Sengoku handed the bloodstained white cloth through the iron bars.
"This is my confession."
"There was no paper or pen in the prison, so I had to use cloth from my clothes and my blood instead."
Garp took the confession and clenched it tightly in his hand.
His aged face was filled with grief, and he roared in a low, deep voice:
"Sengoku, what were you thinking back then?!
How could you make such a mistake!
That's not something you would do at all!"
If Tsuru hadn't admitted it publicly, Garp would never have suspected Sengoku.
Even though Sengoku had shown emotional outbursts several times regarding Luo Chen before.
Garp had never doubted this close friend.
Sengoku smiled bitterly: "Garp, if it were you, would you believe that a Marine vice admiral would frame a branch Marine just for greed?"
"I always thought that the vice admirals had firm ideals and beliefs."
"They've risked their lives for justice, killing pirates for decades."
"How could mere money tempt them?"
"The facts prove I was wrong."
"I misjudged Onigumo."
"I trusted his words and allowed him to kill Luo Chen."
"By the time I realized there was a problem, many innocent people had already died, and it was too late."
"If I had stopped then, I would still end up here."
"From Marine Admiral to a prisoner on the sixth level of Impel Down, from being respected to being infamous for eternity... I couldn't accept such a fall."
"Plus... I never thought that Luo Chen, who was just a branch major, could escape the Marines' pursuit time and time again."
"So, I was determined to kill him and resolve everything."
"As a result, you saw what happened."
"I went further and further down the wrong path, sinking deeper into the quagmire until I couldn't escape, falling into an abyss of no return."
Sengoku lowered his head, his words full of self-mockery.
Garp listened, his fists clenched tightly, his arms trembling from the force.
He didn't know what to say.
Comfort? Blame? Scold?
Garp wanted to say all of them, but when the words reached his lips, they seemed blocked, and he couldn't speak.
These unspoken words churned inside him, desperate for an outlet.
Finally, they rushed to Garp's eyes, turning his eye sockets dark red, filled with sorrow.
"Sengoku..." Garp croaked.
Sengoku looked at him.
Seeing him struggling to hold back tears, he smiled.
"The last time I saw you cry was decades ago."
"Don't cry." Sengoku smiled faintly, "Take out the video Den Den Mushi, point it at me, then turn around."
He twisted his justice coat into a strip and tied it to the high horizontal bar.
Garp trembled all over at the sight.
He bit his teeth hard and reached into his pocket for the video Den Den Mushi.
When the video Den Den Mushi was activated and the snail's eyes lit up, Garp turned around, his back to Sengoku.
He sat down on the ground with a thud, motionless like a statue, silent.
From behind, Sengoku's voice came.
"I am the former Marine Admiral Sengoku."
"Because of framing Luo Chen, poor management, and indirectly causing the deaths of many innocent civilians, I was imprisoned in Impel Down."
"Before Marineford sank, Vice Admiral Tsuru's statements had no falsehoods."
"It was me who didn't listen to her advice, arbitrarily decided to hunt down Luo Chen, and tried to silence him to cover up my own mistakes."
"Genzo from Cocoyasi Village once committed suicide by poison at the execution platform in Loguetown to prove Luo Chen's innocence."
"I know my crimes are unforgivable... I choose to end my own life, admit my mistakes, and acknowledge my guilt."
"Only in this way can my conscience find solace before death."
"In addition to this video, there is a suicide note that will spread across the seas after my death."
"I hope the future Marines will take me as a warning, uphold the justice and conscience in their hearts, and turn back from the wrong path in time..."
"The one leaving this message, Sengoku."
After the words fell, there was a long silence behind him.
Just as Garp thought his friend had already passed, Sengoku's voice sounded again.
"Put away the Den Den Mushi."
"Don't look back."
Garp trembled again upon hearing this, grabbing the Den Den Mushi and putting it back in his pocket.
"Garp, if you have the chance to see Luo Chen, tell him... this old man regrets it."
"If I had listened to his advice that day and strictly investigated the East Blue matter."
"Everything would be different."
"The Marines might have welcomed the strongest admiral, and this old man would have become good friends with him, drinking and chatting happily."
"One wrong thought, and everything changed completely."
"If I could do it over, I would definitely choose to go back to that day."
After saying this, Sengoku was silent for a while, then added:
"Tsuru... forget it, she probably doesn't want to hear anything from me."
"Garp, while the position of Marine Admiral is vacant, go catch your grandson back."
"The seas are getting more chaotic, and he's in great danger."
After these words, Sengoku made no more sound.
But Garp still heard the faint rustling of clothes, heard Sengoku's extremely painful gasps and struggles.
His shoulders shook, and the ground in front of him was wet with drops of tears.
Garp bit his teeth with all his might, blood flowing from the corners of his mouth.
Blood dripped from his tightly clenched fists.
A low, suppressed roar came from his throat, like a beast in utmost grief...
...
After a long, long time, Garp staggered to his feet.
Behind him, there was no sound at all.
He took a step, his body tilting and falling to the side.
Garp seemed like an ordinary old man in his twilight years, collapsing to the ground.
He curled up, hugging the video Den Den Mushi with both hands, low, hoarse, mournful cries coming from his throat.
After an unknown time, the elevator to the sixth level prison clattered.
Warden Magellan and Deputy Warden Hannyabal hurried over.
Garp heard the footsteps and barely propped himself up.
He headed out of the prison.
He bumped right into Magellan and Hannyabal.
The two glanced at Garp, then looked purposefully at the cell where Sengoku was.
Just one glance, and Magellan and Hannyabal's pupils contracted, their expressions shocked.
Inside the cell, Marine Admiral Sengoku had committed suicide by hanging.
His body hung from the high iron bars, hair disheveled half-covering his face.
A pair of broken round-framed glasses lay at his feet, the lenses completely shattered into many pieces.
Magellan looked at Garp in disbelief.
"Mr. Garp, this..."
How did Admiral Sengoku commit suicide by hanging after Garp arrived?
Garp ignored him, head lowered, walking step by step into the distance.
His aged face was covered in tear stains and numbness.
This left Magellan and Hannyabal exchanging glances, unsure what to do.
"Report to the World Government." Hannyabal whispered.
He didn't dare disturb Garp right now anyway.
Everyone knew that Garp and Sengoku were comrades for decades, like brothers.
Now, Sengoku had hanged himself in front of Garp.
Garp's heart must be filled with grief and pain.
Hannyabal didn't dare provoke Garp at this moment.
If this old man went berserk, the entire great prison would be demolished.
Magellan tacitly agreed, watching Garp leave.
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