At Marine Headquarters—Marineford—a dog-headed warship of singular design was docked prominently at the vast harbor, drawing many glances from passing personnel.
[Bang—]
"Bwahaha! I'm back!"
The door to the Fleet Admiral's office was flung open with great force. Garp marched in boldly like a crab, completely unrestrained, with an opened bag of senbei in hand.
Ever since receiving Fleet Admiral Kong's orders, he had turned around immediately—without even waiting to see the outcome of the battle between Dragon and King Taklama.
First, he figured it must be an urgent matter. Second, he had full confidence in his son. Once Dragon went all-out, there was no way he'd lose.
"You…"
Kong glanced at the battered door, shook his head helplessly, and pretended not to see it. He'd long since lost count of how many times he'd scolded Garp over knocking and opening doors properly.
"Sit down and read the mission briefing!"
Sengoku, standing to the side, wasn't nearly as lenient. He barked at Garp as he sat down, furious: "You bastard! Why the hell did you just run off? Do you have any idea everyone's been waiting on you?!"
"I got it, I got it~~"
Garp chomped on a piece of senbei, set the bag beside him, and picked up the file that had been placed on the coffee table. With his other hand, he scratched his ear, looking completely indifferent.
His attitude made a vein bulge on Sengoku's forehead, but in the end, all the latter could do was slam the armrest in frustration and close his eyes, waiting for Garp to finish reading.
After finishing the document, Garp's eyes flashed with surprise. Without even swallowing the half-eaten senbei in his mouth, he abruptly looked at Fleet Admiral Kong behind the desk.
"Roger's treasure has been found?!"
"It's all written in the report. Apparently, CP6 discovered it in the New World, so the Five Elders have ordered us to join forces with CP0 to retrieve it and bring it back to Mary Geoise. And on the return trip, we're to broadcast everything live to the entire world."
Hearing this, Garp froze in disbelief.
"No way…"
"Whether it's possible or not doesn't matter. The mission is right in front of us. Let's bring it back first—then we'll talk." Sengoku opened his eyes and stood up. "The mission requires urgency. We leave now!"
Garp raised his head in protest, grumbling, "I just got back, haven't even sat down for five minutes… Can't you spare a thought for an old man in his fifties?"
"Idiot! I'm a year older than you!" Sengoku growled through gritted teeth, clenching his fist and glaring viciously.
"Uh…"
Garp froze, muttering to himself, Oh yeah… I'm younger than Sengoku by a year… Realizing that, he felt too embarrassed to keep playing the age card. With a laugh, he got to his feet.
"Come on, don't get all worked up. Let's go, let's go! It's just a trip to the New World to fetch something—how big a deal could it be?"
Kong looked at Garp's lazy and flippant demeanor and couldn't help but give a word of caution.
"Garp, be careful. They say the treasure is enormous—possibly enough to require two large cargo ships. You'll be crossing a good half of the New World. Pirates are bound to come after you. You cannot let anything go wrong!"
Grinning widely, Garp replied, "With me and Sengoku leading the mission, and five vice admirals including Borsalino and Sakazuki, along with ten battleships from headquarters—and CP0 operating in the shadows—even Whitebeard wouldn't stand a chance!"
Honestly, this level of military force went far beyond a standard Buster Call. It was enough to fight a full-scale naval war against any top-tier power on the sea.
And now they were deploying it just to escort a treasure? Even Garp thought they were making a mountain out of a molehill.
Sengoku frowned and scoffed, "It's Roger's treasure. Whitebeard is highly likely to act. Charlotte Linlin too. And if things spiral out of control, that war-hungry Kaidō will almost certainly jump in as well. You need to take this seriously. This concerns the face of both the Marines and the entire World Government!"
"True. Good thing we've already dealt with 'Golden Lion' Shiki—otherwise this escort mission would've been a real gamble." Fleet Admiral Kong breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fleet Admiral, we're heading out!" Sengoku didn't want to waste another second.
"The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back!"
Seeing that Sengoku had already left without another word, Garp didn't mind. He picked up the half-finished bag of senbei and cheerfully swaggered after him.
Inside the office, Kong scratched the back of his head in frustration, deeply troubled by the lack of capable admirals under his command.
"Sigh… when will Sakazuki and the others be ready to take on real responsibility? At this rate, that damned Garp is going to give me high blood pressure!"
"But how did the World Government find the One Piece?"
Even as Fleet Admiral, this was a question he couldn't answer. Was CIPHER POL's intelligence capability really that terrifying?
...
While Marine Headquarters was organizing a massive fleet to set out for the New World—
Back in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, at the social plaza within Pangaea Castle—
Two tall, striking women—one fair, one dark; one tall, one short—stood curiously examining a freshly constructed tennis court, which had been completed less than ten minutes ago.
Beside it stood a rack filled with rackets, a black bucket full of bright yellow tennis balls, and even a ball retriever.
The two women were none other than Navy Rear Admiral Gion and CP9 operative Stussy.
"What is this?"
Dressed in a Justice coat over hot pants, Gion strode forward on long legs, curiously scanning the net-divided court.
"A tennis court."
Stussy, in her CP9-issued agent uniform—a form-fitting black dress with sheer fishnet tights—looked even more seductive and charming.
There was a noticeable height difference between them.
"What's tennis?"
Gion turned to her with a confused look. It wasn't that she was ignorant—tennis was simply such an obscure sport in this world that it might as well not exist.
Of course, that applied to most sports. They were only played on a handful of wealthy islands and mainly by nobles as a form of leisure.
"Just think of it as a toy for nobles who like to stay active," Stussy replied with a soft smile. As CP9's top agent, she didn't play tennis often, but she was familiar with the basics.
"I see," Gion nodded in realization. "Then it's likely that Celestial Dragon Saint Nerona ordered this court built."
She furrowed her brows.
"But the mission I received was to accompany and protect him during his outings."
That assignment had come directly from Vice Admiral Tsuru, so even if she didn't like the Celestial Dragons, she had accepted it without protest.
It was said that this particular Celestial Dragon wasn't just any ordinary noble. Refusing wasn't really an option.
Unless she no longer wanted to be a Marine.
"By the way, I'm Gion. What's your name?"
Stussy flipped her golden hair and looked at Gion with a charming smile. "I know you. The strongest female officer to rise after Vice Admiral Tsuru. That sword at your hip must be the famed blade Kompira, right? I'm Stussy. Let's get along~"
"You know me, but I know nothing about you. Doesn't that seem a bit unfair?" Gion lowered her head and teased Stussy.
"Judging by this mission, we'll be spending a lot of time together from now on. You'll learn what you need to know."
Stussy's implication was clear: what you don't need to know—don't even think about it.
Gion didn't mind. She continued to survey the tennis court in front of her, trying to figure out how the game was played. But in the next moment, her expression shifted. Her sharp, beautiful eyes turned toward the three figures emerging from within Pangaea Castle.
She immediately ignored the two maids in black and white dresses.
Her focus landed on the one leading them—a young man with black hair and black eyes, dressed completely in white: white dress hat, white shirt, white trench coat, white trousers, white leather boots.
"Could that be Saint Nerona? But that outfit…" Gion tilted her head, murmuring in confusion.
It wasn't like she'd never seen Celestial Dragons before. They all styled their hair high and curled the ends deliberately, making them look utterly ridiculous.
And their clothing? Bizarre. Those absurdly wide white coats, and always with those round bubbles floating above their heads.
To be honest, the first time she saw a Celestial Dragon, she almost burst out laughing. Thankfully, she managed to hold it in—otherwise, it could've gotten her into serious trouble.
Compared to that, the man in front of her… well, she found him quite handsome. He didn't seem like a Celestial Dragon at all.
Of course, Gion had never met the Five Elders. If she had, she'd know that the higher-ranking Celestial Dragons didn't dress like clowns.
Stussy, standing beside her, was also observing the man, but with a much more respectful and cautious expression—not as openly as Gion.
That was because Stussy had seen the terrifying side of far more Celestial Dragons than Gion had.