While Higuma stood outside the tavern wrestling with his thoughts, a faint sound came from behind him—light footsteps.
"Someone's coming?"
Higuma immediately wiped the troubled look off his face, straightened his expression in a flash, and subtly adjusted his "vibe."
As the legendary Mountain Bandit King, he had to stay imposing in front of others.
Especially after he'd been running his mouth like a lunatic while drunk.
If Beckman and the others ever learned the truth, the show would be spectacular.
With that in mind, Higuma coughed softly and said in a low voice:
"You're here?"
Keeping his face serious, he turned his head to look behind him.
He couldn't turn too fast—that would look rash, not fitting the Mountain Bandit King persona.
And his expression had to stay calm and stern no matter who he saw. Not a flicker of surprise.
In a world where Observation Haki existed, identifying people from footsteps—or even their presence—was basic.
Even if he didn't have Observation Haki, he had to pretend he did.
Putting on this big-shot act is exhausting…
Even so, Higuma felt pretty satisfied with himself.
Fast reaction. Clean execution. I really am born to be a method actor.
But when he turned around, he froze.
No one was there.
"Woof."
He looked down.
A little white dog was wagging its tail at him.
Higuma: "..."
Before the embarrassment could even settle in, the tavern door opened in the distance. Shanks came out looking annoyed.
"Mr. Higuma, there you are…"
"...We ended up talking too much about the old days. Got a little sentimental, so I stepped out to clear my head."
Higuma hurriedly adjusted his expression and said flatly.
Shanks didn't notice the awkwardness at all. He frowned, troubled.
"Luffy, that little brat—while we were all drinking, he actually went and ate the Gum-Gum Fruit we brought... Now what the hell do we do?"
"A Pirate King who can't swim... Maybe we should just have him become a Mountain Bandit King instead."
Higuma froze.
He hadn't even noticed when Luffy had stolen the Devil Fruit.
All his attention had been on keeping up the aura of a powerhouse. He hadn't spared Luffy a second glance.
"There aren't exactly few Devil Fruit users on the sea," Higuma said after thinking it over.
"If he can't swim, then good. He'll learn to rely on his crew. You can't become Pirate King on your own strength. Not even Roger did."
"Yeah... Still, it's a shame. The Gum-Gum Fruit's gone, so our original plan fell through. Looks like our crew's going to have to leave the East Blue earlier than planned."
"Tomorrow. Probably tomorrow, we set sail."
Shanks smiled, a little regretful.
"Not being able to drink with you a few more times, Higuma-san... that really is a shame."
The Red Hair Pirates were leaving the East Blue early?
Hearing that, Higuma almost couldn't keep his straight, serious face.
They were leaving? That was fantastic.
Sticking around monsters like them was crushingly stressful. One slip and his act would crumble.
Higuma forced his face into a suitably regretful look and played along.
"Is that so? Yeah... that's a shame."
Then he lifted his gaze to the night sky and sighed.
"After all, there aren't many people left in this world who can reminisce with me about the old era."
"No... about that, Higuma-san, I don't think you need to worry," Shanks said.
The words made Higuma's heart jolt—along with a sinking premonition.
"What do you mean?" Higuma asked.
Shanks chuckled and pulled a tiny Den Den Mushi out of his coat pocket.
"Just now, one of our eyes on the Grand Line sent us a message..."
...
A dark sea under the night sky.
A Marine warship, its bow adorned with a giant dog-head ornament, cleaved through the waves at full speed.
In the command room, a booming voice barked an order.
"Too slow. Too slow! Tell them to go faster!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, we're already at full speed..." A Marine officer wiped sweat from his brow, then asked cautiously, "And besides, we came to the East Blue this time without any especially urgent mission, didn't we?"
The burly vice admiral's eyes went wide. He roared back.
"What do you mean 'no especially urgent mission'?!"
"You lot are lazy! Something this huge happens and none of you even noticed!"
That single line snapped every officer in the room to attention.
Garp had been on the same ship with them the whole time. If Headquarters had issued orders, there was no way these officers would all be in the dark.
Unless…
"Did Fleet Admiral Sengoku contact Vice Admiral Garp directly...?"
The thought shot through several minds at once, and they stiffened.
No way—was some massive upheaval really happening in the weakest sea, the East Blue?
Something big enough that the Hero of the Marines, Garp the Fist, had to race there at top speed?
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the next command.
"That bastard Shanks showed up in the East Blue's Foosha Village—"
Before Garp could even finish, the entire command room shook.
One of the Four Emperors!
"Vice Admiral Garp, are we going to pursue Red-Hair Shanks?" a petty officer asked excitedly.
"No... chasing Shanks is a small matter," Garp said.
That single sentence sent the petty officers' hearts back into their throats.
Chasing a Yonko was small?
Then what was the real mission?
Several of them swallowed hard.
"The important thing is this—my grandson Luffy is in Foosha Village. That bastard Shanks is going to corrupt my grandson!"
"And on top of that, Luffy is already seven years old this year!"
"Seven! Do you know what that means?!"
The officers stared blankly and shook their heads.
"It means Luffy is already a fully mature man!" Garp shouted, fists clenched, worked up like a storm. "I'm going to start his training. With my own hands, I'll forge him into the finest soldier the Marines have ever seen!"
Garp's training…
Just hearing that word made the officers break out in cold sweat.
They were all men Garp had trained. Even now, as officers, remembering that hellish regimen still made their scalps tingle.
After a long silence, one officer forced himself to speak.
"But Vice Admiral Garp... your training plan is too harsh even for adult Marine recruits. The washout rate is ninety percent!"
"What are you thinking?" Garp shot back, looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "Why would I ever put Luffy through the standard recruit training?"
The officers were just starting to breathe again when Garp's next sentence nearly choked them.
"Luffy is my grandson! He's going to become the finest Marine!"
"That rookie program doesn't have nearly enough volume. At least ten times more—no, this is too important. I'll build Luffy a brand-new training plan. The best one possible!"
The petty officers exchanged looks and, in unison, offered silent condolences to Luffy, far away in Foosha Village.
(End of Chapter)
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