The next morning, everyone was in the kitchen, waiting for Sanji to finish cooking breakfast. The smell of freshly cooked eggs, toasted bread, and Sanji's signature coffee filled the air. Everyone was enjoying a peaceful meal until Nami's scream shattered the calm.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?!" shouted Nami, storming in with a stack of papers in her hands. Beside her was Nojiko, who looked equally shocked.
Everyone froze mid-bite. Luffy had a piece of meat hanging from his mouth, eyes wide. Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Bartolomeo, and even Dragon who had quietly joined them that morning, turned their heads in curiosity.
Jack looked up from his seat, a slice of bread halfway to his mouth. "Nami, what happened this time? Did Sanji burn your tangerines ?"
"WHAT?! No way, Nami-swan! I'd never…!" Sanji immediately panicked.
Nami slammed the stack of papers onto the table. "LOOK!"
The papers spread out, each one bearing a familiar face and a bounty.
Luffy grabbed his own poster, his eyes sparkling. "WAAAH! Three hundred million Beli! SHISHISHISHI! I'm amazing!"
Jack picked up his own. His face was calm, but his eyebrow twitched slightly. "Two hundred and eighty million… huh. I guess my tech work making waves."
Zoro leaned forward and smirked as he saw his bounty. "Look, my bounty's the same as yours, Jack."
Sanji puffed up his chest, flipping his hair dramatically. "Two hundred fifty million! About time the ladies of the world noticed my charm... wait, WHY IS THE MARIMO BOUNTY HIGHER THAN MINE?!"
"Of course it's higher... because I'm stronger than you," Zoro replied with a laugh.
"SHUT UP, MARIMO!" Sanji shouted, slamming the table.
Nami ignored them and continued, "That's not the problem! Look at this part!"
She pointed furiously at the text printed under Luffy wanted poster: Monkey D Luffy "Son of the Revolutionary Dragon."
The room went dead silent.
Dragon, sitting quietly with his arms folded, sipped his coffee with a faint smirk.
Luffy blinked and tilted his head. "Oh? Isn't that good?"
Nami's mouth dropped open. "PEOPLE WILL START TARGETING YOU!"
"Uh-huh," Luffy said casually while stuffing more food into his mouth. "Good. I'll get to fight more enemies."
"Nami, our captain ambition is to become the Pirate King. Sooner or later, people will come after us anyway. Just relax," said Jack.
"True," added Zoro. "Our job is just to keep getting stronger."
Bartolomeo's eyes turned into sparkling stars. "ZORO-SENPAI! You're so cool!"
Zoro crossed his arms. "Heh. Bartolomeo, you can become strong too. Later, come train your Haki with us."
"Okay, Zoro-senpai!" replied Bartolomeo eagerly.
Nojiko held up her own poster and blinked. "A hundred million… 'Flirty Nojiko'? They even use my real name and they mocked me by adding the word flirty!?"
"Still, a hundred million is no joke," said Nami, sighing heavily. "We've all become high-level targets now. Marines, bounty hunters, even other pirates will come after us!"
Luffy only grinned wider. "Then we'll beat them all up! Right, guys?"
"Shishishishi!" laughed Luffy, pounding his fist into his palm. "The stronger the enemies, the closer we are to becoming Pirate King!"
Dragon lowered his cup with a faint smile. He had watched Luffy from afar many times but this time, he was eating breakfast with his son.
MARINEFORD
The meeting room inside Marineford was filled with heavy silence, broken only by the faint creak of Sengoku clenched fists against the wooden table. Newspapers and bounty posters were scattered everywhere, the fresh headlines screaming across the front page.
"THE SON OF THE REVOLUTIONARY DRAGON — MONKEY D. LUFFY!"
"GARP!!!" Sengoku's voice thundered through the room like a cannon blast.
Vice Admirals outside the door flinched. Inside, Garp stood with his usual nonchalance, munching on a rice cracker. "Heh heh heh… I guess the kid finally made a name for himself."
"MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF?!" Sengoku roared, slamming his hand on the desk so hard the wood cracked. "He's caused chaos across East Blue, destroyed an entire Marine branch, kidnapped CP9, and now the whole world knows he's Dragon's son! And to make it worse—his father, Dragon, was seen aboard the same ship!"
The air in the room grew colder.
Kizaru leaned lazily against the wall, lips curling into his usual half-smile. "Mmm… so scary, ne~? A pirate and a revolutionary… quite the family reunion."
Aokiji sighed, hands in his pockets. "Man… this is getting troublesome."
But Akainu's face was pure fire. The magma-like veins on his neck pulsed as he glared at Garp. "That bloodline of yours should've been wiped out long ago."
"Shut up Akainu," Roared Tsuru, how dare mere admiral said that to the hero of marine. Tsuru had long been known about garp and she also knows how much garp had sacrificed for the marine.
To disrespect his once surperior is soemthing unforgiven.
The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Even Kizaru stopped smirking.
Garp grin disappeared. He turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing with a glint that reminded everyone why he was called Garp the Hero.
"Watch your mouth, Sakazuki," Garp said flatly. "That's my family you're talking about."
Akainu's jaw tightened, but he said nothing more. Even as an admiral, he had heard the legend of Garp and he knew when not to push one.
Sengoku rubbed his temples. "Enough. We can't change this now. Don't blame me if we end up catching your grandson. The World Government already furious about the recent kidnapping."
Garp only chuckled under his breath. "Heh heh heh… sounds like the boy's doing great then."
"GARP!" Sengoku roared again, slamming his palm on the table.
The tension finally broke when Garp stood up, brushing crumbs off his uniform. "If you're done shouting, I'll be going. I've got paperwork and snacks to attend to."
"Don't you dare walk away, Garp! This isn't over!"
But Garp ignored him, turning toward the door. Aokiji followed quietly behind.
Once they were outside, Aokiji glanced sideways at the old man. "You sure you're okay, Garp-san?"
When they finally reached Garp's ship and set sail, the old man suddenly erupted, his voice booming across the sea.
"FIRST MY SON BECOMES A REVOLUTIONARY… NOW MY GRANDSON'S A PIRATE?! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!"
Aokiji winced, rubbing his neck. "Maybe… you left them with duty for too long and they strayed, old man."
Author Notes - There is 6 advanced chapter on my patreon.
-patreon.com/zerelix