After requesting that the G-3 Marines inform Garp of their arrival, Gustave's group settled down to wait on the fortress's main deck.
"Ace, why isn't Grandpa coming out yet?" Luffy complained, drawing aimless patterns in the dust with his finger.
"How should I know?" Ace replied with equal boredom, creating his own abstract artwork on the ground. "Maybe he's busy with important Marine business."
Suddenly, the base's personnel snapped to attention in perfect formation. Seeing the military precision, both boys leaped to their feet with excitement.
"GRANDPA!" they shouted in unison.
However, the figure who emerged wasn't the grizzled Marine hero they expected, but rather a tall man with dark skin, curly hair, and a distinctive green sleeping mask perched atop his head.
"Hey, Uncle," Luffy called out, stretching his neck to peer past the stranger, "who are you? Where's my grandpa?"
"Luffy, you idiot!" Gustave delivered a corrective thump to the boy's skull. "That's not Garp—that's Admiral Aokiji of the Marine!"
"Admiral?" Luffy's face scrunched in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ara ara, it's quite all right, little brother," Aokiji said with characteristic laid-back demeanor. "So you claim to be Vice Admiral Garp's student and grandsons?"
"Actually, I'm not Garp's student," Gustave clarified, indicating his companions. "Po here is his apprentice, while Luffy and Ace are his grandsons."
"Ah, I thought I remembered hearing something about that," Aokiji mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Admiral Aokiji," a nearby Marine interjected helpfully, "Vice Admiral Garp has indeed mentioned having a talented student named Po on several occasions."
"Right, right!" Aokiji's expression brightened with recognition. "Now I remember! Vice Admiral Garp has been boasting about his gifted apprentice throughout Marine Headquarters, especially when he's trying to one-up Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Former Admiral Zephyr."
The panda's reputation had indeed spread throughout the Marine's upper echelons thanks to Garp's proud bragging.
"What's your name, young man?" Aokiji asked, focusing on Gustave. "And you're here to see Vice Admiral Garp?"
"I'm Gustave, and this is Tom," he replied, gesturing toward the cat. "We were hoping to find Garp, yes. Isn't he stationed at G-3?"
"Vice Admiral Garp is currently away on assignment," Aokiji explained. "I'm temporarily commanding this base in his absence."
"Well, since Garp isn't available, you'll do just fine, Admiral Aokiji," Gustave said pragmatically.
He dragged the unconscious, heavily bruised Jack forward like a sack of potatoes.
"This is Drought Jack, one of the Beast Pirates, We've come to claim his bounty."
"Drought Jack?" Aokiji studied the battered figure skeptically.
Without his distinctive tusks and sporting numerous head injuries, Jack looked rather pathetic compared to his fearsome wanted poster.
Noting Aokiji's doubt, Gustave retrieved Jack's severed tusks from Tom and held them against the unconscious pirate's cheeks.
"Since we lacked Seastone restraints, we had to keep him unconscious," he explained matter-of-factly. "Tom took a liking to his ivory, so we removed it for safekeeping."
With the tusks repositioned, Aokiji could finally match this sorry specimen to the notorious All-Star, though Jack's current condition was rather pitiable.
"Someone bring Seastone handcuffs," Aokiji ordered his subordinates, then turned back to Gustave. "Come inside while we process the paperwork. I'll have Jack's bounty prepared shortly."
"Admiral Aokiji," Gustave asked with slight concern, "the missing tusks won't affect the bounty amount, will they?"
"Not at all," Aokiji assured him. "Jack himself is what matters."
"Excellent!" Gustave immediately reclaimed the ivory from display, causing Aokiji to shake his head in bemusement.
"By the way, Admiral, there are additional Beast Pirates crew members aboard our ship. Could your people collect them as well? I'd like to claim those bounties too."
"Certainly," Aokiji replied after a brief pause, somewhat amazed by Gustave's thorough approach to bounty hunting.
Gustave's grin stretched so wide it looked painful—he was practically radiating satisfaction at the successful business transaction.
They proceeded to what had been Garp's office but now served as Aokiji's temporary command center. The Admiral graciously provided water for all his guests.
"Brother Gustave," Aokiji began conversationally, "how did you make it here? As I understand it, Vice Admiral Garp's hometown is in East Blue, correct?"
Gustave had prepared for this question and answered without missing a beat.
"That's right. I'm actually a chef by profession—Garp may have mentioned that. I heard from a traveling merchant about exotic ingredients unique to the Grand Line."
"As any serious chef would be, I was fascinated by the possibility of discovering new flavors. So I convinced Po, Luffy, and the others to join me on this culinary expedition."
The explanation seemed reasonable to Aokiji. Professional dedication to one's craft was something he could understand and respect.
"And how did you encounter Jack?" he continued.
"After successfully locating the ingredients I sought, we were preparing to return home," Gustave replied with practiced sincerity. "Unfortunately, we stumbled upon a battle between the Red Hair Pirates and Jack's crew."
"We intended to avoid the conflict entirely, but Jack suddenly attacked us unprovoked and sank our ship! All the rare ingredients I'd worked so hard to collect were lost."
His voice grew appropriately indignant. "We had no choice but to defend ourselves and ultimately defeat Jack, commandeering his ship for the return journey. The Red Hair Pirates used our distraction to escape the area."
Gustave's performance was convincing—he painted a picture of innocent civilians forced into violence by pirate aggression.
Aokiji nodded thoughtfully. The story seemed plausible enough, and frankly, he wasn't particularly interested in investigating every detail like his colleague Akainu might.
"Since you managed to defeat Drought Jack, you must possess considerable strength," Aokiji said, his tone shifting to genuine curiosity. "If possible, I'd like to test your abilities personally."
In truth, Aokiji cared little about the specifics of their journey or Jack's capture. What genuinely intrigued him was meeting the apprentice Garp bragged about constantly.
"Ah, well..." Gustave hadn't expected this request.
"How about Po represents us in a sparring match with Admiral Aokiji?" he suggested, turning to the panda.
"Me?" Po asked, pointing at himself uncertainly.
"Of course it's you, Po! You're the one who defeated Jack, and you're clearly our strongest fighter. You should definitely be our representative against the Admiral!"
Recognizing he had little choice in the matter, Po accepted gracefully.
"Then shall we move outside for our match, Admiral Aokiji?"
"Sounds perfect," Aokiji agreed, rising from his chair.
As they headed for the door, a Marine Lieutenant Colonel approached at a rapid pace.
"Admiral Aokiji! The Beast Pirates crew members have been processed. Here are their bounties—406 million Berries total!"
Gustave's eyes practically glowed at the sight of the money containers. His smile became so broad it looked genuinely painful as he rushed forward to claim the treasure.
"Thank you so much, Commander! You're too kind!"
The officer looked uncertainly between Gustave and Aokiji, only releasing the funds after his commanding officer nodded approval.
"Luffy! Ace! Tom!" Gustave called to his distracted companions. "Stop gawking and help me transport this money to our ship!"
After delivering educational knocks to each dawdling crew member, he set them to work moving their substantial payday.
With business concluded and wealth secured, it was time for Po to demonstrate the skills that had made Garp so proud—against one of the Marine's most powerful Admirals.