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Chapter 23: Setting Sail for Headquarters
When they arrived, Ace wasn't home. Garp had intended to wait, to have a "heart-to-heart" with the boy before leaving, but they hadn't been there an hour before a Den Den Mushi call came through from Marineford. The orders were clear and urgent: Return to Headquarters immediately.
Garp's plans were thoroughly dashed.
"That Sengoku... calling an old man like me back at a moment's notice. He's got no conscience!" Garp grumbled loudly. Yet his movements were anything but slow. If Sengoku was summoning him like this, it was serious. When it came to duty, Garp knew what mattered.
"Satoru," he said, turning. "You coming with me now, or do you want to wait here until my next trip? Probably just some upstarts in the New World getting rowdy again. I'll squash 'em quick and be back."
Though Sengoku hadn't given details, Garp's instincts pointed to New World unrest. His presence was rarely needed elsewhere these days.
"I'll come now," Satoru answered without hesitation. It was a pity to miss meeting Ace, but there would be other chances. His priority was clear: grow stronger, master the perfected Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue. That was the key to unlocking his full offensive potential.
"Alright then, let's move!
Dadan!" Garp bellowed, turning back to the bandit chief. "Luffy's your problem now. If I come back and see either he or Ace looking skinny, you'll be decorating a prison cell for the rest of your miserable life!"
"Don't you worry, Vice Admiral Garp!" Dadan said, her face a mask of forced sincerity. "I'll fatten 'em up good! You have my word!"
Her real goal was simple: get the walking natural disaster that was Garp off her mountain as fast as possible. Every extra second he stayed was a second of pure stress.
"Shame, though," she muttered to herself as she watched them go. "That pretty one went with him." Satoru would have been a nice mascot to have around—easy on the eyes. She glanced back at Luffy, who was now picking his nose and staring blankly at a bug on the ground. The contrast was painful.
"Oh well," she sighed. "Can't win 'em all. This is my lot in life."
By the time Satoru and Garp reached the port, the warship was already prepared for immediate departure, its crew standing ready.
"Maximum speed! Destination: Marineford!" Garp ordered the moment his boots hit the deck.
"Aye, Vice Admiral Garp!"
As the ship pulled away from the familiar shore of Windmill Village, several of the Marine officers—men who had been on the ship years ago when Satoru was found—gathered around him, their expressions a mix of curiosity and fondness.
"Satoru! So you're joining up, huh?" one asked.
"Yeah," Satoru nodded.
"The pirates in this world have gotten out of hand. I figure if I become a Marine, I can start wiping them off the map."
"Hahaha! That's the spirit!" another officer laughed, clapping him on the back. "With your talent, you might just do it!"
Their faith in him was absolute. If Satoru declared he'd become Fleet Admiral one day, they'd probably believe it was just a matter of time.
"Ever since Roger started this 'Great Pirate Era,' our workload's tripled," a grizzled sergeant said, his voice low. "The casualty reports... they're longer every year."
Roger's final words had been a siren's call to the world. Dreams of treasure lured countless souls to sea, while enlistment in the Marines dropped. Standards had to be lowered. Where once the Navy was a disciplined force, now it was a desperate patchwork. Corruption and deals with nobles or even pirates, once unthinkable, were now whispered realities. Headquarters knew, but fighting the rising tide of piracy took all their focus.
The three new Admirals were reportedly never at HQ, constantly deployed. Even Garp, Satoru had heard him grumble, held a deep resentment for the era Roger had unleashed—an era paid for in innocent blood.
"Don't worry," Satoru said, his voice calm but carrying a strange weight. "This Pirate Era will end. By my hand."
In his own timeline, by the time he was thirteen or fourteen, his power should be near its peak. Undefeatable in a direct fight. That was when he could truly begin cleansing the seas. As a product of a more civilized world, the casual cruelty and chaos of pirates disgusted him. And what young person didn't harbor a secret dream of being the hero? He had the potential. He would try.
Whether his resolve would waver in the future, he didn't know. But for now, his goal was clear: end this era.
"Satoru," Garp said, his usual bluster gone, replaced by a rare, grounded seriousness. He'd been listening. "I hope you never slack in your training. And I hope, when the time comes, your strength can match the scale of that dream."
Garp was strong, perhaps the strongest. But even he didn't have the power to single-handedly end an era. The task required a different kind of monster.
"Don't worry, old man," Satoru replied, a confident, almost challenging glint in his pale blue eyes. "It won't take long for me to surpass you."
He looked out at the vast, open sea rushing past the hull.
"And maybe then, I'll take an Admiral's seat for myself. Seems like it could be fun."
(End of Chapter)
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