The awkward atmosphere among the three lasted for a long time, with Garp's face remaining gloomy.
Taro's gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them, still completely at a loss.
"Come out with me!"
Garp suddenly stood up and turned to walk out the door.
Taro leaned in closer to Makino and whispered urgently,
"What's going on? Why is the old man acting like this?"
Just as Makino's lips moved to speak, Garp roared,
"What are you dawdling for! Do you want this old man to drag you out?"
Taro's heart jolted. He took one last look at Makino's expression before standing up to leave.
The two of them walked out of the bar one after the other, heading all the way up the hill before Garp finally stopped.
Since Garp didn't speak, Taro didn't dare to ask questions randomly, though his heart was itching with curiosity.
He muttered to himself, what on earth is going on?
Fortunately, after blowing in the sea breeze for a while, Garp finally spoke.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination,
but Taro could hear a hint of frustration in Garp's low voice.
"Twenty-two years ago, that bastard made a decision on his own and entrusted a mother and child to this old man..."
Taro knew Garp was talking about Pirate King Roger entrusting Ace to him.
But what did that have to do with Shanks?
"Later, that bastard..."
Garp faced the sea, his expression hidden, as he told Taro about Ace in a low voice.
Taro listened with a look of confusion. In the end, he couldn't help but ask, "Old man, what does this have to do with Makino..."
Garp turned to stare at Taro, his voice raspy.
"Do you think a guy like Red Hair is the type to settle down?"
Then, he added with some indignation, "For guys like them, getting married and having kids is just bringing misery to others!"
Taro was stunned for a long moment. He hadn't expected Garp's disapproval of Makino and Red Hair's marriage to be for such a reason.
Well... in the world of pirates, being a mother was indeed a high-risk profession.
The mothers of Nami, George, Robin, and Shirahoshi—all deceased!
And the mothers of Usopp and Ace, as wives of pirates, not only saw very little of their husbands but ultimately died like disposable tools.
Thinking about it, it really was quite tragic!
In the original story, Makino got married and had a child during the two years after the Marineford War, and there was indeed no sign of the father around her.
It's quite tragic!
After thinking for a while, Taro spoke tentatively,
"Uh... old man, this... feelings and stuff, sometimes you just can't predict them!"
Hearing this, Garp suddenly flew into a rage and shouted,
"Feelings? That bastard just wants to go and die!"
"Huh?"
Taro was instantly dumbfounded. Red Hair would be perfectly fine for the next two years!
"Old man, with Red Hair's strength, that... that shouldn't be possible, right?"
After his outburst, Garp's emotions calmed slightly, and he snorted.
"What do you know?"
Taro was speechless and felt quite helpless.
"I don't know, but if you tell me, I'll understand!"
"With your current strength..." Garp shook his head decisively.
Taro curled his lip, somewhat dissatisfied.
"Yes, yes, yes, with my current strength, I'm not worthy of knowing! You're saying that again!"
Garp's expression faltered. This time he didn't get angry; instead, he nodded.
"It's good that you know!"
Taro was utterly speechless. After a moment of thought, he still tried to console him, "Old man, Red Hair will definitely be fine for at least two years..."
Two years was a conservative estimate. Given Red Hair's strength to personally go to Marijoa and meet the Gorosei, he wouldn't die that easily.
Garp glared at Taro, fuming. "So what?"
"That bastard Red Hair imitates everything that other bastard did. Who is he going to entrust Makino and her child to later? Me, or you, kid?"
He'd definitely entrust them to Luffy. Why would he entrust them to me?
I'm not even close to him!
I have no interest in being like Cao Cao!
Taro's eyes were strange and evasive.
"A lot can happen in two years. Maybe by then, the world will be completely different!"
Garp stared at Taro until his scalp felt numb, then sighed.
"You brats who don't know the heights of the heavens have no idea what you're about to face!"
Taro curled his lip dismissively and muttered under his breath, "Isn't it just the ancient weapons?"
"Hmm?" Garp frowned and clenched his fist.
Taro quickly dodged to the side and gave a dry laugh. "I was just saying."
"It seems you've been digging around a lot in secret!"
Garp looked at Taro meaningfully. "What do you know about the ancient weapons?"
Taro was startled. He thought for a moment.
"Just some bits and pieces. Um... Legend has it that pluton is a warship that can destroy an island with a single shot. And last time, I confirmed with you that Marijoa has that thing..."
Upon hearing this, Garp turned back to look at the sea, his tone solemn.
"Taro, why do you think pluton left behind such a legend?"
Taro answered instinctively, "It's a legend, how can it be accurate..."
As he spoke, he paused, his eyes widening as he swallowed hard.
"You... you mean, it once... fired a shot and destroyed an island?"
Garp didn't reply, which was a tacit admission.
Holy crap, Taro was stunned!
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.
Otherwise, how could such a rumor appear out of nowhere?
So the island Dark King destroyed was the Giant Kingdom of the Void Century?
"Old man, did it destroy... that kingdom?"
Taro rubbed his cheeks and asked in a low voice.
Garp frowned. "Did Nico Robin tell you about that kingdom?"
Taro suddenly felt a headache and shook his head.
"No, she hasn't figured it out herself, so what could she tell me? I found out on my own!"
Garp wouldn't believe Taro's nonsense and snorted angrily.
"Who else in this world would know about this and tell you?"
Taro didn't know how to respond and didn't dare to speak.
Garp stared at Taro for a while longer before shaking his head. "No."
Taro was confused again. If it wasn't the Giant Kingdom, where did Dark King blast?
"God Valley? That's not right either. Although God Valley has disappeared now, it still existed over thirty years ago."
If Dark King had only fired its cannon thirty-odd years ago, there should be quite a few people who know about it! At least not as few as there are now!
Taro pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure it out.
"Cough, Old Man Garp, give me a hint!"
Garp looked back at the sea. After a moment of thought, he spoke in a low voice, "You've been to that place!"
"I've been there?"
The more anxious Taro became, the less he could think of where it was, scratching his head in frustration.
He circulated his Internal Energy to calm his mind and carefully went over all the places he had visited.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him.
"Are you saying... Fish-Man Island?"
Garp neither agreed nor disagreed.
Taro had a realization and followed this train of thought.
"Then, the place Dark King's shot hit back then was..."
"Enies Lobby?!"
The hypothesis Taro voiced startled even himself!
However, at that moment, Garp turned around!
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