lumps.