Chapter 310: Luffy's Disbelief
That evening. Holy Land, Mary Geoise, Chamber of Authority.
Four old men stood or sat around the sofa, passing a newspaper back and forth, their faces grim.
"You're saying that it's not just the lower world, but even here in the Holy Land, people are talking?"
"Yes, my lords. Even among the World Nobles, many of the younger generation are secretly passing it around, pointing fingers at Lord Garling, saying he's the father of a great pirate…"
"Useless! Incompetent!" Saint Warcury roared, cutting him off. "You can't even handle this small matter! Garling has just taken office, and he's already facing this kind of public relations crisis! Where is he supposed to put his face?!"
"Please calm your anger, my lords," the CP0 agents below said, trembling, cold sweat pouring down their faces. "We've done our best, but the World Economic Journal's headquarters is now located in the Curtain Call's territory. We can't get to them…"
"When the honor of the Figarland family is at stake, there is no 'can't'!" Saint Nusjuro added sharply. "If you must, mobilize the entire army! We must capture this bird at all costs!"
"Y-yes, my lord…" the CP0 agents trembled.
Saint Garling, who had been watching from the side, suddenly sneered. "Enough," he said, slowly standing up and looking down on the two CP0 members. "You are not needed for this matter. You may leave."
Eh? The CP0 agents exchanged a look, and a wave of ecstatic relief washed over them. "Yes, Lord Garling!" They bowed repeatedly and, without even wiping the sweat from their foreheads, scrambled out of the Chamber of Authority. Only when the heavy doors had closed behind them did they let out a long sigh of relief, the shared joy of a near-death experience in their eyes.
"That was close," one of them, wearing a lion mask, said, swallowing hard. "Now we don't have to go to that hellhole…"
Another agent instinctively touched his missing left ear. It had been sliced off by that man, Shiryu, five days ago, during a mission to capture Morgans. If his teammates hadn't sacrificed themselves to save him, he would have been a corpse. His entire squad of seven had been wiped out. The Curtain Call's territory… was too dangerous for them! Not only was it filled with powerhouses, but they had also established a formidable intelligence network. They had been discovered the moment they infiltrated the territory. That level of security was on a completely different level from the other Yonko!
This time, seeing the grim determination on the faces of the two Elders, they had been prepared to die. They had never expected Lord Garling to call off the mission.
"Compared to those two, Lord Garling is so merciful…" the lion-masked agent murmured.
"Shh, be careful what you say," another agent said, looking around nervously. "But you're right. I just don't know how Lord Garling plans to handle this. It must be difficult for him…"
In the Chamber of Authority.
After the room was empty, Garling's gaze swept over Warcury and Nusjuro, a mocking smile on his lips. "Are you two 'seniors' not tired of acting?"
"What do you mean?" Warcury asked, confused.
"From the first day I took office, you've been targeting me," Garling said, slowly picking up his teacup. "And now you're making a big deal out of the Shanks issue, putting me on a pedestal…" He suddenly looked up, a cold light in his eyes. "Do you really think I can't see that you're just using this as an excuse to embarrass me?"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Nusjuro sneered and, without another word, closed his eyes.
Ju Peter coughed and tried to mediate. "Garling, you're overthinking it. We're just trying to protect the dignity of the World Government…"
"You shut up too!" Garling snapped. "Stop pretending! In the end, you old fossils are just jealous that our lord favors me now, aren't you?" He slammed his hand on the table, and the solid wood shattered into a thousand pieces. "Let me tell you, this family shame is my business to handle! I don't need you to put on this hypocritical show! If you dare to pull any more tricks behind my back, even if you are also one of the Five Elders…" A terrifying killing intent emanated from Garling. "…don't blame me for being merciless!"
With that, he snorted, turned, and strode out, leaving the three of them to exchange dark looks.
On the other side, Garling left the Chamber of Authority and went straight to the Holy Knights' barracks. As the former and current commander's father, this was still his domain. He walked grimly down the corridor, the Holy Knights on either side bowing their heads, none of them daring to meet his icy gaze.
"Shamrock," Garling called out, standing in the center of the courtyard.
A figure instantly appeared, his red hair flowing in the wind. His face, identical to Shanks's, was respectful as he bowed. "Father."
"Insolence! When not at home, you will address me by my title!"
"Yes, Lord Elder."
Garling stared at his son, at that identical face, and a nameless anger rose within him. He slowly pulled the newspaper from his coat and threw it to Shamrock. "Look at this."
Shamrock took it, and his eyes widened. "The news about Shanks is out?"
"That's right! It's out! I, a dignified Elder, have become the father of a pirate! What a disgrace!" The more Garling thought about it, the angrier he became. He kicked a nearby stone pillar, shattering it. "When that boy came back to the Holy Land back then, I was soft-hearted and didn't finish him myself! And now! He's become a laughingstock for the whole world to mock our Figarland family!" He had thought that the five-pointed star crest their lord had given him would be enough to keep Shanks in line, to keep him from leaving the Holy Knights. But who would have thought that to regain his freedom, that boy would cut off his own arm! He had guts!
"I think I understand what you mean, my lord," Shamrock said, a cold light in his eyes. "I will take my men and bring back that Morgans. We can't let this kind of public opinion spread any further!"
"Morgans is in the Curtain Call's territory," Garling said, his eyes narrowed. "If I'm not mistaken, the last time you faced that Shane, you abandoned your men and fled back to the Holy Land. Do you really have the guts to face him again?"
In Shane's territory? Shamrock's eye twitched, his previous ruthlessness vanishing, replaced by a look of hesitation.
Just as I thought! Garling snorted. Both of his sons had inherited the inferior blood of that lowly woman from God Valley! One of them had given up being a Holy Knight to go back to being a pirate, and the other had been beaten by a pirate and was now so scared he had psychological trauma. Two useless things!
"Since you already know, then why did you come to me? What do you want…" Shamrock asked tentatively.
"Public opinion is already out of control. What's the use of catching a bird?" Garling sneered. "It's better to solve the problem at its root!"
Shamrock's pupils shrank. "You mean…"
"That traitorous son of mine, Shanks, should have paid the price for betraying the family a long time ago! I only turned a blind eye because he hadn't exposed his identity!" Garling's face was impassive. "But now, things have come to this. He must be erased from this world."
"I understand. I'll…"
"No, you're not enough," Garling interrupted coldly. "That traitorous son of mine may be a failure for wanting to be a pirate, but his strength is indeed greater than yours. This time, I will personally take action. I will take you and the six most elite knights of the Holy Knights. We will find an excuse to meet with that boy alone. His crewmates are a bit troublesome, so it's best to get him alone. If we're going to clean house, we have to make sure there are no mistakes!"
Shamrock's eyes flickered with a complex emotion. Though he and Shanks were strangers, and he felt no affection for him, they were still brothers. But soon, that slight hesitation was replaced by a deep reverence for his father. "Yes, my lord," he bowed respectfully. "Rest assured, I will make the arrangements immediately."
Garling nodded in satisfaction. After Shamrock left, he stood alone in the empty courtyard, looking up at the darkening sky.
"My choice was the right one," Garling murmured to himself. Would he feel any reluctance to kill his own son? He didn't know. Perhaps a little. But it didn't matter! Both publicly and privately, Shanks had to be eliminated! His public disgrace was one thing. But he had also seen that this boy had been secretly working against the World Government. It was just that a group of pirates, a disorganized rabble, posed no real threat. But now, with a reliable leader, he had bet everything on that Shane! Otherwise, he wouldn't have met with Shane in Blackstone City last year, and he certainly wouldn't have repeatedly tried to rescue him!
"In that case, it's better for me to end this myself," Garling's gaze grew even colder. "First, I'll deal with Shanks, the shame of our family, and cut off one of the Curtain Call's major supports. Then, I'll concentrate all my strength on dealing with Shane!"
Meanwhile, East Blue, Foosha Village.
Makino covered her face, her shoulders trembling with sobs. Tears seeped through her fingers, dampening the newspaper below. "How could this be…" she whimpered. "How could Shanks be a Celestial Dragon…"
The customers in the tavern, mostly local villagers, sighed.
"Not just a Celestial Dragon, but the son of one of the World Government's top leaders."
"The ultimate 'official's son.' Even ordinary Celestial Dragons would have to be respectful to him."
"I never would have thought. He stayed in our village for a year, and I always thought he was a good guy. I even tried to set him up with Makino…"
"Good guy my ass! He was just putting on an act to get the girl! Hmph, what Celestial Dragon would ever look at a commoner?!"
"Shh! Shut up, you two idiots! Can't you see how heartbroken Makino is?" an older villager hissed.
In the past, in a remote village like this, they had only thought of the Celestial Dragons as distant, high-and-mighty figures, the descendants of gods. They were not to be trifled with, but that was all they knew. But now, after the successive revelations in the newspapers, everyone knew about their brutal atrocities, and the mere mention of them filled them with a visceral disgust and revulsion.
In the corner, a boy in a straw hat shot to his feet, his fist, still in Sea-Prism Stone cuffs, slamming on the table. "What a joke!" Luffy snatched the newspaper, tore it to shreds, and yelled, "How could Shanks be that kind of trash! The newspaper is lying!" He had been working in the town's restaurant for months and had heard all the talk. He was no longer an ignorant kid! He knew what kind of scum the Celestial Dragons were! But this… he had finally gotten a vacation, finally come home for a few days, and the moment he sat down, he was hit with this bombshell!
"Luffy…" Makino looked up, her eyes tear-filled, at the boy who had grown up in her tavern.
"The newspaper is very clear, and there's a photo," a villager sighed. "Shanks is a Celestial Dragon. There's no denying it."
"So what!" Luffy snatched off his straw hat and clutched it tightly, his eyes burning with anger. "Shanks is Shanks! He saved my life! He's the best person in the world! I don't care if he's a Celestial Dragon or the Pirate King!"
The tavern fell silent. Everyone stared at the usually carefree little kid, who was now showing an unprecedented determination.
"But Luffy," Makino's voice was still choked with tears. "If he's really a Celestial Dragon, then everything that happened in Foosha Village… could it all have been an act…"
"Impossible!" Luffy interrupted her. "Shanks's promise to me was real! He said he would wait for me to set out to sea, that he would watch me become the Pirate King! This straw hat is the proof!" He hugged the worn-out straw hat as if it were the most precious treasure in the world. "And he lost an arm to a Sea King to save me! Seriously, who would go that far for an act?!"
Luffy's voice echoed through the tavern, and everyone fell silent. Makino stared at him, her tears slowly stopping. That was right. Everyone in the village knew about that. The man who had stood between Luffy and a ferocious Sea King, who had unhesitatingly sacrificed his arm… how could he be a hypocritical Celestial Dragon?
"It's not impossible! In my opinion, that Red-Hair brat was acting, Luffy!" Just then, the tavern doors swung open, and a particularly tall figure walked in. The familiar, booming voice made everyone turn, and many of the customers' faces lit up. "Eh?! Mr. Garp!"
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you