"Boss Luffy!!! Boss Red!!!"
Not long after successfully detaining Zephyr and Kizaru, Buggy and Bartolomeo came running excitedly from the distance, each of them holding a box in their arms.
When they reached Red and the others, Bartolomeo rushed forward first and immediately claimed credit.
"Bosses, take a look at the amazing stuff we found in the ruins!!!"
As he spoke, he threw open the wooden box in his hands.
Buggy, a step slower but unwilling to fall behind, hurriedly followed suit and opened his own box.
In an instant, two Devil Fruits appeared before the Straw Hat crew.
One of them resembled a cantaloupe in shape, its surface a mysterious blue-purple color, covered in spiral patterns like fishnet stockings.
The other looked just as bizarre, but its shape was instead like a large bunch of red bananas.
From appearances alone, it was impossible to guess what abilities these two Devil Fruits possessed.
However, Red, who had seen the anime, immediately spoke up, "They're the Paramecia-type Bubble-Bubble Fruit and the Zoan-type Ox-Ox Fruit, Model: Giraffe."
"Huh? You actually know these Devil Fruits, Red?"
Although he could no longer eat another Devil Fruit, Luffy's face still lit up with curiosity at the sight of something new.
Red simply smiled mysteriously and began explaining the abilities of the two fruits to everyone.
But after hearing his explanation, the anticipation on the Straw Hats' faces quickly turned into expressions of disdain.
"What the heck~! After all that, they're just two pretty mediocre Devil Fruits!"
Usopp, who now had a current Marine Admiral and a former Marine Admiral sealed inside him, snorted dismissively.
"One of the three great institutions under the World Government, and they don't even have anything decent?"
"You shouldn't say it like that~" Robin said with a gentle smile, her eyes sparkling.
"At least with the Bubble-Bubble Fruit's ability, we won't have to worry about our clothes not being clean anymore."
"And when it comes to cleaning the cabins and the deck, it would be incredibly useful!"
Nami immediately nodded in agreement. "If you only look at its support utility, it actually sounds perfect for Red!"
"Hey!? You two?!"
Red shot Nami and Robin a helpless look. "With that ability, are you planning to save money on bath soap too?"
"Am I supposed to stand guard outside the bathroom for you next time you bathe?!"
"That sounds great~!" Hearing the word save money, Nami's eyes instantly sparkled with gold as she raised both hands in approval.
Meanwhile, Sanji suddenly dropped to his knees and slammed his fists against the deck, wailing in regret.
"Damn it! Why did I have to eat the Speed-Speed Fruit?! There were clearly abilities in this world that were way more suited for me!!!"
"Alright, alright!"
Seeing everyone immediately slip into clowning mode after the battle, Red waved his hand to stop them.
"We're not here on a picnic."
"Hurry up and collect everything valuable so we can get ready to leave."
"Don't ever underestimate the Marines and the World Government."
"Their true trump cards still haven't been fully revealed!"
As he spoke, Red turned his gaze back to Usopp. "By the way, Usopp, how are the two giants from earlier?"
"You mean Oimo and Kashii?"
Usopp froze for a moment, then grinned.
"Don't worry. I already told them about Dorry and Brogy, just like you said!"
"They're inside my Storage-Storage Fruit space right now!"
With the anime's plot as a reference, the two giants had barely doubted him and believed Usopp almost immediately.
"Good," Red nodded in satisfaction, his eyes briefly sweeping over the Giraffe Devil Fruit.
If those two giants could eventually join the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and be given suitable Devil Fruit abilities, it might produce some truly unexpected results.
After all, giants were naturally gifted far beyond ordinary humans.
But that was a matter for the future.
Under Red's command, the Straw Hat crew and the members of the two Buggy Pirates worked together, rapidly scouring the ruins and the various Marine warships, storing every valuable item they could find into Usopp's storage space.
As a regime that had existed for over 800 years, the level of internal corruption within the World Government was already beyond normal imagination.
On top of that, Spandam himself was an extremely indulgent, corrupt second-generation official.
An hour later, Usopp returned to the Going Merry with tens of billions of Beli in cash and jewels, instinctively avoiding the dangerous gleam in Nami's eyes.
Eager to escape the situation, he quickly suggested, "Hey, Luffy, Red, shouldn't we get out of here already?!"
"If we stay any longer, Marine reinforcements are definitely coming!"
As if to echo Usopp's words, the moment his voice fell—
At the far end of the collapsed Bridge of Hesitation, an enormous wave suddenly surged upward.
The once-closed Gate of Justice slowly opened again, as if connecting to another world. Vast ocean currents poured through the opening, carrying a massive Marine battleship into the area.
Standing atop the warship, draped in a Marine coat, was the Marine Hero—Garp.
Though he had never cared much for World Government departments and had long heard rumors of Enies Lobby's actions, Tsuru had still called on him for support even knowing all this…
That could only mean the situation was far worse than Marine Headquarters had anticipated.
And indeed, it was.
When Garp arrived at the waters of Enies Lobby, what greeted him was not some long-hidden legendary pirate crew clashing with the Marines—
But utter devastation.
The shattered Bridge of Hesitation, warships slowly sinking beneath the sea, and the Tower of Justice reduced to rubble…
At this sight, Garp's expression grew uncertain.
The attackers' identities had already been transmitted back to Headquarters during Luffy's battle with Kizaru.
Of course, the only person in all of Marineford who had correctly guessed that Luffy was Garp's grandson was Tsuru.
That was why she had hesitated for so long before sending him.
They were old friends, after all.
Even as acting Fleet Admiral, Tsuru found it hard to order Garp to confront his own grandson.
But seeing Enies Lobby in such ruin, the last trace of hesitation in Garp's heart vanished.
"Luffy, you damn brat… what exactly have you been doing behind my back?!"
Although Enies Lobby's soldiers were weaker than the elite troops of Marine Headquarters due to years of comfort, their numbers were no joke.
And on top of that…
They had been reinforced by Zephyr and Kizaru's fleets.
Yet now, there was no sign of Enies Lobby's former glory at all!
"Vice Admiral Garp! We've found wounded soldiers!"
At that moment, a Marine's shout drew Garp's attention.
Several Marines clinging to broken planks were quickly rescued from the sea, and there were many more like them floating in the surrounding waters.
"Huff… huff… Vice Admiral Garp!"
One drenched Marine barely rested before running up to Garp, terror written all over his face.
"T-this is bad!"
"Admiral Kizaru… Admiral Kizaru was smashed into the sea by the Straw Hat crew, and he still hasn't resurfaced!!!"
"And Admiral Zephyr… he was defeated too!!!"
"Wait—what did you just say?!"
Garp's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're certain it was the Straw Hat Pirates who attacked Enies Lobby, and not someone else?"
Even though he hadn't returned to Windmill Village in a long time, he knew exactly what Luffy was capable of.
That brat couldn't possibly have grown strong enough to defeat Kizaru in such a short time.
But the rescued Marine spoke with absolute certainty.
"It was definitely the Straw Hat crew, Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Admiral Kizaru was knocked into the sea by Straw Hat Luffy and his two crewmates—Roronoa Zoro and Black Leg Sanji—working together!"
"Oh… so it was three of them?"
Though the situation was still outrageous, at least it wasn't Luffy alone defeating an Admiral.
After the initial shock, Garp actually let out a small sigh of relief.
Then he quickly asked, "What about Zephyr?!"
"Did he just stand by and watch Kizaru get surrounded?!"
"And with so many Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals, how could they lose so badly?!"
"It was the Straw Hat crew's vice-captain!"
The Marine answered immediately.
"Vice-captain?!" Garp frowned deeply. "You mean that kid… Red?!"
"That brat—wasn't he still sick of training last year, hanging around Makino all day?!"
"How could it possibly be him?!"
At that moment, this revelation shocked Garp even more than hearing that his grandson had defeated an Admiral.
Even if Zephyr wasn't at his peak anymore, there was no way he should have been defeated by a kid who had been practically powerless just a year ago!
Questions swirled endlessly through Garp's not-so-sharp mind.
But just as he was about to ask more, the Marine in front of him suddenly froze in shock and pointed behind Garp.
"Hm? What is it?"
Garp turned around—
And saw a warship with a sheep-shaped figurehead flying absurdly through the sky, rising higher and higher.
"It's them!"
"They haven't left yet!!!"
The rescued Marine screamed in panic.
"What?" Garp glanced back at him.
"That's the Straw Hat Pirates' ship!"
"Look, Vice Admiral Garp! Their pirate flag is still flying!!!"
After everything he had just endured, the sight of the Going Merry's cute sheep head looked to him like a demon from the abyss. His eyes went blank, his body trembling in fear.
"Looks like they really scared you," Garp muttered.
His gaze locked onto the airborne Going Merry.
…
At the same time—
On the deck of the Going Merry, Usopp wiped away sweat that didn't exist after recalling all his insects back into his body, then grinned.
"Now there shouldn't be any problems, right?!"
"No problems," Red smiled. "You really worked hard, Usopp."
He then turned his gaze downward toward Enies Lobby's main island.
The sea in this region formed a natural wonder comparable to Reverse Mountain.
The ocean surface sank inward in a perfect circle, like a smooth snowfield punched through by a massive cylinder.
Roaring waves poured endlessly into the depths below.
The main island of Enies Lobby—nearly twice the size of the front island—was connected to it by only a narrow passage.
"So… is this caused by some kind of magnetic phenomenon," Red murmured, "or is it the result of the so-called Heavenly King's strike?"
The sight reminded him of the manga he had seen back on Earth, of Imu using the Mother Flame to annihilate the Lulusia Kingdom.
The state of the sea there was exactly like Enies Lobby now.
The difference was that Enies Lobby was a city of eternal daylight.
Which meant its position never changed relative to the sun, regardless of the planet's movement.
Unfortunately, Red was just a science student with little knowledge of geography, so he couldn't analyze this bizarre pirate world using Earth's logic.
But in this world, even without brains or education, sheer brute force could still carve out a path forward.
Red curled his lips into a smile.
At least for now, that "brute force" of his was extremely effective.
His gaze shifted to Little Merry, fully prepared.
As the ship spirit, Merry met his eyes as well.
They shared a smile.
Only Merry truly understood how important everything Red had done was.
Without him, she might still be crying in an old dock at Water 7, destined to disappear forever in these seas.
Thinking of that, Little Merry silently said, Thank you, Red.
Red smiled back, answering without words, You're welcome.
"Hey, hey, hey, Red!" Luffy suddenly interrupted their silent exchange, excitement and worry mixed in his voice.
"All the Marines on the island have pulled out—can we test the Merry's new power now?!"
"If we don't hurry, my grandpa's going to catch up!"
Thanks to his well-developed Observation Haki, Luffy was extremely sensitive to Garp's presence.
The moment the Gate of Justice opened, he had felt that familiar, spine-chilling aura.
"That's true," Red nodded immediately.
"Alright, Little Merry—this part's up to you!"
"Let the world witness… your miraculous power!!!"
"Roger!"
Little Merry saluted seriously like a soldier.
The next second, amid cheerful laughter, her figure vanished as she transformed back into the ship.
A violent mechanical hum rose from beneath everyone's feet as the entire hull began to tremble.
Franky, the creator of the new Merry, wore a look of eager anticipation.
The rest of the Straw Hats looked no different.
Under everyone's gaze, an arcane energy fluctuation gathered at the bow of the Merry.
In an instant, everything seemed to fall silent. The sea churned and boiled as if influenced by some unseen force.
And just as everyone focused—
A figure appeared in the distant sky.
It was the Marine Hero, Garp, coming after the Straw Hats!
"Luffy! Stop fooling around already!"
Feeling the terrifying energy gathering on the Merry, Garp didn't know what it was—but he had a strong premonition.
If that shot fired, the Straw Hat Pirates would become a threat in the World Government's eyes no less dangerous than the Revolutionary Army led by his own son.
But the arrow was already on the bowstring.
And Luffy had never listened to his grandpa anyway.
BOOM!!!
Before Garp could get any closer, a heavy, oppressive beam of energy blasted forth.
"That damn brat!"
Even Garp dared not approach further, retreating at full speed as he watched the terrifying impact—far larger than the Merry itself—
Engulf the entire main island of Enies Lobby.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
(End of Chapter)