Paulie had to admit—these reporters had noses like bloodhounds.
The Straw Hats had returned in secret. How had they sniffed them out?
"Bad news, Foreman Paulie! Look!"
A shipwright hurried up behind him, pointing toward a group approaching in the distance. His voice was tense.
"It's the Marines!"
The reporters' eyes lit up.
"So the Straw Hats really are here!"
"The Marines are mobilizing in force—something big is happening!"
"Take pictures! This is huge!"
Troublemakers. Paulie hated reporters.
"Look at that man!"
A sharp-eyed reporter spotted the figure at the head of the Marine procession—and gasped.
His hair was salt-and-pepper, but his posture was straight as a mountain. He strode with an imposing gait, radiating supreme confidence.
The reporter's gaze shifted toward the port—and there it was. A massive battleship. Its bow was a giant dog head with a bone in its mouth.
"That's Vice Admiral Garp! Iron Fist Garp!"
"The Hero!"
"The legendary Marine who hunted the Pirate King Gol D. Roger across the seas!"
"Puhahaha! Caught me."
Garp threw his head back and laughed. "Smoker, take notes. This is the presence of a true veteran."
"Shameless old man. You've been a soldier for decades—what's that got to do with popularity?"
Smoker walked a half-step behind, two cigars in his mouth, looking disgusted.
Seeing the two of them arrive together, Paulie's brow furrowed. His heart sank.
"White Hunter Smoker. Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral. Said to have stopped a Shichibukai. And now a legend—Marine Hero Garp. This is trouble."
Paulie instinctively turned to warn the Straw Hats. The new ship was still under construction. Garp showing up now was bad news.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A low voice rumbled beside him, heavy with pressure.
Paulie's blood ran cold. He turned stiffly, like a machine.
Garp had somehow crossed the crowd and was standing behind him, grinning.
"Ahahaha!"
Garpped his shoulder hard enough to shake his bones. "Are you one of Luffy's informants? Trying to warn him?"
"N-no."
Paulie's guilt was written all over his face. "Just an ordinary shipwright."
"Ordinary? I recall you lot were at Enies Lobby."
Garp's eyes narrowed.
"You're joking, Mr. Garp. We're all honest workers here."
"Is that so? My mistake."
"Yes! It happens when you get old!"
The next moment, Paulie's pupils contracted. A fist the size of a cooking pot filled his vision.
"I'm not old enough to be senile yet, you brat!"
Garp's punch sent Paulie flying like a kite with its string cut. He crashed into a pile of lumber, dust exploding everywhere.
Garp withdrew his fist, his easy grin back in place. He strode past with the confidence of a man who owned the place, heading deeper into Dock No. 1.
"Foreman Paulie!"
"I'm fine! Go warn the Straw Hats!"
A few loyal shipwrights rushed to pull the dazed Paulie from the wreckage. They tried to run inside—and were immediately intercepted by a squad of elite Marines.
Bogart stood at their head, his cap brim low.
"This area is under military control."
His voice was steady, brooking no argument. "No one enters."
The Marines were fine.
They were Garp's men. They could be trusted.
But the reporters—they couldn't see what was happening inside.
The details of this operation were not for public consumption.
It was clear this wasn't a simple arrest mission. If Garp wanted to capture Luffy, he'd have done it days ago.
Inside the dock, in the room Iceburg had given the Straw Hats, the mood had just eased after Luffy's clumsy change of subject.
Nami was inviting Robin and Vivi to relax:
"We've got nothing else to do. I heard there's a nice hot spring pool on the island. Want to go?"
Luffy's face fell.
He had a study session with Robin!
He grabbed Robin's wrist awkwardly. Nami and Vivi looked at him. He smiled—embarrassed, trying to be polite.
"You know..."
Nami knew. She rolled her eyes.
"You don't rest, but Robin should."
Her voice was sour.
She was still annoyed about Vivi and Luffy sneaking off last night. Alone. "Training." Sure.
Now Luffy wanted to spend time alone with Robin. Even if it was study—why was she being left out?
That was the real issue.
Luffy looked at Nami's puffed-up face. Something clicked in his head—a flash of inspiration.
"Just a few hours. Then I'll need you, Nami."
"What? You're making a schedule? Shifts?"
Nami blinked. Then her cheeks puffed out like an angry hamster. She jumped on Luffy, grabbing his face. "No! I refuse! We're having ladies' time! Go play by yourself!"
Luffy let her roughhouse with him, shameless as ever. "Then include me?"
He could train alone—work on his fruit, his body. That he could do by himself.
But the study plan was group work. They had to be together.
From outside, noise.
"What's that?"
Vivi turned—and her face went white. Her wind powers made her sensitive to presences. "It's the Marines!"
CRASH!
The window—the entire wall—burst inward from outside. Dust filled the room.
A tall figure in a dog-head hood crashed through like a tank. His laugh boomed, rattling eardrums.
"Luffy, you brat! Puhahaha! Knew you'd come back here! Where are you hiding? Eh..."
Garp's voice died in his throat.
He took in the scene.
His brain crashed.
***
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