"That's all for today!"
Cyrus waved his hand and turned to walk toward the docks.
Kuina and Zoro, who had just gotten back up, watched Cyrus's back with curiosity.
That wasn't the direction of the Isshin Dojo.
At the docks of Shimotsuki Village.
The people on the pier watched in shock as a massive warship approached, though it didn't get too close.
"It's a Marine warship!"
Although they had never seen one before, only a Marine warship could have such a design and be so large.
Of course, the most important detail was the Marine insignia on the giant sail.
"Why are the Marines here? Are there pirates nearby?" someone asked, his voice tinged with fear.
His words made many faces turn pale with dread.
Shimotsuki Village had never been visited by pirates before.
After all, the East Blue was vast, and pirates were few.
But they had read plenty about the brutality of pirates in the newspapers.
Aboard the dog-headed warship.
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
Garp's adjutant, Marine Headquarters Captain Bogart, stood before Garp and saluted sharply.
Garp, dressed in his Marine uniform, had been dozing on a beach chair. Bogart's shout startled him awake, popping the snot bubble from his nose.
Garp opened his eyes and yawned.
"Have we arrived?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp. Shimotsuki Village, East Blue."
Bogart turned his head to glance at the nearby island and nodded.
"Alright, you all wait here."
Garp stood up and stretched, then looked toward Shimotsuki Village. He leaped hundreds of meters into the air, heading straight for the village.
As a subordinate who had followed Garp for over twenty years, Bogart was very familiar with his behavior and wasn't the least bit surprised by his actions.
He expertly commanded the Marines on the warship to drop anchor and wait on board.
Meanwhile, Garp landed directly on the docks.
His landing clearly terrified the people there.
What kind of normal person could jump that high and that far? Before Garp could even speak, the villagers of Shimotsuki scattered like birds and beasts.
Uh!
Garp scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward.
It seemed he had scared them.
Wait!
Just as Garp was about to use his Observation Haki to see if he could find his target, his expression froze.
He turned to look toward the town, the same direction the villagers had fled.
A young man in a loose-fitting robe was slowly walking over.
Abruptly, Garp felt that this young man was the person he was looking for.
Cyrus calmly watched the tall figure standing on the docks and approached slowly.
This man's build might not seem like much compared to the monstrously large figures on the sea, but his sturdy frame contained terrifying power.
Garp was also sizing up Cyrus.
He wasn't old, looking fifteen or sixteen at most, just as the intelligence report described.
His figure was slender and well-proportioned, his steps steady, exuding a sense of power.
He was indeed a promising seedling.
That was Garp's judgment.
With this thought, Garp stood his ground, watching as Cyrus walked right up to him.
"The Pirate Hunter, Cyrus?" Garp asked with a wide grin.
"Yes. The Marine Hero, Garp?" Cyrus nodded in acknowledgment and asked a question in return.
"Huh?" Garp was taken aback for a moment, then scratched his already graying hair.
"Looks like I'm still pretty famous, hahaha!"
With that, Garp began to laugh heartily to himself.
"..."
Watching Garp's self-absorbed laughter, Cyrus looked at him, somewhat speechless.
People in this world really seemed to love laughing loudly.
"Are you happy?" Cyrus asked, rather helplessly, as the laughter continued.
"Happy. After all, I'm still quite famous," Garp replied, stopping his laughter.
He didn't put on any airs, or rather, it was in line with his character.
"Come and be a Marine, Cyrus! You have great talent, don't waste it."
Garp extended a direct invitation.
"No!"
Cyrus shook his head immediately.
"Why? Isn't being a Marine better than being a Pirate Hunter?" Garp asked curiously, retracting his inviting hand after Cyrus's refusal.
"I'm in the middle of training, so I can't," Cyrus replied after a moment's thought.
"You can still train after becoming a Marine. There are plenty of strong people in the Marines," Garp said cheerfully upon hearing this.
"But I heard that if you become a Marine, you have to take orders from the Celestial Dragons," Cyrus said softly after a moment of silence.
Garp froze.
His smile faded, and his eyes studied Cyrus's face for a while before he slowly nodded.
"Is that so? I understand."
After speaking, Garp turned around, leaped up, and headed back toward the warship.
"Did that old man misunderstand something?"
Garp's reaction left Cyrus a bit puzzled.
...
"It seems he's another young man who distrusts the Marines because of the Celestial Dragons," Garp sighed.
He was, of course, well aware of the Celestial Dragons' reputation on the seas.
Even he himself avoided promotion to Admiral because he didn't want to deal with those detestable people.
If he didn't want to, he shouldn't force others.
After landing back on the warship, Garp sat directly down on his beach chair.
"Set sail. Return to Headquarters," Garp said with his eyes closed.
"Vice Admiral Garp, what about the target?" Bogart asked, looking doubtfully at Cyrus on the docks.
"The person isn't here. He probably came here and then went somewhere else," Garp replied, his eyes still closed.
Uh!
Bogart was stunned.
He glanced back at the docks, then immediately gave the order for the warship to set sail.
Whether what Garp said was true or not didn't matter.
He just had to treat it as the truth.
...
On the docks.
Cyrus watched as the warship slowly set sail, turned its bow, and departed.
That old man Garp was quite easy to talk to.
Shaking his head slightly, Cyrus turned to go back and saw Koshiro in the distance, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
"Troublesome!" Cyrus sighed and walked over.
"The Marines came for you?" Koshiro asked as Cyrus approached.
"Yes, to invite me to join the Marines. But I refused," Cyrus nodded, confirming their purpose.
"You refused?" Koshiro was taken aback!
"Yes, I don't want to be a Marine. You know my wish," Cyrus said.
"And you refused, and they just left so easily?"
"The one who came was Garp," Cyrus said, looking at Koshiro.
Garp?
Koshiro's body jolted.
He knew Dragon's identity, so naturally, he also knew that Dragon's father was Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Garp.
Of course, he also knew a few things about this Vice Admiral.
If it was him, then it wasn't strange at all.
"But I've already awakened two types of Haki. I probably won't be staying here for too much longer," Cyrus said.
"I knew you wouldn't stay here for long, but I didn't expect it to be so soon."
Hearing Cyrus's words, Koshiro was filled with emotion.
In less than two months, Cyrus had become much stronger.
He could clearly feel it; even his Swordsmanship had made great strides.
"Are you going to the Grand Line?" Koshiro asked directly, knowing that Cyrus knew many things.
"No, I won't go to the Grand Line until I'm confident enough to handle the powerful pirates there."