Grand Line, Marineford.
At the very top of the fortress, inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
"Garp!!!"
Sengoku ground his teeth as he glared at the old man in front of him, who was busy stuffing his face. "I'm talking to you about your grandson! Can you at least listen to me?!"
Garp replied calmly, mouth still full, "You talk. I can hear while I eat."
Sengoku's face darkened like storm clouds, but there was nothing he could do. He sighed and continued, "Do you have any idea how much trouble your grandson has caused? He turned the entire Shells Town Marine branch to his side! The captain has been thrown in jail, your grandson's taken over, and now he's even planning a public execution for Morgan..."
"Hahahaha! That really is my grandson!"
Garp finished his crackers, took a sip of tea, and grinned. "Sengoku, why are you so angry? You heard the call yesterday too. Morgan had it coming."
Sengoku's eye twitched violently.
So when Morgan goes too far, that's a problem. But when your grandson does it, it's fine?
Letting a rookie pirate conduct a public execution for a Marine officer?
Just thinking about it made Sengoku feel humiliated.
"No. If there's going to be an execution, it has to be done by our people!"
Even if he was your grandson, he had no right to replace the Marines in executing one of their own. Where was the Navy supposed to put its face after this?
"Fine, fine, send whoever you want."
Garp got up casually and tossed the empty snack bag into the trash. "I haven't been back to Foosha Village in a while anyway. I'll drop by the East Blue too."
With a hearty laugh, he walked out of the office.
Sengoku watched him go, clicked his tongue, and took a sip of tea.
That old man really doted on his grandson.
Under normal circumstances, even if Morgan had done wrong, it should've gone to a military court. Luffy smashing into a Marine base and forcing a public execution—just that alone was worthy of a bounty in the tens of millions.
"That bastard! 'Going to the East Blue for a stroll,' my ass. He's worried his grandson will suffer."
Sengoku opened another bag of crackers and crunched away angrily.
Come to think of it, he'd met Luffy once as a child when he'd gone to Foosha Village with Garp.
The brat had called him "Second Grandma" the moment they met. Infuriating—but oddly adorable.
He used to be such a likable kid.
So why had he grown into such a headache?
Shells Town, Marine Base.
Zoro ate like a beast, finally enjoying a proper meal.
Nami, on the other hand, barely touched her food. She poked at her plate with her chopsticks, lost in thought.
Luffy glanced at her. "What's wrong?"
Nami puffed out her cheeks. "I couldn't find a Grand Line sea chart. I thought I might get lucky here… how annoying."
Luffy leaned close and gently blew into her ear.
"My little navigator is just too cute~"
Nami's face instantly flushed red. "You're too close!"
She'd been working so hard to help him—and this jerk just teased her in return.
Startled, she hurriedly scooted away from him.
What a scoundrel. He never missed a chance to bully her.
"Lord Luffy," a Marine guard stepped forward, "the town has been officially notified about Captain Morgan's execution tomorrow."
"Got it. Execution at noon. Tell the townspeople to come watch."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier snapped to attention and left.
Nami stared blankly. "Luffy… why are you executing Morgan?"
"To make it easier to kill Marines later."
Seeing her confusion, Luffy explained simply,
"By executing Morgan publicly here, the Navy won't have anything to say. Then when we reach your hometown, I can kill Captain Nezumi openly and without hesitation."
Nami's eyes widened. "So… Nezumi and Arlong are working together?"
"Of course." Luffy shrugged. "Do you think Arlong could've run wild for so long without someone backing him? Nezumi's been in bed with him from the start."
"As long as we collect enough evidence and kill Nezumi, even if we're the ones who do it, the Marines won't be able to issue a bounty on us."
As he spoke, he reached out and gently flicked Nami's nose.
"If we're going to act, we do it all the way. Every hidden danger to your hometown gets wiped out."
"So… you're taking all this risk, executing Morgan, just so you can kill Nezumi later?" Nami whispered in shock.
Everything clicked into place.
That meant Luffy had planned all of this from the beginning.
Even killing Morgan was just a step toward eliminating the threat in her hometown.
…Why was he being this kind to her?
Nami's heart swelled. If Zoro hadn't been there, she might've kissed him on the spot.
Luffy shrugged. "Yeah. But doing this definitely pisses off the Marines. With their pride, they never let things like this slide."
"One abusive officer was already embarrassing enough. Now add another corrupt one working with pirates… and I'm the outsider slapping their faces again and again. They're definitely going to come after me."
"See? All this risk… just for you."
Nami suddenly laughed, her eyes shining. She pulled her chair closer and sat right up against him.
"Thank you, Luffy!"
[Crew Member Nami — Affection Level: 100%]
[Hidden Reward Triggered]
[Congratulations: Navigation Skill MAX obtained!]
Huh?!
A bonus reward?
Not bad, Nami. Three triggers already!
After teasing her lightly under the table, Luffy opened his status panel.
With his current overall strength…
It was probably time to move on to the next map.
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T/N:
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