But what needed to be asked still had to be asked. Kuzan wondered, since they attacked Garp, then these four must have had some past grudge with him, right?
Although Garp is very popular in the Navy, admired by many, even among the Vice Admirals, there are many who look up to him.
However, Garp also has many enemies, because too many pirates and other evil forces or villains were eliminated or arrested by him in the past.
So he wondered if these four were seeking revenge for some reason, and perhaps Mr. Garp might have some recollection.
"No, I'm very sure. This is the first time I've seen them," Garp said, shaking his head slightly. He was telling the truth; after all, Kuzan and the others had only recently arrived in this world, so this truly was their first meeting.
"But honestly, they are really strange. Their abilities are strange, and even their identities, as I've guessed, are strange," Garp thought of the combination of those four and his mouth twitched slightly.
Everyone exchanged glances. What did he mean by strange?
"Mr. Garp, can you elaborate?" Akainu asked. He was also growing interested. Although he found these four utterly detestable and absolute villains, they dared to attack Garp and almost succeeded.
They certainly had strength and real skill, Akainu had to admit that. But their strange combination truly piqued his interest.
"Well, first there's the one who wounded me and ultimately defeated me. I've dealt with some powerful samurai from Wano Country before, and I noticed that person resembles them. So I suspect he's a samurai from Wano Country."
"Then there are the others. First, that strange wolf-man. After putting on that peculiar purple battle suit, he was actually able to fight me to a standstill. He seems to be a Mink, and I suspect he is also a Scientist."
"Then there's that strange, green strongman wearing only shorts. He feels like some kind of lab monster. He has a special ability: the angrier and more enraged he gets, the stronger he seems to become. I could feel his speed, explosiveness, and strength all increase significantly during the fight."
"Finally, there's that strange female Fish-Man who fought me the longest. What specific species is she? I can't tell. She doesn't quite look like a fish, but she seems to have the ability to control seawater. I can't definitively judge this, because I've studied the Fish-Man Tribe's unique Fish-Man Karate, and when trained to its peak, it can indeed control seawater to some extent, just like Knight of the Sea Jinbe."
"But listen to this: a Wano Country samurai, a female Fish-Man, a Mink, and a special scientific experimental monster. Isn't that a very strange combination?"
Garp spoke a lot at once, and after hearing his words, everyone couldn't help but nod. This was indeed a strange combination.
"But precisely such a combination, after a series of exchanges, I was horrified to discover that each of these four possesses the strength of a Yonko-level."
But when Garp said this, it immediately shocked everyone present in the Navy. They all showed expressions of horror.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Garp, you're not joking, are you?" Kizaru said, shaking his head, looking disbelieving, and most of the others had similar reactions.
They were unwilling to believe this fact, because if it were true, then the Navy would have four more Yonko-level strong enemies for no reason.
But Garp shook his head and said angrily, "I've been in more battles than the number of nails you've clipped while slacking off at work, Kizaru. I can still judge who possesses what kind of strength through combat."
"And if it weren't for four Yonko-level powerhouses fighting me together, even though being in the water was very disadvantageous for me, and even if they possessed technological abilities to fight as flexibly in water as on land, they wouldn't have been able to defeat me so easily."
"Uh... old man, can't you use a different analogy?" Kizaru said, looking embarrassed.
"What I said is the truth, so what else can I say? The old man has been in more battles than the number of times Kuzan has overslept, or more than the number of cigars Akainu has smoked, or more than the number of times Gion has confessed to Momousagi and been rejected..."
"Uh... old man, can you stop talking?"
"Hmph, although it's true, my smoking cigars is my own business."
"Mr. Garp!!!"
"Let's end this painful topic."
Kuzan, Akainu, Momousagi, and Tokikake all said with very red faces, as their embarrassing pasts had been dug up.
Of course, Akainu was fine, because his smoking cigars was well-known throughout the Navy, considered a hobby, a food hobby.
But to have it brought up like that and used as an analogy, a proud person like Akainu immediately couldn't stand it.
"Alright, alright, in short, since Garp said so, then there's no doubt that those four indeed possess Yonko-level strength."
Staff Officer Tsuru immediately stepped forward and said, because if the discussion continued, who knew where it would lead. At the same time, she secretly glared at Garp. Why bring up such things out of nowhere?
Garp gave a silly laugh, then quickly said with a serious expression.
"Tsuru is right, but I have a different opinion. It's possible they are enemies, but during the fight, I noticed that those four didn't cooperate much at all. They basically fought their own battles. This is somewhat like a temporary group of powerhouses assembled to complete a mission. So I'm wondering if someone sent them, like Bounty Hunter-type existences."
"This... Bounty Hunter shouldn't be possible, after all, this profession doesn't have many strong individuals. There are none in the Navy's registry, and I've checked. There are indeed some at Admiral level, but they are not as strong as Kuzan and the others, so there's even less to say about Yonko-level ones." Staff Officer Tsuru shook her head, refuting Garp's idea.
"But it's not entirely wrong. After all, four Yonko-level powerhouses acting together is a first on the Grand Line." Heima Tensei said at this point, finally stepping forward to speak.
"Do you have any thoughts?" Staff Officer Tsuru asked, knowing that as the Director of the Navy Criminal Investigation Bureau, unlike other Navy members, he must have some other ideas.
"I'm wondering if they are some reclusive powerhouses? These people, and then someone just happened to know them and offered some benefits to get them to do things."
Heima Tensei immediately expressed his thoughts.
And his words were based on something: Garp had said that these people were not united in battle and lacked tacit agreement coordination, clearly indicating they didn't know each other before. If they weren't Bounty Hunters, and the Navy didn't know them, then his guess was the only possibility.
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