"Luffy! Ace!"
Garp stood at the warship dock in Marineford's inner harbor, waving enthusiastically and shouting at his grandsons.
"Grandpa!" Both boys responded immediately, waving back with genuine excitement.
Garp owed Gustave tremendous gratitude for the current state of their grandfather-grandson relationship. If he had continued using his previous "iron fist of love" educational methods, Luffy and Ace would never display such enthusiasm toward him.
After their ship docked, Gustave and his crew disembarked alongside Zephyr's group. Due to his injuries, Ain pushed Zephyr down the gangplank in a wheelchair.
"Bwahahaha! Gustave and Po did excellent work—catching that Jack fellow and saving old Zephyr here! I'm incredibly proud to have you representing the Marine!" Garp immediately began patting Gustave's shoulder vigorously while laughing boisterously.
Their recent achievements had given Garp tremendous bragging rights. For the past two days, he'd been regaling everyone at Marine Headquarters with tales of his apprentice's prowess, ensuring every marine knew he'd trained exceptional students.
"We just did what needed to be done," Gustave and Po replied with modest smiles.
"Grandpa, when we were at the G-3 branch, Uncle Aokiji said you were on a mission. Why are you back already?" Luffy asked with obvious confusion.
"Ah, well, I heard Shanks had appeared in the New World, so I went to capture him! But he escaped too quickly—slippery as an eel, that one!" Garp declared with his hands on his hips, as if failing to catch Shanks was somehow an accomplishment.
Gustave felt immense relief hearing this. Fortunately, they'd parted ways with Shanks well before Garp's arrival—otherwise, this encounter would have been extremely awkward.
As they spoke, Ain had wheeled Zephyr over to join the conversation.
"Hey, Zephyr! My apprentice and grandsons saved your life this time! Without them, you'd be fish food by now!" Rather than offering comfort, Garp immediately began his merciless teasing.
"Gustave and Po saved me—what does that have to do with you?" Zephyr acknowledged the rescue as fact, but couldn't tolerate Garp's insufferably smug expression.
"How is it not related to me? If I hadn't provided such excellent training, how would Po and Gustave have possessed the strength to save your decrepit hide? heck even Tom sometime joins in the training. Therefore, I indirectly saved you!" Garp made an exaggerated face while showing off to Zephyr. "How about that? My teaching abilities aren't inferior to yours, are they?"
Garp had endured Zephyr's disdain for years—finally, he'd found the perfect opportunity for payback.
"That's purely because Po and Gustave are naturally gifted! Don't I know your teaching methods? Besides, you barely spent any time instructing them—they obviously learned through self-study!" Zephyr shot back.
"I use a hands-off approach! It's completely different from your rigid teaching methods! Even with minimal direct instruction, I can still produce outstanding disciples like Po!" Garp responded angrily, clearly hit in a sensitive spot.
Watching the two elderly men bicker like schoolchildren, Gustave's crew, Ain, and the surrounding marines stood speechless. This was Marine Headquarters, with hundreds of people observing their argument!
A Marine hero and the chief instructor were quarreling like petulant children. Where was their dignity as elite marine?
Zephyr normally avoided such arguments—it wasn't his nature. However, when confronted with Garp's frivolous attitude, even his considerable patience reached its limits.
While Garp and Zephyr continued their heated debate, Marine personnel carried the still-unconscious Weevil and Miss Buckingham off the training ship. Both remained severely battered from their encounters with Tom's club.
Seeing Weevil being transported away reminded Gustave that he'd inquired about bounties after the rescue, only to learn that Weevil currently had no price on his head.
This made perfect sense—Weevil would only gain notoriety and a bounty after becoming famous for severing Zephyr's arm. He was still essentially a rookie pirate.
However, Zephyr had promised to report Weevil's dangerous capabilities and secure compensation for Gustave's crew despite the lack of official bounty.
Garp's attention shifted to Weevil as the unconscious pirate was carried past.
"Zephyr, was this the one who attacked you?"
Grateful for the distraction from their argument, Zephyr replied: "Yes, this individual attacked our training ship. Because of him, we lost nearly a quarter of our recruits."
"When he boarded our ship, he claimed to be Edward Weevil—Whitebeard's biological son. His golden hair, beard, and fighting strength did bear remarkable resemblance to Whitebeard himself."
After hearing Zephyr's explanation, Garp approached for a closer examination of Weevil, but couldn't discern any trace of the described golden hair and beard.
"Well, Mr. Garp, all the hair on his body was completely burned away when I struck him with lightning, so you can't see what he originally looked like," Gustave felt compelled to clarify.
"Ah, I see! Whitebeard's son, eh? I wonder how Whitebeard will react when he learns we've captured his boy? Bwahahaha!"
With testimony from both Gustave and Zephyr, Garp became convinced of Weevil's authenticity as Whitebeard's "son." Given Whitebeard's legendary devotion to family, this would undoubtedly provoke a massive confrontation with the Marine.
"Outstanding work! First you captured one of Kaido's rising star and All-Stars candidate, now Whitebeard's son! You're developing faster than I expected!" Garp beamed with pride at his students' rapid growth.
"However, since you've now antagonized both Kaido and Whitebeard, don't rush off just yet. Stay at Marine Headquarters for a while."
Despite his usual unreliability, Garp proved genuinely trustworthy during critical moments. Recognizing that capturing both Jack and Weevil might place Gustave's crew in serious danger, he insisted they remain under Marine protection.
"That's absolutely right, Gustave. You've made enemies of both the Beast Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates this time. While you and Po are incredibly powerful, you should definitely stay at Marine Headquarters for now. We'll guarantee your safety," Zephyr added his support.
They couldn't allow their saviors to face unnecessary risks.
Gustave knew they weren't actually in any real danger. After all, he'd been with Shanks when they captured Jack, so the Red-Hair Pirates had drawn Kaido's attention. As for Weevil, he was merely a self-proclaimed son whom Whitebeard didn't even know existed.
However, Gustave couldn't explain any of this, so he agreed to follow Garp's advice and remain at Marine Headquarters temporarily.
Besides, after their extended voyage, Gustave and the other could use some rest at Marineford. As the Marine's primary base, Marineford housed not only thousands of marines but also numerous military families. Before the eventual Battle of Marineford, the island maintained remarkable prosperity and vitality.