Marineford, Marine Headquarters.
Since the disintegration of the Rocks Pirates, the workload for the Marines hadn't decreased much. In fact, due to the former Rocks Pirates members establishing their own pirate crews, it had become even busier.
"Report!!"
A messenger suddenly appeared outside Admiral Kong's office.
"Enter!!"
Kong, who was in a meeting with Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru, generously allowed the messenger to enter and report.
"Reporting to Admiral Kong! Vice Admiral Garp! Vice Admiral Sengoku! Vice Admiral Tsuru!"
The messenger looked excited to see several high-ranking officers, especially looking at Garp with eagerness and admiration in his eyes.
The latter smiled awkwardly.
As the target of the World Government's propaganda, Garp was actually not very satisfied with his current status.
But helpless to tell others the truth about God Valley, he was forced to accept the title of Marine Hero.
After the greetings, the messenger officially began his report.
"Admiral Kong, the pirate you specifically ordered to pay extra attention to, Adolph D. York, has appeared in the South Blue!"
"They showed up in the Sorbet Kingdom of the South Blue, slaughtered a large number of local nobles, looted massive wealth, and the entire Sorbet Kingdom has fallen into chaos because of this."
"The above is a brief summary; here is the detailed intelligence."
With that, the messenger handed a document to Kong.
Kong took it to examine, his already serious face becoming increasingly unsightly.
He said nothing, just turned and handed the document to Garp.
"Garp, take a look."
The latter took it with a blank expression.
Although he also acknowledged York as a very dangerous pirate, York was ultimately not Roger, so his priority in Garp's eyes wasn't that high.
However, when he clearly saw the content of the report in detail, his eyes instantly widened.
"Dragon?! How did that bastard kid get mixed up with York?!"
Garp's exclamation made both Sengoku and Tsuru show surprise, curious about what was written in the report.
Seeing that Garp seemed on the verge of spewing profanities, Kong quickly waved his hand at the messenger, signaling him to leave immediately.
The messenger was sharp and left the Admiral's office without hesitation.
Then, just as he walked not far outside the door, Garp's voice scolding his son rang out loudly.
"Dragon, that bastard, really needs a beating! Daring to mix with pirates! And a dangerous guy like York at that!"
"No! Kong! Give me the order!!"
"I'm going to wipe out York's gang! Drag Dragon back and beat him up severely!!"
Hearing this, Kong sighed lightly and persuaded: "Garp, calm down. Sengoku and Tsuru haven't seen this intelligence yet. They have more brains than you; let them see first, let them analyze for you."
"Hmph!"
Garp snorted unhappily but still handed the report to Sengoku.
Sengoku read the content of the report, equally shocked, but he didn't outburst immediately, instead passing the report to Tsuru.
Only when Tsuru finished reading did Kong ask Sengoku.
"You've been investigating York's background for years. Any leads?"
Sengoku nodded slightly.
"Found it."
"York, real name Adolph York, from the Ceramic Kingdom in the West Blue. Originally no 'D' in his name, nor any special racial bloodline, a completely ordinary person."
"15 years ago, Celestial Dragons held a summer camp activity in the Ceramic Kingdom of the West Blue..."
Speaking of this, Sengoku couldn't help glancing at Garp.
Before God Valley, the latter hadn't known what the Celestial Dragons' summer camp was about, until the God Valley brawl broke out recently...
"Hmph!"
Garp snorted unhappily and turned his head away.
"Simply put, another sin created by the Celestial Dragons themselves, right?!"
Sengoku nodded slightly with an awkward expression.
"I was responsible for maintaining order on the island at the time... By chance, I found a child who had stowed away on the warship."
"I asked the child's name; he called himself Adolph York. That should be the current York."
"Seeing he was young, I didn't drive him off the ship."
"Plus, having guessed what might happen on the island, I felt compassion. After the summer camp ended, I dropped him off at the nearest affiliated kingdom to live..."
"So when you first heard York's name years ago, that's why it felt familiar but you couldn't recall immediately?"
Tsuru asked, and Sengoku nodded slightly.
Garp suddenly let out a sneer, asking: "Regret it now? Regret not killing that kid directly back then?"
Sengoku frowned slightly, a trace of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
"Garp! We've been comrades for so many years! Don't you know what kind of person I am?!"
"Regardless of whether I knew York would become like this, I wouldn't have killed him!!"
Garp rolled his eyes, curling his lips disdainfully.
Only Sengoku himself would believe that.
Anyway, he only believed that if Sengoku back then had known today, he would definitely have killed York on the spot, strangling the danger in the cradle.
Tsuru sighed lightly.
"Arguing about this is meaningless; it only consumes our feelings for nothing. The problem now is how to deal with this current Adolph D. York!"
"Didn't I just say! Let me go!!"
Garp spoke, anger subsided a lot, but will still resolute.
"That foolish son of mine caused trouble in God Valley and became a deserter. Now he's mixed up with York. I'm going to catch him back personally! And solve York once and for all!!"
Hearing this, Kong nodded in agreement.
"Okay. If you're not asking for battle out of emotional impulse, letting you go is indeed the best choice."
With Garp's current strength, defeating the current York wasn't difficult.
Crucially, Garp was immune to Shakky's beauty, which would significantly increase the mission's success rate.
Moreover, after this mission's success, it would further solidify Garp's title as Marine Hero.
"But just in case, let Tsuru accompany you."
Kong suggested: "York's ability is too troublesome for anyone other than you."
"Tsuru's ability theoretically counters him perfectly. Acting together might produce miraculous effects."
Hearing this, Garp glanced at Vice Admiral Tsuru, hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
He valued the lives of his soldiers very much. With Tsuru present, casualties could indeed be reduced significantly.
"Very well! Since that's the case, it's decided!"
"Garp, Tsuru! You two will lead the team together, head to the South Blue to capture York's gang!!"
...
Grand Line, first half, Paradise.
Alabasta Kingdom.
Just as the Marines made the decision to go to the South Blue to capture York.
York had already crossed the Calm Belt through Kaido's ability, entered the first half of the Grand Line, and docked at a port in Alabasta.
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