At Marineford's port, Vice Admiral Garp stood, the sea breeze ruffling his half-gray hair.
He looked at the Dog Head Warship, which was undergoing urgent repairs in the distance, smacked his lips, and turned to his adjutant, Bolt, shouting,
"Hey, Bolt! Tomorrow morning, switch to a fully fueled warship. My ship rushed back all the way from the New World and now it's like scrap metal!"
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp." Bolt saluted, saying in a deep voice, "I've already arranged it. We'll depart on time at six tomorrow morning!"
Vice Admiral Garp nodded in satisfaction, about to turn and leave, when suddenly, hurried footsteps came from behind him.
"Vice Admiral Garp! Please wait!"
"Hmm?" Vice Admiral Garp looked back and saw Tesoro, Gern's subordinate.
This green-haired Golden Boy was usually the only one of Gern's trio who acted "calm,"
but at this moment, his expression was tense, and his eyes showed a rare anxiety.
"Yo!" Vice Admiral Garp raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Isn't this Gern's golden brat? What is it, do you need something from me?"
"Vice Admiral Garp." Tesoro took a deep breath, looked directly into Vice Admiral Garp's eyes, and said firmly, "Please let Libo and me go with you!"
"Huh?" Vice Admiral Garp was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, patting Tesoro's shoulder hard.
"What are you going for? I'm going to hunt down Roger! That guy is no small fry, you might die!"
"I know." Tesoro didn't flinch. Instead, he clenched his fists, his voice low and resolute,
"Because... I... I suspect that Vice Admiral Gern might also be hunting down Roger!"
"Gern hunting down Roger." Vice Admiral Garp's smile faltered slightly, his eyes instantly sharpening.
He stared at Tesoro, slowly saying, "What do you mean by that?"
Tesoro gritted his teeth, seemingly making a decision.
"Vice Admiral Gern was supposed to return to Marineford according to Sengoku's orders, but he told us to announce that he was still on the warship, and he acted alone...
I suspect he might have already found Roger!"
"Suspect, huh... But if it's him..." Vice Admiral Garp fell silent for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "That kid certainly has guts..."
"That's why! Vice Admiral Garp," Tesoro's voice took on a hint of urgency, "I know this violates regulations, and I might even be punished by Vice Admiral Gern.
But just thinking that he might be facing the Pirate King alone, I can't calm down!
No matter how strong Vice Admiral Gern is, he can't defeat Roger single-handedly! That's the Pirate King!"
Vice Admiral Garp stared at Tesoro for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned. "That kid Gern, he's raised quite a good subordinate!"
Tesoro was stunned, not expecting Vice Admiral Garp to react this way.
"Alright!" Vice Admiral Garp patted his shoulder, saying cheerfully, "Tomorrow morning, you two come along too!"
A hint of joy flashed in Tesoro's eyes, and he nodded solemnly, "Yes!"
Watching Tesoro's retreating figure, Vice Admiral Garp's smile gradually faded, and his eyes deepened.
"That kid Gern... found Roger?" He muttered to himself, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Impossible... I've chased that guy for half my life, and Gern has only fought him once.
How could he pinpoint Roger's location earlier than the World Government, earlier than everyone in the Marine?
Roger isn't some..." Mid-sentence, Vice Admiral Garp suddenly stopped, as if struck by something.
A scene from several months ago flashed through his mind.
It was in the corridor before a Marine high-level meeting. He and Gern were walking side by side, and Gern casually joked,
"Is Roger heartbroken, running off to the South Sea to find a young lady? That's too much!"
At the time, Gern's footsteps paused imperceptibly. Although his expression remained calm, now, looking back, Vice Admiral Garp keenly caught that momentary abnormality.
"South Sea..." Vice Admiral Garp's pupils constricted slightly, and he suddenly understood.
"So that's it... That kid wasn't agreeing with me at all; he just let it slip himself!"
Thinking this, Vice Admiral Garp connected all the dots and couldn't help but clench his fists tightly, his knuckles making a slight sound.
"That guy Roger... has no ambition at all."
Vice Admiral Garp knew Roger too well.
That man conquered the seas, fulfilled his dream, and disbanding his pirate crew was by no means a conspiracy, but truly letting go.
"All he wants is to rest for a bit..."
And the South Sea was Roger's last temporary stop.
"And then... he will return to his hometown."
Vice Admiral Garp's breathing hitched slightly, and Roger's face, with a relieved smile, from their last encounter, appeared in his mind.
"After everything is over, I will surrender! So, Garp! Don't stop me anymore."
At the time, Vice Admiral Garp thought it was just Roger's arrogance, but now, thinking about it...
"That guy... was serious!"
Roger had no intention of escaping, nor did he intend to stir up any storm.
He just wanted to return to the East Blue, to where it all began, at the end of his life.
And Gern, he probably saw through this long ago.
"Brat..." Vice Admiral Garp's lips curved slightly, but a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
"What exactly do you want to do?!"
...
On the third day after Vice Admiral Garp left Marineford, the atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office was heavy.
Sengoku, Fleet Admiral Kong, and Zephyr sat around a large strategic sand table, their brows furrowed as they analyzed Roger's supposed "ambition."
Sengoku's finger tapped lightly on the table, and he said in a deep voice,
"Roger disbanding his pirate crew could never be as simple as just retiring.
That reason can be directly ruled out; he must be..."
"Hmm." Fleet Admiral Kong crossed his hands under his chin, his gaze sharp. "World Government intelligence shows his last known location was the South Sea, but the exact position..."
Zephyr snorted coldly, "No matter what he's planning, as long as he dares to show his face, he can't hide! Rocks was the same."
"But..."
Just then, "Brrrring! Brrrring!"
The Den Den Mushi on the table suddenly rang urgently. Almost at the same moment, a flurry of chaotic footsteps came from outside the corridor,
growing louder until they culminated in a loud "Bang!" as the office door was violently pushed open!
Fleet Admiral Kong's eyes sharpened. He had already answered the Den Den Mushi first, and the urgent shouts of the communications officer immediately came through the receiver.
"Fleet Admiral Kong! Fleet Admiral Kong! The Scala Sea in the South Sea..."
Before he finished speaking, the rushing messenger stumbled in.
His face was pale, his chest heaved violently, and his pupils were constricted with shock, as if he had witnessed something world-shattering.
"Hey!" Sengoku stood up abruptly. "What's going on?!"
Zephyr pressed his hand on the edge of the table, and fine cracks appeared in the wooden surface under his palm.
The intelligence officer opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing, and finally, a earth-shshattering shout burst out:
"Vice Admiral Gern and Pirate King Roger are fighting in the Scala Sea in the South Sea, on Byax Island!
Both sides are fighting to the death!!
The world is shocked!!!!!!!"
The air suddenly solidified.
At this moment, the voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi continued: "The sea space is distorted!
The aftermath of the battle triggered a super-giant tsunami! Three nearby islands have sunk, and a thousand-mile sea area appears to have been hollowed out!!"
The Den Den Mushi in Fleet Admiral Kong's hand "cracked" and shattered. Sengoku's pupils behind his glasses constricted violently, and Zephyr also broke out in a cold sweat.
"That madman..." Sengoku squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "He still dares to challenge Roger alone?!"
"Does he think he's Garp?! Damn it!"
Fleet Admiral Kong slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Immediately mobilize all Marineford combat forces! Blockade the South Sea! Roger must not..."
"Wait!" At this moment, Zephyr, who was the most anxious, suddenly raised his hand to interrupt, his voice terrifyingly low: "No... The focus now isn't Roger!"
"Zephyr..." Seeing Zephyr lost in worry, Sengoku just stepped forward, but Zephyr immediately stared at the intelligence officer and demanded,
"When... when was this intelligence from!"
"Two..." The intelligence officer swallowed, his voice trembling: "Two days ago."
Sengoku: "!!!"
Fleet Admiral Kong: "!!!"
"Two days ago?!" Fleet Admiral Kong slammed his hand on the table, and the solid wood office desk shattered under his palm. "Why are we only receiving the news now?!"
The intelligence officer was pushed back half a step by Fleet Admiral Kong's Haki, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.
"The... the communication in the Scala Sea was completely cut off. It was only after a nearby patrol ship observed abnormal weather phenomena and risked approaching..."
"Only then did they discover..." His voice grew softer and softer, "That sea area now... has completely changed..."
Sengoku grabbed the shattered Den Den Mushi, and intermittent static came from the remaining communicator.
"...Space cracks... Ten thousand meter tremor zone... Seawater cannot flow back... Cannot approach..."
At this moment, Zephyr suddenly turned and walked to the window, his Armament Haki-clad fist smashing the entire wall open.
Salty sea wind, mixed with heavy rain, poured in, and the alarm of Marineford in the distance blared through the sky.
"Now is not the time to investigate." Zephyr's cloak flapped wildly in the strong wind. "If that kid Gern can really force Roger to go all out..."
As he turned, a frightening glint flashed in his eyes, "That battlefield is probably already..."
Fleet Admiral Kong's face was ashen as he ripped off his Fleet Admiral's cloak: "Immediately activate the Buster Call-level response plan!
Mobilize five Vice Admirals, no, everyone! Stop all missions, no matter what they are, and get to the four..."
His voice suddenly hitched, as if he remembered something terrifying: "Wait, where is Garp?"
Sengoku's fingers, which were rapidly flipping through the intelligence booklet, suddenly froze: "According to the voyage... his destination is Loguetown in the East Blue!"
All three of them changed color simultaneously.
Outside the window, a lightning bolt struck, illuminating the three grim faces in the office.
The intelligence officer trembled as he added: "And... and even worse... The battle was observed to have suddenly stopped almost this morning..."
He swallowed with difficulty, "But... it's impossible to determine who the victor is? After all, no one has been able to enter that sea area yet..."
In the heavy rain, the broken Den Den Mushi suddenly let out its final screech: "...CP agent confirmed... analysis, Loguetown in the East Blue... is his final location!"
This sentence was like a heavy hammer striking everyone's heart.
"Move out immediately!" Zephyr violently crushed the window frame: "We need to see him alive or find his corpse!"
When Fleet Admiral Kong rushed out of the office, the entire Marineford was already in an uproar.
Officers ran wildly in the rain, and the sirens of warships blared throughout the port.