Chapter 76: Luffy's Altered Fate
“Roger’s son joining the Marine, that doesn’t sound like a good idea at all,” Cain’s words struck Garp’s mind like a bolt of lightning.
“How did you know? Was it Ace?”
Garp instinctively clenched his fists.
He absolutely could not let this secret leak out!
Even if it cost him his old life!
Cain, however, waved his hand, completely unconcerned by Garp’s hostility: “Save it, old man, once a secret is known by a second person, it’s no longer a secret.”
“I don’t care what your intentions are, I will never allow you to scheme about Ace’s identity!”
Garp’s eyes widened, and threads of killing intent emanated from him.
“Don’t worry, I consider Ace a companion.”
Cain continued, regardless of whether Garp believed him: “Old man, you said you want Ace to join the Marine to uphold justice, but does the Marine truly represent justice?”
“You should be clearer about the darkness of this world than I am. Aren’t you?”
Cain stared into Garp’s eyes, enunciating each word.
“No matter how inhumane the World Government is, they are still better than you pirate scum.”
Garp made no secret of his attitude towards the World Government.
“Really?” Cain chuckled, scoffing: “No matter how bad pirates are, you probably can’t find many instances of them destroying a country, can you?”
“Do I need to remind you? The Celestial Dragons’ hunting activity, held once every three years.”
Cain crossed his arms, his expression exaggerated: “Tsk, tsk, tsk, every three years, a lifeless island appears on this great sea, brought under the World Government’s jurisdiction.”
“If not for Rocks, perhaps this hunting activity would still be ongoing today.”
“Old man, tell me, if the people of the sea knew the truth, would they support the Marine, who represent ‘justice,’ more, or the pirates, who represent ‘evil,’ more?”
Garp’s expression froze, and his fists instinctively unclenched.
It was precisely because he saw the dark nature of the Celestial Dragons that he had always put off the Admiral position and refused to be promoted.
After all, once he became an Admiral, he would inevitably have to protect those trash Celestial Dragons.
“Besides the hunting activity, there’s also the slave trade. The Celestial Dragons have always been the biggest funders of slave transactions, and there’s also the Heavenly Tribute system…”
Cain shook his head and sighed: “The disgusting things the Celestial Dragons have done, you couldn’t finish talking about them in three days and three nights.”
Garp let out a cold snort: “So, you want to hand the world over to you scoundrels?”
At over seventy years old, he wouldn’t be swayed by a few words.
No matter how bad the order, it was still order.
With the Marine around, people on the sea could at least receive some protection.
But if it were pirates…
Garp had seen countless pirates who plundered, killed, and looted during his decades in the military.
The Celestial Dragons at least didn’t easily descend to the lower world; their main areas of activity, besides Mary Geoise, were the Sabaody Archipelago.
For remote areas, the harm caused by Celestial Dragons was far less than that of vicious pirates.
“Why not?”
Cain countered: “The territories under the New World Emperors live no worse than ordinary allied nations.”
There’s no need to elaborate on Whitebeard; he’s the only one who could run a monopoly business while living in poverty himself.
They basically only collected protection fees to cover the expenses of their fleet, living in a state where they wouldn’t starve but also wouldn’t get rich.
Red Hair’s territory was in a similar situation.
Even Charlotte Linlin’s Totto Land.
While seemingly having harsh conditions, where all citizens must surrender one month of their lifespan every six months.
But they also enjoyed Charlotte Linlin’s protection.
In the perilous New World, safety was an absolute luxury.
Moreover, besides life, Totto Land did not overly exploit its citizens.
In this world where everyone was terrible, Charlotte Linlin could even be considered a capable ruler.
“Hmph, pirates are pirates. No matter how eloquent you are, I won’t believe a single word of yours.”
Garp couldn’t, and was too lazy to, argue.
The World Government ruled most of the world not by its governance capabilities, but by naked violence.
“It doesn’t matter. Sooner or later, I will overthrow the Celestial Dragons’ rule. Time will prove everything!”
Cain had rested enough, and he patted his backside before standing up.
These words of his were not only for Garp but also for a certain unnamed peeping king in the sky.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell the World Government what you’ve said? The Beasts Pirates will surely face utter destruction then.”
Garp said coldly.
“Suit yourself, Kaido might even be hoping for it. He’s always wanted a massive war that engulfs the world.”
Cain smiled lightly: “As for me, at worst, I’ll just join your son. The Revolutionary Army hasn’t been wiped out for so long; I respect their ability to hide.”
Being large also has its drawbacks; a big ship is hard to turn around.
The World Government seemed vast, but the bureaucratic system accumulated over many years had long become bloated and inefficient.
Dragon has been openly challenging the World Government for so many years and has long been designated as the world’s most dangerous criminal, yet he is still alive and well.
The World Government has no way to deal with him, and the damage caused to the Revolutionary Army is even less than what Blackbeard caused.
At least Blackbeard actually attacked the Revolutionary Army headquarters.
“Leave Ace to me. I, too, intensely dislike this world.”
Cain turned and waved, then left.
Behind him, Garp’s hands clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched.
Ultimately, he still didn’t give chase.
Just as Cain completely disappeared from Garp’s sight, a gust of wind blew through.
Dragon appeared from the wind.
“Hm? You dare to show up in front of me?!”
“Fist of Love!”
Garp instantly flew into a rage the moment he saw Dragon’s face; the strength that had been lacking in his body moments ago suddenly surged forth.
He clenched his fist and struck.
“Dad, can’t we just talk nicely?”
Dragon showed a bitter smile, not daring to retaliate, only continuously blocking.
The two father and son tangled for a while before it ended with Garp out of breath.
Dragon advised: “Dad, times have changed. The Marine is increasingly unable to represent justice.”
Garp roared: “It’s not your place, you brat, to lecture me.”
Looking at the still stubborn old man, Dragon didn’t press further; he himself was no different in character.
He wouldn’t turn back even if he hit a wall.
“I just came to tell you.”
Dragon transformed into a breeze again: “The wind of a new era has already begun to blow!”
As his voice fell, Dragon completely vanished into the air.
After listening to Cain’s words, he decided to make contact with the Beasts Pirates.
Just as Cain said, the Revolutionary Army also needed weapons.
Of course, before that, he had to conduct an on-site inspection in Wano Country.
To decide the depth of his cooperation with Cain.
Garp stood rooted to the spot, silent for a long time, feeling that he couldn’t let Luffy continue to fool around in Windmill Village.
In just a few years, two waves of great pirates had arrived.
Look, how badly they had corrupted his precious grandson.
Indeed, he had to keep Luffy by his side and personally guide him.
Hmm, that’s what he would do.
With his excellent teaching ability, plus constant exposure, he would definitely be able to educate Luffy into an outstanding Marine!