"What the hell!?"
Garp was completely shocked when he heard the news.
He had always thought his son's so-called "Freedom Fighters" were nothing more than an activist group staging protests and doing some charitable work.
But he never expected…
That they would directly join a war!?
And not just any war—intervening in another country's civil war!
"What's wrong? You find it unbelievable that Dragon is doing this now?"
Michael curled his lips and muttered, "When I mentioned Dragon to Olvia, I thought you'd already mentally prepared yourself."
Garp's eyes turned mournful at those words.
Easy to say...
But now that it was his own son involved, his blood was boiling.
He honestly couldn't understand—what kind of karma was this?
A son born with all the makings of a great Marine, yet barely into the Navy before quitting!
And now he's off doing the same crazy stuff as Michael!
Was he trying to give his old man a heart attack!?
Michael ignored Garp's self-pitying grumbles and turned to Bogard.
"Did the intel mention the current situation in the Sorbet Kingdom?"
Bogard nodded and read aloud:
"King Bekori of the Sorbet Kingdom, in order to reduce the tribute paid as Heavenly Tribute, came up with the idea of splitting the country in half. He enacted the 'North-South Division' law—one half of the kingdom remains under national protection, while the other becomes a true 'lawless zone.'"
Michael sighed inwardly after hearing that.
This country… is beyond saving.
Such behavior mirrors the World Government exactly.
The land under national protection—those are the member nations of the World Government.
And the so-called lawless zones—those are the non-member countries.
This kind of policy inevitably leads to internal conflict.
It was also from this point on that Dragon led the Freedom Fighters into a new phase.
From here, Dragon began to truly realize that persuasion and protests were nothing but nonsense.
Real power only comes from the barrel of a gun.
And from this moment, Monkey D. Dragon first conceived the idea of transforming the Freedom Fighters into a true Revolutionary Army.
A while later, when Olvia arrives and brings them word of the "Ohara Incident," it will serve as the true catalyst for the Revolutionary Army's birth.
"Any other intel?"
Michael asked again.
Bogard shook his head.
"Alright then, Garp, let's head back to Marine Headquarters."
Garp's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at Michael in disbelief.
"What!? Dragon's stirred up this much trouble, and you're just calmly talking about heading back?"
"What else would you have me do? Go to the Sorbet Kingdom and arrest Dragon?" Michael rolled his eyes. "Don't forget, the Freedom Fighters aren't criminals."
That's right—Dragon hadn't formally founded the Revolutionary Army yet and wasn't even on the Marines' wanted list.
Garp, apart from being his father, had no authority over him.
But seriously, when has being his father ever counted for anything?
Michael couldn't help but let out a laugh, almost turning Garp's face green with embarrassment.
Then green turned to purple, and purple to black.
He was completely furious.
...
By the time they returned to Marine Headquarters, five days had passed.
Michael was grimacing as he rotated his sore shoulders.
An enraged Garp really was terrifying.
If little Robin hadn't woken up and come out on deck at just the right moment, he probably would've been pounded into the deck by the old man.
"Cut the act. With your strength, taking a full-force hit from me isn't that hard, is it?"
"Whether it's hard or not is one thing," Michael grumbled. "But whether it hurts or not is a whole different matter!"
"Whatever! I don't have time to mess with you—I'm going home to see my daughter and grandson!" Garp waved him off and jumped off the warship, heading for his residence.
He'd been away from home so long, he hadn't even been there for his grandson's birth. It was understandable that he was in a rush...
"Still, at least say a few words before leaving! You're a Vice Admiral! How are you still so childish?"
Michael complained, but when he looked at Bogard and the other Marine soldiers—who were already used to it...
He realized the Marine at G-3 had really drawn the short straw, ending up with Garp as their commanding officer.
But hey, if they were already used to it, might as well keep rolling with it.
Michael brought Stella to Sengoku's office.
He didn't bother knocking—just pushed the door open.
Then flopped straight onto the couch.
"Yo, old man. I'm back."
"...At least knock before you come into my office! You're a Commander! How can you still be this immature!?"
"...Hey, aren't you using all my lines right now!?"
"Hmph. Don't play dumb. Weren't you supposed to be out training at sea with Garp? Why are you back so suddenly?" Sengoku didn't even raise his head, fully focused on the documents in front of him.
"Don't tell me you two had a falling out?"
Michael's mouth twitched. Five days ago, he had made Garp lose his temper.
Old man, if your predictions are this good, why are you still a Marine!?
You should be a fortune teller!
Seeing that Sengoku still hadn't looked up, Michael decided to toss him a bigger bomb.
"So, uh… I took a trip to Alabasta."
"Alabasta? Nice place. You and Garp sure know how to enjoy yourselves! Even training has to be in a wealthy, flourishing kingdom?"
"Indeed. The grandeur of Alabasta really left an impression on me." Michael nodded solemnly. "So I had a good chat with King Cobra, and we finalized the plan to establish a Marine branch in Alabasta."
"Then go ahead and build it. It's just a branch office in Alaba—WHAT!?"
Realizing something wasn't right, Sengoku suddenly looked up and stared at Stella, who was covering her mouth to stifle a laugh, and Michael, who looked completely unfazed.
"Say that again? What did you just say?"
"Old man, you're only one year older than Garp. How are you already going deaf?"
"Cut the crap!"
"Alright, alright. You heard me right. I talked it over with King Cobra, and we agreed to set up a Marine branch in Alabasta… but there are conditions."
Sengoku's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.
If there weren't any conditions, he'd suspect Michael was bluffing.
Conditions made it more believable.
"What are the conditions?"
"First—any government departments affiliated with the Marine branch must be staffed by Alabastans."
"That's… not a big issue."
Sengoku nodded. Alabasta had always been on the fringes of the World Government's influence, so that condition wasn't unusual.
"As for the second condition…"
"King Cobra wants me to be the commanding officer of that Marine branch."