Garp's iron fist stopped just beside Taro's face, the powerful gust from his punch causing Taro's hair to flutter wildly backward.
Taro let out a sigh of relief and withdrew his hand. However, the moment he managed to squeeze out a forced smile, the fist hovering by his cheek smashed into him again.
"Ow!"
Taro let out a low howl as he was sent flying sideways, crashing into the wall.
He crawled out of the wall, rubbing his temples, looking utterly wronged.
"Why did you hit me again?"
"You deserved it!" Garp roared angrily. "You damn brat, how many more things are you still hiding from me!"
Taro shrank his neck, his gaze flickering. "N-not many more!"
"Hmm? So there are still some?" Garp tapped his foot, leaped in front of Taro, grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him up, and raised his right fist once more.
Taro quickly waved his hands, his face a picture of misery. "N-no, I misspoke! I'm not hiding anything else from you!"
Garp stared at Taro suspiciously for a good while before finally saying in a low voice, "Speak. What's this about Ace still being alive?"
"Old man, put me down first!" Taro wriggled weakly, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"It was your son, Dragon, who saved him. I swear on my conscience, I had nothing to do with it, not even half a Berry! I just happened to know about it!"
Upon hearing this, Garp froze for a moment, released Taro, and frowned. "Dragon? What exactly happened?"
Taro rubbed his neck and straightened his collar. "Ace fell into the giant fissure at Marineford at the time..."
"Anyway, that's how it is. He's alive and well now, cultivating under Dr. Kureha in the Sakura Kingdom!"
Garp frowned, his expression shifting uncertainly, and remained silent for a long time.
Taro was puzzled inside. Something's off. Old man, you don't look happy at all?
"You've been keeping in contact with that bastard all along?"
After a long pause, Garp glared fiercely at Taro. "Did you two plan this together, to keep it from this old man?"
Taro was taken aback. You two?
Then, he quickly realized Garp meant that he had also seen Dragon after the war, but Dragon hadn't told him about Ace being alive either?
Immediately after, Taro suddenly remembered that after Luffy caused chaos at Enies Lobby, when Garp went to beat him up, he had mentioned that Dragon told him he had seen Luffy off at Loguetown.
Holy shit, Vice Admiral Garp, you and your son have been in contact all this time too?
Thinking of this, Taro looked at Garp with a strange expression.
Old man Garp, you've been hiding this pretty deep!
"Ow!"
Garp punched Taro again. "You damn brat, what's that look in your eyes? He's my son, shouldn't he come pay his respects to his old man?"
He's angry and embarrassed because I discovered his secret, isn't he!
Taro clutched his head, speechless. "Old man, you..."
"Shut up!"
Garp roared, his expression more serious than ever before.
"Now, back to what you mentioned earlier. Tell me exactly what you want to do, all your plans, from the beginning!"
He's forcing me to lay all my cards on the table!
Taro's gaze turned somber. After pondering for a long time, he raised his head. "Vice Admiral, I just want to loosen the soil of this rigid, class-bound world..."
"The influence of the Revolutionary Army, led by Dragon, is still mostly confined to non-affiliated countries of the World Government..."
"But the pirates' influence has already spread across the entire sea..."
"At this time, the Marines cannot be allowed to fall into chaos..."
"With the Four Seas boiling over, sticking to the World Government's methods is just self-deception. Once the pirates produce a true king, combined with the power of the Revolutionary Army, and if the Marines can act at the critical moment..."
Then, Taro told Garp about the discussion he and Zephyr had previously concerning the Marines.
The pirates represented by Luffy, the Revolutionary Army led by Dragon, plus the Marines influenced by himself.
Additionally, with the help of poseidon, one of the ancient weapons.
Even if Imu-sama had heaven-defying abilities, they would be stretched thin, overwhelmed, and ultimately crushed under the wheel of history into the dustbin.
After finishing his explanation, Taro looked at Garp, quietly awaiting his response.
After an unknown period of silence, Garp, whose expression had been constantly shifting, finally broke the quiet.
"You bastard, at least you're not completely stupid. You know this world can't do without the Marines."
Hearing this, Taro finally let out a sigh of relief. At the very least, it meant Garp wasn't opposed.
"If only those two bastards in my family were half as steady as you!"
Garp immediately followed with a sigh.
Taro's cheek twitched. I can't possibly respond to that!
He could only change the subject, asking tentatively:
"Vice Admiral, about my ideas, you..."
Garp shook his head, his voice low. "It's not the time yet. You have no idea what kind of power they are hiding!"
Taro's heart sank. He pointed towards the sky. "Old man, what exactly is hidden up there?"
Garp glared at him, his tone turning harsh. "This old man doesn't know. And you're not qualified to ask about such things yet!"
Taro's breath hitched. Holy shit, you do know something!
"uranus?" Hesitating for a moment, Taro asked cautiously.
Garp's eyes sharpened, his Aura suddenly erupting before instantly settling back into calm.
"I've already said, you're not qualified to know about these things yet!"
Taro had already gotten his answer from Garp's reaction and didn't press further, simply nodding lightly. "Understood."
But Garp stared at Taro and sighed. "From the moment I learned your name, I should have known you wouldn't be content to just be a quiet Marine!"
Taro was dumbfounded for a long moment, completely bewildered.
What does that mean? What's wrong with my name?
Seeing Taro's dumbfounded look, Garp assumed Taro was unwilling to acknowledge his identity as a member of the d clan. He didn't mind and nodded.
"Do as you please. This old man is retired, I can't control everything anymore!"
Taro frowned. "Old man, I don't quite understand what you're saying?"
Garp's gaze towards Taro suddenly held a hint of disdain. "Enough. I'm not going to do anything to you. Your affected performance right now is just too exaggerated!"
Taro was completely lost. What the hell is going on!
Seeing Taro still looking like that, Garp snorted coldly, turned, and started walking out.
"Be more careful in your actions from now on. I'll keep an eye on your arrangements in Sabaody and Fish-Man Island for you."
"Huh? Old man, aren't you going to see Ace first?" Taro, hearing that Garp seemed to intend to stay on Sabaody Archipelago, shouted in surprise.
Garp's footsteps faltered. Without turning around, after a long pause, he finally said through gritted teeth:
"Not yet. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself from beating him to death!"
Taro pursed his lips, about to retort, but his heart suddenly jolted. All the Make complaints he had in mind turned into a sigh.
With his back turned to Taro, Garp was already weeping openly, tears streaming down his face. The old man cried silently.
"That damn kid... it's so good that he's still alive!"
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