"Your grandson?"
Garp blinked.
"Sengoku, haven't you been single your whole life? Is this some kind of bluff? I don't recall you ever having a secret child—let alone a grandson who popped out of a rock."
"Still, that Luo Yu guy—he may seem unreliable, but he never acts without confidence. If he told you this in advance, it's probably not baseless."
"I know this game. Judging by his tone, he's probably asking how much bounty you're willing to pay for the ransom, right?"
"Shut up!"
Sengoku smacked Garp on the back of the head.
"Don't lump me in with you and Whitebeard, always claiming random people across the sea as family."
"If that brat dares to nab someone just to extort me for bounty, he's got another thing coming."
Seeing Sengoku's serious face, Garp paused. As his longtime comrade, he knew Sengoku never joked about things like this.
He'd seen firsthand how Sengoku had remained single all these years—at most, he'd relied on his "golden left hand."
Forget a grandson—having a son would've been a miracle.
"No, Sengoku. Your grandson… might really be in Luo Yu's hands."
Tsuru suddenly spoke.
Sengoku and Garp froze.
If Garp had said it, Sengoku would've brushed it off.
But Tsuru? The Chief of Staff? She didn't speak nonsense.
"You don't believe me?"
Tsuru sighed.
"I didn't either. But after reviewing the intel Tashigi sent me, I remembered—Sengoku, you didn't just have a grandson. You had a son."
"You remember Rosinante, right? The one who infiltrated the Donquixote Family? The boy you adopted as your own?"
Rosinante?
Sengoku's expression froze—then changed drastically.
"Tsuru, are you saying the child Rosinante risked his life to save—the one with Amber Lead Syndrome—has been found? And he's in Luo Yu's hands?"
"Tell me. Who is he?"
Sengoku grabbed Tsuru's arm, his grip and urgency shocking both her and Garp.
But they understood.
Sengoku had poured his entire heart into raising Rosinante.
Just as Garp had vowed to raise the next generation of Marines, Sengoku had done the same.
But when he discovered Rosinante had lied to him for the first time, it was already too late.
Rosinante was gone.
Still, Sengoku had never stopped searching for the child Rosinante had mentioned in his final transmissions.
He never imagined that when the truth finally surfaced, the boy would be in Luo Yu's hands.
"Sengoku, prepare yourself."
"That boy is now a pirate. If I'm right, he's the rising Supernova with a 200 million bounty—captain of the Heart Pirates, Trafalgar D. Water Law."
"He's not only known as the Surgeon of Death… he's also the current wielder of the long-lost Ope Ope no Mi."
Tsuru paused, then added quietly:
"That's all I'll say."
She knew the line between soldier and outlaw.
If Sengoku were still a Vice Admiral like her and Garp, they could look the other way.
But he was the Fleet Admiral now.
If even he bent the rules, it would stain the Navy's integrity.
Sengoku's face darkened. His fists clenched.
Garp, too, dropped his usual grin. After a moment of silence, he chuckled:
"Hah! Sengoku, Tsuru and I are getting old. We'll head back and rest. You've got this."
He turned to leave.
Tsuru followed without a word.
"Garp, enough."
Sengoku sighed, stopping them.
"Don't worry. I know my place. One's a Marine. One's a pirate. If I asked you to turn a blind eye, I'd be the one betraying you."
"I'll still meet him. What happens after… will be what it must be."
Tsuru and Garp fell silent.
They knew what it meant to be bound by duty.
They also knew how painful this choice was for Sengoku.
But as he said—this was all he could do.
"How much ransom?"
Luo Yu raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his earthy liquor.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, with our relationship, why talk about money?"
"Relax. We made a deal. I've already let him go. As for the bounty—just pay whatever you think is fair."