Marine Headquarters, the Garp residence.
Garp and Sengoku sat across from each other in silence, both gazing at the baby lying in the cradle.
Off to the side, Rouge had been waiting for quite a while. She could no longer endure the awkward atmosphere, so she stepped in front of the Marine Hero Garp and the Navy's only active-duty Admiral Sengoku, scooped up the child, and turned to head into the house.
"R-Rouge! Just let your old man take one more look!"
Garp, normally so unruly, actually put on a fawning face in front of his daughter.
"This is my second grandson, you know! I haven't even had my fill of admiring him yet!"
"Exactly, Rouge."
Sengoku nodded seriously at the side.
"I think Garp's grandson is pretty interesting, honestly..."
"And you still know he's your grandson? I thought you saw him as some pet you picked up in the mountains!"
Rouge rolled her eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into her skull.
"And you, Admiral Sengoku, if you have zero experience with raising children, then please don't chime in at a time like this!"
With that, she carried Luffy into the bedroom.
Meanwhile, four-year-old Ace was staring at the two top Marines with a look that screamed "what a pair of idiots."
"A-Ace... you're not gonna look down on Grandpa too, are you?"
"That's right, Ace. Grandpa Sengoku likes you the most, you know."
Ace shook his head helplessly, hands clasped behind his back, following Rouge into the bedroom with the air of a little adult.
And so, the living room was left with only Garp and Sengoku—two old men sitting in awkward silence, staring at each other.
After a while, Garp finally broke into a smug grin.
"See that? I have two grandsons now! Sengoku, you little punk, what've you got to say about that, huh?"
He laughed arrogantly in Sengoku's face.
"Ahahahaha! Oh, right—I forgot—you're just a lonely old bachelor with no son of your own!"
"...I may not have a biological son, but I do have two outstanding adopted sons."
Sengoku returned to his usual calm expression, lifted the teacup on the table, and took a sip.
"And they're both excellent Marine sons."
"Okay, don't bring that up or we're not friends anymore."
Critical hit!
Garp's own son quitting the Marines had always been a sore spot for him—and the fact that he later became the leader of the Revolutionary Army, someone the World Government feared deeply, only rubbed salt in the wound.
In this moment, Sengoku had clearly won the round.
Of course, he had no idea that Garp's most outstanding grandson would one day surpass even Monkey D. Dragon.
"Yo! Which of you old farts is gossiping behind someone's back? Is it Tsuru-san or Fleet Admiral Kong?"
A voice came from outside the door. The next moment, Michael pushed the door open without a hint of politeness.
"Oh, Michael, you're back. How was the scenery in Alabasta?"
Garp didn't look surprised at all to see Michael showing up just a day after leaving.
"You came back alone?"
"Obviously. You think someone could appear at Marine Headquarters this fast from Alabasta without flying through the night? Who else could keep up with me?"
Michael rolled his eyes.
"Even those with Logia-type Devil Fruits can't match my speed. If I fly at full throttle, they can't even see my tail lights. As for Alabasta—it's not bad. At least it looks more prosperous and peaceful than most other countries."
After receiving Garp's call, Michael had wrapped up all his business in Alabasta, leaving both the newly feminized Crocodile and the recovering Hawk Eyes in Stella's care.
Then he had taken to the skies and flown through the night to return to Marineford.
He was even a little excited in his heart.
After all, this was the main character we're talking about!
He had to soak in a bit of that "Child of Destiny" energy, right?
Sengoku, seeing Michael return so eagerly to Marine Headquarters, couldn't help but smile faintly.
See that, Garp?
That's the difference between your son and my son, you bastard!
Can your son come back to Marine Headquarters just to see you whenever he wants?
Can he?
"Michael."
Sengoku clapped him on the shoulder, face full of gratification.
"You really make me proud."
"...Did he take some weird medicine today?"
"Hmph. No medicine. He's just basking in a fleeting moment of triumph."
Michael could only shrug in response.
Whatever. If it made them happy.
Just as Sengoku and Garp looked like they were about to get into another fight, the bedroom door suddenly burst open.
Ace, who had just acted so mature in front of the two old men, now shot out like a rocket.
"Michael-san?! Is Michael-san really back?!"
His excited voice was so loud it nearly tore the roof off.
"I missed you so much!!"
With a cheer, Ace launched himself at Michael and slammed straight into his waist.
"...Ace, could you try not to hit that precisely next time? Kidney health is super important for men, you know."
"I don't really understand what that means, but it sounds awesome!"
As Ace's cheerful voice echoed, Rouge also emerged gracefully from the bedroom.
"So it is Michael? You came to see Luffy?"
"That's right."
Michael nodded, then shot a resentful glare at Garp.
"It's all thanks to a certain senile old man who called me in the middle of the night to tell me he had another grandson!"
"Ahem, I was just too happy, and I wanted to share the news with you..."
"Then why don't you ever share your rice crackers when you're happy?"
"Joy can be shared. Rice crackers cannot."
"You stingy old geezer!"
Michael ignored Garp and followed Ace and Rouge into the bedroom.
Inside, little baby Luffy was fast asleep in the crib.
Despite how noisy they'd been outside, the commotion hadn't affected the little guy one bit.
One had to admit—the people of the Monkey family were blessed with two incredible talents.
One was eating.
The other was sleeping.
And Luffy exemplified these two talents to the extreme.
Though his techniques often came at the cost of his own life force, the damage could often be reversed with a massive meal.
And as for sleep—it was ridiculous. No matter how bad his injuries were, as long as he ate and slept afterward, he'd be mostly fine.
The false image of a powerful figure might be someone over three meters tall.
But the true image of a powerful figure was someone who could eat and sleep like it was a superpower.
However...
"This baby's cheeks are so soft."
Michael curiously pinched Luffy's cheek.
Unfortunately, due to inexperience, he didn't control his strength and woke the baby up.
Luffy's eyes flew open—and he immediately burst into loud, wailing cries.
"Michael..."
"I didn't do it on purpose..."
"I worked so hard to get him to sleep! You're just like Father and Admiral Sengoku!Get out and reflect on your actions!"
The moment Michael was thrown out by the furious new mother, he saw the two old men waiting outside both smirking at him.
"Young mothers raising kids are always short-tempered."
"You really ought to be more careful, Michael."