Chapter 145: Water 7 – Relaxation, Garp's Visit, and Old Bonds
Garp hammered away at the wall with a hammer while suddenly throwing a question at Luffy: "By the way, have you met your dad yet?"
"My dad? I actually have a dad?" Luffy tilted his head, looking completely confused.
"What? He didn't acknowledge you? That brat clearly said he saw you off at Loguetown!" Garp picked his nose, sounding displeased.
"That guy's just an old tsundere. He was hiding in the distance secretly watching Luffy. When I caught him, he still refused to admit it." Sol recalled the encounter with Dragon at Loguetown. If he hadn't exposed him on the spot, the man would have tried to brush it off with "revolutionary work."
"Luffy's father… was he there in Loguetown too?" Sanji tried to recall the scene.
"I'm quite interested in Luffy's father," Nami leaned closer to Sol and whispered curiously.
"So that's how it is. Your father's name is Monkey D. Dragon. He's a revolutionary," Garp said after hearing Sol's explanation, instantly realizing that his "rebellious son" had fed him nothing but lies last time!
Garp's "family bombshell" hit like a depth charge. Except for Sol, who already knew, and Luffy, who had no idea what was going on, everyone else was stunned into silence.
"Hey, Sol, why does everyone look so shocked? That's weird," Luffy said casually while picking his nose.
"Because your dad founded the Revolutionary Army. He's united countries and people all over the world who are oppressed by the World Government and is working to overthrow their tyranny—that's why he's called 'the most evil criminal in the world,'" Sol explained concisely.
"Isn't that a good guy?" Luffy said with a perfectly natural expression.
Sol added lazily: "By the way, when I was returning to Windmill Village, I once hitched a ride on his ship. Uncle Dragon even tried to recruit me into the revolutionaries, but I turned him down."
"Really, Sol?! I'm so touched!" Luffy suddenly lunged over and hugged him tightly. "You really believed I could become the Pirate King, so you rejected both my dad and Ace's invitations, right?!"
"Get off! Your snot's about to get on me!" Sol pushed Luffy's head away in disgust.
"What a headache. I really shouldn't have said anything. Just pretend I didn't say anything, okay?" Garp scratched his head apologetically.
Ignoring the shocked soldiers, Garp finished patching the wall and stood up to leave. "Alright, I'll pretend I never ran into you. I'm heading out first."
Luffy waved goodbye casually, only to get punched by the old man again. "Is this how you treat your grandpa after not seeing him for so long? Can't you at least try to keep me around a little?!"
Luffy clutched his head and grumbled: "Then what do you want me to do? And why didn't Sol get hit?"
"I just want my grandson's love. As for that brat, he already saw the situation going south and sneaked behind Nami," Garp pointed at Luffy. Not far away, Sol quietly hid behind Nami's back, pretending to be an ostrich and staying silent.
Seeing Sol and Luffy like this, Nami silently pulled Robin over to help block as well. Sweating, she whispered to her companions: "Look at how unreasonable he is. Luffy's completely terrified. Is this bloodline suppression?"
"Probably. It's the first time I've seen Luffy this scared," Usopp nodded seriously.
"Phew… that grumpy old man finally left." Sol wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead, looking visibly relieved. "Why are you so afraid of Vice Admiral Garp?" Nami asked curiously.
"You've seen how I trained Zoro and the others, right?" Sol wore an expression of painful memories. "But Grandpa Garp's training intensity starts at ten times that… and he never gives you a chance to catch your breath."
"Uh… yeah, that reaction makes sense." Nami thought about the so-called hellish training Zoro had endured, multiplied by ten, and could only describe it as "worse than death."
"I'm going swimming with Vivi and Robin," Nami said, turning and heading for the door.
"Huh? Where are you swimming? Is there a pool here?" Sol instinctively reached out with a dramatic "Er Kang hand," looking confused.
"There's an employee pool behind this building, run by Galley-La," Nami's voice floated back from a distance.
"Did you hear that, Sanji?" Sol turned his head and saw Sanji already with hearts in his eyes and a perverted grin on his face.
"Of course! Pool party! Vivi-chan Robin-chan I'm coming!" Sanji shouted excitedly, already starting to strip as he rushed out—only to be kicked to the ground by Sol.
"I said barbecue party! What the hell is going on in that head of yours every day?!"
Sanji grabbed Sol by the neck, furious: "Ha?! What did you say?! You already have Nami-san, and you still want to make a move on the others?! No way! The prince for Vivi and Robin is me and me alone!"
"That last part was your true feelings, wasn't it…" Zoro walked over, having heard the last sentence, and couldn't help but comment.
"I-I'm suffocating… Just think about it. When Vivi and the others get tired from swimming, if you're the first to hand them grilled meat and drinks, won't they give you a passionate hug?" Sol struggled to pry Sanji's hands off while speaking quickly.
"Ehehehe…" Sanji was instantly hooked. He immediately ran back to the kitchen, grabbed a huge pile of ingredients and utensils, and dashed outside. "I'll be the barbecue master right now!"
"Ehehehe, so easy to fool~ Nami-chan, here I come!" Sol changed into swim trunks at lightning speed, shirtless, and sprinted toward the pool.
Usopp and the others who witnessed the whole thing were dumbfounded: "Poor Sanji-kun is completely being played by Sol."
At the barbecue grill, Sanji's hands were flying, but he still glared at Sol in the water with a gaze that could kill, muttering nonstop under his breath: "Burn you… burn you… you bastard…"
Meanwhile, the person in question—Sol—was happily splashing water with Vivi in the pool. Nami and Robin each lay on inflatable floats, leisurely sunbathing on the water's surface. The scene was perfectly relaxed.
"Luffy, Sanji's water meat seems ready. Can you grab me a portion?" Usopp whispered encouragingly. The moment Luffy heard "grilled meat," he reached out—only for Sanji to turn his head and glare at him. The black aura radiating from Sanji made both of them instantly stand at attention, not daring to move. Seeing them behave, Sanji snorted coldly and continued flipping the meat.
"Sanji-kun~ Robin and I would like a special cold drink. Is the grilled meat ready yet?" Nami's voice was like music from heaven, instantly dispelling the resentment around Sanji.
"Yes! Nami-san Robin-san Coming right up!" Sanji instantly turned into a perfect gentleman. He quickly prepared three cold drinks, carefully arranged the freshly grilled water meat skewers, and elegantly handed them toward Robin.
At that moment, Granny Kokoro suddenly burst out of the water with a splash, casually taking the plate and drinks from Sanji's hands and digging in: "Mmm! This is incredibly delicious!"
Sanji instantly bared shark-like teeth: "Where the hell did you pop out from, you old hag?! This was clearly prepared for Robin-san and the others!!"
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