Marine Headquarters, Marineford Harbor.
Finn strode down the warship's gangplank, the white cloak of justice draped over his shoulders billowing slightly in the sea breeze. A cigar hung from his lips, and his expression suggested mild irritation as he disembarked.
Behind him walked Rear Admiral Gion, her posture alert and professional as always.
As soon as the two of them cleared the port area, Garp descended from his distinctive dog-headed warship moored nearby, his Marine coat hanging loosely over his shoulders in his characteristic casual style.
Two Marine officers, both bearing the rank of Captain, quickly approached and presented documents for signature.
Finn didn't even bother reading the paperwork. He simply grabbed the offered pen and scrawled his name across the form with practiced efficiency.
"Thank you for your hard work, Vice Admiral Finn," the Captain said with a polite smile as he retrieved the signed document.
"No trouble at all," Finn replied easily, then asked, "Are Instructor Zephyr and Kuzan back yet?"
"They returned yesterday, sir," the Major answered promptly.
Warships entering and leaving Marineford's harbor required mandatory registration. The document Finn had just signed served that administrative purpose, which was why he'd asked about other recent arrivals.
"They're all back already," Finn muttered, removing the cigar from his mouth to tap ash over the harbor railing. "Seems like something significant has happened."
He'd originally been working on G-7's support operations for the new G-6 base when he'd suddenly received a transfer order from headquarters, directing him to return to Marineford for an in-person meeting.
Finn had been somewhat surprised at the time. After all, if the matter wasn't particularly urgent or serious, he would normally just participate remotely via Den Den Mushi conference call from G-7.
"Could they be planning a retaliatory operation against the Whitebeard Pirates?" Gion asked from behind him, her voice thoughtful as she considered possibilities.
Finn paused, then rubbed his chin contemplatively. "That shouldn't be the case. There's no realistic strategic foundation for retaliation at this stage. Furthermore, the New World situation is incredibly volatile right now. Any single aggressive move could trigger cascading reactions across the entire region."
He took another drag from his cigar.
"And according to what Yamakaji mentioned, the intelligence department is in complete disarray. If we can't even establish reliable information networks, launching a major offensive would be tactically irresponsible at best, catastrophic at worst."
At that moment, Garp finished his own registration nearby. Wearing his trademark dog-head hat and clutching a bag of donuts, he ambled over toward them with his characteristic lack of urgency.
"Hey, Finn!" Garp called out first, waving a half-eaten donut.
After Finn turned to look, Garp asked with genuine curiosity, "I heard you had a fight with that Whitebeard bastard?"
Finn nodded with a trace of helplessness, then said, "Please don't bring up such painful topics. And don't tell me you didn't hear about the catastrophic defeat we suffered."
"I know about it, but not in great detail," Garp said, taking another bite of his donut and chewing thoughtfully. "But I'm not here to ask about that specifically. By the way, how's Tsuru doing?"
Before Finn could respond, Gion quickly spoke up. "The Enies Lobby trial has concluded. Chief of Staff Tsuru has been stripped of her position and rank, given a formal severe warning, and will be ineligible for promotion for two years. From the Intelligence Department specifically, two Rear Admirals and six Commodores received death sentences."
Of course, there were undoubtedly many lower-ranking officers in the Intelligence Department, Captain, Commander, and even enlisted Marines below officer rank, who would face accountability measures. But those cases wouldn't be handled by Enies Lobby's tribunal.
The military court wasn't that bureaucratically obsessed. If they spent all their time processing officers below Admiral rank, they'd never accomplish anything meaningful.
Hearing this assessment, Garp finally breathed a visible sigh of relief. "Good that she wasn't convicted of anything requiring imprisonment. I was genuinely worried I'd have to visit Tsuru in Impel Down."
"How could that possibly happen?" Finn said with a slight smile. "If someone with the Chief of Staff's distinguished service record were sentenced to prison over a single operational failure, however catastrophic, our Marines would have demolished Enies Lobby ourselves. The World Government wouldn't dare pursue that course of action. It would completely destroy military morale and institutional loyalty."
From the very beginning, Finn hadn't been particularly worried about Tsuru's ultimate fate.
"She's not the Chief of Staff anymore, you—" Garp started to say, then paused and waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind. She'll regain the position sooner or later anyway. Call her whatever you want."
The observation was accurate. Although Tsuru had been officially stripped of her Chief of Staff title, she still commanded tremendous respect and prestige throughout the Marines. People didn't say it openly in formal settings, but in private conversations, virtually everyone still referred to her as "Chief of Staff."
Old habits and genuine respect died hard.
Rather than continuing that particular discussion, Finn asked with genuine curiosity, "Garp, have you ever fought against that Whitebeard directly?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Garp rolled his eyes at Finn with exaggerated exasperation. "I fought that bastard before years ago."
Finn was momentarily stunned, then laughed at his own oversight. "Of course! The Battle of God Valley, right? You and Roger teamed up to destroy the Rocks Pirates."
At that time, Whitebeard Edward Newgate had been serving aboard the Rocks Pirates' crew.
How could Garp possibly have avoided fighting him?
Now that Finn thought about it more carefully, Garp might have even won that encounter, technically speaking.
Even if Newgate hadn't been fighting the Marines with lethal intent at that moment, even if the Rocks Pirates had been in complete disarray with everyone trying to escape the collapsing crew, the final outcome was undeniable.
Garp had emerged victorious from that legendary battle.
"I asked a stupid question," Finn admitted with self-deprecating humor.
"At least you know you're stupid," Garp shot back immediately, returning his attention to his donuts.
Finn's eyelid twitched slightly. As expected, when dealing with Garp, you couldn't be nice to him or show any vulnerability. Otherwise, he'd exploit it mercilessly and drive you absolutely insane.
So Finn simply reached out and snatched the entire bag of donuts from Garp's hand, immediately stuffing one into his own mouth.
Garp stood frozen for a moment, too shocked to immediately process what had just happened. Then he exploded. "Hey, you bastard, stop that! I haven't slept for two days and two nights! I'm trying to break my personal record for consecutive donut consumption! This is the four hundred and sixty-third one! Don't interrupt me or it'll all be wasted!"
"Don't care," Finn said through a mouthful of donut, speaking with deliberate incoherence.
Then, with theatrical cruelty, he crushed all the remaining donuts in the bag into fine crumbs. He tilted his head back, raised the bag high, and poured all the fragments directly into his mouth, consuming everything in one go.
Garp stood paralyzed beside him, wearing an expression of absolute devastation as if his entire world had collapsed. His hands trembled. Tears actually welled up in his eyes. He looked on the verge of falling to his knees and weeping.
"Ah, that's refreshing!" Finn announced with satisfaction, releasing a small burp. He patted Garp's shoulder happily, grinning.
"I will kill you right now, you absolute bastard!" Garp roared, his massive arms suddenly wrapping themselves in thick layers of Armament Haki, the dark coating spreading across his muscles like liquid shadow.
But before he could actually throw the punch, Gion, who'd been standing behind Finn with an amused expression, smiled sweetly and produced another bag of donuts from seemingly nowhere. "Garp?"
Garp was indeed completely shameless and mercurial, his emotional state shifting with absurd speed. The instant he spotted the fresh donuts, his face lit up with pure joy. The powerful Haki coating his arms dissipated immediately. He practically snatched the bag from Gion's hand and said with a broad smile, "I was just joking with you youngsters! Hahahaha! You young people really don't understand how to respect your elders and care for the aged!"
The hypocrisy was staggering.
After that brief comedic interlude, Finn and Garp didn't linger in the harbor area. They began walking toward the residential districts of Marineford. The official meeting wasn't scheduled until tomorrow, so there was no immediate need to report to command or file paperwork. Finn planned to visit Instructor Zephyr, whom he hadn't seen in quite some time.
Garp was equally idle. In fact, he was technically still on leave.
After all, he'd just completed a two-year continuous mission assignment in the South Blue, so returning for extended rest was entirely reasonable. However, he'd been recalled for this meeting halfway through his vacation. In short, he had nothing better to do, so he simply followed Finn toward Zephyr's residence.
"Since you've fought him before, Vice Admiral Garp, tell me honestly: who's actually stronger, you or Newgate?" Finn asked as they walked through Marineford's streets, the afternoon sun casting long shadows.
Garp, still chewing on a donut, glanced sideways at Finn. "Do you feel like there's an insurmountable gap between you?"
"More or less," Finn admitted without false pride or deflection. "You know I've fought Charlotte Linlin before. She's undoubtedly a monster-class combatant. At that time, I could barely engage her on relatively equal footing for limited periods. Now, I'm confident I could face her in direct combat without being at a significant disadvantage. If I could seize the right opportunity, victory isn't impossible."
His expression grew more serious.
"But when I think about facing Whitebeard, I genuinely have no conception of how I could win. I can't visualize a path to victory."
"That guy is called the world's strongest precisely because he's reached a level where he's functionally unbeatable," Garp muttered around his donut. "That's what makes him so terrifying."
Finn frowned slightly, processing that. "So you can't defeat him either?"
"You can't say I can't win," Garp replied with characteristic arrogance, puffing out his chest slightly. "I'm also known as the strongest Marine! That's one of the top titles in the entire world. In terms of reputation and recognized power level, I'm in the same tier as Whitebeard."
"And then?" Finn pressed, wanting more substantive analysis.
"Then, when people at our level fight, victory or defeat is no longer determined purely by raw strength or Devil Fruit abilities," Garp said, his tone becoming more thoughtful despite his casual manner. "We all understand each other's capabilities thoroughly. It's unlikely either of us would make major tactical errors or show critical weaknesses."
He took another bite of donut, chewing contemplatively.
"Therefore, various factors determine the final outcome in battles at that tier. But generally speaking, it can be summarized simply: whoever has better fortune that day wins."
"I see," Finn said, rolling his eyes dramatically. "After all that buildup, you're basically saying it's a fifty-fifty split?"
Garp gave Finn an annoyed look, then said defensively, "Do you seriously look down on a fifty-fifty matchup? There aren't many people in this entire world who can claim even odds against either me or Newgate."
"Hahahaha!" Finn laughed genuinely, the sound carrying across the street.
He didn't deny Garp's assertion because it was fundamentally accurate.
There were numerous masters serving in the Marines: Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, Chief Instructor Zephyr.
There were also rising stars like Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, Gion, and Tokikake.
If you looked even deeper, you could identify hidden powerhouses like Vice Admiral Jonathan, who possessed considerable combat capability despite his preference for strategic roles.
However, when discussing the absolute ceiling of Marine combat power, it was obviously the Admirals who held that distinction. After all, the Admirals were formally recognized as the World Government's "supreme combat power," bearing titles that included "best in the world" variations.
Though there was admittedly some political inflation in those titles.
But in practical terms, it was generally acknowledged within the Marines that Garp, the legendary Marine Hero, represented the true ceiling of institutional combat capability.
No matter how powerful you were within the Marines, you weren't stronger than Garp.
In fact, Garp had consistently relied on his overwhelming strength to maintain that position, and remarkably, no one seriously disputed it.
Even Finn, who frequently clashed with Garp over various matters, agreed with this assessment without reservation.
Hearing Finn's laughter, Garp patted his shoulder with one massive hand. "It's perfectly normal that you can't defeat him yet. Don't let it bother you. However, I have extremely high expectations for your future. In my assessment, you possess greater growth potential than Sakazuki and the others combined."
His expression grew more serious, almost paternal.
"It's not impossible that you could defeat Whitebeard in the future. I genuinely believe that."
"Really? You think that highly of me?" Finn said with a grin. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, old man."
"By the way, how's Ace doing?" Finn asked, deliberately changing the subject to something more personal.
"Oh, he's excellent! Hahahaha! Such an energetic little guy!" Garp's face lit up with genuine grandfatherly affection. "If Sengoku hadn't insisted I return immediately, I would've definitely stayed there longer to spend more time with him."
"As the legendary Marine Hero, please remember you actually have job responsibilities," Finn said dryly, rolling his eyes at the man.
"I've been carrying out continuous long-term mission assignments for two straight years!" Garp protested with exaggerated indignation. "I've earned this vacation!"
While chatting and laughing, occasionally insulting each other with the casual ease of long familiarity, Gion, Garp, and Finn arrived at the entrance to Zephyr's residential compound.
The courtyard remained as serene as ever. Just looking at it from outside the gate, you could sense that the owner maintained an elegant, refined lifestyle.
The gate stood open, which was standard for Zephyr's home. After all, in Marineford, no one would dare commit any disrespectful act near his residence. His reputation alone provided better security than any lock.
They walked through the gate, crossed a meticulously maintained lawn, and entered the courtyard proper. There they found Instructor Zephyr sitting cross-legged beneath the covered corridor, absorbed in reading a book.
Hearing movement at the entrance, Zephyr looked up from his reading. A warm smile spread across his weathered face. "You're back as well?"
"Ah, long time no see, Zephyr!" Garp responded with his characteristic casual familiarity, raising his bag of donuts in greeting.
Finn smiled, feeling the comfortable atmosphere of returning to a mentor's home after too long away.
"Good to see you, Instructor," he said with genuine warmth.
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