"Intercepting... fragments of time?" Garp's pupils constricted to a sharp point.
Absurd. It was utterly outrageous. Yet, everything he had just experienced—the raging, crackling lightning, the terrifyingly colossal beast, the brutal, raw, fist-to-fist combat—was so real, so visceral, that he couldn't possibly refute it. That wasn't some cheap illusion. That was a genuine, life-and-death battle.
After a long, tense silence, the mountain-like, heavy aura that had been emanating from Garp slowly receded. He stared at Jack, his voice laced with the utmost seriousness.
"Kid," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Come back to Marineford with me. With an ability like yours, I can personally recommend you to Sengoku. You would be treated greatly by marines. Maybe we could promote you to an Admiral as well"
*BOOM!*
That single sentence was more astonishing than any of the aftershocks from the battle that had just concluded. Ace and Luffy were both completely dumbfounded. An Admiral?! That was the absolute pinnacle of combat power in the entire world. This seemingly lazy, white-haired youth… could become an Admiral?
However, faced with an offer that would drive the entire world into a frenzy, Jack's reaction was so nonchalant it was almost infuriating. He casually picked at his ear, then let out a long, lazy yawn.
"No," he answered, his response swift and decisive. "Be a Marine? I'd have to punch in for work every day, and listen to the orders of a bunch of self-important Celestial Dragon idiots?" Jack pouted, a look of profound disdain on his face. "That sounds incredibly boring."
"I don't have any grand ambitions," he continued. "I just like to be free and unbothered, travel around, and enjoy good food." He patted Garp's broad shoulder, speaking with an earnest, almost paternal tone. "Old man, you should try to broaden your horizons a bit. The world is a vast and fascinating place. Don't spend all your time thinking about catching pirates."
A vein throbbed on Garp's forehead. Luffy and Ace were even more stunned. This person… actually dared to speak to their grandfather in such a patronizing tone?!
Just as Ace braced himself for Garp's "Fist of Love" to descend upon the insolent youth, something unexpected happened.
"BWAHAHAHA!"
Garp suddenly burst into a deafening, uproarious laugh. "Well said!" he boomed, heavily patting Jack's back with a force that could have easily snapped a large tree in two. "Freedom, huh… As expected of the kid I've taken a liking to!"
He didn't press the matter any further. He couldn't. Because he saw something in that young man's eyes that was exactly like his own, exactly like his son Dragon's, and even exactly like his grandson Luffy's. It was the purest, most untamable yearning for "freedom." A person like that could never be caged.
"What a pity! What a true pity!" Garp laughed heartily, turning to walk towards the waiting Marine ship. Before leaving, he didn't forget to turn back and deliver a swift "Fist of Love" to both Luffy and Ace.
"You two brats! Train hard!" he bellowed. "The next time I come back, if you're still this weak, I'll throw you into the sea to feed the Sea Kings!"
With that final word, he boarded the Marine ship without a backward glance. As the vessel slowly departed from the port, Garp stood at the bow, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout back at Jack on the shore.
"Kid! The next time you have a fun 'dungeon' like that, be sure to let me know! The price is negotiable!"
Jack waved the check in his hand, a wide, sly merchant's smile spreading across his face. "Of course, of course! Take care, old man!"
On the deck of the Marine ship, the moment Garp's blood-soaked, tattered figure stepped onto the deck, the atmosphere on the entire vessel solidified.
"Mr. Garp!" his adjutant, Bogard, rushed forward. Seeing the grievous wounds covering Garp's body, his perpetually stoic and unflappable face couldn't hold its composure, his pupils contracting violently. "What happened?! Did you encounter remnants of Whitebeard's crew? Or some reckless Four Emperors pirate?"
To injure the great Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp, to this extent—Bogard's mind had already flashed through a dozen of the worst possible scenarios.
However, Garp merely waved his hand casually, grinning to reveal a mouthful of blood-stained white teeth. "BWAHAHAHA! Relax, Bogard." He nonchalantly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "There was no enemy. It was just a… super invigorating warm-up!"
Bogard was speechless. He looked at Garp's excitedly shining eyes, then at the gruesome, life-threatening wounds on his body, his mind a whirlwind of question marks. What kind of hellish warm-up was this?
"Get me a Den Den Mushi," Garp's smile faded slightly, his eyes becoming sharp. "I need to have a word with that old bat, Sengoku."
…
Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.
*Purupuru purupuru...* The Den Den Mushi mimicked Garp's characteristic lazy expression as it rang impatiently.
Sengoku snatched up the receiver, roaring into it without preamble. "Garp! You scoundrel! Where did you run off to slack off this time?! I heard you went back to the East Blue again! Do you think Marine Headquarters is your backyard?!"
On the other end of the line, Garp leisurely extended his pinky finger and picked his nose. "Yo, Sengoku. You're getting old, don't be so hot-headed."
"I have something serious to tell you. Approve a special budget for me."
A vein instantly bulged on Sengoku's forehead, and he roared even louder into the Den Den Mushi. "No way! Not a single Berry! You can forget it! Every time you request a budget, you either sink half an island or beat a Warlord half to death! I'll never trust you with funds again!"
"Tsk." Garp flicked his finger, his expression turning serious for the first time. "This time is different."
His low, somber words made the roaring on the other end of the line stop abruptly.
"I just fought a monster," Garp stated flatly.
Sengoku was silent for a moment, his tone becoming grave. "Who?"
"A dark-skinned man covered in blue lightning, who called himself the Third Raikage." Garp recalled the exhilarating, brutal battle, his eyes burning with a renewed fighting spirit. "His strength and speed were no less than my own. We wiped out an entire canyon."
On the other end of the line, Sengoku's brows furrowed tightly. "Third Raikage? I've never heard that name. Is he some madman who just popped up in the New World?"
Garp grinned. "No. He's not from our world."
Sengoku's breathing stopped for a second.
Garp ignored his friend's shock and continued, succinctly describing the so-called "dungeon," the fragment of a timeline intercepted from another world. On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, a long, heavy silence fell. The snail, mimicking Sengoku's expression, no longer showed anger and impatience; instead, it displayed an unprecedented level of shock and gravity.
After a long while, Sengoku's voice, suppressing a turbulent storm of emotion, came through the receiver. "Garp… what you're saying… is it true?"
"BWAHAHAHA! When have I ever joked about something like this!" Garp glanced down at his right fist, which was still a bloody, bruised, and scorched mess. "The wounds on this fist can't be faked!"
Another silence. Sengoku was clearly struggling to process this world-shattering information.
"That kid who can create these 'dungeons'..." Sengoku's tone became extremely serious, even laced with a hint of urgency. "Can we get him into the Marines? At any cost! If he's willing to join, I can personally guarantee him an Admiral position!"
Hearing this suggestion, Garp's expression became peculiar. He remembered the youth's lazy expression and his dismissive remark, "That's too boring."
"BWAHAHAHA!" Garp burst into wild laughter again. "Too late! I already offered!"
Sengoku urgently pressed, "Then what did he say?!"
Garp picked his nose, mimicking Jack's languid tone, and replied lazily. "He said… being a Marine means punching in for work and listening to the orders of those Celestial Dragon idiots, which is too boring. He said he doesn't have any grand ambitions; he just likes to be free."
On the other end of the line, Sengoku was so angry he almost crushed the receiver in his hand. Garp, however, only laughed even harder. He leaned against the ship's rail, looking out at the boundless, open sea, his eyes filled with the appreciation and anticipation of meeting a worthy adversary.
"Sengoku," he said, his laughter subsiding. "That kid isn't a bird that can be caged by the Marines or the World Government. He… is an absolute, untamable free spirit."