A week after Yoriichi began practicing Haki, a small portion of the supplies on Garp's warship had been used up.
Since setting sail, Garp hadn't gotten any updates on the Roger Pirates' whereabouts.
Garp realized that this expedition would again become a prolonged pursuit, like the previous ones.
Therefore, upon passing a country called the Kingdom of Nie, Garp ordered the warship to dock in port and instructed the crew to resupply.
Taking this opportunity, Garp also intended to gather information about the Roger Pirates.
The Kingdom of Nie was a small country in the New World. Calling it a kingdom was a stretch; it was essentially just a large island, probably smaller than the Sabaody Archipelago. The island's permanent population was only tens of thousands.
The Kingdom of Nie was small and of low status, lacking a large military force; their royal army numbered only about a thousand.
However, being located in the chaotic New World, for its own safety, the Kingdom of Nie became a member state of the World Government and also served as a bridgehead for the Navy in the New World, with a naval branch there.
However, the Kingdom of Nier secretly maintains connections with underground forces, relying on the banner of "Whitebeard." They also facilitate access for pirates entering the New World, providing them with resupply points.
By straddling both the legal and illegal worlds, the Kingdom of NieR has established a foothold in the New World.
The political environment of the Kingdom of Nier results in a diverse and sometimes chaotic society. The Navy branch there operates with exceptional discretion, primarily acting as intelligence gatherers and rarely engaging in direct conflict with the pirates.
Whenever serious incidents occur, it is usually the Royal Army of Nier that intervenes. Most of the time, it's just pirates fighting amongst themselves, which the Royal Army doesn't interfere with. However, when civilians are harmed, the Royal Army turns to the Navy.
When pirates target nobles or ministers of the Kingdom of Nier, they raise the banner of Whitebeard for protection.
In such cases, seeking help from the Navy is largely futile, as every pirate who dares to enter the New World carries a bounty. With so many pirates to hunt down, the Navy's influence and power in the New World simply cannot capture every single one.
Pirates kill, leave their treasure on their ships, and set sail; why would the Navy bother hunting down a small pirate crew all over the world? But the Whitebeard Pirates are different. If someone dares to challenge Whitebeard's authority, they will genuinely hunt them down worldwide.
In the New World, Whitebeard's name is far more valuable than the Navy's.
As for the Navy's role, it's mostly about maintaining relative regional stability; capturing pirates depends on the level of threat.
Ultimately, the Navy's power is insufficient, leading the World Government to introduce the Seven Warlords of the Sea system to strengthen regional stability.
Pirates legally engaging in plunder—isn't that ridiculous?
Chaotic areas like the Nier Kingdom are often where intelligence flows most rapidly and accurately. Garp's primary purpose in coming here was to obtain information about the Roger Pirates' whereabouts.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter!!!" In the naval port of the Kingdom of Nier, the anchor of the dog-headed warship was lowered, and a wooden ladder extended from the ship and was then fixed to the ground.
"Creak...creak..."
Garp, draped in his Justice Cloak, slowly descended from the warship. Behind him, his two lieutenants, Aokiji and Bogart, followed closely. Beside these two lieutenants also followed a red-haired boy with a long sword at his waist and an eyepatch, none other than Yoriichi.
Yoriichi's eyepatch was something he had borrowed from Aokiji; it was always made of black cloth and was somewhat inconvenient to loosen and fasten. The eyepatch Aokiji used to sleep was much more convenient.
To accelerate his Haki training, Yoriichi wore the eyepatch most of the day, and after these days of training and adaptation, his Observation Haki had barely reached the entry level; even with the eyepatch, it didn't hinder his movements. His
rapid progress left everyone on the ship who knew about it speechless.
As for Armament Haki, Yoriichi's training progress was rather mediocre. Although he could skillfully use Armament Haki in attacks, his Armament Haki was far too weak.
He couldn't even break through Garp's defenses during sparring, far inferior to Axe King Morgan .
The leader of the Navy's G-10 branch stationed in the Kingdom of Nie was a Rear Admiral named Loca. He seemed to have known Garp was coming and was waiting at the port early on. Rear Admiral
Loca was quite old, appearing to be over seventy. Long, white eyebrows obscured the corners of his eyes. Standing at the port, he closed his eyes, his head bobbing as if he were dozing.
Although he was physically robust, the wrinkles on his skin, the age spots on his face, and his full head of white hair all betrayed the age of this veteran Marine.
The sound of the wooden ladder being lowered seemed to wake the old marine. He opened his eyes a crack, and upon seeing Garp, a smile appeared on his face. His aged voice, accompanied by the sound of his Adam's apple bobbing, reached everyone's ears:
"You've arrived so quickly. Your temperament hasn't changed at all, Garp." Although Loca was only a rear admiral, he addressed Garp by his first name. None of the naval officers and men following Garp showed surprise; they all greeted Rear Admiral Loca familiarly.
"Rear Admiral Loca!"
Loca waved to the officers and men behind Garp, saying, "Go on with your work," before turning his gaze to Garp and stating directly, "We haven't received any news about Roger recently."
"Hahaha, Uncle Loca, I mainly came to see you this time," Garp laughed. Loca simply shook his head and said calmly,
"Let's go, let's go inside and rest for a bit."
With that, Loca and Garp walked side-by-side towards the nearby naval branch. At this moment, Yoriichi had also removed his blindfold and looked curiously at Rear Admiral Loca walking ahead. He patted Aokiji's thigh beside him and asked,
"Kuzan, who is this Rear Admiral Loca?"
"He seems to know Vice Admiral Garp quite well?"
Aokiji lowered his head and explained with a smile, "Oh, Rear Admiral Loca, he's the Navy's most famous intelligence officer."
"Vice Admiral Garp studied under Rear Admiral Loca when he was young. Not only Vice Admiral Garp, but also Vice Admiral Tsuru and Admiral Sengoku served under him for a period of time."
Yoriichi was puzzled and continued to ask, "The most famous intelligence officer? In that case, his abilities and qualifications must be very impressive, so why is he only a Rear Admiral?"
Yoriichi lowered his voice, somewhat confused.
However, this time, it wasn't Aokiji who answered Yoriichi, but Rear Admiral Loca, who was walking at the front.
"That's because this old man is tired of life at sea."
"People should live a down-to-earth life; that way, they can live a few more years."
Rear Admiral Loca and Garp were four or five meters away from Yoriichi and Aokiji, but Rear Admiral Loca still heard Yoriichi's deliberately lowered voice clearly.
Yoriichi lowered his head awkwardly upon hearing this; he hadn't expected the rear admiral to have such keen hearing. Being caught prying into someone's back was somewhat impolite.
"I'm sorry, Rear Admiral Loca," Yoriichi apologized after a brief moment of embarrassment.
Loca, who had stopped ahead, waited for Yoriichi and the others to catch up. Hearing Yoriichi's apology, Loca waved his hand dismissively. He sized up Yoriichi and asked Garp,
"Who is this kid? He's a new face."
Garp gestured with his chin towards Yoriichi, indicating that he should speak.
"Rear Admiral Loca, my name is Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
Loca nodded, a look of understanding suddenly appearing on his aged face: "Such a young Marine, it's been a long time."
"Kid, are you curious why I could hear you just now?"
"Hehe, this old man is a devil fruit user who ate the Listen-Listen Fruit. If I want, I can hear everyone on this island!"
Yoriichi understood, and sighed, "Can hear everyone? That must be really hard work."
Loca was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter:
"Hahahaha!"
"Interesting kid!"
Then, ignoring Yoriichi and the others, he pulled Garp and headed towards the base.