Two days later.
"Bulu bulu bulu..."
"Yeah, this is Taro. Who is it?" A groggy Taro was woken up by the sound of the den den mushi. He fumbled at the bedside for quite a while before finally picking up.
"You brat! Get your ass over to Water 7 right now!"
Vice Admiral Garp's voice was like a thunderclap, instantly startling Taro awake.
"Uh, Vice Admiral Garp, you're back?" Taro moved the den den mushi a bit further away and asked with a smile.
"I told you to come over. Why so much nonsense?"
Click.
The den den mushi was hung up. Taro's cheek twitched, and the smile on his face froze.
"Mike, Mike! Where did you go? We're heading out to Water 7!"
Taro quickly got dressed and walked out of the room, shouting loudly on the deck... "Rear Admiral, don't you think we should redesign our ship too?" Mike said, looking at Vice Admiral Garp's flagship ahead.
Taro was stunned for a moment. "Hmm?"
"Look, Vice Admiral Garp's ship is so recognizable!" Mike pointed at the dog-head bow and dog-head flag of Vice Admiral Garp's ship.
"Even if we don't change the hull, we should at least have our own flag."
Taro considered it for a while. "Well, you have a point. I'll leave this matter to you then!"
"Yes, sir!" Seeing Taro agree to his proposal, Mike readily accepted.
"You guys wait here. I'll go see Vice Admiral Garp by myself!"
Just as Taro landed on the deck, before he could stand firm, he felt a change in the airflow behind his head. He quickly dodged to the side and saw a massive fist brush past the tip of his nose.
"You brat, you've improved quite a bit!" Garp picked his nose, then used the same hand to grab a piece of senbei and tossed it into his mouth.
Taro's mouth twitched, but he quickly forced a wider grin, which eventually turned into a beaming smile. "Vice Admiral Garp, I missed you so much!"
"Pah! Stop trying to fool this old man. You've been running wild while I was away, haven't you?"
"No way! I've been very well-behaved lately!"
"Still dare to talk nonsense? You're asking for a beating!"
"Hehe, don't hit me. Didn't my skills improve too?"
Only then did Garp withdraw his fist. Seeing this, Taro moved closer. "What have you been up to these past few days?"
"Some people couldn't sleep because two others were meeting, so they sent this old man to take a look," Garp said casually.
Taro's mind raced. He raised an eyebrow and held up four fingers. "Are you saying those two met?"
Garp glanced at Taro. "You brat, you're quick on the uptake!"
"Hehe, while you were away, didn't I go to a meeting?"
As Taro spoke, he glanced at Koby and Helmeppo behind Garp and waved a greeting.
The two of them immediately stood at attention and saluted.
Garp also looked back at them. "Yeah, I heard them mention it."
"Vice Admiral Garp, why did you call me here this time?"
"It's nothing. This old man hasn't punched you in so long that my fists are itching."
Taro: "..."
Your fists are itching? Go punch Luffy later then, damn it!
Thinking of Luffy, Taro finally remembered another person: Ace!
Speaking of which, it's been four days since the meeting between Marineford and the Shichibukai ended. No news should be good news... After Garp revealed that he was Luffy's grandfather and that Dragon the Revolutionary was Luffy's father, the Straw Hat crew and the Marines accompanying Garp were all stunned!
Taro also found it strange. What was the point of Garp exposing Luffy's powerful Family background at this point in time?
Was it because of the Enies Lobby incident, where Luffy's act of shooting through the World Government flag made Garp feel the need to reveal Luffy's lineage to make the government wary?
While Taro was lost in thought, he heard Garp speak again:
"This old man just brought Koby and Helmeppo to see you. Have a good chat with them. I'm leaving now,"
Garp said, looking at Luffy.
After Luffy responded with a simple "Yeah," Garp suddenly landed a punch right on Luffy's cheek and roared, "Is that all you have to say to your grandfather after not seeing him for so long?!"
Taro watched the grandfather and grandson's antics from the side, laughing with delight, when he heard Garp add another sentence.
"Also, Taro, you stay too!"
Taro's smile froze on his face, his mind filled with question marks.
"Koby and Helmeppo are too weak. How can they face such vicious pirates without anyone to protect them!"
Garp gave a nonsensical explanation. After finishing, he flicked his cloak and strode away. The Marine Soldiers followed him, and soon only the three Marines—Taro, Koby, and Helmeppo—remained.
Then Luffy took Koby and Helmeppo away again. Only then did Taro wave to the Straw Hat crew. "Hello everyone!"
"You guy, I haven't seen you for a few days and you're already a Marine Rear Admiral!"
Sanji, with a cigarette never leaving his mouth, spoke first. Then Zoro followed. He glanced at the saber at Taro's waist and raised an eyebrow. "Are you a swordsman?"
Taro chuckled. "This is a sidearm, just for decoration. As for being a Rear Admiral, it's only normal for someone as capable as me to be promoted quickly!"
"Tch." "Tch."
Both of them snorted disdainfully at the same time.
"Taro!" Nami finally spoke up, her tone carrying a hint of joy.
Taro smiled and nodded at Nami. Just as he was about to speak, Sanji interrupted, "Nami-san, would you like a delicious drink?"
"Hahahaha!"
Taro laughed out loud, not at all bothered by Sanji's reaction. "Sanji, if possible, please get me one too!"
Sanji took a deep drag of his cigarette before heading toward the kitchen counter.
"Hello, Taro!" Robin suddenly spoke.
"You already know how to speak Chinese?"
Taro was pleasantly surprised to hear the familiar language. He looked at Robin in disbelief, and she nodded gently.
"A little bit."
This sentence was also spoken in Chinese.
Taro gave a thumbs-up in admiration. "As expected of a scholar from Ohara. Truly impressive."
He paused for a moment as if remembering something, fumbled in his shirt for a while, pulled out a few sheets of paper, and handed them to Robin.
"This is some stuff I wrote before. If you meet the right people in the future, you can teach them what's on here. It might be useful!"
Robin opened the papers in confusion. They were densely packed with many things written in Chinese.
"...all possible... forces"
"The people's... struggle... theory"
"Establish... base areas"
Robin didn't recognize many of the words yet, but she could see that the contents weren't about navigation. She couldn't help but look up at Taro.
"What are these? And who are the 'right people' you're referring to?"
Taro tapped his forehead. "It's nothing, just some of my random thoughts. As for who the right people are, it's hard to explain right now."
"Just keep them for now. You'll know naturally when you encounter them in the future."
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