As Aramaki led the Celestial Dragons away, the office fell silent again.
However, compared to before, the atmosphere had relaxed considerably.
Koala looked between Dragon and Orion.
Seeing neither spoke further, she hesitated before gathering her courage to address Orion again.
"Orion-sama, were those really... Celestial Dragons from the Holy Land?"
"Is there a problem?" Orion turned his warm smile toward Koala.
Under the warm smile of Orion, Koala, who had been a bit nervous after mustering the courage to start the conversation, immediately relaxed and shook her head gently.
"I was just curious... why the Celestial Dragons would... be so afraid of Orion-sama."
Dragon unexpectedly took over the explanation.
"Because the Orion-sama you're referring to killed quite a few Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land—including the one who captured you and took you there years ago."
Hearing this sudden revelation, Koala widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Orion-sama... killed Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land? But... why?"
Orion glanced at Dragon and chuckled. "You're quite well-informed, Dragon. The Holy Land completely suppressed this incident, yet you know the details so clearly. It seems the revolutionaries have people even in the Holy Land."
Dragon didn't hide it.
"After all, I once served in the Marines. It's only natural to have a few friends, whether at Headquarters or among those stationed in the Holy Land."
Then, abruptly changing the subject, Dragon raised his head to meet Orion's gaze.
"But what I'm really curious about is why the Holy Land didn't react at all. Even if Shepherd and Marcus got involved in that war through the underworld's two emperors, the Holy Land wouldn't just let it slide—especially since you wiped out thousands of Celestial Dragons!"
"T-thousands?!"
Before Orion could respond, Koala's eyes widened again in shock, unable to hold back a gasp.
"Orion-sama... killed thousands of Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land?"
The moment these words left her mouth, everyone in the office turned to stare at her.
Realizing her outburst, Koala quickly stood up and bowed.
"I'm sorry, I... I was out of line!"
Despite her apology, her mind was still reeling.
When Dragon had mentioned Orion killing "quite a few" Celestial Dragons, she assumed it meant one or two—after all, Celestial Dragons stood above the World Government, enjoying absolute privilege in this world.
Even offending one would warrant annihilation by a Marine Admiral, let alone killing them.
Yet, this Fleet Admiral had slaughtered thousands of Celestial Dragons in the Holy Land.
And most shockingly, the Holy Land not only didn't hold him accountable but actively covered it up.
If this got out, the whole world would explode.
Just then—
"DRAGON!!"
A furious roar suddenly echoed from the hallway outside the office.
The next moment, an enraged Garp violently shoved the door open and stormed in.
"!!!!"
At the same time, Dragon—who never expected Garp to appear now—instinctively recoiled, his pupils contracting sharply as he reflexively leaped up to flee.
But he was too slow.
The moment he stood, a size-60 shoe came flying at his face with a loud smack.
Before anyone could react, Garp—having already thrown the shoe—clenched his fist and punched Dragon square in the head.
"ARGH!!!"
Even someone as strong as Dragon couldn't suppress a scream under the relentless barrage of Garp's Fist of Love, crouching on the spot while clutching his head in frustration.
"Old man, do you even know how much your punches hurt?! And could you stop hitting me in the face with your shoe every time we meet? I'm the leader of the Revolutionary Army now, for crying out loud!"
"Leader of the Revolutionary Army, you say? How dare you call yourself that!"
Garp was far from done.
Without hesitation, he took off his other shoe and hurled it straight at Dragon's face.
This time, Dragon didn't stand there and take it.
Reacting with lightning speed, he ducked behind Koala, urgently shouting.
"Koala, run!"
"Huh???"
Koala stood frozen, her mind completely blank, eyes wide as saucers, unable to process what was happening.
Similarly, Gion and Hina who's seated on either side of Orion, were also staring in shock at Dragon, who had now taken refuge behind Koala.
Borsalino's reaction was the most exaggerated—eyes bulging, mouth agape—as he gaped at Garp, who had suddenly stormed into the office.
After a brief two-second pause, he silently scooted his sofa closer to the wall.
"YOU DARE TO HIDE?!"
Seeing Dragon duck behind Koala, Garp brandished his shoe and gave chase.
But since Koala was too stunned to move, Dragon had no choice but to abandon his cover and make a run for it.
Just as he reached the door, ready to activate his Devil Fruit powers and flee, a size-60 shoe came flying through the air.
With no other option, Dragon crouched down again, covering his head.
BAM!
The shoe Garp had thrown smashed into a framed photo hanging on the wall, shattering the glass and sending both the frame and the photo fluttering to the ground.
"Oh no!"
The moment the frame shattered, Gion sprang to her feet, her face paling as she watched the photo drift downward, momentarily forgetting to catch it.
At the same time—
A figure flashed forward, snatching the photo just before it hit the floor.
"Garp"
Orion, who had swiftly caught the photo, turned sharply towards Garp, who had barged into the office and was now relentlessly pursuing Dragon.
A terrifying aura erupted from Orion, instantly enveloping both Garp and Dragon.
"This is my office, not your backyard! If you two want to fight, take it to the training grounds!"
The moment Orion caught the photo and turned around, Garp snapped back to his senses.
Under the crushing weight of Orion's sudden outburst, he hurriedly tried to explain.
"Orion, let me explain—I didn't mean to!"
As a legendary Vice Admiral of the Marine Headquarters and someone who had watched Orion rise from a mere Marine soldier to his current position, Garp knew full well the significance of that photo in Orion's hands.
His earlier impulsiveness had been spurred by hearing from Aramaki—just after returning from the East Blue—that Orion had guests in his office.
After Aramaki's brief description, Garp had deduced it was none other than his "beloved" son, Dragon.
Seizing the chance, he had simply wanted to teach Dragon a lesson.
But he never expected his impulsiveness to lead to such a disaster.
Dragon also looked up at Orion in shock as he felt the sudden terrifying aura enveloping them.
When he saw Orion holding a photo, his expression turned dark and menacing.
Even someone as powerful as him felt suffocated for a moment.
Orion picked up the photo and examined it. Seeing that it was undamaged, the overwhelming pressure vanished abruptly.
Then, he turned his head toward Gion.
Without a word, Gion quickly approached, took the photo with both hands, and hurried out.
Soon, Gion returned to the office with a new photo frame and handed it to Orion after placing the photo inside.
Taking the frame, Orion silently turned and walked to his desk, sitting down before lifting his gaze to Dragon, whose face bore a shoe print and a large bump on his head from being punched.
As if nothing had happened, Orion spoke calmly, "Dragon, today's meeting ends here."
"If you accept my proposal, return to the Revolutionary Army headquarters and focus on governing the nations you've liberated."
"You have one year. If these countries show little progress by then, your army will no longer have a reason to exist!"