In the corridors of Marineford, sunlight streamed through the tall French windows, casting long shadows of the two men.
Gern, with his hands in his pockets and black blade eight desolations at his waist, walked side-by-side with Garp towards the conference room, their military boots making crisp sounds on the floor.
"Vice Admiral Garp," Gern suddenly lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with a gossipy light.
"You think Roger, that guy, wouldn't be someone who likes to 'eat tender grass'?
Gern's thought was indeed correct, as Roger and Rouge were two people from different generations!
"Eating tender grass?!" Garp burst out laughing, his voice echoing through the corridor, causing a passing Marine clerk to almost drop the documents in his hand.
"Haha, you used that phrase well!"
"But, you brat! You've become quite the gossip lately!" Garp clapped Gern hard on the back, with such force that Gern stumbled.
"But speaking of that, I did recall an interesting matter."
Garp leaned in mysteriously, lowering his voice, "Do you know Gloriosa of the Kuja Pirates?"
"Of course!" Gern raised an eyebrow, "During the Rocks era, they were an idol-level pirate crew!"
Gern thought for a moment and continued, "But with the fall of Rocks, didn't Gloriosa return to Nine Snake to become the Empress?
Hmm, no, calculating the time, she should be close to retirement.
It should be Shakky, the more famous second-in-command, who is preparing to succeed as Empress."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Garp suddenly put his arm around Gern's shoulder, with such force that he almost squeezed him into his embrace.
"I'll tell you something others don't know...
Actually, Gloriosa liked that guy Roger, and Roger liked Shakky, and Shakky liked Rayleigh!"
"Oh wow!" Gern's eyes lit up; this ancient gossip was much more explosive than newspaper news.
"So complicated? Then did Rayleigh like Gloriosa too?"
"Not at all!" Garp smugly rubbed his nose, "They actually had contact back then.
I remember the Kuja Pirates and the Roger Pirates clashing; originally, after it ended, they even wanted to hold a 'social gathering'.
But I descended from the sky and broke them up with my fists! Hahaha."
"That's great! Why doesn't any Empress like me? I could also be the 'Marine King'!"
"Haha, Gern, maybe someone in Amazon Lily really does like you?
After all, your reputation in the Marine is not bad!"
Whenever Garp thought of past events, he always laughed heartily.
"So..." Gern mused, "Roger was hurt by love, so he ran off to the South Sea to find a young girl? That's too wicked!"
"Roger went to the South Sea? How come I don't know about this?" Garp's laughter abruptly stopped, and he stroked his chin, pondering.
Gern, who had let slip the information, was about to explain, but Garp continued on his own, "You must be talking about something from before, right?"
"However, now that you mention it... it's really possible!
After all, Roger was quite depressed for a while after Shakky rejected him back then."
As the two chatted enthusiastically, the door to the conference room in front of them suddenly opened, and Sengoku's grim face appeared at the doorway; he directly grabbed both of them, one in each hand.
"Hey, you two! The meeting started ten minutes ago! You idiots."
Looking at Sengoku, Garp immediately put on an innocent expression, "Huh? Didn't it start in half an hour?"
"You remembered the wrong time!" A vein bulged on Sengoku's forehead, and his gaze turned to Gern.
"And you, Gern! As a Vice Admiral, you're still fooling around with Garp!"
"Hehe!" Gern scratched his head, embarrassed.
...
In the conference room, the Marine high command had already gathered.
Kong still sat at the head of the table, his expression serious.
"Two idiots with no sense of time!" Sengoku quickly returned to his seat, and Tsuru smiled at him.
Zephyr, though he had stepped down as an Admiral, still attended as the head of the Elite Training Camp but generally did not intend to speak.
On the other side, Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino, three Vice Admirals, sat on one side, their expressions varied.
"What are we going to talk about today?" Garp swaggered to his seat and casually pulled out a bag of senbei from his pocket.
Gern nodded to everyone and took the empty seat next to Sakazuki.
"Alright, since everyone is here..." Kong tapped the table and said in a deep voice, "Let's begin today's agenda!"
As he spoke, the lights in the conference room dimmed, and a projection Den Den Mushi cast a huge sea chart onto the wall, marking the latest developments in various sea areas.
Kong stood at the main position, his gaze sweeping over everyone, his voice low and powerful.
"According to the latest intelligence, after Roger became the Pirate King,
the World Government suspects he has grasped some 'dangerous secret' and has ordered us to fully pursue him!"
"Dangerous secret?" Kuzan raised an eyebrow and asked lazily,
"A reason without specific details to make us confront the Roger Pirates... Tsk tsk tsk, it's not a fun thing, is it?!"
"No matter what it is," Sakazuki snorted coldly, "the title of Pirate King will certainly embolden pirates!
He must be apprehended as soon as possible!"
Borsalino did not speak but tilted his head, wearing dark glasses and feigning a low-key appearance.
In fact, he had already fallen asleep!
Looking at the agitated Sakazuki, Sengoku directly tapped the table on behalf of Kong, interrupting everyone's discussion.
Sengoku stood in front of the projection Den Den Mushi, and the screen displayed data showing the surge in pirate activities worldwide.
"Sakazuki is right; after Roger became the 'Pirate King,' pirate morale is unprecedentedly high." Sengoku pushed up his glasses, his tone heavy.
"The number of pirates in the first half of the Grand Line has increased by 40%, and the four seas are a complete mess.
Of course, all of this is currently controllable; we just need to formulate a comprehensive response plan.
Currently, what's more troublesome is..."
He switched the screen, and several photos of riots appeared.
Civilians storming palaces, Revolutionary Army flags flying in the streets, royal armies being defeated...
"Dragoon's army?" Sakazuki uttered the phrase coldly.
"Exactly." Sengoku nodded, "Dragoon's army is inciting rebellion worldwide, and three affiliated nations have already erupted in revolution.
The World Government is pressuring the Marine to immediately suppress them!"
Kong crossed his arms, his gaze sharp, "Their actions are more dangerous and secretive than pirates; the higher-ups demand that we deal with them as soon as possible!"
"Deal with them immediately?" Garp's usually lazy expression instantly froze, and he slammed his hand on the table.
"Hey, Kong! You're not thinking of making the Marine suppress those civilians, are you?!"
Kong gave him a cold glance, "Garp, don't play dumb.
Your son, Dragoon, is now the World Government's number one most wanted criminal; his army is overthrowing legitimate governments!"
Garp's face darkened, "You know full well what those 'legitimate governments' are like!
Parasites who exploit civilians; they deserve to be overthrown!"
"Garp!" Sengoku immediately stood up and sternly interjected.
"Mind your position!"