Marineford
"What? Bartholomew Kuma! You and Dracule Mihawk both fought that man?"
A disgruntled scolding echoed through Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
"Didn't I warn you! Do not offend that man! If he mistakenly believes you were sent by us to threaten his crew, how am I supposed to report to the higher-ups? How am I supposed to explain that you two messed everything up?"
Sengoku slammed his fist against the table in a fit of rage.
"And…"
He glanced around, then fixed his gaze on the large, expressionless Kuma, teeth gritted.
"Where is Dracule Mihawk? Where did he go?"
Kuma remained expressionless.
His voice flat:
"He gained insight from his encounter with Shirogai Yamikuro and went to an uninhabited area to test it."
"After seeing him, even the World's Greatest Swordsman doubts his own strength?"
Sengoku sneered disdainfully.
"Hmph, how self-indulgent! The Seven Warlords of the Sea is a title the Marines granted you, not a license to act freely!"
Kuma stayed silent.
"Ah ha ha ha, this noodle soup tastes excellent!"
Garp slurped loudly, grinning as he slapped Kuma's arm.
"Kuma, you're quite thoughtful! You even brought me a delicious bowl of noodles."
"Straw Hat Luffy entrusted me to deliver it," Kuma said indifferently.
Garp's eyes lit up, smile widening.
"Oh? Luffy? Ah ha ha ha, I didn't expect this grandson to still remember me. Truly filial!"
Happily, Garp carried the noodles over to Sengoku, deliberately blowing the rich aroma toward him and laughing heartily.
"Oh my, it's truly a blessing to eat noodles from my filial grandson! Far better than some old man with no descendants!"
Sengoku glared at Garp's foolish laughter and cursed.
"Get lost! Garp! Do you know how busy I've been these past few days? It's all because of the mess your grandson caused! If he hadn't recruited such a monster, why would I have to worry about the Whitebeard Pirates while also fretting over Arrogant Emperor Shirogai?"
"Pfft ha ha ha ha, you're just jealous my grandson brought his grandpa noodles, and you didn't!"
"Garp, get out and eat!"
Sengoku kicked at Garp, who deftly dodged.
"Hiss, it's spicy!"
Garp casually picked up Sengoku's teacup, gulped down a mouthful, and said contentedly,
"Ah! Thirsty!"
Kuma silently noted that the drunken Luffy had deliberately loaded the noodles with chili.
Sengoku cursed loudly,
"Bastard! That's my tea! Like grandfather, like grandson! A family of bandits!"
Garp burped, laughed, and said,
"Ah ha ha ha, don't be so irritable! Or perhaps, Sengoku, your senile dementia is worsening?"
"You're the one with senile dementia!" Sengoku's eyes widened in anger.
"Shut up! Can't you see I'm lecturing the Shichibukai?"
Kuma, waiting for the lecture, remained silent.
After the commotion, the two elderly men, combined age exceeding 150, finally quieted.
Sengoku walked to the wall, pointing at the Devil's Triangle on the map.
He then moved his finger to a cluster of irregular circular islands near the Red Line.
"Here," he muttered, tapping the area.
"According to their route, continuing onwards will lead them to Sabaody…"
"Sabaody Archipelago?"
Garp appeared behind him, crunching biscuits.
"Don't scatter crumbs everywhere! Aren't those my biscuits from the drawer?"
Sengoku glanced at his unrefined old friend, then spoke gravely,
"Yes, that's correct. Sabaody Archipelago. This complicates matters."
Garp chewed indifferently.
"What about the Celestial Dragons there? Are we just going to let them stay? What if those arrogant ones anger young Shirogai…"
"I'm considering that too," Sengoku said deeply.
"If a Celestial Dragon is killed publicly by Shirogai, it won't just challenge the authority of the Celestial Nobles. The World Government will lose face. Additionally, promoting Shirogai as Navy Chief Instructor will influence public opinion in the worst possible way."
Garp continued crunching biscuits casually,
"So what do we do? Suggest the Celestial Dragons return to Holy Land Mary Geoise?"
"I will suggest it, but those used to freedom likely won't listen," Sengoku frowned, a trace of helplessness in his voice.
"Let's try. If it fails, we'll dispatch an Admiral to the island as their personal bodyguard. With an Admiral present, the Celestial Dragons won't risk angering Shirogai…"
Thump, thump, thump.
A knock echoed at the door.
"Come in!"
A Marine General entered, saluted respectfully, and placed a stack of sealed documents on the table.
"Report, Admirals! New intelligence requires your review."
The Marine General left after closing the door.
"New intelligence?"
Sengoku walked to the table, broke the seal, and examined it.
"Oh? Five pirate crews have already been defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates?"
Garp chewed biscuits, glancing at the report.
"Ah ha ha ha, disguising Shirogai as a Marine seems successful!"
After a quick scan, Garp patted Sengoku's shoulder, grinning.
"Sengoku, you old fox, you've really caused unexpected battles for those young ones, Shirogai and Luffy!"
"Don't pat me!"
Sengoku pushed Garp away, his cold smile sharpening.
"Indeed, as expected, those foolish pirates saw Shirogai as an easy target. Pirates? Hah!"
Sengoku looked at Kuma, seated motionless, and sneered,
"Most pirates are shortsighted fools. They saw the five billion Berries bounty and the title of Navy Chief Instructor, then attacked recklessly. It's laughable that such a strong individual, respected even by the Marines, would be blindly challenged by pirates with no wanted posters!"
Kuma expressionlessly absorbed Sengoku's mockery, as if robotic, without anger or shame, unfeeling to insult or strike.
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