Garp and the others moved much faster than expected.
Perhaps because the matter involved the Celestial Dragons, this time, Mary Geoise didn't drag its feet as usual. They even arranged for the Celestial Dragons' exclusive bubble lift.
"This is my first time riding this thing. Guess I have that brat to thank for it, bwahaha!" On the bubble lift, Garp laughed loudly as he spoke to Borsalino beside him, completely ignoring the ashen faces of the Celestial Dragons' attendants leading the way.
These people had been mentally subjugated to the point of absolute obedience to the Celestial Dragons. So when Garp made such 'blasphemous' remarks, they genuinely felt furious.
This could be considered another form of 'the servant shares the master's humiliation'.
Of course, it wasn't like they'd actually risk their lives to pick a fight with Garp… they didn't have that kind of spine.
After all, if they had any backbone, would they be serving the Celestial Dragons as dogs?
Fortunately, among their group, there was someone who could keep Garp in check.
"Garp, shut up."
Vice Admiral Tsuru shot him an exasperated glare.
This man had been unreliable since his youth, and Tsuru had suffered plenty because of it.
The reason she had come along this time was precisely out of concern that Garp might stir up even bigger trouble.
"That's right, Garp, watch your words."
Vice Admiral Gion chimed in from the side.
Although she looks like she is less than 30 years old, Gion has always treated Tsuru as her elder sister, and she never addressed Garp with the usual respectful title of 'Vice Admiral Garp' like others did.
This showed just how deep their relationship ran… as well as her actual age.
Well, best not to dwell too much on a lady's secrets.
If they had taken the Marines' usual 'lift', factoring in approval and processing time, they'd probably still be waiting on the ground to depart.
But this bubble lift took only about ten minutes to ascend from below.
This time, Garp and the others naturally couldn't take their own warship. On the other side of the Red Line, a vessel had already been dispatched from the nearest Marine base in preparation.
Upon reaching Mary Geoise, the first thing that greeted them was the sight of the holy land in ruins.
"How terrifying-"
Borsalino's drawn-out tone sounded suspiciously like sarcasm, though no one present called him out on it.
Instead, Garp clapped him on the shoulder and pointed ahead.
"Look, I've been here before. Now it's all blown to bits."
"Garp-san, Garp-san-"
Borsalino staggered under the force of Garp's heavy pats but still managed to speak up.
Bang!
Tsuru's fist came down on Garp's head, finally silencing the elderly brat.
Perhaps to preserve the dignity of Holy Land, the reception staff didn't let them linger for long and quickly escorted them to the other side.
Once they boarded the prepared warship, Tsuru immediately questioned the commanding officer of the defense fleet.
"The surrounding waters have been blockaded, right?"
"Yes! The entire area has been sealed off. Any ship surfacing from the depths must undergo inspection."
There was usually a fixed surfacing zone from Fish-Man Island to the sea above… the shortest route from the ocean floor.
This time, the Marines didn't just blockade that area—they even surrounded it with warships spanning several nautical miles.
A few unlucky souls who had just left Fish-Man Island to embark on their journey to the New World were met with a fleet of Marine's warships.
They tried to resist, but their fate was no different from a certain 'Ship-Crushing King'… either captured or turned into seabed debris.
Garp and the others waited all afternoon but only caught a few small-time pirates.
By the next day, even pirate shadows were nowhere to be seen.
There was no helping it… Sabaody Archipelago was already locked down, and most pirates in Fish-Man Island had already surfaced.
Garp was growing impatient, and Tsuru also realized they couldn't afford to wait any longer. So, she ordered the garrison in the Sabaody Archipelago to begin coating and diving.
Under the World Government's authority, they demanded entry into Fish-Man Island to search for the wanted criminal, Uzumaki Naruto.
To prevent the situation from escalating, Namur and the others immediately ordered their subordinates to retreat the moment they spotted the approaching warships.
The Marines wouldn't attack Fish-Man Island.
But if they stayed, it would only give the World Government an excuse to act.
The Marines' search mission proceeded smoothly. Neptune also cooperated fully, allowing them to search wherever they requested.
He even dispatched the Ryugu Palace guards to assist in the search.
But when asked if anyone had seen Uzumaki Naruto, the answer was uniformly: No, never.
When the search reached Fish-Man District, the Marines encountered their first resistance.
It was a group of local thugs led by the fishman, Hody Jones.
Neptune made it clear that these people were beyond Fish-Man Island's control and didn't listen to him.
And so, these self-important hooligans faced the overwhelming might of official authority.
Though the Marines sent down for the search didn't include any notable figures, they were still part of the force tasked with hunting down the [Great Criminal], Uzumaki Naruto… a mission on par with targeting an actual Emperor's fleet.
Among them, there were quite a few high-tier combatants, and the commanders were all proficient Haki. They're characters who, in the original work's Marineford War, would've had their own spotlight moments.
And who is Hody Jones?
He is the true mastermind behind the assassination of Queen Otohime, and is also the guy who inherited Arlong's will of 'hatred of humans'.
But in reality, he had never actually suffered any wrongs at the hands of humans.
All his hatred stemmed solely from Hody Jones' own 'delusions'.
Luckily for him, Naruto didn't know the truth behind this… otherwise, Hody would've been minced into paste.
As for his underlings, they were just a bunch of Fish-man street thugs who relied on banned drugs to boost their combat abilities.
Though with the help of [Energy Steroids] and their naturally robust Fish-man physiques, they could hold their own against Marine soldiers, even gaining the upper hand for a time. (T/N: Hody Jones had stolen a small amount of Energy Steroids before he left Neptune Army, only obtaining the Tamatebako when Luffy arrived in Fish-Man Island.)
But once the Marine officers stationed at headquarters stepped in, these guys were either killed or fled in disarray.
The leader, Hody Jones, had never imagined that just a few human Marines could dismantle the large force they had painstakingly assembled.
Having spent his whole life in Fish-man District, he was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well.
Thus, this rebellion, before it could even fully unfold, was snuffed out in its cradle by sheer coincidence.
But another question arose.
By now, the entire Fishman Island had been thoroughly searched from top to bottom, yet there was no trace of the infamous criminal.
Where had Uzumaki Naruto gone?
…
Meanwhile, in the New World, on O'Brien Island.
This place is also known as [Maple Syrup Island].
As the name suggests, this island's specialty was all kinds of candy.
Because of this, it had been claimed as part of Big Mom's territory.
Though not one of the 34 islands of [Totto Land], it still fell under Big Mom's protection, with the price being regular tributes of candy.
And Naruto?
In truth, the man the Marines were so keen on finding was currently sitting in a tavern on Maple Syrup Island, drinking the locally brewed rum.
"Sigh… After traveling to so many places, the liquor here still tastes the best."
Setting down his glass, Naruto handed the bartender a stack of Berries and ordered an entire barrel of rum.
Since experimenting with creating resin bubbles and propellers, Naruto had essentially turned himself into a human submarine, swimming straight from Fish-man Island toward distant shores. Because he could generate new resin bubbles at will, his diving time and distance from land were greatly extended… which was exactly why the Marines had come up empty-handed.
Glancing at the Eternal Pose in his hand, Naruto grabbed the barrel of specialty rum and headed straight out the door.
'Almost there. Just a little further.'
'Once I reached Totto Land, I will finally learn where this so-called 'Akatsuki' organization was hiding.'
Pulling out the scroll containing Orochimaru's clone from his coat, Naruto tossed it up and down a few times but still didn't merge it with himself.
It didn't take up much space anyway, so he might as well just keep it on him.
He had a feeling that this old snake still had some tricks up his sleeve.