“Let’s call it a day!”
Ban waved his hand, then turned and began walking toward the harbor.
Kuina and Zoro — who had just gotten back to his feet — watched curiously as his figure walked away.
That direction didn’t lead back to Isshin Dojo at all.
At the harbor of Shimotsuki Village.
People gathered there stared in shock as massive warships slowly approached, though they stopped some distance away from the pier.
“Those are Marine warships!”
Even though no one had seen them up close before, the design and size of the ships made it obvious what they were.
And of course, the Marine flags clearly displayed on the large sails left no doubt.
“Why have the Marines come here?
Is there a pirate nearby?”
Someone spoke with a tone of nervousness and fear.
His words made many others in the crowd look anxious and worried.
Shimotsuki Village had never been visited by pirates before.
After all, the East Blue was a vast area, and pirates were relatively rare here.
But everyone had read enough newspapers to know just how cruel and violent pirates could be.
On board the ship shaped like a dog’s head.
“Vice Admiral Garp!”
Bogart — Captain of the Marines and Garp’s adjutant — stood at attention and called out loudly.
Garp was lying on a deck chair, fast asleep.
He woke up suddenly at Bogart’s voice, blowing a big snot bubble that popped loudly.
Garp opened his eyes and yawned widely.
“Are we here already?”
“Yes, Vice Admiral Garp — we have arrived at Shimotsuki Village in the East Blue.”
Bogart turned and nodded, looking toward the island visible not far away.
“Good.
You all stay here and wait.”
Garp stood up, stretched his body, then looked up toward the village.
He jumped straight up, soaring more than a hundred meters into the air, and landed smoothly on the ground below.
As a subordinate who had served Garp for more than twenty years, Bogart was completely used to his captain’s strange habits and found this behavior completely unsurprising.
He quickly gave orders to lower the anchors and prepare the ships to stay in position.
Meanwhile, Garp had already landed right on the pier.
His sudden arrival naturally startled everyone standing there.
Who would do something like jump that high and that far?
Before Garp could even say anything, the villagers of Shimotsuki scattered in all directions like frightened animals.
Oh…
Garp scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
He must have scared them all away, hadn’t he?
Wait a second!
Just as he was about to activate his Observation Haki to try and locate the person he was looking for, Garp paused.
He turned his gaze toward the direction where the villagers had run off — toward the town itself.
A young man wearing loose, flowing clothes was walking slowly toward him.
Suddenly, Garp felt certain in his heart: This is the person I’ve been looking for.
Ban stood there calmly, watching the tall figure approach him slowly.
Compared to the enormous, monstrous figures he had heard about from across the seas, Garp’s size seemed quite ordinary.
Garp was also looking closely at Ban.
He seemed young, no older than fifteen or sixteen years old — exactly matching the description in the reports.
He had a tall, well-proportioned build, and walked with steady, confident steps that clearly showed he possessed great strength.
He was definitely high-quality material.
That was Garp’s immediate judgment.
He stood still, watching as Ban walked right up to him and stopped in front of him.
“Are you the bounty hunter Ban?” Garp asked, grinning widely.
“Yes.
And you are the Marine Hero, Garp?” Ban nodded in response, then asked back.
“Huh?” Garp blinked, then scratched his graying hair.
“So it seems I really am famous after all!
Hahaha!”
Laughing loudly, Garp began to laugh wholeheartedly, without any restraint.
“…”
Ban just stood there, looking at him with a slightly confused and exasperated expression.
People in this world really love laughing so much, don’t they?
“You seem very happy about it?” Ban asked, sounding somewhat amused.
“Of course I am!
I told you, I really am quite famous!”
Garp stopped laughing and answered him, keeping his tone casual and friendly — just as everyone expected of him.
“Come join the Marines, Ban!
You have such great talent, you shouldn’t waste it!”
Garp made his invitation directly and straightforwardly.
“No.”
Ban shook his head directly.
“Why not?
Isn’t being a Marine better than being a bounty hunter?”
Hearing Ban’s refusal, Garp pulled back the hand he had extended for the invitation, then asked curiously.
“I’m currently focused on my training, so I can’t do it,” Ban thought for a moment and gave his answer.
“You can train just as well as a Marine.
There are so many powerful fighters serving under the Marines.”
Garp grinned cheerfully as he said this.
“But I’ve heard that if you join the Marines, you have to obey the orders of the Celestial Dragons,” Ban said quietly after a short pause.
Garp was taken aback.
The smile faded from his face, and he looked at Ban’s expression carefully for a moment before nodding slowly.
“I see now.
I understand.”
After speaking, Garp turned around, leaped high into the air, and headed back toward the warship.
Does that old man think I have some misunderstanding?
Ban felt a little confused about Garp’s reaction.
“I see…
so this is another young person who doesn’t trust the Marines because of the Celestial Dragons…”
Garp sighed softly.
He knew perfectly well what kind of reputation the Celestial Dragons had across the seas.
Even he himself had chosen not to become an Admiral precisely because he wanted nothing to do with those hateful people.
Landing back on the deck, Garp sat down again in his deck chair.
“Weigh anchor and set course for Headquarters.”
Garp said with his eyes closed.
“Vice Admiral Garp, our destination?”
Bogart looked at Ban standing on the pier with some confusion and asked.
“He’s not here.
He probably came by and then left for somewhere else,” Garp replied with his eyes still closed.
Oh!
Bogart was stunned.
He glanced back at the pier, then immediately gave the order to get the ships underway.
Whether Garp’s words were actually true or not didn’t matter—they would just treat it as the truth and move on.
Back on the pier.
Ban watched as the warships slowly turned around and departed from the harbor.
That old man Garp was actually pretty easy to talk to, wasn’t he?
Shaking his head slightly, Ban turned to walk back toward the village.
From a distance, he could see Koushirou standing there with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
This is a hassle.
Ban sighed and walked over toward him.
“Did the Marines come here for you?” Koushirou asked as Ban approached.
“Yes.
They invited me to join the Marines, but I turned them down,” Ban nodded and explained their purpose.
“You refused?” Koushirou looked surprised.
“Yeah.
I don’t want to be a Marine.
You know what my goals are.”
Ban spoke calmly.
“So you just turned them down, and they left without arguing about it?”
“The one who came was Garp.”
Ban looked at Koushirou and said.
Garp?
Koushirou’s body stiffened slightly.
He knew Dragon’s identity, and of course he also knew that Dragon’s father was Vice Admiral Garp of the Marine Headquarters.
Naturally, he was also familiar with the reputation and character of this high-ranking officer.
If it had been Garp who came, then there was no reason to be surprised by what happened.
“But I’ve already awakened both types of Haki, so I probably won’t be staying in this village for much longer,” Ban added.
“I knew you wouldn’t stay here forever…
but I didn’t expect it would be this soon.”
Hearing this, Koushirou couldn’t help but feel a mixture of feelings.
In less than two months, Ban had grown so much stronger.
He could feel it clearly—even his swordsmanship had improved by huge leaps and bounds.
“Are you planning to head into the Grand Line?”
Koushirou asked directly, knowing that Ban possessed far more knowledge about the world than most people.
“No.
I won’t enter the Grand Line until I’m confident enough to deal with all the powerful pirates operating there.” “Monday to Friday – Update 3 Chapters a Day”
“Saturday and Sunday – Off”