All at once, the atmosphere in the conference room instantly dropped to freezing point.
"Garp," Sengoku reprimanded, then gave him a meaningful look.
"Hmph!" Garp snorted coldly, sat back down, and didn't pay much attention.
In any case, Dragoon's affairs had always been his responsibility, and Fleet Admiral Kong should only be making a superficial stance...
Looking at Garp's expression, Fleet Admiral Kong frowned slightly, tapped his knuckles twice on the table, and suddenly turned his gaze to a corner at the other end of the conference table.
Gern was leisurely tearing up the meeting minutes to fold paper balls, and under Sengoku's murderous gaze, he flicked one with a "whoosh" towards Borsalino, who was dozing off opposite him.
The paper ball drew a perfect parabola and accurately flew into Kizaru's twitching nostril.
"Achoo!" As Kizaru rubbed his nose and looked up, Fleet Admiral Kong's voice boomed like muffled thunder: "Gern!"
"Here!" Gern responded subconsciously.
"This matter is handed over to you to handle."
Gern's fingertips were still clutching a second paper ball, but upon hearing this, he flipped his wrist, and the incriminating evidence silently slid into his sleeve.
Then he blinked, feigning confusion, and pointed to himself: "Me?"
"That's right," Fleet Admiral Kong said in a deep voice, "The Revolutionary Army's actions must be curbed, but direct war will only make the situation more chaotic.
You go investigate Dragoon's movements, and if necessary... you can take strong measures; it would be even better if you can bring him back."
"Fleet Admiral Kong! What do you mean?!" Garp stood up abruptly once again: "Let Gern deal with Dragoon?!
He's my son, isn't this what I've always been in charge of?!"
Fleet Admiral Kong said coldly: "Garp, precisely because he is your son, I won't let you go! Because you will definitely protect him!"
Garp's fists clenched, making cracking sounds, but in the end, he sat back heavily in his chair, gritting his teeth: "Do whatever you want!"
(As if Gern isn't my disciple.)
Gern looked at Garp, then at Fleet Admiral Kong, and suddenly understood.
Fleet Admiral Kong was preparing to deal with the higher-ups; after all, Garp was indeed a bit passive in his work.
So he smiled: "Alright, I'll take this task."
Saying that, Gern stood up, hands in his pockets, and said in a relaxed tone, "However, I have a condition."
"What condition?" Fleet Admiral Kong asked.
"I want full authority to handle it, without interference from CP," Gern narrowed his eyes, "If those idiots in the World Government try to dictate, I won't guarantee the outcome."
Fleet Admiral Kong was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright."
"Good! In that case, next is the handling of the pirate craze triggered by Roger!" After confirming one matter, Fleet Admiral Kong pondered for a moment, then continued to decide.
"Sakazuki is responsible for the New World sea area, Kuzan is stationed in the first half of the Grand Line, and Borsalino monitors the movements of the Four Seas.
"Sengoku remains at headquarters and observes the re-emerged Golden Lion, while Garp will patrol and keep a close eye on Whitebeard for me.
As for the Roger Pirates... Roger's whereabouts are uncertain after becoming the 'Pirate King', and the World Government will have CP handle the intelligence."
..........
The meeting didn't end until evening, and by the time most of the others had left,
Garp walked out of the office and stood alone in the corridor, looking at the sea outside the window, saying nothing.
"Vice Admiral Garp!" Gern walked up to him and handed him a bag of senbei: "Don't worry! I won't kill Dragoon."
"You're really going to make a move? You bastard!" Garp took the senbei, bit into it fiercely, and said gruffly,
"That kid... he's been troublesome since he was little. It would be best if you could persuade him to come back!"
"That's harder than arresting Roger, Vice Admiral Garp!" Gern smiled: "Perhaps, he just chose his own justice."
Garp didn't answer, just chewed the senbei forcefully, as if chewing on some inexpressible emotion.
"Are you going alone this time?" Garp asked, glancing sideways.
"Of course, I'll bring Libo and Tesoro," Gern shrugged, "After all, I need help too."
"Haha!" Garp suddenly recovered his expression and burst into laughter: "You kid, you want to take them to hog the credit, don't you!"
"Hey hey, Vice Admiral Garp!" Gern feigned seriousness and raised his index finger.
"You can't just say things like that. This is a legitimate mission that Fleet Admiral Kong himself just personally issued."
"Cut the act!" Garp laughed and cursed, then suddenly his expression became serious, and he mysteriously pulled an object from his Pregnant.
It was a crudely made shoe sole, with obvious signs of wear on the edges.
"Take this 'Symbol of Fatherly Love'." He unceremoniously shoved the "Supreme Shoe Board" into Gern's hand.
"This is..." Gern lowered his head to examine this legendary "Symbol of Fatherly Love."
On the sole of the shoe were four crooked large characters: "Love Education."
"If you see that unfilial son," Garp gritted his teeth and flexed his wrist.
"You use this to give him a good beating! He didn't even invite his own father to his wedding? Is that proper?!"
The more Garp spoke, the angrier he became, his fists clenching with cracking sounds.
"I should have disciplined him myself, but now I'll let you, my half-disciple, do it..."
"Would this be bad...?" Gern weighed the "divine artifact" in his hand.
He said it was bad, but his lips never stopped curving upwards.
At the same time, his fingers gently traced the uneven texture on the shoe sole, as if he could already foresee Dragoon receiving his exclusive mark.
"Just tell me if you'll help or not?"
"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Garp! I will definitely make Dragoon 'profoundly' experience your 'fatherly love' through my hands."
Garp nodded with satisfaction, then suddenly lowered his voice.
"Remember, aim for the left cheek; it's fleshy there, and the feel when hitting is best..."
...
Meanwhile, South Sea, Baterilla Island.
The sunset sank into the horizon, dyeing the entire sky yellow.
On the cliff at the edge of the town, the sea wind howled, rolling up waves that crashed against the reefs, emitting a dull roar.
Golden Lion Shiki sat cross-legged on the cliff edge, his unique ship's wheel on his head, and cigar smoke wafted in front of his ferocious face.
He grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth: "Roger, how does it feel to be the 'Pirate King'?"
Opposite him, Gol D. Roger leaned casually against a rock, a peculiar hat pulled low, covering most of his face.
"Feel? Heh..." He held a bottle of rum in his hand, tilted his head back, took a swig, and then slowly replied,
"It's like standing at the end of the world, only to find there's a higher mountain ahead."
"Shiki," Roger sighed deeply, recalling what he had seen, and smiled slightly,
"It seems we were born too early!"
"Huh?!" Shiki looked puzzled, but quickly reacted and burst into loud laughter, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"So, you went through all that trouble to refuse me, circled the world for your dream, only to come to this conclusion?"
Roger didn't respond immediately, his gaze cast towards the distant sea, where a fishing boat was slowly passing by.
After a long while, he spoke again: "Shiki, you didn't come to find me just to ask me such a boring question, did you?" After speaking, Roger tossed the wine bottle away.
Golden Lion casually caught it, took a swig for himself, sobered his smile, and his eyes suddenly sharpened: "Of course not."
He exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice low, "I came to ask you... what exactly is on 'Laugh Tale' that you spoke of?
Why did you disband your pirate crew? Haven't you achieved your dream, Roger!!!"