"Not bad, but that advertisement was too exaggerated. I think it must be a scam!" Garp said happily while pouring more into his mouth.
"That little brat, Chacher, is really a scammer who even scammed the navy budget!"
"Hmph~"
Smoker, who was also eating, snorted. Looking at the can in his hand, he seemed to want to say something, but before he could speak...
Bloop bloop, bloop bloop~
At that moment.
A phone bug's ringtone echoed.
It was Garp's.
Garp paused, took out the phone bug, and then, without much thought, answered it, "Ah~ it's Sengoku. What's up?"
And with that, the conversation continued.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Upon hearing the words "Sengoku," Smoker and Tashigi immediately calmed down, their expressions turning serious as they stood quietly to the side, awaiting further instructions.
At the same time, the Mok Pirate Crew, who had been observing this, also fell silent.
Then, they heard.
"What's that sound? Are you eating again? Can't you take this seriously for once?" The seagull-hat-wearing Transponder Snail spoke in a tone of exasperation. After a deep sigh, it became serious and asked, "How did the mission go?"
"Mission? What mission?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten about the mission I gave you? Wasn't it your job to look into whether Dande Chacher is colluding with pirates?"
Upon hearing Garp's response, the seagull Transponder Snail began to rage once again.
"Can you take this seriously for once? That guy has sent another military funding request, and the approval department is suspicious of Dande Chacher, but Zephyr believes his student would never do such a thing. Both sides are arguing, and it's driving me crazy!"
"Hahaha, I'm just messing with you~," Garp said nonchalantly, scratching his ear. "I remember, I remember. It's already taken care of."
"Taken care of?" After Garp's answer, the Transponder Snail calmed down a bit and frowned. "How's the situation? Has the 16th Navy Division been embezzling military funds or colluding with a pirate crew?"
As soon as the words left its mouth.
"Of course not~," Garp said without hesitation, adopting a serious tone and speaking in a righteous manner.
"What Captain Chacher said is true. The Mok Pirates are indeed a group of vicious and bloodthirsty pirates, and the current equipment of the 16th Navy Division can't even compete with them. Even I think it's a bit tricky."
"Why the sudden seriousness? That doesn't sound like something you'd say. Never mind~. Are you telling the truth?" The Transponder Snail furrowed its brows, looking puzzled.
"The Mok Pirates? Even you find them that difficult to deal with? Isn't that just a pirate with a bounty of 30 million? Also, what's going on with you? Why does your Transponder Snail sound so sweaty?"
As if realizing something, it spoke with a stern tone.
"You bastard didn't take this seriously, did you?"
"Hahaha~. How could I? It's just that the East Blue's been a bit hot lately. Anyway, that guy managed to escape from me." Garp, unfazed by the Transponder Snail's questions, chuckled while picking his nose nonchalantly.
"You know me, that's just a pirate."
"That's true. You wouldn't have teamed up with pirates, would you?"
"..."
"Forget it, since you're saying it like that, it seems like these are some extraordinary pirates."
The telephone bug Sengoku frowned and said, then thought for a moment before continuing, "The fact that they managed to escape from you and that the Navy's 16th Division couldn't capture them... I guess it's normal. Looks like a new big pirate is about to rise in the East Blue."
"Exactly, exactly, they're really something!" Seeing Sengoku's reaction, Garp seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his big, carefree smile returning, "That bounty needs to go up, for sure!"
"Increase the bounty? Isn't the Mok Pirates still in the East Blue? Isn't thirty million enough?"
"Not enough, not enough." Garp picked his nose, chuckling, "That pirate escaped from my hands."
"Is that so?" Hearing Garp's words, Sengoku furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and then asked, "How much do you think it should increase by?"
"How much?" Garp grinned, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Moke, the captain of the Mok Pirates, who was holding a can nearby.
Moke, under Garp's gaze, felt an uneasy twinge in his heart, cold sweat forming on his forehead, a bad premonition creeping in.
Before he could say anything...
Suddenly, Garp flashed a grin, revealing his white teeth, and with a serious tone, waved his hand, "Such a big-time pirate should have at least a fifty million bounty!"
With those words,
Mok:...
Fifty million?!
What is this old man planning?
Naval Headquarters, Marineford.
At this moment, inside the office of the Fleet Admiral.
After hanging up the phone, Fleet Admiral Sengoku clasped his hands together and placed them under his chin, furrowing his brows as he fell into deep thought.
Then, as if remembering something, he lowered his head and opened a large drawer beneath his desk.
Reaching toward the pile of pirate bounty notices from the East Blue, he began searching for something.
After flipping through the papers, he eventually pulled out a bounty poster.
[Name: Mok]
[Bounty: 30,000,000 Berries]
That's right, this was the bounty of the captain of the Mok Pirates, the very pirate group that was causing headaches for the 16th Marine Branch in the East Blue.
Normally, pirates like this wouldn't catch the Fleet Admiral's attention.
Although a bounty of 30 million Berries was considered high for the weakest sea, it was still just the bounty of a small-time pirate lingering in the East Blue.
As long as he didn't enter the Grand Line or cause a big commotion, it would be a small matter for the Marine Headquarters.
As for the 16th Marine Branch, even though they frequently applied for funds, an investigation by the judging officers had confirmed that all their materials were legal and compliant.
The only thing that raised suspicion was the frequency of their requests.
However.
Looking at it now...
Sengoku lowered his head, frowning as he stared at the bounty poster in his hand. "It seems the 16th Branch was indeed wronged."
Escaping from Garp, receiving approval from someone like Garp, and even having Garp suggest a direct 50 million Berries bounty—this was not something a mere Marine branch could handle.
A pirate like this was indeed a nuisance for the East Blue, the weakest of seas.
It was already somewhat unbelievable that the 16th Branch had been able to hold up against him for so long.
But.
Why had such a strong pirate remained in the East Blue all this time?
Didn't that guy have any ambition?
If he didn't have ambition, why had he been continuously harassing the 16th Marine Branch?
What kind of grudge or hatred was this?
Additionally, Sengoku had some impression of the branch commander of the 16th Branch—Dande Chacher.
After all, he was once a Marine genius Captain, but it seemed that after being reassigned, he began to fall from grace.
He had been in the East Blue all these years, and there had been no remarkable achievements.
At that time, he had also suspected that this Captain Chacher, who had no achievements, kept pursuing the Mok Pirate Crew. Was he really working with pirates to swindle military funds?
But now it seems…
Since even that old guy Garp said so, maybe it's not exactly as they thought.
Although Garp had always been reckless, and since the execution of Pirate King Roger, he had lost his motivation and kept sneaking off to steal his snacks, Sengoku knew, after many years of being Garp's partner, that Garp would never deceive him on such matters.
After all, that guy was a pirate.
A Navy hero like Garp wouldn't possibly be cooperating with pirates, right?
What for?
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24