Chapter 7 - Uninvited "Justice".
[Garp: The Empty Throne Has Long Been Occupied!]
"A Navy ship! A Marine warship has broken through the Calm Belt and is approaching us!"
The voice of the Kuja warrior was shrill, laced with uncontrollable panic.
Garp leisurely took off his sunglasses and placed a half-eaten senbei cracker back into the bag.
He looked toward the horizon.
The silhouette of a warship was slowly emerging from the sea mist.
The massive seagull emblem on the bow declared its identity.
But there was only one ship.
"Sister!"
Sandersonia and Marigold instantly appeared beside Hancock, assuming combat stances.
"It's the Navy! They found us after all!"
"Prepare to engage! We cannot let them take a single step onto our soil!"
Hancock did not speak.
She simply walked to Garp's side, her entire body radiating an aura of inviolable authority.
On the other side of the island, Rayleigh's figure appeared at the edge of the dense forest, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
In an instant, the entire island of Amazon Lily transformed from a peaceful paradise into a battlefield drawn with tension.
"Don't rush."
Garp waved his hand dismissively.
He put his sunglasses back on and lay back down on the beach chair.
"Let me see what this brat wants."
His tone was flat.
Yet, hearing it caused the tense bodies of Hancock and Rayleigh to subconsciously relax a fraction.
The warship did not fire its cannons, nor did it deploy small boats.
It docked directly at the port.
A figure leapt from the ship, landing heavily on the pier.
He wore the heavy Marine coat emblazoned with the word "JUSTICE," two cigars clamped in his mouth, and a weapon tipped with Seastone strapped to his back.
Navy HQ Vice Admiral, "White Hunter" Smoker.
Behind him followed the female swordswoman Tashigi, carrying the Meito "Shigure," looking visibly nervous.
Smoker ignored the Kuja warriors surrounding him with arrows drawn.
He walked through the crowd, heading straight for the beach until he stood before Garp.
The two were less than five paces apart.
"Garp-senior!"
Smoker's voice was raspy, filled with suppressed anger.
"Where is the Justice you upheld? Why did you betray the Navy!"
This question stunned the Kuja warriors who were ready to attack.
"What? He isn't here to arrest him?"
"He is questioning Lord Garp?"
"Is the Navy not as united as we thought?"
"Silence! Listen!"
"This man... he has some nerve!"
The surrounding whispers could not shake the standoff between the two men in the center.
Garp sat up straight in his beach chair.
He looked at Smoker, the man he remembered as the persistent marine always chasing Luffy.
"Justice?"
Garp asked in return.
"Brat, what do you think Justice is?"
As the words fell, the electronic voice that had been silent for a year quietly chimed in his mind.
[DING! DETECTED KEYSTONE CHARACTER CAPABLE OF SHAKING THE FOUNDATIONS OF "ABSOLUTE JUSTICE": SMOKER.]
[JUSTICE DICTIONARY SYSTEM ACTIVATED:]
[OPTION 1: DOMINEERING JUSTICE.]
Use absolute power to drive him away, proving the powerlessness of the Navy through strength.
Reward: Slight increase in Armament Haki hardness.
[OPTION 2: ENLIGHTENED JUSTICE.]
Awaken him from his confusion and plant a seed of doubt in his heart.
Reward: Slight increase in Observation Haki range.
[OPTION 3: INDIFFERENT JUSTICE.]
Ignore his questioning and leave him to his own devices.
Reward: One recipe for a random flavor of senbei.
"I choose two," Sunny decided internally.
Garp patted the sand beside him.
"Sit."
Smoker didn't move.
"I'll stand."
Garp didn't mind. He simply continued speaking to himself.
"Did you know? Over twenty years ago, at God Valley, a great war took place."
"The World Government claimed that I single-handedly crushed the Rocks Pirates, who were terrorizing the seas at the time, and protected the Celestial Dragons and civilians."
Smoker frowned. This was history written in every Marine textbook.
"But they didn't tell you that the so-called God Valley was a hunting ground for the Celestial Dragons' 'Native Hunting Games.' And the prey... were the people they called slaves."
Garp's voice was calm, as if narrating an old story that had nothing to do with him.
But Smoker's breathing began to grow heavy.
"And they certainly didn't tell you that when the threat of Rocks vanished, the first thing those 'saved' Celestial Dragons did was take the surviving slaves as 'trophies,' put collars back around their necks, and drag them back to Mary Geoise."
"That's impossible... The World Government... what we protect..."
For the first time, Smoker's voice wavered.
"Why do you think I stayed a Vice Admiral all my life?"
Garp interrupted him.
"Because every nomination for Admiral requires going to Mary Geoise, kneeling before those trash, and accepting their investiture."
"I refused to kneel to those maggots."
These words exploded in Smoker's mind like a heavy bomb.
He recalled the scenes where he had clashed with high command for sticking to his own moral code.
He remembered the Alabasta incident, the ugly face of the World Government claiming all the credit for the Navy to save face, while silencing any mention of the Straw Hat crew.
"Then... your actions now..."
Smoker's voice was dry.
"I am doing what I should have done when I was young."
Garp stood up and walked up to Smoker, stopping within an arm's reach.
For a split second, the terrifying pressure that had vanished for a year seemed to return to the old man's body.
"Smoker. Is your smoke meant to blind the enemy... or is it meant to blind your own heart?"
"Whether it's the World Government or the Five Elders..."
"I will tell you only one thing: The Empty Throne, which is supposed to remain vacant, has long been occupied."
Smoker's body trembled violently.
The cigars in his mouth dropped onto the sand.
He stared at Monkey D. Garp—the former Hero of the Marines, now the Enemy of the World.
For a long time.
Without saying a word, he turned around and walked back toward his warship.
"Smoker-san!"
Tashigi hurriedly followed him.
On the pier, the Kuja warriors automatically parted to make a path.
They watched the desolate figure retreating, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"He's just... leaving?"
"He didn't attack? He didn't even try to make an arrest!"
"What on earth did Lord Garp say to him?"
"His conviction... looks like it was completely destroyed."
"Terrifying. Without wasting a single soldier, he turned a Marine Vice Admiral into that."
Smoker's warship quickly turned about, sailing back into the sea mist and vanishing from sight.
[DING! CONDITION FOR "ENLIGHTENED JUSTICE" MET. OBSERVATION HAKI SENSING RANGE HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY INCREASED!]
Garp watched the direction the ship had gone, a faint smile appearing on his face.
A seed had been planted.
But in the next moment, his smile vanished.
He snapped his head around, looking toward a different part of the horizon.
The sky there was still blue.
But an aura far more powerful than Smoker's—scorching, tyrannical, and filled with pure killing intent—was approaching at an alarming speed.
It wasn't one ship.
It was a massive fleet.
And that unabashed, murderous intent... he was all too familiar with it.
Akainu.
"Don't tell me I have to break the rule already? What a pity! I failed the condition to not take action for two years!"
However, despite his words...
There was no look of regret on Garp's face.
On the contrary, he grinned, baring his teeth.
"This time, there's no complicated environment or allies to worry about, Sakazuki!"
"I'm going to tear you apart!"
(To be Continued)