Garp leaped to the entrance of "Bamboo Staff Bistro" and instantly generated a powerful gust of wind that sent the sickly-looking young noble stumbling backward several steps. Fortunately, his lackey managed to steady him from behind.
"Hey, Gustave my boy, what's going on here?" Garp's booming voice practically exploded in Gustave's ears, nearly deafening him.
Gustave shook his head, about to explain the situation, when the young noble unexpectedly spoke up:
"Hey, old man, you're Marine, right? Help me take down that guy over there!"
Hearing this, Gustave turned his head to stare at the young noble in complete disbelief. He'd thought the nobleman was merely arrogant and domineering, but apparently he was actually an utter fool. Gustave had been about to dirty his hands beating up this idiot just moments ago.
Garp was equally incredulous upon hearing this. No one at Marine Headquarters dared order him around like this. Had the world really changed so much during his absence?
"Are you talking about me when you say 'Marine'?" Garp asked uncertainly, pointing at himself.
"Of course it's you, old man! Who else here is wearing a Marine uniform?" the young noble replied with continued arrogance.
At this moment, the lackey behind the young noble tugged at his master's sleeve and whispered urgently:
"Master, the Marine isn't the kingdom's army. We have no authority to command them."
"And this uniform looks like that of an Admiral. The highest-ranking Marine officer stationed in our East Blue is only a Rear Admiral."
Although the lackey spoke very quietly, Gustave—after more than six months of training—still caught every word. As for Garp, it went without saying that he heard everything.
I didn't expect this lackey to be so perceptive, Gustave thought to himself.
But clearly, the young noble completely ignored his subordinate's warning and instead shouted even more arrogantly:
"So what if you're a Marine Admiral? I'm a noble of the Goa Kingdom, and our Goa Kingdom is a member nation of the World Government—one of the fifty countries in the World Conference!"
"We pay massive tributes every year! Can't we command a single Marine officer?"
After hearing this, Gustave knew he wouldn't need to handle this situation personally today. Meanwhile, Garp suddenly burst into laughter—though whether he was laughing from anger or amusement at the stupid noble's words was unclear.
Little Luffy spotted his grandfather's return and immediately ran out of Makino's tavern. Seeing Luffy bolt away, Ace shouted after him:
"Hey, Luffy, where are you going?!"
Luffy ignored Ace and ran straight to Garp, pointing at the young noble and declaring:
"Grandpa, it's him! Not only did he refuse to wait in line, but he also pushed Sister Mary down!"
Garp naturally knew Mary—after all, they were from the same village, and Mary had often greeted him politely when she was younger.
The young noble became furious again upon hearing Luffy's accusation. He'd already disliked the boy, and now this brat had the audacity to come out and denounce him publicly.
So the reckless young noble decided to teach Luffy a lesson. He drew the pistol he carried, aimed it at Luffy's thigh, and pulled the trigger.
The moment Gustave saw the young noble draw his weapon, he reacted instantly and knocked the gun from the man's hand. However, the bullet was already flying toward Luffy, and Gustave lacked the strength to intercept it mid-flight.
If Garp hadn't been present today, Luffy would definitely have been shot. But Garp was here.
At lightning speed, Garp extended his right hand to shield Luffy. The bullet struck Garp's palm like hitting a steel plate, instantly losing all momentum. The projectile crumpled into a twisted ball and fell harmlessly to the ground.
Gustave breathed a sigh of relief seeing Garp block the bullet, but this audacious young noble was now in serious trouble. He'd dared to shoot at Garp's beloved grandson right in front of the Marine Hero—something absolutely unprecedented and unthinkable.
Garp's expression hardened, and an invisible aura surged toward the young noble. The moment the nobleman was touched by Garp's presence, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground with foam bubbling from his mouth.
Witnessing this, Gustave realized Garp must have just used Conqueror's Haki. Judging by how Garp had targeted only the young noble without affecting anyone else, his mastery of Conqueror's Haki had reached an unfathomable level.
Seeing his master lying unconscious on the ground, the lackey immediately panicked and rushed to pick up the young noble, crying out:
"Master! Master! Are you alright?"
Observing this scene, Garp simply stated:
"He's fine—just unconscious."
Of course, there was one thing Garp didn't mention: it was uncertain whether the young noble's brain would function properly when he woke up.
Then Garp turned toward his warship and shouted:
"Hey! Bogart, come quickly and take this young noble and his lackey away! If the Goa Kingdom asks about this incident, tell them straight out that I was responsible!"
As Garp finished speaking, Gustave saw a tall figure descending from the ship—a man wearing a suit, tall hat, and Marine justice cloak, with a long sword hanging at his waist. This was Garp's adjutant, Bogart.
Looking at the unconscious young noble and his weeping lackey, Bogart grabbed both men—one in each hand—and headed toward the Goa Kingdom's capital.
After Bogart departed, Garp looked at the dazed Luffy, patted his head, and asked:
"Hey, Luffy, you're not scared, are you?"
Luffy snapped back to attention from Garp's pat, then looked at his grandfather with pure admiration and shouted:
"Amazing! Grandpa, that move you just used was incredible!"
Garp felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing Luffy's praise—this was probably the first time he'd heard such words from his grandson. But Garp quickly recovered and said:
"Luffy, would you like to learn that technique?"
Hearing this, Luffy nodded vigorously.
"Then join the Marine with me! If you become a Marine in the future, I'll teach you that move!"
Upon hearing about joining the Marine, Luffy immediately shook his head and declared:
"No, I don't want to join the Marine! I want to be a hero! I want to be a hero!"
After saying this, Luffy shook off Garp's hand and ran back toward Makino's tavern.
While Luffy refused to consider the Marine, Ace—who had witnessed the entire scene—seemed deep in thought. He recalled the conversation between Garp and Gustave from the last visit, then shook his head and began scolding Luffy as he ran past:
"Hey, Luffy, why were you so reckless? Do you realize you almost died just now?"
But Luffy ignored Ace and made a face at him before running to Mary to ask about her injuries.
Let's turn our attention back to the young noble. Under his lackey's guidance, Bogart quickly brought both men to the nobleman's family estate. He then informed the household that the person responsible for their young master's condition was Vice Admiral Garp of Marine Headquarters.
Bogart subsequently visited the King of the Goa Kingdom, stated his identity, explained the day's events, and departed.
Shortly afterward, the young noble regained consciousness—but he had become a complete simpleton. He spent his days grinning foolishly and had lost all bodily control.
The noble family exaggerated the incident when reporting to the King of Goa, placing him in an extremely difficult position. Ultimately, to maintain the so-called dignity of the nobility, the King of Goa reported the matter to the World Government and the Five Elders.
However, when the Five Elders learned that Garp was responsible and that the young noble wasn't dead, they immediately suppressed the entire matter.
The King of Goa was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this news. Why did the Five Elders take no action upon learning Garp was involved? Didn't they care about noble dignity or the prestige of World Government member nations? Even if they couldn't imprison Garp in Impel Down, shouldn't there be some form of punishment?
It could only be said that the King of Goa was truly out of touch with current affairs and didn't understand Garp's unique position within the Marine.
If any ordinary Vice Admiral had committed such an act, they would face at minimum financial compensation or demotion. The young noble's only misfortune was encountering the most special person in the entire Marine—Garp.
Following this incident, the nobles of the Goa Kingdom never again patronized "Bamboo Staff Bistro."
But Gustave was actually quite pleased upon hearing this news. He finally didn't need to deal with those insufferable Goa Kingdom nobles anymore, and business wasn't lacking. Even without those nobles, the remaining wealthy citizens of the Goa Kingdom and passing merchants could easily support his establishment.
Moreover, without those nobles monopolizing reservations, the second-floor private rooms no longer required advance booking. Gustave felt significantly more relaxed and finally had time to breathe.