Gustave and his crew were housed in the dormitory allocated to Garp by the Marine at Marineford. Though officially called a dormitory, it was actually a comfortable villa that easily accommodated their entire group.
When Weevil and Miss Buckingham were escorted to Impel Down, Garp learned that Weevil currently had no bounty. He immediately vowed to Gustave and his crew that he would personally secure their reward from Sengoku.
About two hours later, Garp returned with his characteristic boisterous laughter echoing across the compound.
"Gustave! Po! I've got your bonus!"
Garp's voice reached them long before he appeared, carrying across the villa grounds with unmistakable enthusiasm.
Hearing Garp's announcement, Gustave and Luffy rushed outside excitedly to greet him. Po, Tom, and Ace showed little reaction since Gustave typically handled all financial matters for their crew.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Where's the money? I helped capture Weevil too, so I should get a share of the reward!" Luffy shouted impatiently before Garp even reached the door.
Previously, Luffy had shown little interest in money—just like Po and the others. But after arriving at Marineford, his attention was immediately snatched by the countless trinkets, souvenirs, and odd gadgets lining the stalls. With stars in his eyes, he turned to Gustave and asked for spending money.
Gustave, however, simply crossed his arms and replied dryly, "Children shouldn't spend their days chasing shiny toys. Go find something meaningful to do."
Rejected so firmly, Luffy had focused his hopes entirely on the Weevil capture reward.
"Luffy, when exactly did you help?" Gustave grabbed the boy's arm, genuinely unable to recall his contribution to Weevil's defeat.
"What?! I was the one who knocked out Weevil with the club! And I knocked out that ugly old lady too! How did I not help?" Luffy protested indignantly, his contribution apparently forgotten.
"Oh, right! Now I remember—you did knock them both unconscious," Gustave acknowledged after Luffy's reminder.
"Since you contributed, Luffy, you can have 500,000 Berries," Gustave decided, pulling the cash from his pocket and handing it to the delighted boy.
Seeing the money, Luffy immediately grabbed it and raced out of the house with pure joy.
"The kid's really easy to fool—sent away with just 500,000 Berries," Gustave chuckled internally.
While he didn't yet know the exact amount of Garp's bonus, Gustave estimated their contributions—saving Zephyr and capturing Whitebeard's alleged "son"—would net at least 100 million Berries.
If Luffy had mentioned his contribution to Garp, Gustave would have lost far more than 500,000 Berries. Using that small amount to buy Luffy's silence was an excellent investment.
"Hey, Gustave! What happened to Luffy? He just ran past me with this huge grin, wouldn't even respond when I called him," Garp asked with obvious confusion as he entered.
"Ah, well, Luffy wanted to buy some small things, so I gave him 500,000 Berries," Gustave replied casually.
"What?! Five hundred thousand Berries?! Why does a little kid like Luffy need so much money? Gustave, you absolutely cannot spoil him like this!" Garp exclaimed with genuine distress. The total amount he'd given Luffy throughout his entire childhood was less than 500,000 Berries.
"It's fine—kids should be able to buy things they like when they're out exploring," Gustave responded magnanimously, projecting an air of casual generosity.
"Well, the money's already given," Garp sighed in defeat.
"Here's the bonus I secured from Sengoku—100 million Berries total." Garp opened the box in his hands, revealing neatly stacked bills.
Gustave accepted the money with a smile, confirming it matched his estimates exactly.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Garp!" Gustave expressed his gratitude cheerfully after receiving the payment.
"It's nothing—just a small amount! With my influence, how could Sengoku possibly refuse me?" Garp patted his chest proudly, boasting about his standing with the Fleet Admiral.
At that moment, a marine officer appeared in the villa's courtyard and called out: "Vice Admiral Garp! You left too quickly! Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked you to bring Mr. Gustave and his crew to his office. The Fleet Admiral wants to thank them personally."
Hearing the marine's message, Garp's expression briefly tensed before immediately returning to normal. "Understood," he replied.
"Shall we go see Fleet Admiral Sengoku together, Mr. Garp?" Gustave inquired.
"Bwahahaha! Of course! I'll take you there—I know the way to his office better than anyone!" Garp enthusiastically embraced Gustave while calling for Po, Tom, and Ace to join them. Since Luffy had already gone shopping, his absence wouldn't matter.
Fleet Admiral's Office
Garp kicked the door open and immediately began eating the senbei crackers from Sengoku's desk, announcing casually: "Sengoku, I brought Gustave and the others to see you."
When Sengoku saw Garp stealing his snacks again, he wanted to explode with anger. However, noticing Gustave's group, he forced himself to maintain his dignified image as Fleet Admiral and managed a strained smile.
"Please, Gustave, have a seat. I've been quite busy, so I couldn't meet with you immediately."
"We completely understand, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. We're quite free, so waiting is no problem at all," Gustave responded politely, settling onto the office sofa.
"Although Weevil currently has no bounty, I've approved a bonus of 150 million Berries for your outstanding service. Garp should have delivered the money already, correct?" Sengoku mentioned while pouring tea.
"One hundred and fifty million?" Gustave asked with noticeable uncertainty.
"Yes, 150 million. Didn't Garp give it to you?" Sengoku asked, confused by Gustave's reaction.
"No, no—I did receive the money from Mr. Garp," Gustave replied with a forced smile.
Gustave realized with bitter irony that while he'd used 500,000 Berries to manipulate Luffy, Garp had turned around and pocketed 50 million Berries. Truly, what goes around comes around.
The perpetrator himself, Garp, swallowed audibly before continuing to munch Sengoku's crackers as if nothing had happened.
"I've heard about you from Aokiji. I wonder if Gustave and Po would be willing to join the Marine?" Sengoku proposed. "If you're interested, I can directly grant you the ranks of Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral respectively."
Sengoku had learned from Aokiji that Po possessed Admiral-level combat capability while Gustave demonstrated Vice Admiral-level strength.
Such powerful individuals were incredibly valuable. Although the Marine hadn't yet issued its world conscription order, Sengoku was willing to make exceptions for fighters of Po and Gustave's caliber.
"I appreciate the offer, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, but Po and I aren't interested in joining the Marine. We simply want to run our sea restaurant properly," Gustave politely declined. "However, when it comes to truly vicious pirates, we're willing to stand with the Marine."
Gustave rejected the invitation while expressing solidarity with Marine justice—specifically regarding "truly vicious" pirates.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Master Garp has asked me about joining the Marine several times, but I just want to keep our restaurant running and finally build a sea restaurant," Po added, speaking up for the first time.
"I see. That's quite unfortunate," Sengoku replied with genuine disappointment.
He deeply regretted that such powerful individuals refused to join the Marine, but he couldn't force them. Applying pressure might turn them from potential allies into dangerous enemies.
Sengoku's primary purpose in summoning Gustave's crew had been recruiting them for the Marine. Since they'd declined, the remainder of their meeting consisted mainly of polite conversation.