"Marine Hero Garp is still only a Vice Admiral," Sai pointed out, looking at the newspaper with a confused frown. "Are those three newly appointed Admirals actually stronger than him?"
When it came to Marine hierarchy, Sai wasn't very familiar with most of the names, but he had grown up hearing the name 'Garp' constantly. His grandfather, Don Chinjao, violently cursed Garp's name at least once every three days. Because of this, Sai had always assumed Garp was the absolute strongest fighter in the entire Navy.
"There's no way," Perona said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I heard stories that when Garp was younger, he used to relentlessly chase the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, all across the oceans. Are you seriously telling me these three new Admirals are even more terrifying than the man who cornered the Pirate King?"
If that were true, they shouldn't even bother sailing the seas anymore; they should just permanently retire to a Sky Island and hide!
Bardock leaned against the railing, carefully measuring their respective strengths in his mind. He had personally clashed with Kuzan, and he had closely observed the deathmatch between Kuzan and Kaido. In the short term, it was virtually impossible to determine a clear victor between those two monsters.
If Garp's peak strength was relative to Roger's, and Roger was perfectly matched with Whitebeard, then logic dictated that Garp and Whitebeard belonged to the exact same supreme tier of power.
At this current point in the timeline, Kaido was likely still slightly inferior to Whitebeard in a one-on-one fight; otherwise, Whitebeard wouldn't still hold the undisputed title of the 'World's Strongest Man'.
Therefore, by extension, the current three Admirals were likely still slightly inferior to Garp's absolute peak. However, the crucial factor was age. Garp was old, and his physical prime was slowly slipping away. The three Admirals, on the other hand, were in their absolute physical primes and still actively improving. Give it a few more years, and it was entirely possible for the Admirals to eventually surpass the aging Hero.
When Bardock shared this analytical breakdown with the crew, they pondered it for a moment before nodding in agreement.
'Time truly is the absolute greatest enemy of the strong,' they thought, sighing internally. Whether it was the World's Strongest Man or the Hero of the Marines, they would all eventually become remnants of a bygone era.
"If I ever get the chance, I definitely want to fight Aokiji again," Enel declared, cracking his knuckles. "And Akainu and Kizaru, too. The title of the 'Strongest Logia' is going to be decided between the four of us."
Enel had completely recovered from his crushing defeat to Bardock. He possessed one massive, undeniably excellent trait: he absolutely refused to accept permanent defeat.
"If we're talking about the title of the 'Strongest Logia', you'll have to add the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, to that list," Bardock chimed in, casually tossing another name into the ring. "Legend has it he's the user of the Wind-Wind Fruit."
"The Wind-Wind Fruit?" "Monkey D.? Is that 'Monkey' related to...?" "Wait, what's his connection to Marine Hero Garp?!" "And what exactly is the 'Revolutionary Army'?! How come we've never heard of them?!"
The crew was instantly bombarded with massive, earth-shattering revelations, their curiosity spiking violently.
"Exactly," Bardock smiled, casually dropping the bombshell. "Monkey D. Dragon is the biological son of Marine Hero Monkey D. Garp. The Revolutionary Army he founded exists for one singular purpose: to completely overthrow the World Government's tyrannical rule and establish a new world built on harmony, freedom, equality, and dreams. They've already successfully overthrown several corrupt kingdoms. Compared to pirates, the Revolutionary Army is the true, existential threat to the World Government's absolute authority."
Personally, Bardock harbored a significant amount of goodwill toward the Revolutionary Army. However, leading a revolution in a world governed by supernatural combat power was vastly different from a revolution in his original world. The revolutionaries had to figure out their own path. Bardock had absolutely no intention of recklessly interfering or artificially accelerating their growth; doing so might cause more harm than good.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Galdino gasped, frantically pushing up his glasses. "The son of the Navy's greatest Hero is the world's most wanted criminal trying to overthrow the government?! That's absolutely insane! How is Garp not severely punished or implicated for his son's treason?!"
"Garp didn't earn the title of 'Hero' for nothing," Bardock chuckled. "Rumor has it he actively saved the lives of several Celestial Dragons in the past, giving him absolute, untouchable political immunity. When we eventually run into someone who was actually there, you can ask them about it yourselves."
Since they were already patrolling the South Blue, Bardock had planned to visit the Sorbet Kingdom eventually. If Bartholomew Kuma was still residing there, Bardock wanted to ask the gentle giant about the classified God Valley Incident.
"Bardock," Robin interrupted, her tone incredibly serious. She didn't care about Dragon's lineage; her focus was entirely on the organization's ideology. "Are the Revolutionary Army's goals truly that noble?"
"The Revolutionary Army?" Bardock smiled mysteriously. "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should be running into them very soon. When we do, you can witness their ideals for yourself. I've only heard the rumors, after all."
Bardock suddenly realized that introducing them to Kuma would save him a massive amount of breath explaining geopolitical theory. He just hoped Kuma was actually currently present in the Sorbet Kingdom.
Over the next few months, the White Dragon practically sailed across the entirety of the South Blue. Eventually, they set their final coordinates for the last island on their South Blue itinerary: the Sorbet Kingdom, the hometown of Bartholomew Kuma.
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