Carl jumped into the middle of the two brawling pirates and Marines. "Hey, you two! If you keep fighting, you'll wreck this whole place! Then you'll both have to pay for it, and Nami won't give you a single penny!"
Nami was quick to back him up, nodding emphatically. "That's right! I'm not helping with any of your debts!"
But seeing Carl only angered Garp more. "You little jerk, Carl! You're the one who taught Luffy to be so reckless! If it weren't for you, he'd never have had the guts to cause so much trouble at Marineford!"
Carl shot back, "Hold on there, old man. I don't like the sound of that. What's wrong with Luffy wanting to save his own brother? I'd say you're the one to blame—you're a grandfather who saw his own grandson get executed and did nothing! Why are you trying to put the blame on me?"
Garp was completely speechless, unable to defend himself.
Carl continued, "I know you have a duty as a Marine hero, and that comes with a lot of difficult choices. But Luffy is a pirate, and it's his right to save his brother. Honestly, you should be thanking me. If I hadn't trained Luffy so well, you might have lost two grandsons on that battlefield!"
Garp had no argument against that. As Carl said, there was nothing wrong with Luffy wanting to save his brother. On the battlefield, surrounded by countless powerhouses, if Carl hadn't trained him, Luffy would have been killed, and in front of Garp, no less.
Losing both Ace and Luffy would have been an unbearable blow. Garp's heart was secretly filled with gratitude for Carl.
After a long silence, Garp let out a deep sigh. "Do you have any tools? I'll fix this wall myself so we don't have to pay for it." He then began to repair the damage himself.
Everyone present understood Garp's inner conflict. As a Marine, he had to uphold his own brand of justice. Yet as a grandfather, he couldn't bear to lose his grandsons.
He was torn between his loyalty to the Marines and the pressure from the World Government. Even if he had wanted to let Ace go, he couldn't.
He had no choice but to endure his grief and side with Marine justice. If Ace had truly died, Garp would have been the most devastated of all.
"Luffy," Garp tried to change the subject to something less tense, "did you ever meet your dad?"
"Yeah, I met him in Loguetown!" Luffy said brightly. "Dad's a great guy. He didn't try to stop me from becoming a pirate. He's way better than you, old man!"
"You ungrateful brat!" Garp yelled. "I only wanted you to join the Marines for your own good!"
"I don't want to be a Marine! I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
And just like that, they were back to arguing again. Usually, these arguments ended with Luffy getting a punch, but now that he was much stronger, it wasn't so easy.
"Oh, by the way, Grandpa," Luffy said, picking his nose, "did you know that my dad saved Sabo? Sabo's alive!"
"Yep, I saw that little guy, Sabo, before. He was still alive and kicking. It's really something," Garp said, a flood of emotions washing over him. When he first heard that Sabo had died, he'd wanted to beat that Celestial Dragon to death.
He saw Sabo as one of his own grandsons, so it was devastating to hear he'd died so young. He was so happy when he saw Sabo alive and well on the battlefield. It was a rare good thing that his son, Dragon, had actually done.
"Ahem, well, now that you're one of the Five Emperors, just try to stay out of trouble, okay?" Garp said, changing the subject again to avoid getting choked up.
Luffy shrugged. "Grandpa, I just want to go on adventures and become the Pirate King. As long as nobody gets in my way, I won't cause any trouble!"
Garp sighed. Luffy was a pirate, and now one of the most powerful ones in the world. The Marines and the World Government would never allow him to become the Pirate King. Obstacles were inevitable, and when that happened, it would be another world-shaking event. Garp couldn't stop it; all he could do was worry about Luffy's safety.
"Don't worry about him, old man," Carl said, interjecting again. "Luffy's going to be fine. We're his crew, and we'll make sure of it!"
Garp grinned. "Hahahaha! You little punks are still a long way from that!" But he was in a much better mood. The Straw Hat crew was incredibly strong. Especially Carl, who had defeated Admiral Akainu and driven off even Kaido. With allies like these, Garp felt a lot more at ease about Luffy's safety.
He was still working on the wall when a team of Marines arrived. They were hesitant to enter the hotel, knowing that one of the Five Emperors was inside.
Bogard, Garp's assistant, walked in first, followed by two younger officers—one with pink hair and one with blond hair.
Zoro's eyes narrowed as he saw Bogard. He immediately recognized the man who had delivered his scabbard. He knew Bogard was a masterful swordsman, and the thought of a good fight made him tense up. Even Tashigi gripped the hilt of her sword.
But Bogard showed no interest in a fight. He simply stood to the side without even saluting Garp.
Garp laughed. "Luffy, I brought two people who said they wanted to see you."
"Huh? Who is it?" Luffy asked, tilting his head.
Suddenly, the pink-haired boy lunged forward and threw a punch at Luffy's head.
Luffy dodged easily and pinned the boy to the floor. "What was that for?! You can't just attack someone without a word!"
At the same time, the blond officer drew his twin swords and charged at Zoro. Zoro didn't even bother drawing his own swords. He simply kicked the man away. "Who are these guys?" he grumbled. "So rude."
Carl yawned. "Oh, it's just Koby and Helmeppo. I didn't expect you two to become Marine officers."
"Koby?! As in, that little coward Koby?!" Luffy, Zoro, and Nami all stared in disbelief.
Koby had changed completely. He was taller and no longer the timid boy they'd once known.
Koby scratched his head, embarrassed. "Yeah, I was taken in by Vice Admiral Garp and brought to Marine Headquarters to train. I'm a sergeant now!"
Luffy laughed. "That's great! Your dream came true, Koby!"
"Yeah, it did," Koby said, smiling. "Thanks to you, Luffy-san. And thank you, Zoro, Carl, and Nami!" He knew that if he hadn't met the Straw Hat crew, he'd still be a poor cabin boy on Alvida's ship, not a Marine officer.
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